The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (german: link=no, Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche; NEK) was 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 ...

regional church in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...

which emerged from a merger of four churches in 1977 and merged with two more churches in 2012. The NEK largely covered the area of the states of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

where it was the most important Christian denomination. It had 2.1 million members (as of 2006) in 595 parishes, constituting 46% of the population in its ambit. In May 2012 the NEK, the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs; abbreviated ELLM) was a Lutheran church in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Mecklenburg. The seat ...

and the

Pomeranian Evangelical Church The Pomeranian Evangelical Church (german: link=no, Pommersche Evangelische Kirche; PEK) was a Protestant regional church in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Hither Pomerania. The Pomeranian Evangelical C ...

merged into Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.Nordkirche.de (german)
/ref> The NEK was 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), the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), 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 ...

(joined 1977). The church was also 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 ...

History

The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1977 by the merger of four former state churches: * the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. Its meaning i ...

(german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Eutin), which had been split off from the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg) is a Lutheran church in the German state of Lower Saxony. The seat of the church leaders is in Oldenburg, as is the preaching venue of its bishop at St ...

and represented the former Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck. * the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Hamburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche im Hamburgischen Staate); * the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Lübeck (german: Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche im Lübeckischen Staate); * the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of

; (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schleswig-Holsteins) It is named after its ambit mostly located north of the River

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

. In 1992 Maria Jepsen was the first woman to become a bishop in the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church. At Pentecost 2012 it merged with the

Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs; abbreviated ELLM) was a Lutheran church in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Mecklenburg. The seat of ...

and the

to form the new Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.

Prominent buildings

The most prominent church buildings and sees of the bishops were Schleswig Cathedral, Lübeck Cathedral and St. Michaelis in

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 "ordin ...

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.

List of bishops

Bishops of the Hamburg district (Sprengel Hamburg; 1977–2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop was the new St. Nicholas Church (till 1987) and thereafter St. Michael's. * 1977–1983: Hans-Otto Wölber * 1983–1992: Peter Krusche * 1992–2008: Maria Jepsen

Bishops of the Holstein-Lübeck district (Sprengel Holstein-Lübeck; 1977–2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop was the Lübeck Cathedral. * 1964–1981: Friedrich Hübner, until 1977 bishop of Holstein in Kiel for the Evangelical-Lutheran State Church of Schleswig-Holstein * 1981–1991: Ulrich Wilckens * 1991–2001: Karl Ludwig Kohlwage * 2001–2008:

Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter (also known as Bärbel von Wartenberg-Potter) (born 1943) is a German theologian. After serving as director over programs for women and children with the World Council of Churches, teaching theology in Jamaica, and servi ...

Bishops of the Schleswig district (Sprengel Schleswig; 1977–2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop was the Schleswig Cathedral. * 1967–1978: Alfred Petersen, until 1977 bishop of Schleswig for the Evangelical-Lutheran State Church of Schleswig-Holstein * 1979–1990: Karlheinz Stoll * 1991–2008: Hans-Christian Knuth * 2008–today: Gerhard Ulrich

Bishops of the Hamburg and Lübeck district (Sprengel Hamburg und Lübeck; since 2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop is the

St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg St. Michael's Church (german: Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis), colloquially called Michel (), is one of Hamburg's five Lutheran main churches (''Hauptkirchen'') and one of the most famous churches in the city. St. Michaelis is a landmark of the city ...

. * 2008–2010: Maria Jepsen * 2011–today: Kirsten Fehrs

Bishops of the Schleswig and Holstein district (Sprengel Schleswig und Holstein; since 2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop is the Schleswig Cathedral. * 2008–2014: Gerhard Ulrich * 2014–today:

References

External links

North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church
(English)

(English) {{Authority control Christianity in Schleswig-Holstein Christianity in Hamburg Members of the World Council of Churches Former member churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany Lutheran denominations established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1977 Religious organizations disestablished in 2012 History of Lutheranism in Germany 1977 establishments in West Germany 2012 disestablishments in Germany