United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany

The United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany ( VELKD, partly also United Church ) is an association of Lutheran churches in Germany. It was founded on July 8, 1948 in Eisenach as the successor organization to the council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany ( Lutherrat ) and now includes about 9.5 million church members in seven national churches. Your goal is to promote the unity of Lutheranism and preserve it.

The commitment level of the member churches include at least the unaltered Augsburg Confession ( Confessio Augustana invariata ) and the Small Catechism of Martin Luther.

As a counterpart to VELKD there until 1 July 2003, the Evangelical Church of the Union and the Arnoldshain Conference, the aufgingen on this day in the Union of Evangelical Churches. It includes mainly Uniate country churches.

  • 3.3.1 President

History of VELKD

The VELKD was founded on July 8, 1948 in Eisenach. The founding members were ten of the then thirteen Lutheran Churches ( Bavaria, Brunswick, Hamburg, Hanover, Lubeck, Mecklenburg, Saxony, Schaumburg -Lippe, Schleswig -Holstein and Thuringia). Eutin, Oldenburg and Württemberg did not occur at the VELKD. Decisive involved here was the known as Lutherrat fraction of the Confessing Church. The establishment of the VELKD is associated with the formation of the Evangelical Church in Germany under the Dahlem wing of the Confessing Church strong participation. The founding process began with the Conference of Churches of Treysa while the EKD was founded as a merger of Lutheran, Reformed and United regional churches. After extensive theological discussions between denominations was founded as a compromise to the church meeting of Eisenach both the VELKD as adopted the constitution of the EKD also on 13 July 1948.

Member churches of the VELKD

  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover
  • Evangelical Church in Central Germany
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Germany
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg -Lippe

Of the original ten member churches of the VELKD merged in 1977 three member churches, namely the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hamburg state, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lübeck and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Schleswig -Holstein with non- member Church Evangelical Lutheran Church Eutin to Northelbian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Thus the number of member churches was reduced to eight. On May 27, 2012 ( Pentecost Sunday in 2012 ) was created from the merger of the North Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church - in Hamburg and Schleswig -Holstein - the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Germany. The VELKD now belong to the seven churches.

In addition to the member churches of the VELKD there are other national churches, who see themselves as Lutheran churches. These are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg, both of which have guest status in the VELKD. The Lutheran church members of predominantly Reformed Lippe Church are united in a Lutheran class.

In addition, in Germany there are also independent Lutheran churches, which, inter alia, theological reasons for non-members of the VELKD are, namely:

  • The Danish Church in Southern Schleswig ( DKS )
  • The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church ( ELFK )
  • The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden ( ELKiB not to be confused with the Evangelical Church in Baden )
  • The Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ( SELK ).

The latter was created in 1972 from the merger of several Lutheran churches altkonfessioneller. Between the SELK and VELKD contact meetings are held at regular intervals.

Lutheran churches, Lutheran churches altkonfessionelle and individual communities have the opportunity to join the VELKD. If individual communities do not own church government, this may be exercised by the church leadership VELKD.

The member churches of the VELKD, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden and the Lutheran Class of Lippe Church are members of the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation ( GNC / LWF). Although the GNC / LWF is an independent statutory body, but it's structure and personnel closely associated with the Office of the VELKD.

Tasks and governing bodies

The VELKD is based in the Office of the VELKD in Hanover, headed by a president (currently Friedrich Hauschildt ) is. Here is the official business of the governing bodies of the VELKD and also the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation ( GNC / LWF) will be performed. The manager of the GNC / LWF is Oberkirchenrat Norbert Denecke.

The focus is on the VELKD theological work, in pastoral care, in the welcoming design of worship, in plausible community building and ecumenism. The individual national churches use the VELKD for larger projects, which individually can not cope with the churches. Here, the VELKD is also addressed as a dialogue partner of the other churches and denominations in the German and international dialogue preference - here are the dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Church in Germany, with the Anglicans, the Methodists and the Mennonites.

Governing bodies of the VELKD are the " church leadership " and the " Episcopal Conference ", each of which the " Presiding Bishop " projects, as well as the " General Synod ". All three bodies are responsible for the VELKD assigned tasks.

Church leadership

The church is headed by the " presiding bishop ", which holds the Presidency, the Deputy Presiding Bishop, another member of the Episcopal Conference, the / r President / in the General Synod and nine elected by the General Synod from among its members and their alternates persons. The Church Board shall normally meet six times a year in a session.

The " Presiding Bishop " is elected by the General Synod for a term of three years and may be re -elected. He is the first clergyman of the VELKD and has spread to the pulpit law in all state churches VELKD, ie the right to preach to all the pulpits of the member churches of the VELKD and pastoral letters. In addition, he has chaired the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation ( GNC / LWF).

Senior bishops VELKD

To VELKD included both churches of the Federal Republic of Germany as well as churches in the GDR. In the late 1960s the performance of common tasks became increasingly difficult. Therefore, the Lutheran churches VELKD formed on the territory of the GDR own " East Area ", the VELK GDR, with its own " presiding bishop ". The VELK GDR broke up in 1988 to strengthen the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR. 1991 began, the three East German regional churches VELKD in again. Senior clergy in the East area were:

Bishops' Conference

The Bishops' Conference of VELKD consists of 15 members. Its membership includes the bishops of the VELKD member churches and five ordained holders of church leadership duties. Chairman of the Bishops' Conference of the Presiding Bishop of the VELKD.

The Bishops' Conference meets twice a year. In the spring they treated as a priority issue and in the fall they usually meets in advance at the place of meeting of the General Synod. The conference of bishops is, inter alia, for the adoption of laws of the Church to participate on orders for worship and ordinances having the force of law.

General Synod

The General Synod is the legislative body of the VELKD. It is newly formed every six years and usually meets once a year. The General Synod is composed of 50 members. Of these, 42 are elected by the provincial synods of the VELKD member churches, the other eight are appointed by the Presiding Bishop.

At the top of the General Synod is a Steering Committee, which is elected during the inaugural session. Its chairman is the president of the General Synod.

President

Office of the VELKD

  • Lutheran Church Office (until 31 December 2006) / Office of the VELKD (since 1 January 2007), Hannover Head of the Office / President: Friedrich Hauschildt ( line and Policy Issues )
  • Deputy Head of the Office: Oberkirchenrat Christian Frehrking (responsible for legal policy issues, legal issues, and the General Synod )

The Office is integrated into the EKD Church Office, the administrative tasks for the VELKD on the increase in many parts with.

President of the Lutheran Church Office

President of the Office of the VELKD

  • Since January 2007: Friedrich Hauschildt

Facilities VELKD

  • Constitutional and Administrative Court, Hanover: President of the Administrative Court Bert Schaffarzik
  • Conductor: Reiner knee Ling
  • Rector: Detlef Dieckmann of Bünau
  • Conductor: Alexander Deeg
  • Chair: Karl -Hinrich Manzke
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