The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a
federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
of twenty
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 ...
,
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
(
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
) and
United
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
(e.g.
Prussian Union)
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
churches and
denominations in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, which collectively encompasses the vast majority of Protestants in that country. In 2020, the EKD had a membership of 20,236,000 members, or 24.3% of the German population.
[ It constitutes one of the largest national Protestant bodies in the world. Church offices managing the federation are located in Hannover-Herrenhausen, ]Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
. Many of its members consider themselves Lutherans.
Historically, the first formal attempt to unify German Protestantism occurred during the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
era in the form of the German Evangelical Church Confederation The German Evangelical Church Confederation (german: Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchenbund, abbreviated DEK) was a formal federation of 28 regional Protestant churches (''Landeskirchen'') of Lutheran, Reformed or United Protestant administration or co ...
, which existed from 1922 until 1933. Earlier, there had been successful royal efforts at unity in various German states, beginning with Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and several minor German states (e.g. Duchy of Nassau
The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...
) in 1817. These unions resulted in the first united and uniting churches, a new development within Protestantism which later spread to other parts of the world.
When Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
came to power in 1933, his administration tried to reorganize the old confederation into a unified German Evangelical Church
The German Evangelical Church (german: Deutsche Evangelische Kirche) was a successor to the German Evangelical Church Confederation from 1933 until 1945.
The German Christians, an antisemitic and racist pressure group and ''Kirchenpartei'', gai ...
as Hitler wanted to use a single Protestant church to further his own ambitions. However, a division emerged between the Reichskirche, led by the pro-government German Christians
Christianity is the largest religion in Germany. It was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD, while parts of that area belonged to the Roman Empire, and later, when Franks and other Germanic tribes converted to Christianity from t ...
, and the Confessing Church
The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...
, which opposed state control of the church. Other Protestant churches aligned themselves with one of these groups, or stayed neutral in this church strife.
The postwar church council issued the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt
The Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt (german: Stuttgarter Schuldbekenntnis) was a declaration issued on October 19, 1945, by the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (', EKD), in which it confessed guilt for its inadequacies in opposition to ...
on 19 October 1945, confessing guilt and declaring remorse for indifference and inaction of German Protestants in the face of atrocities committed by Hitler's regime. In 1948, the Evangelical Church in Germany was organized in the aftermath of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to function as a new umbrella organization for German Protestant churches. As a result of tensions between West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
and East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, the regional churches in East Germany broke away from the EKD in 1969. In 1991, following German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, the East German churches rejoined the EKD.
The member churches (''Gliedkirchen''), while being independent and having their own theological and formal organisation, share full pulpit and altar fellowship
Altar and pulpit fellowship describes an ecumenical collaboration between two Christian organizations, and is a Lutheran term for full communion, or ''communio in sacris.'' ''Altar'' refers to the altar in Christian churches, which holds the sac ...
, and are united in the EKD synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
, but they act as individual members of the World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
(WCC) and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
The Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE, also GEKE for ''Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa'') is a fellowship of over 100 Protestant churches which have signed the Leuenberg Agreement. Together they strive for realizing ch ...
(CPCE). Boundaries of EKD churches within Germany partially resemble those of the states of the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
and successor forms of German statehood (to the most part 1815 borders), due to the historically close relationship between individual German states and churches.
As for church governance, the Lutheran churches typically practise an episcopal polity
An episcopal polity is a Hierarchy, hierarchical form of Ecclesiastical polity, church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. (The word "bishop" derives, via the British Latin and Vulgar ...
, while the Reformed and the United ones a mixture of presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
and congregationalist polities. Most member churches are led by a (state) bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. Only one member church, the Evangelical Reformed Church in Germany The Evangelical Reformed Church (german: Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche), until 2009 Evangelical Reformed Church – Synod of Reformed Churches in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany (german: Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche – Synode evangelisch-reform ...
, is not restricted to a certain territory. In some ways, the other member churches resemble diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
s of the Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
churches, from an organisational point of view.
Name
The German term here more accurately corresponds to the broad English term ''Protestant'' rather than to the narrower ''evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
'' (in German called ), although the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC; french: Église évangélique luthérienne au Canada) is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 95,000 baptized members in 519 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–C ...
and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE) is a confessional Lutheran synod in the United Kingdom. It has congregations in England, Wales and Scotland.
The ELCE's oldest congregations date back to 1896, and the ELCE itself was founded ...
use the term in the same way as the German church. Literally, means "of the Gospel", denoting a Protestant Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
emphasis on , "by scripture alone". Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
encouraged the use of this term alongside ''Christian''.
History
From the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 to the end of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the collapse of the German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, some Protestant churches were state church
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
es. Each (state or regional church) was the official church of one of the states of Germany, while the respective ruler was the church's formal head (e.g. the King of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...
headed the Evangelical Church of Prussia's older Provinces as supreme governor), similar to the British monarch
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
's role as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England
The supreme governor of the Church of England is the titular head of the Church of England, a position which is vested in the British monarch. Queen and Church > Queen and Church of England">The Monarchy Today > Queen and State > Queen and Chur ...
.
This changed somewhat with growing religious freedom in the 19th century, especially in the republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
states of Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
(1857), Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
, and Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
(1860). The greatest change came after the German Revolution
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, with the formation of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
and the abdication of the princes
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some Euro ...
of the German states. The system of state churches disappeared with the Weimar Constitution
The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...
(1919), which brought about disestablishment
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...
by the separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
, and there was a desire for the Protestant churches to merge. In fact, a merger was permanently under discussion but never materialised due to strong regional self-confidence and traditions as well as the denominational fragmentation into 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 ...
, Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
, and United and uniting churches
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations.
Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...
.
During the Revolution, when the old church governments lost power, the People's Church Union () was formed and advocated unification without respect to theological tradition and also increasing input from laymen
In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
. However, the People's Church Union quickly split along territorial lines after the churches' relationship with the new governments improved.[D. Karl Bornhausen, "The Present Status of the Protestant Churches in Germany," ''The Journal of Religion'', Vol. 3, No. 5 (Sep. 1923), 501-524.]
It was realised that one mainstream Protestant church for all of Germany was impossible and that any union would need a federal model. The churches met in Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
in 1919 and created a plan for federation, and this plan was adopted in 1921 at Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
. Then in 1922 the then 28 territorially defined Protestant churches founded the German Evangelical Church Confederation The German Evangelical Church Confederation (german: Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchenbund, abbreviated DEK) was a formal federation of 28 regional Protestant churches (''Landeskirchen'') of Lutheran, Reformed or United Protestant administration or co ...
(, DEK). At the time, the federation was the largest Protestant church federation in Europe with around 40 million members. Because it was a federation of independent bodies, the Church Union's work was limited to foreign missions and relations with Protestant churches outside Germany, especially German Protestants in other countries.
In July 1933, the German Evangelical Church (, DEK) was formed under the influence of the German Christians
Christianity is the largest religion in Germany. It was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD, while parts of that area belonged to the Roman Empire, and later, when Franks and other Germanic tribes converted to Christianity from t ...
, a pro-Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
religious movement. They had much influence over the decisions of the first National Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
, via their unambiguous partisanship in successfully backing Ludwig Müller
Johan Heinrich Ludwig Müller (23 June 1883 – 31 July 1945) was a German theologian, a Lutheran pastor, and leading member of the pro-Nazi "German Christians" (german: Deutsche Christen) faith movement. In 1933 he was appointed by the Nazi go ...
for the office of Reich bishop. He did not manage, however, to prevail over the in the long term. The Confessing Church
The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...
arose in resistance to the Nazi regime's ideology. After the installation of Hanns Kerrl
Hanns Kerrl (11 December 1887 – 14 December 1941) was a German Nazi politician. His most prominent position, from July 1935, was that of Reichsminister of Church Affairs. He was also President of the Prussian Landtag (1932–1933) and head of ...
as minister for church matters in a Führer-directive of 16 July 1935 and the foundation of the – in the end not materialising – Protestant Reich Church
The German Evangelical Church (german: Deutsche Evangelische Kirche) was a successor to the German Evangelical Church Confederation from 1933 until 1945.
The German Christians, an antisemitic and racist pressure group and ''Kirchenpartei'', gai ...
, the DEK played more or less no further role.
In 1948, freed from the German Christians' influence, the Lutheran, Reformed and United churches came together as the Evangelical Church in Germany at the Conference of Eisenach. In 1969, the regional Protestant churches in East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...
broke away from the EKD and formed the League of Evangelical Churches in the German Democratic Republic (german: link=no, Bund der Evangelischen Kirchen in der DDR, BEK), in 1970 also joined by the Moravian Herrnhut District. In June 1991, following German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, the BEK merged with the EKD.
While the members are no longer state churches, they enjoy constitutional protection as statutory corporation
A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
s, and they are still called , and some have this term in their official names. A modern English translation, however, would be ''regional church''. Apart from some minor changes, the territories of the member churches today reflect Germany's political organisation in the year 1848, with regional churches for states or provinces that often no longer exist or whose borders changed since. For example, between 1945 and 1948, the remaining six ecclesiastical provinces (), each territorially comprising one of the Old Prussia provinces, within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union
The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) was a major Protestant church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Pr ...
assumed independence as a consequence of the estrangement among them during the Nazi struggle of the churches. This turned the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union into a mere umbrella, being itself a member of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991) but covering some regional church bodies, which were again themselves members of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991).
Since 1973, when many Protestant churches in Europe, including the EKD members, concluded the Leuenberg Agreement
The Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE, also GEKE for ''Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa'') is a fellowship of over 100 Protestant churches which have signed the Leuenberg Agreement. Together they strive for realizing ch ...
, also the then 21 EKD members introduced full communion
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...
for their parishioners and ministry among each other.
Since also the regional Protestant churches in East Germany had signed the Leuenberg Agreement, thus the then ten members of the Federation of Protestant Churches in the German Democratic Republic practised full communion with the EKD members too. 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 ...
is practised in all 20 member churches with many women having been ordained in recent years. There are also several women serving as bishops. Margot Käßmann
Margot Käßmann (; born 3 June 1958) is a Lutheran theologian, who was '' Landesbischöfin'' (bishop) of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover in Germany. On 28 October 2009, she was elected to lead the ''Evangelical Church in Germany'', a ...
, former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover (german: Evangelisch-lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers) is a Lutheran church body ''( Landeskirche)'' in the northern German state of Lower Saxony and the city of Bremerhaven covering the territory of t ...
and Chairperson of the Council of the EKD from 2009 until February 2010, was the first woman to head the EKD. Blessings of same-sex marriages is practised and allowed in 14 of 20 and Blessing of same-sex unions
The blessing or wedding of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. Traditionally, Christianity teaches that homosexual acts are
sinful and that holy matrimony can only exist ...
are allowed in all other member churches.
The EKD opposes abortion in most situations but believes it should remain legal.
The EKD has undergone a split in the 20th century and lost a bulk of its adherents in East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
due to state atheist policies of the former East German government. After 1990, membership was counted and amounted to around the same number as the Roman Catholic Church. In the 21st century, membership in both the Evangelical Church and the Roman Catholic Church stagnates as more people are becoming religious nones.
Membership
Protestantism is the major religion in Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
, Eastern and Middle Germany
Central Germany (german: Mitteldeutschland) is an economic and cultural region in Germany. Its exact borders depend on context, but it is often defined as being a region within the federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, or a smalle ...
, with the Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
branch predominating in the extreme northwest and Lippe
Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
The d ...
, the 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 ...
branch in the north and south, and the United
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
branch in Middle and Western Germany
The old states of Germany (german: die alten Länder) is a jargon referring to the ten of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) that were part of West Germany and that unified with the eastern German Democratic Republic' ...
. While the majority of Christians in Southern Germany
Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...
are Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, some areas in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
and Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
are predominantly Protestant, e.g. Middle Franconia
Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however, ...
and the government region of Stuttgart. The vast majority of German Protestants belong to a member church of the EKD. With 20,236,000 members in 2020, around 24.3 percent of all Germans belong to a member church of the EKD.[ Average church attendance is lower, however, with only around a million people attending a service on Sunday.][EKD: Services of Worship and Holy Communion 2006]
. Accessed 16 March 2010.
The regional Protestant church bodies accept each other as equals, despite denominational differences. No member church runs congregations or churches in the area of another member church, thus preventing competing with each other for parishioners. The only exception is the Evangelical Reformed Church, which combines Reformed congregations within the ambits of usually Lutheran member churches, which themselves do not include the eventual local Reformed congregations. Thus, for example, a Lutheran moving from a place where their parish belongs to a Lutheran member church, would be accepted in their new place of domicile by the locally competent congregation within another member church, even if this church and its local parish are Reformed or of united Protestant confession, with Lutheran being exchangeable with the two other respective Protestant confessions within the EKD. This is due to full pulpit and altar fellowship
Altar and pulpit fellowship describes an ecumenical collaboration between two Christian organizations, and is a Lutheran term for full communion, or ''communio in sacris.'' ''Altar'' refers to the altar in Christian churches, which holds the sac ...
between all EKD member churches.
In this the ambits of the member churches resemble diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
s of the Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
or Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
churches, however, else there is no common hierarchy supervising the member churches, who are legally independent equals with the EKD being their umbrella. Members of congregations within the member churches – like those of parishes within Catholic dioceses and those enrolled in Jewish congregations also enjoying statutory corporation status – are required to pay a church tax
A church tax is a tax collected by the state from members of some religious denominations to provide financial support of churches, such as the salaries of its clergy and to pay the operating cost of the church.
The constitution of a number of ...
, a surcharge on their normal income tax collected by the states of Germany and passed on to the respective religious body.
2011 census results by state
Gallery
File:Evangelisch Zensus 2011.png, EKD Protestants according to the 2011 census.
File:Konfessionen-in-Deutschland-2020.svg, Red denotes states in which EKD Protestants outnumber Catholics.
Evang.svg, Flag of the Evangelical Church in Germany.
File:Kreuz prot.svg, Another version, as used by German Protestants.
EKD Sitz Hannover.jpg, EKD church office in Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...
, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, Germany.
Ekd organigramm.JPG, EKD's internal organization.
Structure
The structure of the EKD is based on federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
principles. Each regional church is responsible for Christian life in its own area while each regional church has its own special characteristics and retains its independence. The EKD carries out joint tasks with which its members have entrusted it. For the execution of these tasks, the Church has the following governing bodies, all organised and elected on democratic lines:
Synod
The Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
is the legislature of the EKD. It has 126 members: 106 elected by ''Landeskirchen'' synods and 20 appointed by the council. These 20 are appointed for their importance in the life of the Church and its agencies. Members serve six year terms and the synod meets annually.
Praesides of the Synod
: 1949–1955: Gustav Heinemann
Gustav Walter Heinemann (; 23 July 1899 – 7 July 1976) was a German politician who was President of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He served as mayor of Essen from 1946 to 1949, West German Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1950, and Mini ...
: 1955–1961: Constantin von Dietze
Friedrich Carl Nicolaus Constantin von Dietze (9 August 1891 – 18 March 1973) was an agronomist, lawyer, economist, and theologian. He was a member of both the Confessing Church and the "Freiburg Circle" during the Nazi era.
Early life and Wor ...
: 1961–1970:
: 1970–1973: Ludwig Raiser Ludwig Raiser (27 October 1904 – 13 June 1980) was a German legal scholar.
In 1961, he was one of the signatories of the Memorandum of Tübingen on West German foreign policy.
He was President of the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany f ...
: 1973–1985: Cornelius von Heyl
: 1985–2003: Jürgen Schmude
Jürgen Dieter Paul Schmude (born 9 June 1936) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
He was born in Insterburg, East Prussia, Germany, (now Chernyakhovsk, Russia). He was a member of the German Parliament, th ...
: 2003–2009: Barbara Rinke
Barbara Rinke (born 8 January 1947) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party. She was born in Nordhausen, Thuringia, and was Bürgermeister of that city from 1994 to 2012. From 2003 to 2009, she was the praeses of the synod of the ...
: 2009–2013: Katrin Göring-Eckardt
Katrin Dagmar Göring-Eckardt (born Katrin Dagmar Eckardt; 3 May 1966) is a German politician of the German Green Party (officially known as Alliance 90/The Greens). Starting her political activity in the now-former German Democratic Republic (E ...
: 2013–2021: Irmgard Schwaetzer
Irmgard Schwaetzer (born 5 April 1942) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and a Protestant church official. Since 2013, she has been chairing the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). She is the central foundi ...
: since 2021: Anna-Nicole Heinrich
Council of the EKD
The EKD Council is the representative and governing body of the Evangelical Church in Germany. The Council of the EKD has 15 members jointly elected by the Synod and Church Conference who serve terms of six years.
Chairman of the Council of the EKD
The representative of the EKD is the Chairman of the Council of the EKD.
: 1945-1949: Theophil Wurm
Theophil Heinrich Wurm (7 December 1868, Basel – 28 January 1953, Stuttgart) was the son of a pastor and was a leader in the German Protestant Church in the early twentieth century.
Wurm was active in politics. He was a member of the Christia ...
, Bishop, Württemberg
: 1949-1961: Otto Dibelius
Friedrich Karl Otto Dibelius (15 May 1880 – 31 January 1967) was a German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, a self-described anti-Semite who up to 1934 a conservative who became a staunch opponent of Nazism and commu ...
, bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg
: 1961-1967: Kurt Scharf
Kurt Scharf (October 21, 1902 – March 28, 1990) was a German clergyman and bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg.
Life
Kurt Scharf was born in Landsberg an der Warthe in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg (now Gorzà ...
, president, bishop from 1966, Berlin-Brandenburg
: 1967-1973: , Bishop, Bavaria
: 1973-1979: , Bishop, Württemberg
: 1979-1985: , Bishop, Hanover
: 1985-1991: , bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg
: 1991-1997: , Bishop, Baden
: 1997-2003: Manfred Kock
Manfred de Kock (born 3 February 1975) is a South African cricketer. He played in two first-class matches for Boland in 2000/01.
See also
* List of Boland representative cricketers
This is a list of all cricketers who have played first-clas ...
, president, Rhineland
: 2003-2009: Wolfgang Huber
Wolfgang Huber (born 12 August 1942 in Strasbourg, Germany) is a prominent German theologian and ethicist. Huber served as bishop of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia until November 2009. Huber succeeded Man ...
, bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia
: 2009-2010: Margot Käßmann
Margot Käßmann (; born 3 June 1958) is a Lutheran theologian, who was '' Landesbischöfin'' (bishop) of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover in Germany. On 28 October 2009, she was elected to lead the ''Evangelical Church in Germany'', a ...
, bishop of Hanover
: 2010-2014: Nikolaus Schneider
Nikolaus Schneider (born 3 September 1947) was from 9 November 2010 to 10 November 2014 president of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).
Life
Born in Duisburg, Schneider studied in Wuppertal, Göttingen and Münster and ...
, president, Rhineland
: 2014-2021: Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (born 30 March 1960 in Memmingen) is a German Lutheran bishop.
Life
His father was a Lutheran priest in Memmingen. Bedford-Strohm studied Lutheran theology at Erlangen, Heidelberg and Berkeley. In 1997, he became a pas ...
, Bishop, Bavaria
: 2021-: Annette Kurschus
Annette Kurschus (born 14 February 1963 in Rotenburg an der Fulda) is a German Protestant theologian and pastor. Since March 2012 she has been Praeses (or in German ''Präses'') of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and since November 2015 sh ...
, Bishop of Westphalia
Church Conference (permanent body)
The Church Conference is where member churches, through the representatives of their governing boards, can directly participate in the work of the EKD.
Church Office of the EKD
The Church Office is the administration of the EKD and shall the business of the Synod, Council and Conference of the EKD.
Main divisions:
* I = ''line, law and finance'': President
* II = ''Religious Activities and Education'': Vice President (since 2010)
* III = ''Public Responsibility'': Vice President Horst Gorski (also head of the Office of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany The United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (German: Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands, VELKD) was founded on July 8, 1948, in Eisenach, Germany. Its total membership is 8.6 million people. The Member Churches of this org ...
) (since 2007)
* IV = ''ecumenism and working abroad'': Vice President Bishop , foreign bishop and head of the Office of the Union of Evangelical Churches
The Union of Evangelical Churches (German: ''Union Evangelischer Kirchen'', UEK) is an organisation of 13 United and Reformed evangelical churches in Germany, which are all member churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany.
Member churches ...
) (since 2014)
President
* 1945-1948: Hans Asmussen
Hans Christian Asmussen (born 21 August 1898 in Flensburg — died 30 December 1968 in Speyer) was a German Evangelical and Lutheran theologian.
Asmussen was a pastor in Altona, Hamburg. He was removed from office by the Nazis because of his ac ...
* 1949-1965: Heinz Brunotte Arnold August Heinz Brunotte (11 June 1896, Hanover – 2 February 1984, Hanover) was a German Lutheran theologian. From 1949 to 1965 Brunotte was President of the Church Chancellery of the Evangelical Church in Germany (today: ''Deutscher Evangelis ...
* 1966-1989:
* 1989-1997: Otto von Camphausen
Otto von Camphausen (21 October 1812 – 18 May 1896) was a Prussian politician, statesman.
Biography
Camphausen was born at Hünshoven, part of Geilenkirchen on the right bank of the River Wurm, in the Rhine Province. Having studied jurisprudenc ...
* 1997-2006:
* 2006-2010:
* since 2010:
The EKD Church Office has approximately 200 employees.
International activities
The EKD holds various charities ("Hilfswerke") under its auspices. The Gustav-Adolf-Werk
The Gustav-Adolf-Werk (GAW) is a society under the roof of the Evangelical Church in Germany which has for its object the aid of feeble sister churches and congregations. It is responsible for the taking care of the Diasporawork of the EKD, in co ...
(GAW) (Gustaphus Adolphus Union formerly) was founded 1832 in Leipzig as the first and eldest such organization and is responsible to aid feeble sister churches, especially in Roman Catholic countries and the Protestant diaspora
A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
. It has separate branches internationally, the organization in Austria is still called the Gustav-Adolf-Verein. Brot für die Welt is responsible for international development aid.
Member churches (since 2012)
The umbrella of the Evangelical Church in Germany comprises 20 regional churches:
*11 United Protestant
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a Christian denomination, church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations.
Historically, unions of Protest ...
(Lutheran and Reformed)
*7 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 ...
*2 Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
These bodies are termed ''Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche (plural: Landeskirchen) is the church of a region. The term usually refers to Protestant churches, but—in case of Switzerland—also Roman Catholic dioceses. They originated as the national churches of ...
n'' ("Regional Churches") though in most cases, their territories do not correspond to the current federal states
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
, but rather to former duchies, electorates and provinces or mergers thereof.
#Evangelical Church of Anhalt
The Evangelical Church of Anhalt (''Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts'') is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Its seat is in Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, in the former duchy of Anhalt.
The Evangelical C ...
''(Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts)'', a united church body in Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
#Evangelical Church in Baden
The Protestant Church in Baden (german: link=no, Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden; i.e. Evangelical Regional Church in Baden) is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and member of the Conference of Church ...
''(Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden)'', a united church body in Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
#Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern) is a Lutheran member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany in the German state of Bavaria.
The seat of the church is in Munich. The ''Landesbischof' ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern)'', a Lutheran church body in Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
#Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia
The Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (german: Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, EKBO) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Brandenburg, Berlin and a part of Saxony ...
''(Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz)'', a united church body in Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia merged in 2004 from:
#* '' Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg''
#* '' Evangelische Kirche der schlesischen Oberlausitz''
#Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Braunschweig) is a Lutheran church in the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
The seat of the Landesbischof (bishop) is Wolfenbüttel. Its d ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Braunschweig)'', a Lutheran church body in Brunswick
#Evangelical Church of Bremen
The Evangelical Church of Bremen (german: Bremische Evangelische Kirche) is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.
The seat of the church is in Bremen. It is a full member of ...
''(Bremische Evangelische Kirche)'', a united church body in Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
#Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover (german: Evangelisch-lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers) is a Lutheran church body ''(Landeskirche)'' in the northern German state of Lower Saxony and the city of Bremerhaven covering the territory of th ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers)'', a Lutheran church body in the former Province of Hanover
The Province of Hanover (german: Provinz Hannover) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946.
During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, ...
#Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau
The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (german: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of it ...
''(Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau)'', a united church body in the former People's State of Hesse
The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German ...
and Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
#Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck
The Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck (german: Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck; EKKW) is a United Protestant church body in former Hesse-Cassel and the Waldeck part of the former Free State of Waldeck-Pyrmont.
Constituti ...
''(Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck)'', a united church body in former Hesse-Cassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...
and Waldeck
#Church of Lippe
The Church of Lippe (german: link=no, Lippische Landeskirche) is a Reformed (Calvinist) member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany that covers what used to be the Principality of Lippe.
Seat of the church administration is Detmold. The pr ...
''(Lippische Landeskirche)'', a Reformed church body of Lippe
Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
The d ...
#Evangelical Church in Central Germany
The Evangelical Church in Central Germany (German: ''Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland''; ''EKM'') is a United church body covering most of the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia and some adjacent areas in Brandenburg and Saxony.
...
''(Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland)'', a united church body that was created in 2009 from the merger of:
#* Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony
The Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony (''Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen''; KPS) was the most important Protestant denomination in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. As a united Protestant church, it combined both L ...
''(Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen)'' (Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.
It was formed by the merge ...
)
#* Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Thuringia
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia (''Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Thüringen'') was a Lutheran member church of the umbrella Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). The seat of the church was in Eisenach. The church covered those part ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Thüringen)'' (Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
)
#Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland) is a Lutheran member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD). It was established on 27 May 2012 ...
''Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland''), a Lutheran church body that was created in 2012 from the merger of:
#*North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church
The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (german: link=no, Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche; NEK) was a Lutheran regional church in Northern Germany which emerged from a merger of four churches in 1977 and merged with two more churc ...
''(Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche)'', a Lutheran church body in 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 ...
#*Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs; abbreviated ELLM) was a Lutheran church in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Mecklenburg. The seat of ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs)'', a Lutheran church body in Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...
#*Pomeranian Evangelical Church
The Pomeranian Evangelical Church (german: link=no, Pommersche Evangelische Kirche; PEK) was a Protestant regional church in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Hither Pomerania. The Pomeranian Evangelical C ...
''(Pommersche Evangelische Kirche)'', a united church body in Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
#Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg) is a Lutheran church in the German state of Lower Saxony.
The seat of the church leaders is in Oldenburg, as is the preaching venue of its bishop at St L ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg)'', a Lutheran church body in Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
#Evangelical Church of the Palatinate
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (german: Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz (Protestantische Landeskirche)) is a United Protestant church in parts of the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, endorsing both Lutheran and Calvinist o ...
''(Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz)'' or ''Protestantische Landeskirche'', a united church body in Palatinate
#Evangelical Church in the Rhineland
Protestant Church in the Rhineland (german: Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland; EKiR) is a United Protestant church body in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse (Wetzlar). This is actually th ...
''(Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland)'', a united church body in the Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
#Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony (''Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens'') is one of 20 member Churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), covering most of the state of Saxony. Its headquarters are in Dresden, and its b ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens)'', a Lutheran church body in Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
#Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schaumburg-Lippe) is a Lutheran member church ( Landeskirche) of the Evangelical Church in Germany. It covers the former principality of Schaumburg-L ...
''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schaumburg-Lippe)'', a Lutheran church body in Schaumburg-Lippe
Schaumburg-Lippe, also Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807, a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bück ...
#Evangelical Church of Westphalia
The Protestant Church of Westphalia (german: Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The seat of the praeses (german: Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged ...
''(Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen)'', a united church body in Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
# Evangelical Church in Württemberg ''(Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg)'', a Lutheran church body in Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
# Evangelical Reformed Church (Regional Church) ''Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche (Landeskirche)'', a Reformed church body, covering the territories of No. 3, 5, 7, 12, 16, 17, and 19
The Moravian Church
The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská cÃrkev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...
("Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine") and the Federation of Evangelical Reformed Congregations are associate members.
See also
*Barmen Declaration
__NOTOC__
The Barmen Declaration or the Theological Declaration of Barmen 1934 (German: ''Die Barmer Theologische Erklärung'') was a document adopted by Christians in Nazi Germany who opposed the German Christian movement. In the view of the de ...
* Evangelical Theology Student Council
*German Evangelical Church Assembly
The German Evangelical Church Assembly (German ''Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag'', DEKT) is an assembly of lay members of the Evangelical Church in Germany, that organises biennial events of faith, culture and political discussion.
History
...
*List of the largest Protestant bodies
This is a list of the largest Protestant denominations. It aims to include sizable Protestant communions, federations, alliances, councils, fellowships, and other denominational organisations in the world and provides information regarding the me ...
*Protestant Women in Germany
Protestant Women in Germany (''Evangelische Frauen in Deutschland'' or EFiD) is an ecumenical umbrella group of 40 German Protestant (evangelical) women's organizations. Its headquarters is in Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hann ...
*Religion in Germany
Christianity is the largest religion in Germany. It was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD, while parts of that area belonged to the Roman Empire, and later, when Franks and other Germanic tribes converted to Christianity from t ...
*Union Evangelischer Kirchen
The Union of Evangelical Churches (German: ''Union Evangelischer Kirchen'', UEK) is an organisation of 13 United and Reformed evangelical churches in Germany, which are all member churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany.
Member churches ...
(Union of Protestant Churches in Germany)
References
External links
*
Overview of World Religions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evangelical Church In Germany
United and uniting churches
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
Members of the World Council of Churches
Christian organizations established in 1948
1948 establishments in Germany