HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 ...
and
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 ...
, a Landeskirche (; plural: Landeskirchen, ) is the church of a region. The term usually refers to
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 ...
churches, but—in case of Switzerland—also
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 ...
dioceses. They originated as the
national church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...
es of the independent states, States of Germany (''Länder'') or Cantons of Switzerland (''Kantone'', ''Cantons'', ''Cantoni''), that later unified to form modern Germany (in 1871) or modern Switzerland (in 1848), 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 (the pope or a patriarch), 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'' (territorial lord, monarch or a body, like the governments of republican
Imperial estate An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...
s, such as Free Imperial Cities or Swiss cantons) 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 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 soon softened after the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
. At the time of the abolition of the monarchies in Germany in 1918, the ''Landesherren'' were ''summus episcopus'' (Landesbischöfe, comparable to 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.
) 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 (Roman Catholic) king of Bavaria was at the same time supreme governor (summus episcopus) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria right of the river Rhine. In practice, the ''Landesherren'' exercised episcopal functions (''summepiscopacy'') only indirectly through consistories ( g./pl..


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 (, 1922–1933). 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 ( Kirchenordnung) 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 (if so), 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.


List of Landeskirchen after 1945 with changes until 2012

Those of the following ''Landeskirchen'', which existed in 1948, founded the new Protestant umbrella
Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed, and united and uniting churches, United Protestantism in Ger ...
(). However, following the violations of the church constitutions under Nazi reign many church bodies did not simply return to the pre-1933 status quo, but introduced altered or new church constitutions – usually after lengthy synodal procedures of decision-taking -, often including an altered name of the church body. In a process starting in June 1945 and ending in 1953 the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union transformed from an integrated church body, subdivided into ecclesiastical provinces, into an umbrella-like church body, renamed into Evangelical Church of the Union under political pressure of communist
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 ...
in 1953. The six old-Prussian ecclesiastical provinces (Kirchenprovinz n sg. l., which were not or not completely abolished by the expulsion of its parishioners from the Polish and Soviet annexed German territories, assumed independence as Landeskirchen of their own between 1945 and 1948, however, simultaneously remaining member churches within the Evangelical Church of the (old-Prussian) Union, thus rather converted into an umbrella. The communist dictatorship in East Germany imposed further name changes and administrative reorganisations along the inner German borders. This was reversed after unification. There were mergers of church bodies in 1947, 1977, 1989, 2004, 2009, and 2012, and likely more are to come. The German demographic crisis and rising irreligionism influence them, especially in former East Germany. 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 last and this 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 (if so), 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-war German church bodies, listed below, have never existed all in the same time. The very independent and autonomous organisational structure of German Protestantism provides for unconcerted developments. One can assort the table below alphabetically or chronogically by clicking on the button with the gyronny of four.


List of further Protestant church bodies in Germany

This is a list of more Protestant church bodies, which were not members of the ''German Federation of Protestant Churches'' #- 1918–1989: ''Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria'' (, the Reformed parishes before included in the Lutheran Bavarian church body seceded and formed their own church body in 1918. In 1989 Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria merged into the Evangelical Reformed Church - Synod of Reformed Churches in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany () – Territory: then the Free State of Bavaria right of the river Rhine #- ''Lower Saxon Confederation'' (Reformed, ) – Territory: Calvinist congregations, mostly of Huguenot foundation, in the
Free State of Brunswick The Free State of Brunswick () was a Administrative divisions of Weimar Germany, state of the German Reich in the time of the Weimar Republic. It was formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick in the course of the German revolution of ...
, the Free and Hanseatic Cities of
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 ...
and
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 the Prussian
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 ...
.


List of today's Landeskirchen

For a list of today's Protestant Landeskirchen in Germany see their umbrella Protestant Church in Germany.


List


Offices and institutions


Administration


In Switzerland

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 ...
has no country-wide state religion, though most of the
cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...
(except for
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and
Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
) recognise official ''Landeskirchen'', in all cases including the Roman Catholic Church and the
Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
. These churches, and in some cantons also the
Old Catholic Church 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 undiv ...
and Jewish congregations, are financed by official taxation of adherents.state.gov – Switzerland
/ref>


Roman Catholic cantonal churches

In most cantons the Roman Catholic congregations are organised in cantonal church bodies which form
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 with executive and supervising bodies elected by their parishioners. Roman Catholic Landeskirchen developed from denominationally separate committees of the cantonal governments in cantons with populations of mixed denomination, such as
Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...
, Graubünden, St. Gallen and
Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
.Christoph Winzeler
"3 - Katholische Landeskirchen"
on:
Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
'', Retrieved 21 August 2013.
These separate government committees, competent for ecclesiastical matters of the respective denomination and founded in the 16th and 17th century, were sometimes called ''Corpus Catholicorum'' (for the Roman Catholics, with the equivalent ''
Corpus Evangelicorum The ''itio in partes'' ("going into parts") was a procedure of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire between 1648 and 1806. In this procedure, the members of the diet divided into two bodies (''corpora''), the ''Corpus Evangelicorum'' (body ...
'' for the Reformed Protestants). In other cantons with predominantly Reformed population, Roman Catholic Landeskirchen were founded after World War II (except for
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
whose Roman Catholic Regional Church had already been established in 1939), paralleling the long established Reformed Landeskirchen in those cantons and accounting for the recognition of Roman Catholicism as an equivalent denomination. Cantons of prevailingly Roman Catholic population then followed that example, first the
Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
. Church buildings and other real estate, religious schools, religious charitable organisations and religious counselling centres are often owned, run and financed by the funds of the cantonally competent Roman Catholic church body. Since each has executive and legislative bodies, elected by its statutory members (i.e. the parishioners of age), each Roman Catholic church body is accepted as a democratic entity entitled to levy member fees (also by way of a church tax), because the usage of the funds is decided by the elected representatives of those who defray them. According to Roman Catholic doctrine the Roman Catholic church bodies are not churches, since there is only one hierarchic church. Therefore some Roman Catholics oppose the Roman Catholic Landeskirchen as para-ecclesiastical entities paralleling the actual Roman Catholic church, while many others support the idea since they offer Roman Catholics similar opportunities to participate in church life like the Reformed Landeskirchen. Some cantonal church bodies bear the name Landeskirche in their name, others are called a synod, federation or association of congregations or simply Catholic Church of the respective Canton. Whereas the term Landeskirche actually implies that the body is a separate denomination, the term ''cantonal church'' would be more appropriate for Roman Catholic regional church bodies, since they form a cantonally delineated corporation of the Roman Catholic parishioners within a canton but are cooperating and providing services to their members, who in the canonical sense remain members of the Roman Catholic Church pastoring them by its respective diocese. The Roman Catholic cantonal church bodies form part of the Roman Catholic Central Conference of Switzerland (RKZ, official names in , , , ).


List of Roman Catholic Landeskirchen

The Roman Catholic Cantonal Church of Schwyz (Römisch-katholische Kantonalkirche Schwyz) enjoys the status of an associated guest.


List of Protestant Landeskirchen


See also

*
Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (, EKD), also known as the Protestant Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed Protestantism, Reformed, and united and uniting churches, United Protestantism in Ger ...
(1945 – today) * German Evangelical Church (1933–1945) * Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (1920 – today)


Notes

{{Authority control Protestantism in Switzerland Protestantism in Germany