The Danish Church in Southern Schleswig ( da, Dansk Kirke i Sydslesvig) is an evangelical

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church in

Southern Schleswig Southern Schleswig (german: Südschleswig or ', da, Sydslesvig; frr, Söödslaswik) is the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig in Germany on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the large area between the Eid ...

Northern Germany Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...

. The church was founded by the

Danish minority of Southern Schleswig The Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, Germany, has existed by this name since 1920, when the Schleswig Plebiscite split German-ruled Schleswig into two parts: Northern Schleswig with a Danish majority and a German minority was ...

and is affiliated with the Danish Church Abroad and the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

. Though the church operates independently, it is overseen by the bishop of the

Diocese of Haderslev The Diocese of Haderslev ( Danish: ''Haderslev Stift'') is a diocese within the Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People ...

. As such, it shares many of the Church of Denmark's liberal views, including its support for the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

and of remarriage after divorce. Today, the church has nearly 30 congregations across Southern Schleswig and approximately 6,000 registered members who are serviced at 62 individual places of warship. The central church is the Church of the Holy Spirit (Danish: ''Helligåndskirken'') in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

History

Following the reformation, many pastors in Southern Schleswig performed services in Danish, though certain parts of the ceremony had to be performed in German by mandate of the German Church. In 1905, the "Church Society of Flensburg and the Surrounding Area" (Danish: ''Kirkeligt Samfund for Flensborg og Omegn'') was established with the purpose of reaching congregations within the German Church whose primary language was Danish. The society was rejected by officials who felt the Danish minority should conform to German society and its language. In 1921, following the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, the Danish Church in Flensburg (Danish: ''Den Danske Menighed i Flensborg'') was established as a

free church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...

. In the following years the church expanded to include the whole of Southern Schleswig, and in 1959 it was given its current name.

Provosts

* Anton Westergaard-Jacobsen, 1950–1962 * Hans Kvist, 1962–1969 * Ingemann Christensen, 1970–1979 * Christian Benjamin Karstoft, 1979–1993 * Viggo Jacobsen, 1993–2018 * Hasse Neldeberg Jørgensen, 2019–present

Churches

Incomplete list of churches within the Danish Church in Southern Schleswig: * Ansgar Church * Church of the Holy Spirit (''Helligåndskirken'') * Haderslev Danish Church * Husum Danish Church * Jaruplund Danish Church * Lyksborg Danish Church * St. Hans Church * St. Jørgen Church * Tarp Danish Church * Westerland Danish Church

Sources

External links

Danish Church in Southern Schleswig
(Danish)
Danish Church Abroad
(Danish) {{Authority control Christianity in Schleswig-Holstein Lutheranism in Germany Lutheran churches in Schleswig-Holstein Church of Denmark