Church of the Faroe Islands Church of the Faroe Islands The Church of the Faroe Islands (, "people's church") is one of the smallest of the world's state churches. Prior to its becoming independent on 29 July 2007, it had been a diocese of the Church of Denmark, a Lutheran church. As of 2017, 80.2% of the Faroe Islanders belonged to the state church. Other churches in the Faroe Islands include the Plymouth Brethren and the Catholic Church. According to "Færeyinga saga", it was the Viking chief Sigmundur Brestisson who brought Christianity to the Faroe Islands. On the orders of the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason,
Faroe Islands rat ("Rattus norvegicus"), and the house mouse ("Mus musculus"). Apart from these, there once was a local domestic sheep breed, the Faroe sheep (depicted on the coat of arms), a variety of feral sheep survived on Lítla Dímun until the mid-19th century. Grey seals ("Halichoerus grypus") are common around the shorelines. Several species of cetacea live in the waters around the Faroe Islands. Best known are the long-finned pilot whales ("Globicephala melaena"), which are still hunted by the islanders in accordance with longstanding local tradition. Orcas ("Orcinus orca") are regular visitors around the islands. The domestic animals of the Faroe