The Establishment of the Legal Status of the National Church in Iceland in 1918–1944

The article defines the main directions of legal regulation of the activities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a national church in Iceland during the formation of its statehood (1918–1944). The article examines changes in the status of the Evangelical Lutheran Church from the acquisition of state sovereignty by Iceland until the rupture of the personal union with the King of Denmark in 1944, which is due to a) supremacy before the adoption of the Constitution of Denmark in 1849, which deprived the king of the right to lead the church organization; b) the acquisition of state sovereignty and the creation of its own Ministry of Justice and Church. The article reveals the main directions of the activities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland during the period under study, but within the framework of a single state paradigm, as well as the creation of the Icelandic Church Council in 1931 as a future body for the internal governance of the local church organization.