Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony

The Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony is the most important Protestant denomination in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It's a united Protestant denomination, thus combining Lutheran and Reformed traditions. The seat of the church is in Magdeburg.

It is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany EKD. The leader of the church is bishop Axel Noack (2006). The church has approx. 504,200 members (in December 2005) in 2,020 church parishes.

The seat of the bishop is Magdeburg Cathedral. There are several former cathedrals in the territory retaining their original name, notably at Halberstadt, Merseburg, Naumburg and Zeitz. There are also some other imposing churches called "Dom" (often translated as cathedral) in the area.

The Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony is a member of the Union of Evangelical Churches in Germany and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. In Wittenberg the church has its own academy.

The Ordination of women and the blessing of same-sex unions has been allowed.

Area covered

The area covered by the Evangelical Church of the Church Province of Saxony is essentially equivalent to the German state Saxony-Anhalt and small parts of the German states of Brandenburg and Thuringia.

Leading persons and bishops in history

* 1867 - 1870: Ludwig Johann Carl Borghardt
* 1871 - 1891: Leopold Schultze
* 1891 - 1893 Ernst Adolf Friedrich Textor
* 1894 - 1899: Karl Heinrich Vieregge
* 1899 - 1906: Otto Gottlob Albin Holtzheuer
* 1907 - 1909: Justus Julius August Jacobi
* 1909 - 1933: Max Ludwig August Hermann StolteGeneralsuperintendent:
* 1912 - 1917: Paul Johannes Gennrich
* 1917 - 1931: Johannes Ludolf Theodor Schötttler
* 1931- 1933: Karl LohmannBishops:
* 1933 - 1936 (?): Friedrich Peter
* 1945 - 1955: Ludolf Hermmann Müller
* 1955 - 1968: Johannes Jänicke
* 1968 - 1983: Werner Krusche
* 1983 - 1997: Christoph Demke
* 1997 - today: Axel Noack

Synod

The election of the synod is for six years. The synod meets each year for one meeting. The elected leader of the "Provinzialsynode" is called "Präses".

Präses (since 1946):
* 1946 - 1947: Ludolf Hermann Müller (later bishop)
* 1947 - 1964: Lothar Kreyßig
* 1964 - 1980: Helmut Waitz
* 1980 - 1994: Reinhard Höppner
* 1994 - 2004: Jürgen Runge
* 2004 - today: Petra Gunst

History

The history of the church is near tied with the history of the German kingdom Prussia.

Since July 1, 2004 the church is on the way to form with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia a unit church, the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, on January 1, 2009.

Books

* Harald Schultze (editor): Kirchenprovinz Sachsen (Art. Sachsen III). Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE), Band 29, page 580-589.

References

External links

* http://www.ekmd-online.de/portal/
* http://www.ekd.de (Evangelical Church in Germany)