Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg

Last updated

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg (German : Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg) is a Lutheran church in the German state of Lower Saxony.

Contents

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg EKD Oldenburg.svg
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg

The seat of the church leaders is in Oldenburg, as is the preaching venue of its bishop at St Lamberti Church. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg is a regional church (German: Landeskirche) and a full member of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD). As one of just two regional churches in the EKD, the church is only a guest member of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD) and the Union of Evangelical Churches (UEK). The church is also a full member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe and the Lutheran World Federation. The church has 390,072 members (2020) [1] in 123 parishes, with approximately 260 pastors (men and women). It is the largest Protestant denomination in the area of the former state of Oldenburg.

History

The Lutheran Reformation came to the County of Oldenburg beginning in 1527. [2] Until the German Revolution in 1918, the church was a state church and the monarch was the acting bishop (summus episcopus, or supreme governor) of the church. In 1922 the Church in Oldenburg counted 291,000 parishioners. [3]

Practices

Ordination of women and blessing of same-sex marriages were allowed. [4] [5]

Leadership of the church

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg has four leading authorities: the synod, the bishop, the superior church council (Oberkirchenrat), and the common church committee.

Synod

The synod is the highest leading authority in the Church. The election of the 60 members (two-thirds laypersons and one-third clerics) of the synod is for six years.

Leading persons and bishops in history

Notes

  1. Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland – Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31. Dezember 2020 Archived 2021-12-21 at the Wayback Machine EKD, November 2021
  2. Cnf. Hermann Hamelmann, Oldenburgisch Chronicon, Oldenburg 1599, p. 363.
  3. Sebastian Müller-Rolli in collaboration with Reiner Anselm, Evangelische Schulpolitik in Deutschland 1918–1958: Dokumente und Darstellung, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1999, (=Eine Veröffentlichung des Comenius-Instituts Münster), p. 30. ISBN   3-525-61362-8.
  4. NDR.de: Oldenburgische Kirche beschließt Trauuung für alle Archived 2019-03-29 at the Wayback Machine , 2018 (German)
  5. Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Cnf. DER SPIEGEL No. 08/1953, issue from 18 Feb 1953, p. 12 Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine (German)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Church in Germany</span> Group of churches in Germany

The Protestant Church in Germany, formerly known in English as the Evangelical Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed, and United Protestant regional Churches in Germany, collectively encompassing the vast majority of the country's Protestants. In 2020, the EKD had a membership of 20,236,000 members, or 24.3% of the German population. It constitutes one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world. Church offices managing the federation are located in Herrenhausen, Hanover, Lower Saxony. Many of its members consider themselves Lutherans.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia was a Lutheran member church of the umbrella Protestant Church in Germany. The seat of the church was in Eisenach. The church covered those parts of the state of Thuringia that were not part of the former Province of Saxony. It was the largest Protestant denomination in this area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prussian Union of Churches</span> German Protestant church body

The Prussian Union of Churches 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 Prussia. Although not the first of its kind, the Prussian Union was the first to occur in a major German state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover</span>

The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover is a Lutheran church body (Landeskirche) in the northern German state of Lower Saxony and the city of Bremerhaven covering the territory of the former Kingdom of Hanover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau</span> United Protestant church body in the German federal states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate

The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau is a United Protestant church body in the German federal states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of its most prominent churches is Katharinenkirche in Frankfurt am Main.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Church of Bremen</span> United Protestant member church of the Protestant Church in Germany

The Evangelical Church of Bremen is a United Protestant member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Church in the Rhineland</span> United Protestant church body in parts of several German states

The Protestant Church in the Rhineland 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 until 1920.

The Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Brandenburg, Berlin and a part of Saxony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick is a Lutheran church in the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Church of Westphalia</span> United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia

The Protestant Church of Westphalia is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Church of the Palatinate</span> United Protestant church in parts of two German states

Evangelical Church of the Palatinate is a United Protestant church in parts of the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, endorsing both Lutheran and Calvinist orientations.

The Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony was the most important Protestant denomination in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. As a united Protestant church, it combined both Lutheran and Reformed traditions. On 1 January 2009 the church body merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia into the Evangelical Church in Central Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the German state of Bavaria.

Lutheran viewpoints concerning homosexuality are diverse because there is no one worldwide body which represents all Lutherans. The Lutheran World Federation, a worldwide 'communion of churches' and the largest global body of Lutherans, contains member churches on both sides of the issue. However, other Lutherans, including the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference and International Lutheran Council, completely reject homosexuality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg</span> Protestant church of Württemberg, Germany

The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the German former state of Württemberg, now part of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony</span>

The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony is one of 20 member Churches of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), covering most of the state of Saxony. Its headquarters are in Dresden, and the seat of the bishop is at Meissen Cathedral. Prior to the propagation of state atheism in the German Democratic Republic, it was the largest Evangelical Lutheran church in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck</span> Church in Germany

The Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck is a United Protestant church body in former Hesse-Cassel and the Waldeck part of the former Free State of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

The German Protestant Church Confederation was a formal federation of 28 regional Protestant churches (Landeskirchen) of Lutheran, Reformed or United Protestant administration or confession. It existed during the Weimar Republic from 1922 until replaced by the German Evangelical Church in 1933. It was a predecessor body to the Protestant Church in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe is a Lutheran member church (Landeskirche) of the Protestant Church in Germany. It covers the former principality of Schaumburg-Lippe and seated in Bückeburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Church in Baden</span> United Protestant member church of the Protestant Church in Germany

The Protestant Church in Baden is a United Protestant member church of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), and member of the Conference of Churches on the Rhine, which now functions as a regional group of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE). The Evangelical Church in Baden is a united Protestant church. Its headquarter, the Evangelical Superior Church Council is located in Karlsruhe.