Landeskirche

In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. The term usually refers to Protestant churches, but—in case of Switzerland—also Roman Catholic dioceses. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland, that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland, respectively.

Origins in the Holy Roman Empire

In the pre-Reformation era, the organization of the church within a land was understood as a landeskirche, certainly under a higher power, but also possessing an increased measure of independence, especially as concerning its internal structure and its relations to its king, prince or ruler. Unlike in Scandinavia and England, the bishops in the national churches did not survive the Reformation, making it impossible for a conventional diocesan system to continue within Lutheranism. Therefore, Martin Luther demanded that, as a stop-gap, each secular Landesherr should exercise episcopal functions in the respective territories. The principle of cuius regio, eius religio also arose out of the Reformation, and according to this a Landesherr chose what denomination his subjects had to belong to. This led to closed, insular landeskirchen. The principle was a byproduct of religious politics in the Holy Roman Empire and soon softened after the Thirty Years' War.
At the time of the abolition of the monarchies in Germany in 1918, the Landesherren were summus episcopus in the states or their administrative areas, and the ties between churches and nations came to be particularly close, even with Landesherren outside the Lutheran church. So the king of Bavaria was at the same time supreme governor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria right of the river Rhine. In practice, the Landesherren exercised episcopal functions only indirectly through consistories.

In Germany

List of Landeskirchen in 1922 with changes until 1945

Those of the following Landeskirchen, which existed in 1922, founded the new umbrella German Evangelical Church Confederation. There were mergers in the 1920s and under Nazi reign in 1933 and 1934.
The first date given before every entry in the table below refers to the year, when the respective church body was constituted. Such a date of constitution is somewhat difficult to fix for the 19th century, when church constitutions were reformed and came into effect, which usually provided for more or less state-independent legislative and executive bodies more or less elected by parishioners. The Protestant Reformation and some church organisation of course existed long before.
For the 20th century the given years refer to the formal establishment of the respective church body. The second date refers to the year, when the respective church body ceased to exist, due to a merger or unwinding. The third entry gives the name of each church body alphabetically assorted by the first territorial entity mentioned in the name. This makes sense because Landeskirchen have clear regional demarcations, therefore usually somehow mentioned in their names. The post-World War I church bodies, listed below, have never existed all in the same time. One can sort the table below alphabetically or chronologically by clicking on the button with the gyronny of four.

Consti- tuted in	Merged in	Name of the church body	Denomination	Number of souls and territorial ambit	Remarks
19th century	persisting	Anhalt Evangelical State Church of Anhalt	United by confession	parishioners Free State of Anhalt	The Church body comprises only congregations of united confession. The official church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Anhalt.
1821	persisting	Baden United Evangelical Protestant State Church of Baden	United by confession	parishioners the Republic of Baden	The new name replaced the prior United Evangelical Protestant Church of the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1920, when the new church constitution accounted for the Grand Duchy having become a republic. The Church body comprises only congregations of united confession. The official church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Baden.
1809	persisting	Bavaria Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria right of the river Rhine	Lutheran	parishioners Free State of Bavaria right of the Rhine, thus except of the then Bavarian Governorate of the Palatinate, which formed a separate church body since 1848. In 1918 the Reformed congregations earlier subsumed within the Bavaria church body seceded and founded the independent Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria. On 1 April 1921 the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Saxe-Coburg merged in the Bavaria church body.	The new name replaced the prior Protestant State Church in the Kingdom of Bavaria right of the river Rhine in 1921, when the new church constitution accounted for the Kingdom having become a republic and the Reformed congregations having formed a separate church body. The Bavaria official church body remained an intact church, since the Nazi-submissive German Christians remained a minority in the synod after the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents of the Confessing Church could act within the church body.
1843	1934	Birkenfeld Evangelical Church of the Region of Birkenfeld	United by confession	parishioners The Oldenburgian exclave of the Region of Birkenfeld. In 1934 the Birkenfeld church body merged into the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, to be precise in its Ecclesiastical Province in the Rhineland.	The new name replaced the prior Evangelical Church of the Principality of Birkenfeld after 1918, when the new Oldenburgian monarchy with its Principality of Birkenfeld had become a republic. The Church body comprised only congregations of united confession. The Ecclesiastical Province in the Rhineland, of which Birkenfeld had become a part, was a destroyed ecclesiastical province, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the provincial synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church in the Rhineland.
1877	persisting	Bremian Evangelical Church	United in administration	parishioners Bremen city and one united congregation in the historical centre of Bremerhaven, which was extended by 1939 by prior Hanoveran suburbs, whose Lutheran parishes continue to belong to the Hanover Lutheran church body.	The church body comprises mostly Reformed and less Lutheran congregations and one united congregation. The official church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Bremian Confessing Church.
1872	persisting	Brunswickian Evangelical Lutheran State Church	Lutheran	parishioners Free State of Brunswick, when the state territory was altered in 1942, the Brunswick church body readjusted its ambit accordingly, ceding congregations to and receiving some from the Hanover Lutheran church body.	The official church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Brunswickian Confessing Church.
1922	1933	Frankfurt upon Main Evangelical State Church of Frankfurt upon Main	United in administration	parishioners the formerly Free City of Frankfurt upon Main, in 1866 annexed by Prussia and since then part of the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau. In September 1933 the illegitimate church governing board merged the Frankfurt church body in the Evangelical State Church of Hesse-Nassau.	The official Frankfurt church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Frankfurt.
1860	1976	Hamburg Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Hamburgian State	Lutheran	parishioners Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in its borders before the Greater Hamburg Act became effective on 1 April 1937, thus including Hamburg's then exclaves such as Cuxhaven, Geesthacht, and Großhansdorf, but without today's boroughs of Altona, Harburg, Wandsbek and further formerly Holsatian municipalities in the North Borough.	The official Hamburg church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive conservative Lutherans in May 1933 even before the German Christians gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Hamburg.
1864	persisting	Hanover Lutheran Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover	Lutheran	parishioners Prussian Province of Hanover, the territorial changes of the province in 1937 were not followed by a change in ecclesiastical ambit. In 1939 and 1942, when the provincial territory was altered along the Brunswickian border, both church bodies readjusted their ambits accordingly, ceding congregations to and receiving some from each other.	The official church body remained an intact church, since the Nazi-submissive German Christians remained a minority in the synod after the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents of the Confessing Church could act within the church body.
1882	1989	Hanover Reformed Evangelical Reformed State Church of the Province of Hanover	Reformed	parishioners Prussian Province of Hanover and some Reformed parishes in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein acceded since 1923.	The new name replaced the prior Evangelical Reformed Church of the Province of Hanover in 1922, when the Hanover Reformed church body caught up in terms of the title with the Hanover Lutheran church body. The official church body remained an intact church, since the Nazi-submissive German Christians remained a minority in the synod after the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents of the Confessing Church could act within the church body.
1873	1934	Hesse Cassel Evangelical State Church of Hesse-Cassel	United in administration	parishioners the former Electorate of Hesse, in 1866 annexed by Prussia and since then part of the latter's Province of Hesse-Nassau. Some small northern exclaves in today's Lower Saxony were ceded in the 1920s to the Hanover Lutheran church body. In 1934 the Hesse Cassel church body merged in the Evangelical Church of Electoral Hesse-Waldeck.	The official Hesse Cassel church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. However, a merger, planned since 1926, with the Frankfurt, Hesse state and Nassau church bodies failed after quarrels about their Nazi radicalism.
1934	persisting	Hesse Electorate and Waldeck Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck	United in administration	the former Electorate of Hesse, except of some small northern exclaves in today's Lower Saxony, and the former Free State of Waldeck-Pyrmont, except of the Pyrmont exclaves.	The official Hesse Electorate and Waldeck church body became a destroyed church, since it was merged from two destroyed church bodies. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Electoral Hesse-Waldeck.
19th century	1933	Hesse state Evangelical Church in Hesse	United in administration	parishioners People's State of Hesse. In September 1933 the illegitimate church governing board merged the Hesse state church body in the Evangelical State Church of Hesse-Nassau.	The official Hesse state church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Hesse.
1933	1945	Hesse-Nassau Evangelical State Church Hesse-Nassau	United in administration	formerly Free City of Frankfurt upon Main, former Duchy of Nassau, both covered by then Hesse-Nassau province, and the People's State of Hesse	In September 1933 the destroyed Frankfurt, Hesse state, and Nassau church bodies merged in the new Hesse-Nassau church body, which thus became a new church body radically organised according to the Führerprinzip, thus anti-synodal and anti-presbyterial. With the end of the Nazi reign this church body was dissolved. Nazi opponents had organised along the church bodies merged into this church body.
1877	persisting	Lippe State Church	Reformed	parishioners Free State of Lippe.	Few Lutheran congregations have their own organisations within the else Reformed Lippe church body.
1895	1976	Lübeck city-state Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Lübeckian State	Lutheran	parishioners Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck, the Lübeck state church body persisted also after Prussia had annexed the Lübeck state by in 1937, and its incorporation into the Prussian Schleswig-Holstein province.	The official Lübeck state church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Lübeck state.
1921	1976	Lübeck region Evangelical Lutheran State Church of the Oldenburgian Region of Lübeck	Lutheran	The Oldenburgian exclave of the Lübeck Region, the Lübeck region church body persisted also after Prussia had annexed the Lübeck Region in 1937, and its incorporation into the Prussian Schleswig-Holstein province.	The official Lübeck region church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. However, its land provost maintained a rather neutral position, so Nazi opponents of the Confessing Church could act within the official church body.
1835	1926	Lusatia Lutheran Church in Upper Lusatia	Lutheran	the region of Kreishauptmannschaft Bautzen of the then Free State of Saxony	In 1926 the Lusatia church body merged in the Saxony state church body.
1850	1934	Mecklenburg-Schwerin Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Lutheran	parishioners Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1934 the Mecklenburg-Schwerin church body merged in the Mecklenburg state church body.	The official Mecklenburg-Schwerin church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933.
19th century	1934	Mecklenburg-Strelitz Mecklenburg-Strelitz State Church	Lutheran	parishioners Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In 1934 the Mecklenburg-Strelitz church body merged in the Mecklenburg state church body.	The official Mecklenburg-Strelitz church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. State bishop Gerhard Tolzien was deposed.
1934	2012	Mecklenburg Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg	Lutheran	former Free States of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In 2012 the Mecklenburg church body merged in the new Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.	The official Mecklenburg state church body became a destroyed church, since it was merged from two destroyed church bodies. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church in Mecklenburg.
1866	1933	Nassau Evangelical State Church in Nassau	United in administration	former Duchy of Nassau, in 1866 annexed by Prussia and since then part of the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau. In September 1933 the illegitimate church governing board merged the Hesse state church body in the Evangelical State Church of Hesse-Nassau.	The official Hesse state church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Nassau.
19th century	persisting	Oldenburg Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg	Lutheran	parishioners Free State of Oldenburg except of its exclaves of Birkenfeld and Region of Lübeck. In 1921 the Lübeck region church body had seceded from the Oldenburg church body, while the Birkenfeld church body had never been part of the Oldenburg church body.	The official Oldenburg church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Oldenburg.
1848	persisting	Palatinate United Protestant Evangelical Christian Church of the Palatinate	United by confession	parishioners the then Bavarian Governorate of the Palatinate and some eastern districts in Mandatory Saar.	Since the parishioners' plesbiscite in 1817 all Palatine congregations are confessionally united. The official Palatinate church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of the Palatinate.
1817	2003	Prussia Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union abbreviations: ApU, EKapU	United in administration	parishioners the Prussian provinces of Berlin, Brandenburg, East Prussia, Hohenzollern, Pomerania, Posen-West Prussia, the Rhineland, Saxony, Silesia, and Westphalia as well as the League of Nations mandates of the Free City of Danzig, Klaipėda Region and the Saar, except of some eastern Palatine districts within the latter. All the parishes east of the Oder Neisse line, including the complete ecclesiastical provinces of Danzig, East Prussia and Posen-West Prussia vanished due to fleeing parishioners before the Soviet conquest and the subsequent violent expulsion of parishioners between 1945 and 1950, including many casualties. Also the bulk of the parishes in the Pomerania and Silesia ecclesiastical provinces were lost.	The new name replaced the prior Evangelical State Church of Prussia's older Provinces in 1922, accounting for the facts that the Weimar Constitution had done away with state churches in 1919, and that the old-Prussian congregations were then spreading over four sovereign states and three League of Nations mandates after the different post-World War I annexations. The new name was after a denomination, not after a state any more. It became a difficult task to maintain the unity of the church, with some of the annexing states being opposed to the fact that church bodies within their borders keep a union with German church organisations. The official old-Prussian church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the general synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Only the Westphalia ecclesiastical province remained an intact church, since the German Christians did not gain the majority in its provincial synod, while all the other old-Prussian ecclesiastical provinces within Germany were taken over by German Christians as well. The Nazi opponents formed parallel Confessing Church institutions on the old-Prussian general level as well as in the destroyed ecclesiastical provinces.
19th century	1934	Reuss Evangelical Lutheran Church in Reuss Elder Line	Lutheran	parishioners former Principality of Reuss Elder Line within the then State of Thuringia.	The Reuss church body was a stronghold of Lutheran Orthodoxy and refused the merger with the other seven church bodies in Thuringia in 1920. However, in 1934 Reuss merged in the Thuringia church body.
1868	persisting	Saxony Evangelical Lutheran State Church of the Free State of Saxony	Lutheran	parishioners until 1926 the then Free State of Saxony except of the region of Kreishauptmannschaft Bautzen, from 1926 on all the Free State of Saxony. All the parishes east of the Oder Neisse line vanished due to fleeing parishioners before the Soviet conquest and the subsequent violent expulsion of parishioners between 1945 and 1950, including casualties.	The new name came along with the new church constitution of 1922. The official Saxony church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Saxony.
19th century	persisting	Schaumburg-Lippe Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Schaumburg-Lippe	Lutheran	parishioners Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe	The Schaumburg-Lippe official church body remained an intact church, since the Nazi-submissive German Christians remained a minority in the synod after the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents of the Confessing Church could act within the church body. Even the more, in 1936 the German Christian minority was excluded from the executive board, which was then only staffed with partisans of the Nazi-opponent Confessing Church.
1867	1976	Schleswig-Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schleswig-Holstein	Lutheran	parishioners Province of Schleswig-Holstein in its borders of 1921 to 1936.	The official Schleswig-Holstein church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Schleswig-Holstein.
1920	2008	Thuringian Evangelical Church	Lutheran	parishioners the State of Thuringia in its borders of 1920, until 1934 except of the areas comprising the former Principality of Reuss Elder Line. In 1934 the Reuss elder line church body merged in the Thuringia church body.	This new church body was a merger of first seven, since 1934 eight church bodies of the Thuringian monarchies. The official Thuringia church body became a very radical destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents formed the Confessing Church of Thuringia.
1873	1934	Waldeck and Pyrmont Evangelical State Church of Waldeck and Pyrmont	United in administration	parishioners Free State of Waldeck-Pyrmont, since 1929 part of the Free State of Prussia as the District of Waldeck and the District of Pyrmont. Some small northern exclaves with Pyrmont in today's Lower Saxony were ceded in the 1920s to the Hanover Lutheran church body.	The official Waldeck church body became a destroyed church, since it was taken over by Nazi-submissive German Christians, who gained a majority in the synod by the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. However, a merger, planned since 1926, with the Frankfurt, Hesse state and Nassau church bodies failed after quarrels about their Nazi radicalism. In 1934 the Waldeck church body merged in the Evangelical Church of Electoral Hesse-Waldeck.
1870	persisting	Württemberg Evangelical State Church in Württemberg	Lutheran	parishioners Free People's State of Württemberg	The Württemberg official church body remained an intact church, since the Nazi-submissive German Christians remained a minority in the synod after the unconstitutional election imposed by Hitler on 23 July 1933. Nazi opponents of the Confessing Church could act within the church body.