The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (german: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a

United Protestant 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 ...

church body A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, wors ...

in the

German 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 **Ge ...

states of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

and

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. There is no

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 c ...

and therefore no

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

. One of its most prominent churches is Katharinenkirche in

Frankfurt am Main 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 ...

. Dating back to the union in the

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 August 1817, before the Prussian Union of September 1817, it is the first United and uniting church in the world. The EKHN is a full member of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in German ...

(EKD), and is based on the teachings brought forward by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

during the

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 ...

. The Church President is (since 2009). It is a

united church 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 ...

, combining both

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

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

traditions. Member of the

Reformed Alliance The Reformed Alliance (german: link=no, Reformierter Bund) in Germany is a Calvinist federation, currently it has 430 congregations and 750 individual members. An estimated 2,000,000 Reformed Christians are in Germany. The moderator is D. Peter Buko ...

in Germany. The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau is one of 20 churches in the EKD, has 1,446,971 members in 1,184 parishes (December, 2020). The territory of the EKHN includes the territories of the former

People's State of Hesse The People's State of Hesse (german: Volksstaat Hessen) was one of the constituent states of Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse (german: Großherzogtum Hessen) after the defeat of the German Empire in World W ...

and the Prussian Wiesbaden Region, which now form the southern and western part of the German state of

and portions of the German state of

(

Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...

). It's the most important Protestant denomination in this area. The church is a member of 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 c ...

Management and Administration

Institutions of the EKHN are the Church Synod, the church leadership and the church president, who is elected by the General Synod for eight years.

Church Presidents

* 1947–1964:

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 18926 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem " First they ca ...

* 1964–1968: * 1969–1985: * 1985–1992: * 1993–2008: * 2009–2017:

History

The Protestant Church of Hesse and Nassau was founded in 1946 and 1947 through a merger of three other formerly independent churches: Protestant Church in Hesse, Protestant Church in Nassau, Protestant Church in Frankfurt.

Academy

The church ran an Evangelical Academy in , which was moved to Frankfurt in 2013.

Practices

Ordination of women 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 exi ...

were allowed in 2013.

References

External links

*
The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Protestant Church In Hesse And Nassau

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