Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia
Encyclopedia
The Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia is a Protestant church body
in the German states
of Brandenburg
, Berlin
and a part of Saxony
. The seat of the church is in Berlin
. It is the most important Protestant denomination in the area.
It is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany
, and is a church of the Prussian Union
. The leader of the church is bishop Dr. Markus Dröge
(2010).
The EKBO is one of 22 Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches of the EKD and is itself a United church. The church has around 1,200,000 members (December 2005) in 1,770 parishes.
The church is a member of the Union of Evangelical Churches
and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
. In Berlin and Görlitz
the church runs two academies.
St. Mary's Church, Berlin
, is the church of the bishop
of the EKBO with the Berlin Cathedral being under joint supervision of all the member churches of the UEK.
and the Protestant Reformation
. The ordination of women
is allowed, and the blessing of same-sex unions has been allowed by the synod
but depends on the local presbytery .
of Kurmark
, Neumark
-Lower Lusatia
, and Berlin, became the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg. After 1945, the church covered only the territory still in Germany.
From 1972 on this church body ran double administrative structures in West Berlin
and East Berlin
- also competent for Brandenburg
- because the communist government of East Germany did not allow pastors and church functionaries to travel freely between East and West. The two church bodies reunited in 1991.
. But on 4 December 1946 Poland deported Hornig from Wrocław beyond the Lusatian Neiße, where he took his new seat in the German part of the divided city of Görlitz
of the former Prussian province of Lower Silesia. In 1947 the Polish government also expelled the remaining members of the Silesian consistory, which temporarily could continue to officiate in Wrocław. Görlitz became the seat of the tiny territorial rest of the Silesian ecclesiastical province, constituting on May 1, 1947 as the independent Evangelical Church of Silesia - comprising the small parts of Silesia
remaining with Germany after 1945.
All of the church property east of the Oder-Neiße Line, parochial and provincial alike, was expropriated without compensation, and the church buildings were mostly taken over by the Roman Catholic Church in Poland. A small number of Silesian churches are owned today by Protestant congregations of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland
(see e.g. Churches of Peace).
On April 9, 1968 East Germany adopted its second constitution, accounting for the de facto transformation into a communist dictatorship. Thus the East German government deprived the church bodies of their status as statutory bodies and abolished the church tax
, by which parishioners' contributions had been automatically collected as a surcharge on the income tax. Now parishioners would have to fix the level of their contributions and to transfer them again and again on their own. This together with ongoing discrimination of church members, which resulted in many people leaving the church, effectively eroded the financial situation of the church bodies in the East.
In 1968, churches were reclassified as civic associations, and the East German government required the Evangelical Church of Silesia to remove the term "Silesia" from its name. The church body then chose the new name Evangelical Church of the Görlitz Ecclesiastical Region.
With the end of the East German dictatorship in 1989, the things changed decisively. In 1992 the Evangelical Church of the Görlitz Ecclesiastical Region dropped its unwanted name and chose the new name of Evangelical Church of Silesian Upper Lusatia.
Due to increasing irreligion
, the low birth rates in Germany since the 1970s, and low numbers of Protestant immigrants, the Protestant church bodies in Germany are undergoing a severe shrinking of parishioners and thus of parishioners' contributions. So church bodies are forced to reorganise their efforts also with respect to the financial situation.
In 2004 the Evangelical Church of the Silesian Upper Lusatia merged with the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg to become the present church body.
In 1933 the Prussian government imposed new leaders, who reshaped the structures. The evangelical church (then named Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union) underwent a schism
into a schismatic streamlined Nazi-obedient branch and a steadfast, truly Protestant branch, clinging to the Confessing Church
.
In 1945 the pre-1933 structures were provisionally restituted:
In 1949 the General Superintendencies were renamed in Cottbus (formerly New March-Lower Lusatia
) and Neuruppin (formerly Kurmark) and territorially somewhat redeployed.
West 1972-1991 (competent for West Berlin):
East 1972- 1991 (competent for East Berlin and Brandenburg):
Reunited church body since 1991:
On January 1, 2004 the church body merged with the Evangelical Church of Silesian Upper Lusatia.
Landeskirche
In Germany and Switzerland, a Landeskirche is the church of a region. They originated as the national churches of the independent states, States of Germany or Cantons of Switzerland , that later unified to form modern Germany or modern Switzerland , respectively.-Origins in the Holy Roman...
in the German states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and a part of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. The seat of the church is in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. It is the most important Protestant denomination in the area.
It is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
, and is a church of the Prussian Union
Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church)
The Prussian Union was the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia, by a series of decrees – among them the Unionsurkunde – by King Frederick William III...
. The leader of the church is bishop Dr. Markus Dröge
Markus Dröge
Markus Dröge is a German theologian and bishop of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia ....
(2010).
The EKBO is one of 22 Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches of the EKD and is itself a United church. The church has around 1,200,000 members (December 2005) in 1,770 parishes.
The church is a member of the Union of Evangelical Churches
Union Evangelischer Kirchen
The Union Evangelischer Kirchen is an organisation of 13 United and Reformed evangelical churches in Germany, which are all member churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany.- Member churches in the UEK :...
and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
The Community of Protestant Churches in Europe is a fellowship of over 100 Protestant churches which have signed the Leuenberg Agreement. Together they strive for realizing church fellowship, especially by cooperation in witness and service to the world...
. In Berlin and Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
the church runs two academies.
St. Mary's Church, Berlin
St. Mary's Church, Berlin
St. Mary's Church, known in German as the Marienkirche, is a church in Berlin, Germany. The church is located on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße in central Berlin, near Alexanderplatz. Its exact age is not known, but it was first mentioned in German chronicles in 1292. It is presumed to date from earlier...
, is the church of the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the EKBO with the Berlin Cathedral being under joint supervision of all the member churches of the UEK.
Some theological statements
The theology of the church goes back to Martin LutherMartin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
and the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. The ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
is allowed, and the blessing of same-sex unions has been allowed by the synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
but depends on the local presbytery .
History
After the Second World War the integrated Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union (under this name 1922–1953, then renamed into Evangelical Church of the Union) was transformed into an umbrella organization. In 1947 its ecclesiastical provinces , as far as their territories were not annexed by Poland or the Soviet Union, became independent church bodies of their own.Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg
The March of Brandenburg ecclesiastical province (including Berlin, but after 1945 without the territory east the Oder-Neiße line), which until 1933 was headed in rotation by the general superintendentsSuperintendent (ecclesiastical)
Superintendent is the head of an administrative division of a Protestant church, largely historical but still in use in Germany.- Superintendents in Sweden :...
of Kurmark
Kurmark
Kurmark is a German term meaning "Electoral March", referring to territory of the former Electorate of Brandenburg. The Kurmark included the Altmark, the Mittelmark, the Uckermark, the Prignitz, and the lordships of Beeskow and Storkow...
, Neumark
Neumark
Neumark comprised a region of the Prussian province of Brandenburg, Germany.Neumark may also refer to:* Neumark, Thuringia* Neumark, Saxony* Neumark * Nowe Miasto Lubawskie or Neumark, a town in Poland, situated at river Drwęca...
-Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
, and Berlin, became the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg. After 1945, the church covered only the territory still in Germany.
From 1972 on this church body ran double administrative structures in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
and East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
- also competent for Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
- because the communist government of East Germany did not allow pastors and church functionaries to travel freely between East and West. The two church bodies reunited in 1991.
Evangelical Church of Silesia(n Upper Lusatia)
In 1946 the Silesian ecclesiastical province, presided over by Ernst Hornig, held its first post-war provincial synod in then already Polish ŚwidnicaSwidnica
Świdnica is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. It has a population of 60,317 according to 2006 figures. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh largest town in that voivodeship. From 1975–98 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship...
. But on 4 December 1946 Poland deported Hornig from Wrocław beyond the Lusatian Neiße, where he took his new seat in the German part of the divided city of Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
of the former Prussian province of Lower Silesia. In 1947 the Polish government also expelled the remaining members of the Silesian consistory, which temporarily could continue to officiate in Wrocław. Görlitz became the seat of the tiny territorial rest of the Silesian ecclesiastical province, constituting on May 1, 1947 as the independent Evangelical Church of Silesia - comprising the small parts of Silesia
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919.-Geography:The territory comprised the bulk of the former Bohemian crown land of Silesia and the County of Kladsko, which King Frederick the Great had conquered from the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th...
remaining with Germany after 1945.
All of the church property east of the Oder-Neiße Line, parochial and provincial alike, was expropriated without compensation, and the church buildings were mostly taken over by the Roman Catholic Church in Poland. A small number of Silesian churches are owned today by Protestant congregations of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland
Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland , the largest Protestant body in Poland, is rooted in the Reformation. The first Lutheran sermons were held in 1518, and in 1523 the first Lutheran dean, Johann Heß, was called to the city of Breslau, whence Lutheranism was spread into the...
(see e.g. Churches of Peace).
On April 9, 1968 East Germany adopted its second constitution, accounting for the de facto transformation into a communist dictatorship. Thus the East German government deprived the church bodies of their status as statutory bodies and abolished the church tax
Church tax
A church tax is a tax imposed on members of some religious congregations in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, some parts of Switzerland and several other countries.- Germany :About 70% of church revenues come from church tax...
, by which parishioners' contributions had been automatically collected as a surcharge on the income tax. Now parishioners would have to fix the level of their contributions and to transfer them again and again on their own. This together with ongoing discrimination of church members, which resulted in many people leaving the church, effectively eroded the financial situation of the church bodies in the East.
In 1968, churches were reclassified as civic associations, and the East German government required the Evangelical Church of Silesia to remove the term "Silesia" from its name. The church body then chose the new name Evangelical Church of the Görlitz Ecclesiastical Region.
With the end of the East German dictatorship in 1989, the things changed decisively. In 1992 the Evangelical Church of the Görlitz Ecclesiastical Region dropped its unwanted name and chose the new name of Evangelical Church of Silesian Upper Lusatia.
Due to increasing irreligion
Irreligion
Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...
, the low birth rates in Germany since the 1970s, and low numbers of Protestant immigrants, the Protestant church bodies in Germany are undergoing a severe shrinking of parishioners and thus of parishioners' contributions. So church bodies are forced to reorganise their efforts also with respect to the financial situation.
In 2004 the Evangelical Church of the Silesian Upper Lusatia merged with the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg to become the present church body.
Leading persons and bishops (since 1934) in history
The leading bishop is elected for ten years from the synod and can be reelected for a second term. Before 1934 the leader of the church was called "Generalsuperintendent". After the merger of the independent churches Berlin-Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia in 2004 Wolfgang Huber has been the bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia.Chairmen of the March of Brandenburg provincial subsection of the Prussian united Evangelical Church
- Ecclesiastical Chairmen of Berlin (City)
- 1823 - 1865: D. Daniel Amadeus Gottlieb Neander, bearing the title Provost of St. Peter's Church, then the highest ecclesiastical rank in Berlin, in 1830 King Frederick William III of PrussiaFrederick William III of PrussiaFrederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
bestowed him with the merely honorary title Bishop. - 1865 - 1871: not restaffed before Neander's death in 1869, then vacancy
- 1871 - 1892: D. Bruno Brückner, bearing the title General Superintendent (Gen.Supt.)
- 1893 - 1911: Gen.Supt. D. Wilhelm Faber
- 1912 - 1918: Gen.Supt. D. Friedrich Lahusen
- 1918 - 1921: vacancy
- 1921 - 1927: Gen.Supt. D. Georg Burghart
- 1928 - 1933: Gen.Supt. D. Emil Karow, furloughed by State Commissioner August Jäger, after Hermann GöringHermann GöringHermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
's PrussianFree State of Prussia (1933-1935)The Free State of Prussia briefly continued to exist in name after take-over by the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. Unlike the Free State of Prussia that existed from 1918 to 1933 during the Weimar Republic, the Nazi Free State had no parliamentary democracy and was ruled exclusively under the...
government usurped the factual power in the church body.
- 1823 - 1865: D. Daniel Amadeus Gottlieb Neander, bearing the title Provost of St. Peter's Church, then the highest ecclesiastical rank in Berlin, in 1830 King Frederick William III of Prussia
- General Superintendent of Berlin (Suburbia; )
- 1911 - 1933: D. Wilhelm Haendler (created in 1911, dissolved after Haendler retired)
- General Superintendents of the KurmarkKurmarkKurmark is a German term meaning "Electoral March", referring to territory of the former Electorate of Brandenburg. The Kurmark included the Altmark, the Mittelmark, the Uckermark, the Prignitz, and the lordships of Beeskow and Storkow...
- 1540 - 1550: Jacob Stratner (*unknown-1550*)
- 1550 - 1566: Johannes AgricolaJohannes AgricolaJohannes Agricola was a German Protestant reformer and humanist. He was a follower and friend of Martin Luther, who became his antagonist in the matter of the binding obligation of the law on Christians.-Early life:Agricola was born at Eisleben, whence he is sometimes called Magister Islebius...
(*1494-1566*) - 1566 - 1581: Andreas MusculusAndreas MusculusAndreas Musculus was a German Lutheran theologian. The name Musculus is a Latinized form of Meusel.Musculus was born in Schneeberg, Saxony, "generally called only Musculus" and educated in Leipzig and Wittenberg. He became professor in university of Frankfurt an der Oder...
(*1514-1581*) - 1581 - 1594: Christoph Cornerus (also Corner, Körner, or Korner; *1519-1594*)
- 1595 - 1633: Christoph Pelargus (also Storch; *1565-1633*)
- ?
- 1829 - 1853: D. Daniel Amadeus Gottlieb Neander, in personal unionPersonal unionA personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
Provost of St. Peter's Church (Berlin) - 1853 - 1873: D. Wilhelm Hoffmann, also court preacher
- 1873 - 1879: ?
- 1879 - 1891: Theodor Johannes Rudolf Kögel (*1829-1896*), also Berlin royal court preacher since 1863
- 1892 - 1903: D. Ernst Hermann (von) Dryander (*1843-1922*)
- 1903 - 1921?: David Hennig Paul Köhler (*1848-1926*)
- 1921 - 1924: Karl Theodor Georg Axenfeld (*1869-1924*)
- 1925 - 1933: D. Dr. Otto DibeliusF. K. Otto DibeliusFriedrich Karl Otto Dibelius was a German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, and staunch opponent of Nazism and communism.-Early years:...
, furloughed by State Commissioner August Jäger.
- General Superintendents of the New March-Lower LusatiaLower LusatiaLower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
- 1829 - 1836: Wilhelm Ross
- 1836 - 1900?: vacancy?
- 1900 - 1909?: D. Theodor Braun (*?-1911*)
- 1909? - 1925?: Hans Keßler (*1856-1939*)
- 1925 - 1933: D. Ernst Vits, pensioned off by State Commissioner August Jäger.
In 1933 the Prussian government imposed new leaders, who reshaped the structures. The evangelical church (then named Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union) underwent a schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
into a schismatic streamlined Nazi-obedient branch and a steadfast, truly Protestant branch, clinging to the Confessing Church
Confessing Church
The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...
.
- Bishopric of Berlin (subordinate to the newly instituted State Bishop of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union)
- 1933, September - November: Provincial Bishop Joachim Hossenfelder
- 1933 - 1934: Provincial Bishop D. Emil Karow (resigned in opposition to the Nazi-obedient State Bishop Ludwig Müller, the position was not restaffed)
- Kurmark (subordinate to the Bishopric of Berlin)
- 1933 - 1945: ProvostProvost (religion)A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
Fritz Loerzer (with interruption 1936-1939) - 1933 - 1945: D. Dr. Otto DibeliusF. K. Otto DibeliusFriedrich Karl Otto Dibelius was a German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, and staunch opponent of Nazism and communism.-Early years:...
, ignoring the furloughFurloughIn the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
and continuing to serve as general superintendent - accepted only in the non-schismatic congregations.
- 1933 - 1945: Provost
- New March-Lower Lusatia (subordinate to the Bishopric of Berlin)
- 1933 - 1935?: Provost Otto Eckert
In 1945 the pre-1933 structures were provisionally restituted:
- General Superintendent of the Kurmark
- 1945 - 1946: D. Dr. Otto Dibelius, reconfirmed by the provisionally leading advisory council . The Beirat also commissioned Dibelius to serve per pro the vavant general superintendencies of Berlin and New March-Lower Lusatia. The Soviet occupational power agreed that Dibelius would use the title of Bishop, better recognisable for the Soviets as clerical title than the term general superintendent mostly unknown in Russian.
- 1946 - 1949: Martin Braun
- General Superintendents of the New March-Lower LusatiaLower LusatiaLower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
- 1945: D. Dr. Otto DibeliusF. K. Otto DibeliusFriedrich Karl Otto Dibelius was a German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, and staunch opponent of Nazism and communism.-Early years:...
, per pro - 1946 - 1949: Günter Jacob
- 1945: D. Dr. Otto Dibelius
In 1949 the General Superintendencies were renamed in Cottbus (formerly New March-Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
) and Neuruppin (formerly Kurmark) and territorially somewhat redeployed.
- General Superintendents of Cottbus
- 1949 - 1972: Günter Jacob
- General Superintendents of Neuruppin
Bishops of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg
In 1948 the first post-war elected provincial synod of the March of Brandenburg ecclesiastical province of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union constituted as an independent church body named Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg. The new constitution provided for a chairperson to bear the title bishop.- 1948 - 1966: D. Dr. Otto DibeliusF. K. Otto DibeliusFriedrich Karl Otto Dibelius was a German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, and staunch opponent of Nazism and communism.-Early years:...
- 1966 - 1972: D. Kurt ScharfKurt ScharfKurt Scharf was a German clergyman and bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg.- Life :Kurt Scharf was born in Landsberg an der Warthe in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg...
West 1972-1991 (competent for West Berlin):
- 1972 - 1976: D. Kurt Scharf
- 1976 - 1991: Dr. theol. Martin Kruse
East 1972- 1991 (competent for East Berlin and Brandenburg):
- 1972 - 1981: D. h.c. Albrecht Schönherr
- 1981 - 1991: Dr. theol. Gottfried Forck
Reunited church body since 1991:
- 1991 - 1993: Dr. theol. Martin Kruse
- 1994 - 2003: Prof. Dr. theol. Wolfgang HuberWolfgang HuberWolfgang Huber is a prominent German theologian and ethicist. Huber served as bishop of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia until November 2009...
On January 1, 2004 the church body merged with the Evangelical Church of Silesian Upper Lusatia.
Silesian General Superintendents and Bishops
- 1829 - 1925: ?
- 1925 - 1945: D. Otto Zänker, general superintendent until 1935, then titled bishop
- 1945 - 1963: D. Ernst Hornig, preases until 1946, then bishop
- 1964 - 1979: D. Hans-Joachim Fränkel, bishop
- 1979 - 1985: Hanns-Joachim Wollstadt, bishop
- 1986 - 1994: Joachim Rogge, bishop
- 1994 - 2003: Klaus Wollenweber, bishop
Bishops of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia
- 2004 - 2009: Wolfgang HuberWolfgang HuberWolfgang Huber is a prominent German theologian and ethicist. Huber served as bishop of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia until November 2009...
- 2009 - present: Markus DrögeMarkus DrögeMarkus Dröge is a German theologian and bishop of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia ....
Synod
The election of the synod (Landessynode) is for six years. The synod meets each year in Berlin. The leader of the synod is called "Präses" (praeses).Books
- Berlin-Brandenburg:
- Gesangbuch zum gottesdienstlichen Gebrauch für evangelische Gemeinen, Berlin, 1829
- Evangelisches Gesangbuch, nach Zustimmung der Provinzialsynode vom Jahre 1884 zur Einführung in der Provinz Brandenburg mit Genehmigung des Evang. Oberkirchenrats herausgegeben vom Königlichen Konsistorium, Berlin, 1884
- Evangelisches Gesangbuch for Brandenburg and Pommern, Berlin and Frankfurt/Oder; eingeführt durch Beschlüsse der Provinzialsynoden der Kirchenprovinz Pommern 1925 and 1927 and Mark Brandenburg 1927 and 1929 and nach der Notverordnung des Kirchensenats from August 7, 1931 published from the Provinzialkirchenräten Brandenburg and Pommern 1931
- Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch, Edition for the Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg; Ausgabe für die Konsistorialbezirke Berlin, Magdeburg, Greifswald und Görlitz und der Evang. Landeskirche Anhalts" bzw. "Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch, Ausgabe für die Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalt, Evang. Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg, Evang. Kirche des Görlitzer Kirchengebietes, Evang. Landeskirche Greifswald, Evang. Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen"
- Evangelisches Gesangbuch, Edition for the Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts, die Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg, die Evangelische Kirche der schlesischen Oberlausitz, die Pommersche Evangelische Kirche, die Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen, Berlin/Leipzig; eingeführt am Reformationstag, 31. Oktober 1993
- Silesian Upper Lusatia:
- Gesangbuch für Evangelische Gemeinden Schlesiens; since 1878
- Schlesisches Provinzial-Gesangbuch; since 1908
- Evangelisches Kirchen-Gesangbuch (EKG) - Edition for the Konsistorialbezirke Berlin, Magdeburg, Greifswald und Görlitz and the Evang. Landeskirche Anhalts/ Edition for the Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalt, Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg, Evangelische Kirche des Görlitzer Kirchengebietes, Evangelische Landeskirche Greifswald, Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen; since 1953
- Evangelisches Gesangbuch - Edition for the Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts, the Evangelische Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg, the Evangelische Kirche der schlesischen Oberlausitz, the Pommersche Evangelische Kirche, the Evangelische Kirche der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen; since Mai 1994