Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg) is a

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 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 ...

state of

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 ...

. The seat of the church leaders is 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 ...

, as is the preaching venue of its bishop at

St Lamberti Church St. Lambert's Church (in German language, German: ''St Lamberti-Kirche'') is the main Evangelical Lutheran church (building), church in the centre of the city of Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Overview The church is named aft ...

. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg is a regional church (German: Landeskirche) and 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 Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...

(EKD). As one of just two regional churches in the EKD, the church is only a guest member 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 ...

(VELKD) and 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 ...

(UEK). The church is also a full 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 ...

and the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...

. The church has 390,072 members (2020) in 123 parishes, with approximately 260 pastors (men and

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

). It is the largest

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 ...

denomination in the area of the former state of Oldenburg.

History

The Lutheran Reformation came to the

County of Oldenburg The County of Oldenburg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1448 Christian I of Denmark (of the House of Oldenburg), Count of Oldenburg became King of Denmark, and later King of Norway and King of Sweden. One of his grandsons, Adolf, D ...

beginning in 1527. Until 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 ...

in 1918, the church was a

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 ...

and the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

was the acting bishop (summus episcopus, or supreme governor) of the church. In 1922 the Church in Oldenburg counted 291,000 parishioners.Sebastian Müller-Rolli in collaboration with Reiner Anselm, ''Evangelische Schulpolitik in Deutschland 1918–1958: Dokumente und Darstellung'', Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1999, (=Eine Veröffentlichung des Comenius-Instituts Münster), p. 30. .

Practices

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 blessing of same-sex marriages were allowed.

Leadership of the church

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg has four leading authorities: 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 ...

, the

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 ...

, the superior church council (Oberkirchenrat), and the common church committee.

Synod

The synod is the highest leading authority in the Church. The election of the 60 members (two-thirds laypersons and one-third clerics) of the synod is for six years.

Leading persons and bishops in history

*1893–1904: Martin Bernhard Schomann, president *1904–1920: Eugen von Finckh, president *1920–1934: Heinrich Tilemann, president *1934–1944: Johannes Volkers, bishop *1945–1952:

Wilhelm Stählin Wilhelm Stählin (24 September 1883, Gunzenhausen, Bavaria – 16 December 1975, Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria) was a German Lutheran theologian, bishop, preacher and one of the major initiators of the Liturgical Movement in German Protestantism in ...

, bishop *1952−1953: bishop crisis:Cnf
DER SPIEGEL No. 08/1953, issue from 18 Feb 1953, p. 12
(German) Wilhelm Hahn was elected, but not inaugurated. *1954–1967: Gerhard Jacobi, bishop *1967–1985: Hans-Heinrich Harms, bishop *1985–1998: Wilhelm Sievers, bishop *1998–2008: Peter Krug, bishop *2008−2018: Jan Janssen, bishop *2018-today: Thomas Adomeit, bishop

External links

* http://www.kirche-oldenburg.de (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evangelical Lutheran Church In Oldenburg

Oldenburg Land