Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria ( ELCB ) is one of 20 member churches (local churches) of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD ). It has its headquarters in Munich and is like all country churches, a public corporation.

The Church has 2,511,151 members of the community (as of December 2012) in 1,539 parishes and is therefore after the Church of Hanover and the Church in the Rhineland by the number of members, the third largest Lutheran Church in Germany. It is one of the Lutheran churches in the EKD member churches of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany ( VELKD ) and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe.

Official Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria is St. Lorenz in Nuremberg; where the introduction of new national bishops take place. Sermon site in the country bishop, if he is in Munich, St. Matthew Sendlinger Tor in Munich. After St. Matthew has taken over the functions of a bishop's church in Munich in fact, it is referred to in official documents as semi episcopal church.

Overall, the church has nearly 7,000 properties in the whole of Bavaria, of which about 2,000 churches and chapels. Within the project " property securing " the entire property portfolio is currently under review. The country church maintains a Protestant Academy in Tutzing, the Augustana College Neuendettelsau, the Protestant University of Nuremberg and the University for Protestant Church Music Bayreuth.

• 4.1 Regional Church Office and administrative hierarchy
• 4.2 Church circles
• 4.3 deaneries and parishes
• 4.4 Office for community service
• 4.5 benefice Foundation Association

• 7.1 hymnals
• 7.2 Church Art

Area

The area of ​​the " Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria " encompasses the Free State of Bavaria.

History

The old heartland of Bavaria remained traditional Roman Catholic after the Reformation. As the Kingdom of Bavaria was expanded to include numerous dominions to its present extent of 1806-1810, there were henceforth within the country, many Protestant areas, especially were parts of Franconia ( margraviates Brandenburg -Ansbach and Brandenburg -Bayreuth ) and some free imperial cities ( Nuremberg, Memmingen, Kempten, White castle and Windsheim ) Protestant. All Protestant ( Lutheran and Reformed ) communities of the Kingdom were therefore in 1806 to a church united ( administrative union ). This included the areas " west of the Rhine " ( the so-called Rhine Palatinate, see Palatinate ( region ) ).

In the areas " of the Rhine ", ie in the main area of the Kingdom of Bavaria, in 1817 was a " total community " set up under a government "Upper Consistory " in Munich. However, the communities remained faithful to their previous commitment. For the Reformed congregations of the Rhine an independent synod and its own church government was established in 1853 (the " Moderamen "). In 1918 came the Reformed congregations formally from the national church, and were self-employed ( Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria). She later joined the Evangelical Reformed Church, which has its headquarters in Leer ( Ostfriesland ) to. Therefore, the Bavarian church included from 1919 only Lutheran congregations and was from 1921 under the name " Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria right of the river Rhine " out. 1921 joined the "Protestant Coburg State Church " to.

When, after the Second World War, the areas " west of the Rhine " ( Palatinate ) were separated by Bavaria, the country received its present church in 1948 called " The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria ."

Former leader of the "Protestant Church in Bavaria " was the respective King of Bavaria as " summus episcopus ". The Managing Authority, the Upper Consistory in Munich, was headed by a " president." After the First World War, the king had to abdicate in Bavaria (end of sovereign church government ). As the head therefore first served the President of the Upper Consistory. Then the state church received a new constitution. Head was henceforth a Church President, the title of " Bishop " leads since 1933. The Management Authority was renamed to the "National Church office."

Additional information and facts are accessible to the public in Church Archive of ELCB in Nuremberg.

Line

The church governing bodies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria are the Synod, the Landessynodalausschuss, the State Council of Churches and the Bishop.

Synod and Landessynodalausschuss

The "parliament" of the National Church is the provincial synod. Its members, the Synod, are elected by the church leaders inside and churchwardens of the individual communities. The tasks of the Synod which political parliaments comparable, but with limited validity to the ELCB.

The Landessynodalausschuss assume the functions of the Synod true outside of their two meetings a year. It consists of the Bureau of the Synod and 12 other elected members of the Synod. The President of the Synod also directs the Landessynodalausschuss.

Chairman of the synod is the President of the Synod or the president of the synod.

Land of Churches and Bishop

At the head of the country's Council of Churches Bishop stands (up to 1933 " Church President " ), who is elected by the Provincial Synod every twelve years. His term ends with the completion of his 65th year. Before the Synod may dismiss it under certain conditions.

The National Council of Churches consists of the Bishop and the upper church councils of the ELCB.

Management

Country church office and administrative hierarchy

The Bishop is President of the National Council of Churches (LKR ), ie the permanent governing body of the church (the "Government " of the church ), of the heads of the relevant departments of the State Church Office in Munich and the six regional bishops. The members use the title " Senior Church ". This college usually meets once a month in the country church office.

In the management hierarchy, the national church is from bottom to top as follows:

At the base of the parishes are available as public bodies with elected parish councils. The members of the church council called " church leaders ". Several parishes together form a deanery district ( in the general administration a county equivalent), headed by a dean, a dean or deans couple stands. The deanery districts are also public bodies and have the deanery synod as a body whose members are appointed by the respective parishes.

Several deanery districts together form a church circle ( in the general administration an administrative district equivalent), at the head of a church official or a senior church stands, the / the title of Regional Bishop / leads also the regional bishop. Since 2006, a married couple splits in the church district of Nuremberg this function. This management level has no body. The 6 Church circles together form the national church ( in the general administration of the State equivalent).

Church circles

In 1921, church districts have been established in the Bavarian church. Originally, there were only three church districts ( Ansbach, Munich, Bayreuth). From church-political considerations, the area was in 1935 by the church district of Bayreuth explained to Nuremberg for their own church circle. After the Second World War, the situation of the expellees protestants required in originally purely Catholic areas which set up their own church circles for Eastern Bavaria (1951) and Swabia (1971).

Thus there are six church circles:

• Church district Ansbach -Würzburg ( since 1921; until 1987 as a parish of Ansbach )
• Church district of Augsburg ( 1971 )
• Church district of Bayreuth (since 1921)
• Church district of Munich ( since 1921 )
• Kirchenkreis Nuremberg (since 1935)
• Church district of Regensburg ( since 1951 )

Deaneries and parishes

The Dean's Office 68 counties are divided into 1531 parishes. This number was on formation of the parishes probably somewhat lower. Over the following years, the number has increased, however, by most in cities by inflows parishes were so large that they aufteilte and thus created new parishes. In addition, new parishes whose area can occasionally extend to several villages emerged in so far predominantly Catholic areas by inflows of Protestants.

Office for community service

The Office for community service, founded in 1935 as a folk Missionary Office, is an inter-municipal central services facility of the Lutheran Church in Bavaria. The Office has 37 employees (as of 2012). Various services and areas such as are in him: church growth development, nursing home pastoral care, children's services work, among other things centrally managed, materials and prepared and made available to employees of the church ( main and secondary Government, as well as volunteers) are available. The Office for community service offers training and further training and advice to the municipalities. The seat is in Nuremberg.

Benefice Foundation Association

Since 1935, a variety of church foundations are summarized in the benefice Foundation Association.

Personalities

• Werner Elert
• Högner Friedrich (1897-1981), the country church music director, composer
• Friedrich Wilhelm Hopf
• Wilhelm Lohe
• Hermann Sasse
• Therese Stählin