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 the Landesbischof (state bishop) was the state capital Schwerin, with Schwerin Cathedral 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 and Pomeranian Evangelical Church into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. [1]
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, -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 churches 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 Protestant Church in Germany, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (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 North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany in May 2012.
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ; also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in population; it covers an area of 23,213 km2 (8,963 sq mi), making it the sixth largest German state in area; and it is 16th in population density. Schwerin is the state capital and Rostock is the largest city. Other major cities include Neubrandenburg, Stralsund, Greifswald, Wismar, and Güstrow. It was named after the two regions of Mecklenburg and Vorpommern, and its name means the "nearer part of Pomerania", with the rest now lying in Poland.
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 2022, the EKD had a membership of 19,153,000 members, or 22.7% 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 North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church was a Lutheran regional church in Northern Germany 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 and Hamburg where it was the most important Christian denomination. It had 2.1 million members in 595 parishes, constituting 46% of the population in its ambit.
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.
The Pomeranian Evangelical Church was a Protestant regional church in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, serving the citizens living in Hither Pomerania. The Pomeranian Evangelical Church was based on the teachings brought forward by Martin Luther and other Reformators during the Reformation. It combined Lutheran and Reformed traditions. The seat of the church was Greifswald, the bishop's preaching venue was the former Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas in Greifswald.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania is a Lutheran church body comprising congregations in Lithuania. The ELCL is a member of the Porvoo Communion and the Lutheran World Federation.
The Diocese of Ratzeburg is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected from the Diocese of Oldenburg c. 1050 and was suppressed in 1554. The diocese was originally a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg; in 1072 it became a suffragan of the merged entity — the "Archdiocese of Hamburg and the Diocese of Bremen". The territory of the diocese was located in what is today the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. The cathedral church of the diocese — dedicated to Ss. Mary and John — is still extant in the city of Ratzeburg. Following its suppression as part of the Protestant Reformation, the remaining Catholic adherents were only represented by the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Germany. The whole territory of the diocese is today included in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg.
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a territory in Northern Germany held by the House of Mecklenburg residing at Schwerin. It was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German Confederation and finally of the German Empire in 1871.
The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a territory in Northern Germany, held by the younger line of the House of Mecklenburg residing in Neustrelitz. Like the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, it was a sovereign member state of the German Confederation and became a federated state of the North German Confederation and finally of the German Empire upon the unification in 1871. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–19 it was succeeded by the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
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.
The Bishopric of Cammin was both a former Roman Catholic diocese in the Duchy of Pomerania from 1140 to 1544, and a secular territory of the Holy Roman Empire (Prince-Bishopric) in the Kołobrzeg area from 1248 to 1650.
The Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire until 1803. Originally ruled by Roman-Catholic bishops, after 1586 it was ruled by lay administrators and bishops who were members of the Protestant Holstein-Gottorp line of the House of Oldenburg. The prince-bishops had seat and vote on the Ecclesiastical Bench of the College of Ruling Princes of the Imperial Diet.
A Landesbischof is the head of some Protestant regional churches in Germany. Based on the principle of summus episcopus, after the Reformation each Lutheran prince assumed the position of supreme governor of the state church in his territory. After the First World War, all the German monarchies were abolished and in some regional churches a member of the clergy was elected as Landesbischof.
The Diocese and Prince-bishopric of Schwerin was a Catholic diocese in Schwerin, Mecklenburg, in Germany. The first registered bishop was ordained in the diocese in 1053, and the diocese ceased to exist in 1994.
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.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany.
Kirsten Fehrs is a Lutheran bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. Since November 2023, she is an acting President of the Council of the Protestant Church of Germany.