Erik Skjelnæs (born 1946) and Kjell Frølich Benjaminsen (born 1953)

Translator's Note: This is a machine-assisted translation completed on July 25, 2025. While care has been taken to maintain accuracy, this translation has not yet undergone human review or validation. Please note that specialized terms, historical references, and nuanced content may benefit from expert review. 

After 36 years as partners, the couple were finally able to marry in 2017, becoming the first same-sex couple to exchange vows under the new marriage liturgy of the Church of Norway.

Skjelnæs grew up on Varaldsøy in the Hardangerfjord and moved to Oslo in the early 1960s. There, he became active in DNF-48 and took part in “secret” parties at places like Ormsund.

Frølich Benjaminsen was born and raised in Oslo and was involved in the city’s queer nightlife from a young age. The two became a couple in 1981.

The couple wished to wait with entering into a registered partnership or marriage until it could take place in a church. In 2016, the Church of Norway’s General Synod voted to allow same-sex marriages. The proposal was sent out for consultation before being formally adopted on January 30, 2017.

Frølich Benjaminsen and Skjelnæs then became the very first couple to marry in the Church following the adoption of the new liturgy. The wedding took place at Eidskog Church in Hedmark, one minute past midnight on January 31, 2017.

In the video below, they share the story of the historic day they were married.

A longer interview with the couple is available at Skeivt Arkiv. We interviewed them in their home in Oslo, February 2018.