Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau

Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau
Abbreviation EKHN
Type Landeskirche, member of the Evangelical Church in Germany
Classification Protestant
Orientation United Protestant (Lutheran & Reformed)
Director Kirchenpräsident Volker Jung
Associations Union Evangelischer Kirchen, Reformed Alliance
Region 13.358,77 km² in southern Hesse, parts of Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany)
Headquarters Darmstadt
Origin 1933
Merger of Protestant Churches of Hesse, Nassau and Frankfurt
Members 1,602,069 (2015)
= 31% of total population[1]
Official website www.ekhn.de

The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (German: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. There is no bishop and therefore no cathedral. One of its most prominent churches is Katharinenkirche in Frankfurt am Main.

Dating back to the union in the Duchy of Nassau in August 1817, before the Prussian Union of September 1817, it is the first United and uniting church in the world. The EKHN is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and is based on the teachings brought forward by Martin Luther during the Reformation. The Church President is Volker Jung (since 2009). It is a united church, combining both Calvinist and Lutheran traditions. Member of the Reformed Alliance in Germany.[2] The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau is one of 22 churches in the EKD, has 1,602,069 members in 1,184 parishes (December, 2015). The territory of the EKHN includes the territories of the former People's State of Hesse and the Prussian Wiesbaden Region, which now form the southern and western part of the German state of Hesse and portions of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rhenish Hesse). It's the most important Protestant denomination in this area. The church is a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe.

Management and Administration

General synod (2009)

Institutions of the EKHN are the Church Synod, the church leadership and the church president, who is elected by the General Synod for eight years.

Church Presidents

Volker Jung, president from 2009
  • 1947–1964: Martin Niemöller
  • 1964–1968: Wolfgang Sucker
  • 1969–1985: Helmut Hild
  • 1985–1992: Helmut Spengler
  • 1993–2008: Peter Steinacker
  • 2009–2017: Volker Jung

History

The Protestant Church of Hesse and Nassau was founded in 1946 and 1947 through a merger of three other formerly independent churches: Protestant Church in Hesse, Protestant Church in Nassau, Protestant Church in Frankfurt.

Academy

The church ran an Evangelische Akademie (Protestant academy) in Arnoldshain, which was moved to Frankfurt in 2013.[3]

Practices

Ordination of women and blessing of same-sex unions were 2013 allowed.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland - Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31.12.2015 EKD Januar 2017
  2. ↑ http://www.reformierter-bund.de/side.php?news_id=113&part_id=0&navi=1 www.reformierter-bund.de/side.php?news_id=113&part_id=0&navi=1
  3. ↑ "Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt". evangelische-akademie.de. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  4. ↑ EKHN.de: Segnung gleichgeschlechtlicher Paare (German)

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