At some point during the late ninth or early tenth century Kiev fell under the rule of Varangians and became the nucleus of the Rus' polity.

In the 16th century a Russian missionary, St. Tryphon of Pechenga, evangelized some of the Sami population of Norway and built an Orthodox chapel along the Neiden River.

Following the socialist revolution in 1917, a number of Orthodox refugees from Russia fled to Scandinavia, first to Sweden and eventually to Norway.

Through immigration from Russia, the former Yugoslavia, and other Eastern European countries, the number of Orthodox Christians in Norway has increased significantly since 1990.

The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe has one priest in Norway, specifically in Oslo.

The primarily Greek congregation of the Annunciation of the Theotokos was founded in 1965 with main purpose of serving the Greek-speaking Orthodox community in Norway.