The first church in Røros was completed in 1650, just four years after the smelter by the river started operating. The first church soon became too small, and a lack of maintenance led to the building deteriorating, and after 130 years, it had to be replaced. The church in front of you was built by Røros Copper Works and was consecrated under great ceremony on 15 August 1784. The Copper Works accounts for that year show that three reindeer were purchased for the celebration dinner.

We do not know exactly when the Sámi people in the Røros area were Christianised. Information surfaced in a legal dispute in 1663 showing that rituals linked to pre-Christian beliefs were still being practised. The legal document states that the Sámi ‘placed their dead children in tree stumps and trees’, and that a part of the ritual bear hunt was to bury the bear’s bones. Then the bear could rise from the dead and thus become useful again. These accounts should be read with a critical eye, however the bear cult is a well-known practice all over Saepmie (the Sámi cultural region). This suggests that pre-Christian rituals were still being practised in the Røros area in the latter half of the 1600s.

Seminarium Scolasticum was established in Trondheim in 1717 for the purpose of educating Sámi speaking priests and teachers. The Christianisation of the Sámi people in Norway now gatherered momentum. Jens Block was appointed priest in Selbu and Tydal parish in 1725, and also evangelised among the Sámi in Selbu, Tydal, Holtålen and Røros. This must indicate that not all Sámi were viewed as Christians at the time.

The church records reveal that the Sámi engaged in religious ceremonies in Røros church already in 1692 and on through the 1690s. The Sámi had to use Norwegian names when interacting with Norwegian society. In the oldest preserved church records for Røros, the Sámi are recorded with Norwegian names, not their Sámi names. Therefore, the Sámi name tradition faded away over time.

Upper class people in Røros were often listed in the church records as godparents at baptisms, including for Sámi children. In winter 1735, Joen Thomesen's reindeer grazed southwest of Røros, and he presented his son Thomas, who had been baptised at home, to Røros church that year. Among the godparents we find Rasmus Finne, son of bookkeeper at the Copper Works, Jens Finne.

Røros church has been an important church for the Sámi of the region for centuries. The church records have entries for baptisms, confirmations, weddings and funerals for Sámi people. The transition from one religion to another must have caused a great deal of upheaval for the Sámi, regarding important rituals and ceremonies, myths and religious beliefs.