It is the main church for the Bru parish which is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

Over time, the island was renamed Svanøya, but the parish name remained.

During the first half of the 1600s, the church was torn down and replaced with a timber-framed building with a cruciform floor plan.

It was designed by the architect Christian Christie and the lead builder was John Alver.

Due to the tremendous amount of rebuilding after World War II, it took about six years before a new church was completed.

The old church on the island of Svanøya also had some fine stained-glass windows, so this type of decoration has been a tradition in the parish for a long time.

For the consecration ceremony, 90 boats anchored up in the harbour, and 1500 people wanted to get inside the church, but most of them had to listen to the sermon through loudspeakers outside.