It is the church for the Hjørundfjord parish which is part of the Søre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

In 1581, there was some flooding and changes to the flow of the small river that passed by the church which caused major damage.

After this, it was decided to dismantle the church and move it 700 metres (2,300 ft) to the northeast into the village of Sæbø where it was rebuilt.

At that time, the ownership of the church was divided among several people in a collective and this delayed the replacement process.

The lead builder was Carl Berg, who allegedly went bankrupt along the way and had to stop his work.