The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs; abbreviated ELLM) was a Lutheran 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 **Ger ...

state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Mecklenburg. The seat of the '' Landesbischof'' (state bishop) was the state capital Schwerin, with

Schwerin Cathedral Schwerin Cathedral (german: Schweriner Dom) is an Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral located in the town of Schwerin, Germany. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint John. Along with St. Mary's Church, Lübeck and St. Nicholas' Church, Stra ...

as the principal church. It is the most important Protestant denomination in this area. In May 2012, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg merged with the

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 ...

and Pomeranian Evangelical Church into the

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 ...

History

The Lutheran church in Mecklenburg dates to the Reformation in the duchies of Mecklenburg, starting with single protagonists in 1523. In 1549, John Albert I, Duke of Mecklenburg gained a majority of deputies of the united Landtag of the separate duchies of Mecklenburg (

Mecklenburg-Güstrow Mecklenburg-Güstrow was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in Northern Germany, that existed on three occasions ruled by the House of Mecklenburg at Güstrow. History A first short-lived predecessor existed after the death of Henry IV, Duke of Me ...

, -Schwerin and -Strelitz) to officially introduce the Lutheran confession as the state religion in the duchies. Afterwards the dukes of the branch duchies served as supreme governors of the separate Lutheran churches in the duchies, which later merged to two duchies, Schwerin and Strelitz. When the grand dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz abdicated in 1918, the Lutheran

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 became independent. They adopted new church orders providing for a office called state bishop. In 1934, the regional churches merged into the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg. The ELLM was a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany, 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), the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe, and the Lutheran World Federation. The church was based on the teachings brought forward by Martin Luther and others during the Reformation. The ELLM merged with the Pomeranian Evangelical Church and the

to form the

in May 2012.

State bishops

External links

* http://www.ellm.de Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg
Startseite www.ekd.de
Evangelical Church in Germany

References

Mecklenburg Christianity in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Mecklenburg Church History of Lutheranism in Germany {{Lutheran-stub