It is the former main church for the Karlsøy parish which is part of the Tromsø domprosti (arch-deanery) in the Diocese of Nord-Hålogaland.

The church is no longer in regular use, since it is on a remote island that is now sparsely populated.

In 1732 the church was repaired and in 1770 an addition was built to make room for more people.

In 1790, the church was converted to a cruciform design by adding two side wings.

The island had been the civil and religious centre of Karlsøy for centuries, but more people were moving to other parts of the municipality that were connected to the road network and Karlsøya became more isolated.