It is one of the two churches for the Norddal parish which is part of the Nordre Sunnmøre prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Møre.

The small Døving Chapel was located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) upriver from Sylte and a chapel had been located here for centuries to serve the people of the Valldalen valley, and after the 1620s, it also served the people of Sylte.

[5] In 1860, residents began talking about building a larger church in Sylte to serve the growing population.

The new church was designed by Nils Andersen Liaaen and Jacob Wilhelm Nordan made several improvements to the plans.

The lead builder was Gjert Lien from Nordfjordeid, who built a number of churches in Nordfjord and Sunnmøre.