The ‘Operation K’ that was activated on August 28 with the death of Harald of Norway culminates on September 9 with the celebration of the state funeral. This will take place at the Oslo Cathedral and will begin with a minute of silence at 13:00 that will halt the entire nation. Numerous international personalities are expected to attend the funeral (including the kings of Spain), although the attendees who have attracted the most attention from all those watching this final farewell are neither royals nor diplomats.
The person who arouses the greatest curiosity at this event is Sunniva Gylver, although she is not a guest: she is the bishop who presides over the funeral. Alongside the president of the Church of Norway, Olav Fykse Tveit, we meet the head of this same church in Oslo who, moreover, will lead the farewell to the monarch.
However, what surprises is not that she is a woman — after all, the Oslo church is Lutheran, so they do permit the ordination of women as pastors and, hence, as bishops — but her appearance and her particular way of living the faith are what draws so much attention. Sunniva wears dreadlocks and a nose piercing, qualities that she combines with the collar as well as with her T-shirts on which she reads “biskop” or “prest” (meaning “bishop” or “pastor” in Norwegian, respectively).
The image of a bishop with dreadlocks has become her most defining hallmark, but it is not the only reason Sunniva Gylver stands out among her clerical peers. Gylver also prides herself on having a very clear way of thinking, perhaps somewhat dissenting within the context, but that has managed to bring many closer to her beliefs by sharing them.
The bishop Sunniva Gylver with Harald of Norway
Proof of this are the yoga services she leads in the halls of the parish itself, which attract an ever-growing number of people from diverse backgrounds. Gylver also organizes philosophical cafés and remains very active on social networks, posting daily videos where she shares her reflections as a theologian on society, the church, or faith. This online presence has also allowed her to establish a certain closeness with younger people.
In addition, this bishop is noted for defending that faith should not be imposed and that the church should be open. Thus, she boasts of not wanting to persuade anyone to think like her and advocates for a debate in which an exchange of views is encouraged. She is also very committed to the environment, interfaith dialogue, and LGBTQ rights: she travels by public transport to minimize her carbon footprint, she supports same-sex marriage, and she has celebrated Ramadan with local imams. Furthermore, she is a committed vegetarian.
The life and ideals of Sunniva Gylver
The bishop Sunniva Gylver is a native of Denmark, though she was raised in Norway. Daughter of a doctor and a secretary, Gylver grew up very close to the church and decided to study Theology in order to speak about her faith with training and certainty. After more than two decades as an assistant pastor, she wanted to take a step further in her service and became the senior pastor. In these years, she carried evangelization as a banner, though always with the distinctive mark of her controversial image, whether because of the dreadlocks, the shaved head, the piercings, or the T-shirts instead of traditional vestments.
Her life, however, has not been free of tragedy. In 2021 her husband — by the way, an atheist — died of lung cancer. Years earlier, when Sunniva was still a teenager, she had to face the death of her sister, who died at 15 from anorexia. This proximity to death from a very young age has made her particularly sensitive when comforting and accompanying others, though she always tries to do so without imposing her vision, her ideals, or her faith.
But her desire to respect everyone does not mean that she does not defend her stance whenever she has the opportunity. As her actions reveal, Gylver is not especially supportive of an orthodox view of faith, but she is nonetheless radically opposed to using Christianity as a political weapon. Her objective is none other than not to scare away those who share the church’s traditional values, but rather to make them feel welcome in this reality.
Sunniva Gylver has become an essential figure in the Church of Oslo, although she also has detractors. So relevant is her status that she is the one in charge of presiding over the most attended funeral since the death of Harald V and of accompanying the international attendees who come to the Norwegian capital to bid farewell to the king.
