Berlevåg became a parish in its own right as late as 1982

earlier, Berlevåg came under the parish of Tana. The bishop in Tromsø took the initiative to have a place of worship built in the fishing village during the 1870s. He argued strongly in favour of this and, following several applications, the first chapel in the fishing village was built during the mid-1870s. During the spring fishing season there could be 500-600 fishing boats stationed here, with between 2000 and 2500 travelling fishermen and 70 purchasing vessels with around 280 personnel. The minister reckoned the population during the smelt fishing to be at least 3000 over and above its permanent residents. According to the minister, the moral conditions were found wanting and urgently in need of religious influence.

The question of converting the chapel into a church was put forward on several occasions. In 1885, the department dedicated money to rebuilding, and on 9 September 1886 the rebuilt chapel was consecrated as a chapel church. During a visit by the bishop in 1932 it became apparent that the chapel was in a bad condition, and restoration work was begun in July 1939. The church was newly consecrated on 7 April 1940. The newly-restored church stood for only five years before it was burnt down during the German retreat from Finnmark in 1944.