Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick is a Lutheran church in the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
The seat of the Landesbischof is Wolfenbüttel. Its district as a Landeskirche covers the former Free State of Brunswick in the borders of 1945. As of 2022, the church had 293,981 members in 270 parishes. It is a full member of the Protestant Church in Germany, and is based on the teachings brought forward by Martin Luther during the Reformation. It is also a member of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Council of Churches. It is linked with the Church of England Diocese of Blackburn. Leading bishop of the church is Christoph Meyns. The Church of Brunswick owns about 480 churches; the most famous of these is Brunswick Cathedral.
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History
The Church of Brunswick originated as the state church of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, where the Protestant Reformation was ultimately introduced in 1568. The ruling duke acted as bishop of the church. In 1704, Wolfenbüttel introduced religious tolerance, so that parishes not belonging to the state church could be founded. After the monarchy was abolished in 1918, the Church of Brunswick became an independent organization, but retained — like all former state churches — certain privileges. In 1922, the Brunswickian church counted 464,000 parishioners.Practices
Ordination of women and blesssing of same-sex marriages are allowed.Bishops
- 1923–1933
- 1933–1934 Wilhelm Beye
- 1934 Oskar Evers
- 1934–1947
- 1947–1965
- 1965–1982
- 1982–1994 Gerhard Müller
- 1994–2002
- 2002–May 2014
- Since June 2014