North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church

The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (German: Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche) is a Protestant church in Northern Germany, which largely covers the area of the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg where it is the most important Protestant denomination. It has 2.1 million members (as of 2006) in 595 parishes, constituting 46% of the population of its district.

It is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, and the Lutheran World Federation (joined 1977)^[1]]. The church is also a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe.

History

The North Elbian Church was founded in 1977 by the merger of four former state churches:

• the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Hamburg (German: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche im Hamburgischen Staate);
• the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Lübeck (German: Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche im Lübeckischen Staate);
• the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Schleswig-Holstein; (German: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schleswig-Holsteins)
• the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Eutin (German: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Eutin), which had been split off from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg and represented the former Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck.

It is named after its location north of the River Elbe.

Prominent buildings

The most prominent church buildings are Schleswig Cathedral, Lübeck Cathedral and St. Michaelis in Hamburg.

Practices

Ordination of women and blessing of same-sex unions are allowed.^{[citation needed]}

Future

The North Elbian Church is planning to merge with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church in 2012. The merged church will be called the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Northern Germany.

List of bishops

• Hamburg district (seat St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg; since 2008, Hamburg-Lübeck)
  • 1977 - 1983: Hans-Otto Wölber
  • 1983 - 1992: Peter Krusche
  • 1992 - 2010: Maria Jepsen^[2]
  • 2011 - today: Kirsten Fehrs
• Holstein-Lübeck district (seat Lübeck Cathedral)
  • 1964 - 1981: Friedrich Hübner, until 1977 bishop of Holstein in Kiel
  • 1981 - 1991: Ulrich Wilckens
  • 1991 - 2001: Karl Ludwig Kohlwage
  • 2001 - 2008: Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter
• Schleswig district (seat Schleswig Cathedral; since 2008, Schleswig and Holstein)
  • 1967 - 1978: Alfred Petersen
  • 1979 - 1990: Karlheinz Stoll
  • 1991 - 2008: Hans-Christian Knuth
  • 2008 - today: Gerhard Ulrich^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Bishop-Elect Gerhard Ulrich to Lead North Elbian Schleswig-Holstein Region". Lutheran World Federation. 2008-08-13. http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/2271.EN.html. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
2. ^ . Deutsche Welle. 2008-06-16. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3423656,00.html Gorski if elected. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 

External links

• North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (English)
• Evangelical Church in Germany (English)