Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau

Summary

The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (German: Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau, EKHN) is a United Protestant church body in the German federal 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.

Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau
AbbreviationEKHN
TypeRegional Church, member of the Protestant Church in Germany
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationUnited Protestant (Lutheran & Reformed)
DirectorKirchenpräsident Volker Jung
AssociationsUnion Evangelischer Kirchen, Reformed Alliance
Region13.358,77 km² in southern Hesse, parts of Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany)
HeadquartersDarmstadt
Origin1933
Merger ofProtestant Churches of Hesse, Nassau and Frankfurt
Members1,446,971 (2020)
27,3% of total population[1]
Official websitewww.ekhn.de
Karte der Evangelischen Kirche in Hessen und Nassau

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 Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), and is based on the teachings brought forward by Martin Luther during the Reformation. The Church President is Volker Jung [de] (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 20 churches in the EKD, has 1,446,971 members in 1,184 parishes (December, 2020). 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 federal state of Hesse and portions of the German federal 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 edit

 
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 edit

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

History edit

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 edit

The church ran an Evangelical Academy in Arnoldshain [de], which was moved to Frankfurt in 2013.[3]

Practices edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland – Kirchemitgliederzahlen Stand 31. Dezember 2020 EKD, November 2021
  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)". Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2017-11-19.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • The Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN)
  • Protestant Church in Germany