The Protestant Church of Luxembourg ( lb, Protestantesch Kiirch vu Letzebuerg, french: Église Protestante de Luxembourg, german: Evangelische Kirche von Luxemburg) is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

denomination that operates solely in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. It 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 ...

, unifying facets of

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

and

Lutheranism 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 ...

. The church was founded by order of Grand Duke

Adolphe ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...

on 16 April 1894. At the time, the state supported Roman Catholicism, under the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...

, and Adolphe sought to redress the balance by recognising the country's Protestant minority. However, the Protestant population was divided into several denominations, including

Lutherans 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 ...

, Calvinists, and

Waldensians The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...

. Adolphe decided to create a new church that synthesised the ''Augsburg and Helvetian creeds'' (i.e. Lutheranism and Calvinism), allowing him to recognise both traditions whilst supporting only one church. The Protestant Church of Luxembourg has 1,300 registered members, and remains the biggest of several Protestant churches.Luxembourg
. July 2005. Community of Protestant Churches in Europe; retrieved 24 May 2006 The general assembly of the church elects every three years half the members of the

Consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

, the executive body, each for a six-year term. The consistory was first constituted according to the statutes enacted to this end in 1894. The consistory runs the consistorial

secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

. The consistory is responsible to the general assembly. The latter and the consistory together elect one of the active pastors of the church to serve as the ecclesiastical president (Chef de culte; Kirchenpräsident). Other Protestant churches operating in Luxembourg include the

Protestant Reformed Church of Luxembourg The Protestant Reformed Church of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: ''Protestantesch-Réforméiert Kierch vu Lëtzebuerg'', French: ''Église Protestante Réformée du Luxembourg'', German: ''Protestantisch-Reformierte Kirche von Luxemburg'') is a Protest ...

, the Association Mennonite Luxembourgeoise, 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 ...

, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

. Ordination of women and blessings of same-sex marriages are allowed.

Footnotes

External links

Protestant Church of Luxembourg official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luxembourg, Protestant Church of Protestant Church of Luxembourg Religious organizations established in 1894 Lutheran denominations established in the 19th century Calvinist denominations established in the 19th century 1894 establishments in Luxembourg

See also

Footnotes

External links