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 the area covered by the former Prussian

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

until 1920. The seat of the church is in Düsseldorf. The church leader is not called a "bishop", but a praeses (german: Präses), and there is no cathedral. The Protestant Church in the Rhineland is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and is a Prussian Union Church. The current praeses is Manfred Rekowski. The Evangelical Church in the Rhineland is one of 20 Lutheran, united, and

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 ...

churches of the EKD. As of December 2020, the church has 2,398,996 members in 809 parishes. The Protestant Church in the Rhineland is a member of the

UEK 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 ...

and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe and also the Reformed Alliance. In Bonn the church runs a conference venue called Evangelische Akademie Bonn- Bad Godesberg. It is a member of the

Conference of Churches on the Rhine The Conference of Churches on the Rhine (German: Konferenz der Kirchen am Rhein (KKR); French: Conférence des églises riveraines du Rhin) is an ecumenical organization of European Christians founded in 1961. It is a member of the World Council of ...

Some theological statements

The theological teaching goes back on Martin Luther. 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 ...

is allowed. The blessing of same-sex unions has been allowed by 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 ...

and depends on the local church administration (german: Presbyterium, en, presbytery).''Landessynode 2016 – Trauung auch für Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaften''
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, 15 January 2016.

History

The Protestant Church in the Rhineland emerged on 12 November 1948, when the ''Ecclesiastical Province of the Rhineland'' 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 ...

gained independence as its own church body. The Protestants in Hohenzollern emerged 1950 to Württemberg, keeping the Old Prussian mass.Antonia Lezerkoss
''Kirche: Liturgie nach alter Preußenweise''.
Südwest Presse Online, 3 February 2017, retrieved 18 February 2018.
Dagmar Stuhrmann
''Kirche: Ausstellung "Evanglisch in Hohenzollern" macht Halt in Ebingen''.
Südwest Presse Online, 26 January 2017, retrieved 18 February 2018.

Schwarzwälder Bote ''Schwarzwälder Bote'', also known as ''Schwabo'', is a German regional daily newspaper for the Black Forest and Upper Neckar region. ''Schwabo'' operates a network of 15 branches, three service points, and 18 local editorial offices. The m ...

, 13 February 2013, retrieved 18 February 2018.

Legislative assembly and leaders

The legislative assembly of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland is the regional

(''Landessynode''). The election of the synod is for four years. Since 1975 the synod meets annually in January in

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler () is a spa town in the German States of Germany, Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate that serves as the Capital (political), capital of the Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler district. The Bundesautobahn 61, A61 motorway conne ...

(before 1975 in Bad Godesberg). Its elected leader (praeses) is also leader of the church.

Praesides

The legislative body, then called the provincial synod (''Provinzialsynode''), was already established when the Rhenish church still formed an ecclesiastical province of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. The then praesides were only speakers of the synod but not the leaders of the ecclesiastical province. Instead this function was with the general superintendents. Since the ecclesiastical province assumed its independence each praeses is speaker of the synod and leader of the church. * 1835–1846: Franz Friedrich Gräber * 1847–1851: Georg August Ludwig Schmidtborn * 1853–1860: Johann Heinrich Wiesmann * 1862–1864: Johann Karl Friedrich Maaß * 1865–1877: Friedrich Nieden * 1877–1888: Stephan Friedrich Evertsbusch * 1890–1893: Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand Kirschstein * 1893–1898: Valentin Umbeck * 1899–1905: Friedrich Wilhelm Schürmann * 1908–1912: Albert Hackenberg * 1914–1917: Georg Hafner * 1919–1932: Friedrich Walter Paul Wolff * 1932–1934: Friedrich Schäfer * 1934–1935: Paul Humburg * 1935–1948: Friedrich Horn, praeses of the provincial synod * 1948–1957: Heinrich Karl Ewald Held, praeses of the regional synod and leader of the church * 1958–1971: Joachim Wilhelm Beckmann * 1971–1981: Karl Immer * 1981–1989: Gerhard Brandt * 1989–1996: Peter Beier * 1996–1997: vacancy ** Hans Ulrich Stephan, superior church counsellor and praeses per pro * 1997–2003: Manfred Kock * 2003–2013:

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 ...

* 2013–present: Manfred Rekowski

Books

* ''Evangelisches Gesang-Buch'' * ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch für Rheinland und Westfalen'', Dortmund, 1883 * ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch für Rheinland und Westfalen'', Dortmund, 1929 * ''Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch, Edition for Churches in Rhineland, Westphalia and Lippe'', Bielefeld, 1969

References

External links

Evangelical Church in the Rhineland

Evangelical Church in Germany
{{Authority control Rhineland Rhineland Rhineland Rhineland Rhineland Rhineland Church 1948 establishments in Germany