The Evangelical Church in Central Germany (

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 **Ger ...

: ''Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland''; ''EKM'') 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 ...

body covering most of the German states of

Saxony-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 ...

and

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 ...

and some adjacent areas in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

and

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 ...

History

The Church was formed on 1 January 2009 when the

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 ...

merged with the

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 ...

and became the Evangelical Church in Central Germany. The Church is the most important

Christian denomination 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, worsh ...

in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. The bishop's seat is

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt. The Church is a full member of the federation of Lutheran, Reformed and United Protestant churches in Germany called

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 ( ...

. Its principal church is

Magdeburg Cathedral Magdeburg Cathedral (german: Magdeburger Dom), officially called the Cathedral of Saints Maurice and Catherine (german: Dom zu Magdeburg St. Mauritius und Katharina), is a Protestant cathedral in Germany and the oldest Gothic cathedral in the cou ...

Ilse Junkermann Ilse Junkermann (born 31 May 1957 in Dörzbach an der Jagst) is the current German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, a member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany. She was the first woman to become Landesbischof there. Sh ...

was the ''

Landesbischof A Landesbischof () is the head of some Protestant regional churches in Germany. Based on the principle of '' summus episcopus'' (german: landesherrliches Kirchenregiment), after the Reformation each Lutheran prince assumed the position of supreme ...

'' (bishop) of the church from 2009 for 10 years. In September 2019, ''Friedrich Kramer'' (b. 1964) became her successor.

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 are allowed.Evangelisch.de: Mitteldeutsche Landeskirche regelet Trauung homosexueller Ehepaare neu, November 29, 2019
(German)

References

External links

Evangelical Church in Central Germany
Member churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany United and uniting churches Christianity in Thuringia Christianity in Saxony-Anhalt Lutheran World Federation members Christian organizations established in 2009 Protestant denominations established in the 21st century 2009 establishments in Germany {{Germany-stub