Anna-Nicole Heinrich (born 1996) is the current praeses of the synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Biography

Heinrich was born to non-religious parents in

Schwandorf Schwandorf is a town on the river Naab in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany, which is the seat of the Schwandorf district. Sights * Catholic parish church of St. Jakob * Kreuzberg Church: Catholic parish, monastic and pilgrimage church of ...

. She grew up in

Nittenau Nittenau () is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Regen, 18 km southeast of Schwandorf, and 24 km northeast of Regensburg. It is the "sister city" of Lake Zurich, Illinois. ...

with her father working as a truck driver. She was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

at school age with her mother. She studied philosophy at the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on 18 ...

from 2015 to 2019, followed by a master's in

digital humanities Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...

and ethics. She works as a research assistant at the chair of

pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as a ...

and

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...

. Heinrich has been a board member of the youth wing of the German evangelical church since 2017 and member of the Bavarian synod since 2020. She was elected praeses in May 2021. At the age of 25, she is the youngest praeses of the Evangelical Church in Germany to date.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinrich, Anna-Nicole 1996 births Living people People from Schwandorf (district) University of Regensburg alumni German evangelicals