Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Brunswick
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The Evangelical Lutheran State Church in Brunswick (German: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Braunschweig) is a Lutheran church in the German states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The seat of the bishop is Wolfenbüttel. Its district as a state church covers the former State of Brunswick in the borders of 1945. The church has 410,000 members (as of 2005) in about 400 parishes, constituting 48% of the population of its district.
It 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. It is also a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, and the World Council of Churches. Leading bishop of the church is Dr. theol. Friedrich Weber (since 2002).
The Church of Brunswick owns about 480 churches; the most famous of these is Brunswick Cathedral.
[edit] History
The Church of Brunswick originated as the state church of the Principality of Wolfenbüttel, where the Protestant Reformation was ultimately introduced in 1568. The ruling duke acted as bishop of the church. In 1704, Wolfenbüttel introduced religious tolerance, so that parishes not belonging to the state church could be founded. After monarchy was abolished in 1918, the Church of Brunswick became an independent organization, but retained — like all German state churches — certain privileges.
