The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a

federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

of twenty

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

, and United

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Churches in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 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 Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

. Many of its members consider themselves Lutherans. Historically, the first formal attempt to unify German Protestantism occurred during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

era in the form of the

German Protestant Church Confederation The German Protestant Church Confederation (, abbreviated DEK) was a formal federation of 28 regional Protestant churches (''Landeskirchen'') of Lutheran, Reformed or United Protestant administration or confession. It existed during the Weimar Repu ...

, which existed from 1922 until 1933. Earlier, there had been successful royal efforts at unity in various German states, beginning with

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and several minor German states (e.g.

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

) in 1817. These unions resulted in the first united and uniting churches, a new development within Protestantism which later spread to other parts of the world. When

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

came to power in 1933, his administration tried to reorganize the old confederation into a unified

German Evangelical Church The German Evangelical Church () was a successor to the German Protestant Church Confederation from 1933 until 1945. It is also known in English as the Protestant Reich Church () and colloquially as the Reich Church (). The German Christians ...

as Hitler wanted to use a single Protestant church to further his own ambitions. However, a division emerged between the Reichskirche, led by the pro-government

German Christians Christianity is the largest religion in Germany. It was introduced to the area of modern Germany by 300 AD, while parts of that area belonged to the Roman Empire, and later, when Franks and other Germanic tribes converted to Christianity from ...

, and the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (, ) was a movement within German Protestantism in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all of the Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German Evangelical Church. See dro ...

, which opposed state control of the church. Other Protestant churches aligned themselves with one of these groups, or stayed neutral in this church strife. The postwar church council issued the

Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt The Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt () was a declaration issued on October 19, 1945, by the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany (', EKD), in which it confessed guilt for its inadequacies in opposition to the Nazis and the Third Reich. Tex ...

on 19 October 1945, confessing guilt and declaring remorse for indifference and inaction of German Protestants in the face of atrocities committed by Hitler's regime. In 1948, the Protestant Church in Germany was organized in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to function as a new umbrella organization for German Protestant churches. As a result of tensions between

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, the regional churches in East Germany broke away from the EKD in 1969. In 1991, following

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, the East German churches re-joined the EKD. The member churches (''Gliedkirchen''), while being independent and having their own theological and formal organisation, share full

altar and pulpit fellowship Altar and pulpit fellowship describes an ecumenical collaboration between two Christian organizations, and is a Lutheran term for full communion, or ''communio in sacris.'' ''Altar'' refers to the altar in Christian churches, which holds the sacram ...

, and are united in the EKD

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

, but they act as individual members of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

(WCC) and the

Community of Protestant Churches in Europe The Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE; German: ''Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa'', GEKE) is a fellowship of over 100 Protestant churches which have signed the Leuenberg Agreement. Together they strive for realizing ...

(CPCE). Boundaries of EKD churches within Germany partially resemble those of the states of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and successor forms of German statehood (to the most part 1815 borders), due to the historically close relationship between individual German states and churches. As for church governance, the Lutheran churches typically practise an

episcopal polity An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. The word "bishop" here is derived via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term ''*ebiscopus''/''*biscopus'', . It is the ...

, while the Reformed and the United ones a mixture of

presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and congregationalist polities. Most member churches are led by a (state)

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. Only one member church, the Evangelical Reformed Church in Germany, is not restricted to a certain territory. In some ways, the other member churches resemble

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Scandinavian Lutheran and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

churches, from an organisational point of view.

Name

Etymologically, the German word means "of the Gospel", denoting a

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

emphasis on , "by scripture alone".

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

encouraged the use of this term alongside ''Christian''. The German term corresponds to the broad English category of ''Protestant'' rather than to the narrower '' evangelical movement'' (in German called ), a subset of Protestantism distinct from the mainline. English speaking churches such as the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

and

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

likewise retain this use of the term.

History

From the

Peace of Augsburg The Peace of Augsburg (), also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Schmalkaldic League, signed on 25 September 1555 in the German city of Augsburg. It officially ended the religious struggl ...

in 1555 to the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the collapse of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, some Protestant churches were state churches. Each (state or regional church) was the official church of one of the

states of Germany The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

, while the respective ruler was the church's formal head (e.g. the

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

headed the Evangelical Church of Prussia's older Provinces as supreme governor), similar to the

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British con ...

's role as the

Supreme Governor of the Church of England The Supreme Governor of the Church of England is the titular head of the Church of England, a position which is vested in the British monarch.

. This changed somewhat with growing religious freedom in the 19th century, especially in the republican states of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

(1857),

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

(1860). The greatest change came after the

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, with the formation of the

and the abdication of the

princes A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...

of the German states. The system of state churches disappeared with the

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era. The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose ...

(1919), which brought about

disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular s ...

by the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...

, and there was a desire for the Protestant churches to merge. In fact, a merger was permanently under discussion but never materialised due to strong regional self-confidence and traditions as well as the denominational fragmentation into

, and

United and uniting churches A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denomination ...

. During the Revolution, when the old church governments lost power, the People's Church Union () was formed and advocated unification without respect to theological tradition and also increasing input from

laymen In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

. However, the People's Church Union quickly split along territorial lines after the churches' relationship with the new governments improved.D. Karl Bornhausen, "The Present Status of the Protestant Churches in Germany," ''The Journal of Religion'', Vol. 3, No. 5 (Sep. 1923), 501–524. It was realised that one mainstream Protestant church for all of Germany was impossible and that any union would need a federal model. The churches met in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in 1919 and created a plan for federation, and this plan was adopted in 1921 at

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. Then in 1922 the then 28 territorially defined Protestant churches founded the German Evangelical Church Confederation (, DEK). At the time, the federation was the largest Protestant church federation in Europe with around 40 million members. Because it was a federation of independent bodies, the Church Union's work was limited to foreign missions and relations with Protestant churches outside Germany, especially German Protestants in other countries. In July 1933, the German Evangelical Church (, DEK) was formed under the influence of the

, a pro-

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

religious movement. They had much influence over the decisions of the first National

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

, via their unambiguous partisanship in successfully backing

Ludwig Müller Johan Heinrich Ludwig Müller (23 June 1883 – 31 July 1945) was a German theologian, a Lutheran pastor, and leading member of the pro-Nazi " German Christians" () faith movement. In 1933 he was appointed by the Nazi Party as ''Reichsbischof'' ...

for the office of Reich bishop. He did not manage, however, to prevail over the in the long term. The

arose in resistance to the Nazi regime's ideology. After the installation of

Hanns Kerrl Hanns Kerrl (11 December 1887 – 15 December 1941) was a German Nazi politician. His most prominent position, from July 1935, was that of Reichsminister of Church Affairs. He was also President of the Prussian Landtag (1932–1933) and head o ...

as minister for church matters in a Führer-directive of 16 July 1935 and the foundation of the – in the end not materialising – Protestant Reich Church, the DEK played more or less no further role. Deutsche Christen Bekennende Kirche

In 1948, freed from the German Christians' influence, the Lutheran, Reformed (including the German Reformed Church / ''Reformierte Kirche'') and United churches came together as the Protestant Church in Germany at the Conference of Eisenach. In 1969, the regional Protestant churches in

and

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

broke away from the EKD and formed the League of Evangelical Churches in the German Democratic Republic (, BEK), in 1970 also joined by the Moravian Herrnhut District. In June 1991, following

, the BEK merged with the EKD. While the members are no longer state churches, they enjoy constitutional protection as

statutory corporation A statutory corporation is a corporation, government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government ...

s, and they are still called , and some have this term in their official names. A modern English translation, however, would be ''regional church''. Apart from some minor changes, the territories of the member churches today reflect Germany's political organisation in the year 1848, with regional churches for states or provinces that often no longer exist or whose borders changed since. For example, between 1945 and 1948, the remaining six ecclesiastical provinces (), each territorially comprising one of the Old Prussia provinces, within the

Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) 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 Pru ...

assumed independence as a consequence of the estrangement among them during the Nazi struggle of the churches. This turned the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union into a mere umbrella, being itself a member of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991) but covering some regional church bodies, which were again themselves members of EKD (and the BEK, 1969–1991). Since 1973, when many Protestant churches in Europe, including the EKD members, concluded the Leuenberg Agreement, also the then 21 EKD members introduced

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

for their parishioners and ministry among each other. Since also the regional Protestant churches in East Germany had signed the Leuenberg Agreement, thus the then ten members of the Federation of Protestant Churches in the German Democratic Republic practised full communion with the EKD members too.

Ordination of women The ordination of women to Minister of religion, ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain religious groups in which ordination ...

is practised in all 20 member churches with many women having been ordained in recent years. There are also several women serving as bishops. Margot Käßmann, former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover and Chairperson of the Council of the EKD from 2009 until February 2010, was the first woman to head the EKD. Blessings of same-sex marriages is practised and allowed in 14 of 20 and

blessing of same-sex unions The blessing or wedding of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which leaders of Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. Traditionally, Christianity teaches that sexual practices between men and sexual practices bet ...

are allowed in all other member churches. The EKD opposes abortion in most situations but believes it should remain legal. The EKD has undergone a split in the 20th century and lost a bulk of its adherents in

due to

state atheist State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. To some extent, ...

policies of the former East German government. After 1990, membership was counted and amounted to around the same number as the Roman Catholic Church. In the 21st century, membership in both the Evangelical Church and the Roman Catholic Church stagnates as more people are becoming religious nones. A 2019 study estimated that there were 114,000 unreported victims of sexual abuse in the EKD and the

Catholic Church in Germany The Catholic Church in Germany () or Roman Catholic Church in Germany () is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman) of th ...

combined. The 95% confidence interval comprises 28,000 to 280,000 victims. According to a study published in 2024, pedophilic members of the EKD have sexually abused at least 9,355 minors since 1946. Putting this figure into context, the coordinator of the study clarified that this number of cases was only the tip of the iceberg. The average age of the victims is 11 years.

Membership

Evangelical Church in Germany - member churches by confession

Protestantism is the major religion in Northern, Eastern and

Middle Germany Central Germany or Middle Germany ( or ''Mitteldeutschland'') may refer to: * Central Germany (linguistics) is the region where the Central German dialects are spoken * Central Germany (geography) describes the regions in the geographic center of ...

, with the

branch predominating in the extreme northwest and

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

, the

branch in the north and south, and the United branch in Middle and

Western Germany The old states of Germany () is a jargon referring to the ten of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) that were part of West Germany and that unified with the eastern German Democratic Republic's 5 states, which are giv ...

. While the majority of Christians in

Southern Germany Southern Germany (, ) is a region of Germany that includes the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, which includes the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia in present-day Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and the southern portion of Hesse ...

are

, some areas in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

are predominantly Protestant, e.g.

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia, Germany, in the west of Bavaria bordering the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; the most populous and largest city is Nuremberg. Subdi ...

and the government region of Stuttgart. The vast majority of German Protestants belong to a member church of the EKD. With 20,236,000 members in 2020, around 24.3 percent of all Germans belong to a member church of the EKD. Average church attendance is lower, however, with only around a million people (1.2 % of all Germans) attending a service on Sunday.EKD: Services of Worship and Holy Communion 2006
. Accessed 16 March 2010. The regional Protestant church bodies accept each other as equals, despite denominational differences. No member church runs congregations or churches in the area of another member church, thus preventing competing with each other for parishioners. The only exception is the Evangelical Reformed Church, which combines Reformed congregations within the ambits of usually Lutheran member churches, which themselves do not include the eventual local Reformed congregations. Thus, for example, a Lutheran moving from a place where their parish belongs to a Lutheran member church, would be accepted in their new place of domicile by the locally competent congregation within another member church, even if this church and its local parish are Reformed or of united Protestant confession, with Lutheran being exchangeable with the two other respective Protestant confessions within the EKD. This is due to full

between all EKD member churches. In this the ambits of the member churches resemble

s of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

churches, however, else there is no common hierarchy supervising the member churches, who are legally independent equals with the EKD being their umbrella. Members of congregations within the member churches – like those of parishes within Catholic dioceses and those enrolled in Jewish congregations also enjoying statutory corporation status – are required to pay a

church tax A church tax is a tax collected by the state from members of some Christian denominations to provide financial support of churches, such as the salaries of its clergy and to pay the operating cost of the church. It is related to the concept of t ...

, a surcharge on their normal income tax collected by the states of Germany and passed on to the respective religious body.

2011 census results by state

Gallery

File:Evangelisch Zensus 2011.png, EKD Protestants according to the 2011 census. File:Konfessionen-in-Deutschland-2020.svg, Red denotes states in which EKD Protestants outnumber Catholics. Evang.svg, Flag of the Protestant Church in Germany. File:Kreuz prot.svg, Another version, as used by German Protestants. EKD Sitz Hannover.jpg, EKD church office in

, Germany. Ekd organigramm.JPG, EKD's internal organization.

Structure

The structure of the EKD is based on federal principles. Each regional church is responsible for Christian life in its own area while each regional church has its own special characteristics and retains its independence. The EKD carries out joint tasks with which its members have entrusted it. For the execution of these tasks, the Church has the following governing bodies, all organised and elected on democratic lines:

Synod

The

is the legislature of the EKD. It has 126 members: 106 elected by ''Landeskirchen'' synods and 20 appointed by the council. These 20 are appointed for their importance in the life of the Church and its agencies. Members serve six year terms and the synod meets annually.

Praeseses

* 1949–1955:

Gustav Heinemann Gustav Walter Heinemann (; 23 July 1899 – 7 July 1976) was a German politician who was President of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He served as mayor of Essen from 1946 to 1949, West German Minister of the Interior from 1949 to 1950, and Mini ...

* 1955–1961: Constantin von Dietze * 1961–1970: * 1970–1973: Ludwig Raiser * 1973–1985: Cornelius von Heyl * 1985–2003: Jürgen Schmude * 2003–2009: Barbara Rinke * 2009–2013:

Katrin Göring-Eckardt Katrin Dagmar Göring-Eckardt ( Eckardt; 3 May 1966) is a German politician of the German Green Party (officially known as Alliance 90/The Greens). Starting her political activity in the now-former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in th ...

* 2013–2021:

Irmgard Schwaetzer Irmgard Schwaetzer (born 5 April 1942) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and a Protestant church official. From 2013 to 2021, she chaired the Synod of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD). She is the central founding ...

* since 2021: Anna-Nicole Heinrich

Council

The EKD Council is the representative and governing body of the Protestant Church in Germany. The Council of the EKD has 15 members jointly elected by the Synod and Church Conference who serve terms of six years. 2011-11 HeinrichBedford-Strohm6809

Chairpersons

The chairperson of the Council is the church's highest representative. * 1945–1949: Theophil Wurm, bishop of Württemberg * 1949–1961: Otto Dibelius, bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg * 1961–1967: Kurt Scharf, bishop (from 1966) of Berlin-Brandenburg * 1967–1973: , bishop of Bavaria * 1973–1979: , bishop of Württemberg * 1979–1985: , bishop of Hanover * 1985–1991: , bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg * 1991–1997: , bishop of Baden * 1997–2003: , Rhineland * 2003–2009: Wolfgang Huber, bishop of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia * 2009–2010: Margot Käßmann, bishop of Hanover * 2010–2014: Nikolaus Schneider, Rhineland * 2014–2021: Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, bishop of Bavaria * 2021–2023: Annette Kurschus, Westphalia

Conference

The Church Conference is where member churches, through the representatives of their governing boards, can directly participate in the work of the EKD.

Church Office

The Church Office is the administration of the EKD and shall the business of the Synod, Council and Conference of the EKD. Main divisions: * I = ''line, law and finance'': President * II = ''Religious Activities and Education'': Vice President Thies Gundlach (since 2010) * III = ''Public Responsibility'': Vice President Horst Gorski (also head of the Office of the

United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany The United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (German: Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands, VELKD) was founded on July 8, 1948, in Eisenach, Germany. Its total membership is 7.5 million people. All its member churches belong ...

) (since 2007) * IV = ''ecumenism and working abroad'': Vice President Bishop , foreign bishop and head of the Office of the Union of Evangelical Churches) (since 2014)

Presidents

* 1945–1948: Hans Asmussen * 1949–1965: Heinz Brunotte * 1966–1989: * 1989–1997: * 1997–2006: * 2006–2010: * since 2010: The EKD Church Office has approximately 200 employees.

International activities

The EKD holds various charities ("Hilfswerke") under its auspices. The

Gustav-Adolf-Werk The Gustav-Adolf-Werk (GAW) is a society under the roof of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) which has for its object the aid of feeble sister churches and congregations. It is responsible for the taking care of the diaspora work of the EKD, ...

(GAW) (Gustaphus Adolphus Union formerly) was founded 1832 in Leipzig as the first and eldest such organization and is responsible to aid feeble sister churches, especially in Roman Catholic countries and the Protestant

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. It has separate branches internationally, the organization in Austria is still called the Gustav-Adolf-Verein. Brot für die Welt is responsible for international development aid.

Member churches (since 2012)

The umbrella of the Protestant Church in Germany comprises 20 regional churches: *10

United Protestant A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denomination ...

(Lutheran and Reformed) *8

These bodies are termed ''

Landeskirche In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche (; plural: Landeskirchen, ) 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 ...

n'' ("Regional Churches") though in most cases, their territories do not correspond to the current federal states, but rather to former duchies, electorates and provinces or mergers thereof. # Protestant Church of Anhalt ''(Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts)'', a united church body in

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

# Protestant Church in Baden ''(Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden)'', a united church body in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria () is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany in the German state of Bavaria. The seat of the church is in Munich. The '' Landesbischof'' (bishop) of the church is Heinrich Bedford ...

''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern)'', a Lutheran church body in

# Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia ''(Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz)'', a united church body in Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia merged in 2004 from: #* ' #* ' #

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 (bishop) is Wolfenbüttel. Its district as a '' Landeskirche'' covers the former Free Sta ...

''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Braunschweig)'', a Lutheran church body in Brunswick # Evangelical Church of Bremen ''(Bremische Evangelische Kirche)'', a united church body in

Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover 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. The seat of the Landesb ...

''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers)'', a Lutheran church body in the former

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, alo ...

Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (, EKHN) 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 Katharinen ...

''(Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau)'', a united church body in the former

People's State of Hesse The People's State of Hesse () was one of the constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1945, as the successor to the Grand Duchy of Hesse () after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, on the territory of the curren ...

and Nassau # Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck ''(Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck)'', a united church body in former

Hesse-Cassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon ...

and Waldeck # Church of Lippe ''(Lippische Landeskirche)'', a Reformed church body of

# Evangelical Church in Central Germany ''(Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland)'', a united church body that was created in 2009 from the merger of: #* Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony ''(Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen)'' (

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

, also known as Prussian Saxony), formed out of the

Prussian Union of Churches The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) 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 P ...

in 1950 #* Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Thuringia ''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Thüringen)'' (

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

) #

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland) is a Lutheran member church of the Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD). The denomination was establish ...

''Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland''), a Lutheran church body that was created in 2012 from the merger of: #* North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church ''(Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche)'', a Lutheran church body in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

, which had been founded in 1977 #*

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg (; 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 capi ...

''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Mecklenburgs)'', a Lutheran church body in

Mecklenburg 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. ...

, which had been founded in 1934 #* Pomeranian Evangelical Church ''(Pommersche Evangelische Kirche)'', a united church body in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

, formed out of the

after World War II #

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg () is a Lutheran church in the German state of Lower Saxony. The seat of the church leaders is in Oldenburg, as is the preaching venue of its bishop at St Lamberti Church. The Evangelical Lutheran Churc ...

''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg)'', a Lutheran church body in Oldenburg # Evangelical Church of the Palatinate ''(Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz)'' or ''Protestantische Landeskirche'', a united church body in Palatinate #

Evangelical Church in the Rhineland The Protestant Church in the Rhineland (; EKiR) 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 Prussi ...

''(Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland)'', a united church body in the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

, formed out of the

in 1948 #

Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony 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 (styled Bishop of Saxony) is ...

''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens)'', a Lutheran church body in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

# Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe ''(Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schaumburg-Lippe)'', a Lutheran church body in

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, with its capi ...

Evangelical Church of Westphalia The Protestant Church of Westphalia () is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia. The seat of the praeses (, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged on 13 June 1945, when the ecclesiastical province of Westphali ...

''(Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen)'', a united church body in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

, formed out of the

in 1945 # Lutheran Church in Württemberg ''(Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg)'', a Lutheran church body in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

# Evangelical Reformed Church (Regional Church) ''Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche (Landeskirche)'', a Reformed church body, covering the territories of No. 3, 5, 7, 12, 16, 17, and 19 The

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

("Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine") and the Federation of Evangelical Reformed Congregations are associate members.

References

External links

*
Overview of World Religions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protestant Church In Germany United and uniting churches

Members of the World Council of Churches Christian organizations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Germany Affirming Christian denominations in Europe

Name

History

Membership

2011 census results by state

Gallery

Structure

Synod

Praeseses

Council

Chairpersons

Conference

Church Office

Presidents

International activities

Member churches (since 2012)

See also

References

External links