It is the church for the Vangen parish which is part of the Sogn prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

[1][2] Vangen Church is the largest of the seven medieval stone churches in the Sogn og Fjordane region, leading it to be called the Sognedomen or Sogn Cathedral.

A local historian, Anders Ohnstad, has stated that King Sverre had local ties to Aurland and he died in March 1202, so the church may have been constructed on his orders.

The ceiling of the church reaches 18 metres (59 ft) high at the highest point.

Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in Eidsvoll later that year.