The Evangelische Michaelsbruderschaft (EMB) (''Evangelical Brotherhood of St. Michael'') is a German religious Brotherhood belonging to

Berneuchen Movement Berneuchen Movement () is part of the Lutheran Liturgical movement in Germany. It originates from German Youth Movement. The movement was born in the 1920s, after the radical changes caused by World War I. The founders felt, that it was necessary t ...

as a part of

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 ...

Liturgical Movement The Liturgical Movement was a 19th-century and 20th-century movement of scholarship for the reform of worship. It began in the Catholic Church and spread to many other Christian churches including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran and some other Pro ...

. Founded in

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

1931 in the Upper Chapel (Holy Cross Chapel) of the University Church of Marburg, the Michaelsbruderschaft consists of men, lay and clergy, following a rule of life. The ''trias martyria'' (effective witness for Christ), ''leiturgia'' (renewal of personal and corporate piety and of sacramental worship), and ''diakonia'' (service in society) was first developed within the Michaelsbruderschaft. Members try to put these aims into practice in their individual communities. The Brotherhood is led by the ''Ältester'' (Eldest) who is assisted by the ''Rat'' (council) and ''Kapitel'' (chapter). The ''Ältester'' of the Brotherhood today is Helmut Schwerdtfeger. Today the Michaelsbruderschaft consists of about 250 Brothers from the whole of Central Europe. Brethren are mostly

, but also from

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 Union Churches,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great C ...

, Christian Catholic and

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. Today there are Brethren 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 ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. The Michaelsbruderschaft has got its own breviary for its

daily office In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In t ...

, the ''Evangelisches Tagzeitenbuch'' (), and its own missal, ''Die Feier der Evangelischen Messe'' (2009).

References

*Swidler, Leonard J.
''The Ecumenical Vanguard: The History of the Una Sancta Movement''Universitätskirche Marburg - Die evangelische Michaelsbruderschaft

by Jürgen Boeckh. Quatember 1981 (p. 239-240) * Giewald, A. & Thomann, G. "The Lutheran High Church Movement in Germany and its liturgical work: an introduction", Lulu.com, 2011.

External links

Evangelische Michaelsbruderschaft
Lutheran orders and societies Christian organizations established in 1931 Christian religious orders established in the 20th century Lutheran organizations established in the 20th century Protestantism in Germany {{lutheran-stub