A change of leadership of the Lutheran Church in Norway (LCIN) took place on October 24, 2026, when Reverend Markus Snellmen was consecrated as Bishop of the
confessional Lutheran church body. The change became necessary when the founder
and former Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Norway, Torkild Masvie, turned age 70.
Bishops in the Lutheran Church in Norway serve for life or until they reach age 70. The consecration ceremony took place on Saturday, October 24, 2026 at the Ryenberget Church in Oslo, Norway. Around 20 pastors and heads of church bodies from around the world traveled to participate in the service.
Bishop Masvie presided over the ceremony and, near its completion, Reverend Snellman became the new Bishop and Reverend Torkild Masvie became the Bishop-Emeritus in the Lutheran Church in Norway.
Reverend Snellman, who turned 34 this year, is from the Swedish-speaking part of
Finland and is of Latvian descent. He now lives in Oslo with his wife and three children, where he recently moved from Narvik, Norway. In Narvik, he served as a parish pastor and oversaw the massive interior and exterior renovation of the LCIN church there. Bishop Snellman has earned two master’s degrees in theology, one from the Fjellhaug schools in Oslo and one from Concordia Theological Seminary Ft. Wayne in the United States.
The church body continues in the classical biblical Lutheran Reformed tradition left by
the Nordic national churches. The church currently has eleven pastors and serves 15
congregations which are spread all around Norway, as well as one in Reykjavík,
Iceland.
The church has grown significantly in recent years, especially this year, when it experienced a stunning 38% increase in worshipers over this time last year. The
Lutheran Church in Norway expects continued growth as new pastors regularly enroll in training courses through LCIN’s Ad Fontes pastoral training centers and the Concordia seminary system. At the current rate of growth, LCIN expects to double the number of pastors from the current eleven within a few years.
We pray that God will continue to bless the Lutheran Church in Norway under the new
leadership of Bishop Snellman and that the Bishop and all of the pastors of LCIN will
remain faithful to their calling and to God’s word. Congratulations Bishop Snellman!
