Regional Lutheran church body of Saxony, Germany
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony (Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens ) is one of 20 member Churches of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), covering most of the state of Saxony . Its headquarters are in Dresden , and the seat of the bishop (styled Bishop of Saxony)[ 1] is at Meissen Cathedral . Prior to the propagation of state atheism in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), it was the largest Evangelical Lutheran church in Germany .[ 2]
The church has 610,503 parishioners in 319 parishes (as of December 31, 2022).[ 3]
Historically, the church's organisation became an example for other Protestant churches to be founded throughout Europe , the so-called "Saxon model" of a church as introduced by Martin Luther . It was closely tied to the state, whereby the Elector of Saxony protected the evangelical faith in his jurisdiction. Since the Reformation, the Lutheran orthodoxy (the "purest form" of Lutheranism ) prevailed among the general population in Saxony and was secured first by its Ernestine and later Albertine Wettin rulers. Beginning in the 17th century, Pietism also gained a significant following, especially among the working class.
In 2019, Carsten Rentzing, bishop of the church since 2015, resigned his position after controversy arose about his connections to far-right parties and groups.[ 4]
1922–1933: Ludwig Heinrich Ihmels
1933–1945: Friedrich Otto Coch
1945–1947: Franz Lau
1947–1953: Hugo Hahn
1953–1971: Gottfried Noth
1971–1994: Johannes Hempel
1994–2004: Volker Kreß
2004–2015: Jochen Bohl
2015–2019: Carsten Rentzing 1922: 4,509,000,[ 5] the largest Lutheran church in Germany at that time
2012: 764,000
2013: 754,451[ 6]
2015: 713,648[ 7]
2017: 689,858[ 8]
2018: 677,064[ 9]
2019: 663,525[ 10]
2020: 647,238[ 11] Ordination of women and blessing of same-sex unions were allowed.[ 12]
^ The Bishop's title on his/her own home page Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine .
^ Sebastian Müller-Rolli in collaboration with Reiner Anselm: Evangelische Schulpolitik in Deutschland 1918–1958: Dokumente und Darstellung (Eine Veröffentlichung des Comenius-Instituts Münster). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1999, ISBN 3-525-61362-8 , S. 29.
^ "Statistik: Fakten und Zahlen" . Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-11-15 .
^ Greifenstein, Philipp (12 October 2019). "Carsten Rentzing: Warum der Bischof zurücktritt" . Die Eule (in German). Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019 .
^ Sebastian Müller-Rolli in collaboration with Reiner Anselm, Evangelische Schulpolitik in Deutschland 1918–1958: Dokumente und Darstellung , Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1999, (=Eine Veröffentlichung des Comenius-Instituts Münster), p. 29. ISBN 3-525-61362-8 .
^ The Lutheran World Federation – 2013 Membership Figures Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine Lutheran World
^ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland - Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31.12.2015 Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine EKD Januar 2017
^ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland - Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31.12.2017 Archived 2019-01-13 at the Wayback Machine ekd.de
^ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland – Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31. Dezember 2018 Archived 2020-02-19 at the Wayback Machine EKD, January 2020
^ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland – Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31. Dezember 2019 Archived 2020-12-07 at the Wayback Machine EKD, October 2020
^ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland – Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31. Dezember 2020 Archived 2021-12-21 at the Wayback Machine EKD, November 2021
^ Evlks.de:„Segnung von Paaren in Eingetragener Lebenspartnerschaft“ in Sachsen möglich (German) Archived 2016-10-19 at the Wayback Machine , 18 October 2016
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