Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
The Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) 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. Prior to 2003 the CPCE was known as the "Leuenberg Church Fellowship".
Members are most Lutheran and Reformed churches in Europe, the United churches that originated from mergers of these churches, and pre-Reformation churches such as the Waldensians. The European Methodist churches joined the CPCE by a common declaration of church fellowship in 1997.
The General Secretary is the Reverend Dr Michael Bünker (who is also Bishop of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Austria). The offices of the CPCE are located in Vienna, Austria, shared with the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Austria.
Membership
98 churches have signed the Leuenberg Agreement since 1973 as so-called signatory churches. Seven Methodist churches belong to the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe on the basis of a "Joint Declaration to Church Fellowship." As a result of several mergers, disbanding (Federation of Ev. Ref. Congregations in the GDR) and territorial division (Reformed Christian Church in Yugoslavia), there are at present 94 churches out of 105 member churches. Out of five Scandinavian Lutheran churches, which have participated in the Leuenberg Church Fellowship since 1973 as so-called participating churches, two churches (Denmark and Norway) have lately signed the Leuenberg Agreement.
More than thirty years have passed since the Church of Lippe became the first church to sign the Leuenberg Agreement in 1973. In the meantime some things have changed:
Mergers
- Four German Lutheran churches in Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Eutin, Lübeck) merged to form the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
- The Protestant Church of Belgium and the Reformed Church of Belgium merged to form the United Protestant Church in Belgium.
- The Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg in East and West Germany was reunited.
- Three Dutch churches (Lutherse, Gereformeerde, Hervormde Kerken) merged to form the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.
- The Congregational Union of Scotland joined the United Reformed Church.
- The Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg and the Evangelical Church of the Silesian Oberlausitz merged to form the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Oberlausitz
- In 2009, the Protestant churches in the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia merged to form the Evangelical Church in Central Germany
Disbanding
- Federation of Ev. Ref. Congregations in the GDR0
Territorial division
- Reformed Christian Church in Yugoslavia
Participating Churches
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Church of Sweden and Church of Iceland have been participating in the world of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe without signing to the Leuenberg Agreement.
Member Churches
- Biserica Evanghélica C.A. din Romania (Evangelical Church of the A.C . in Romania)
- Biserica Evanghélica Lutherana din Romania (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania)
- Bremische Evangelische Kirche (Evangelical Church of Bremen)
- Bund Evangelisch-Lutherischer Kirchen in der Schweiz und im Fürstentum Liechtenstein BELK (Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein BELK)
- Bund evangelisch-reformierter Kirchen Deutschlands (Federation of Evangelical Reformed Churches of Germany)
- Ceskobratrská Cirkev Evangelická (Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren)
- Chiesa Evangelica Luterana in Italia (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy CELI)
- Chiesa Evangelica Metodista d'Italia (United Methodist Church of Italy)
- Chiesa Evangelica Valdese (Waldensian Church in Italy)
- Church of Scotland
- Církev Bratrská (Church of the Brethren)
- Cirkev Ceskoslovenska husitska (Czechoslovak Hussite Church)
- Den norske Kirke (Church of Norway)
- Den reformerte Synode i Danmark (Reformed Synod of Denmark)
- Eesti evangeelne Luterilik Kirik (Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church EELK)
- Eglise de la Confession d'Augsbourg d'Alsace et de Lorraine (Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine ECAAL)
- Eglise évangélique luthérienne de France (Evangelical Lutheran Church of France)
- Eglise Protestante Unie de Belgique (United Protestant Church of Belgium)
- Eglise Réformée d'Alsace et de Lorraine (Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine ERAL)
- Eglise Reformée de France (Reformed Church of France ERF)
- Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru (Presbyterian Church of Wales PCW)
- Ev. Kirche Deutscher Sprache in Griechenland (German-speaking Protestant Church in Greece)
- Evangeličanska cerkev AV v Republiki Sloveniji (Evangelical Church of Slovenia)
- Evangelická cirkev a.v. na Slovensku (Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Slovak Republic)
- Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Croatia)
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria)
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Oldenburg (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg)
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Russland und anderen Staaten (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States ELKRAS)
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover)
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche in Braunschweig (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick)
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony)
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schaumburg-Lippe (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe)
- Evangelisch-methodistische Kirche Zentralkonferenz Deutschland EmK (United Methodist Church - Central Conference of Germany)
- Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche (Evangelical Reformed Church (Synod of the Evangelical-Reformed Churches in Bavaria and North-West Germany))
- Evangelische Kirche A.B. in Österreich (Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria)
- Evangelische Landeskirche Anhalts (Evangelical Church of Anhalt EvLKAnh)
- Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden (Evangelical Church in Baden, EkiBa)
- Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz (Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia EKBO)
- Evangelische Kirche H.B. in Österreich (Evangelical Church of the Helvetic Confession in Austria)
- Evangelische Kirche im Fürstentum Liechtenstein (Protestant Church of Liechtenstein)
- Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz (Protestantische Landeskirche) (Evangelical Church of the Palatinate)
- Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland (Evangelical Church of the Rhineland EKIR)
- Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (Evangelical Church in Germany EKD)
- Evangelische Kirche in Hessen und Nassau (Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau)
- Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck (Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck EKKW)
- Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland (Evangelical Church in Central Germany EKM)
- Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen (Evangelical Church of Westphalia EKvW)
- Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg (Evangelical Church in Württemberg)
- Evangelische Synode Deutscher Sprache in Grossbritannien (German-Speaking Evangelical-Lutheran Synod in Great Britain)
- Evangelischen Brüder-Unität (Moravian Church Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde)
- Evangelisk-lutherske Folkekirke i Danmark (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark)
- Helliniki Evangeliki Ekklesia (Greek Evangelical Church GEC)
- Iglesia Ev. Valdense del Río de la Plata (Waldensian Church of the River Plate)
- Iglesia Evangélica del Rio de la Plata (Evangelical Church of the River Plate IERP)
- Iglesia Evangélica Española (Spanish Evangelical Church IEE)
- Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Unida (United Evangelical Lutheran Church I.E.L.U.)
- Iglesia Evangélica Metodista Argentina (Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina)
- Iglesias Reformadasen Argentina (Reformed Church of Argentina)
- Igreja Evangélica Metodista Portuguesa (Evangelical Methodist Church of Portugal)
- Igreja Evangélica Presbiteriana de Portugal (Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Portugal IEPP)
- Kárpátaljai Református Egyház (Reformed Church in Transcarpathia)
- Kościół Ewangelicko-Augsburski w RP (Evangelical-Augsburg (Lutheran) Church in Poland)
- Kościół Ewangelicko-Reformowany w RP (Reformed Evangelical Church in Poland)
- Latvijas Evangeliski Luteriska Baznica (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia ELKL)
- Lietuvos Evangeliku Liuteronu Baznycia (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania)
- Lietuvos Evangeliku Reformatu Baznycia (Reformed Church in Lithuania)
- Lippische Landeskirche (Church of Lippe)
- Litauische Evangelisch-Lutherische Exilkirche (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania in Exile (Germany))
- Lutheran Church in Ireland
- Magyarországi Evangélikus Egyház (Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary)
- Magyarországi Reformatus Egyház (Reformed Church in Hungary)
- Methodist Church in Great Britain
- Methodist Church in Ireland
- Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norddeutschland, Nordkirche)
- Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI)
- Protestantesch Kiirch vu Letzebuerg (Protestant Church of Luxembourg)
- Protestantisch-Reformierte Kirche von Luxembourg H.B. (Reformed Church of Luxemburg)
- Protestantse Kerk in Nederland (Protestant Church in the Netherlands)
- Reformirana Krscanska Crkva U Hrvatskoj (Reformed Christian Church in Croatia RCCC)
- Reformovaná Krest. Církev na Slovensku (Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia)
- Remonstrantse Broederschap (Remonstrant Brotherhood)
- Romaniai Reformatus Egyház, Erdélyi Református Egyházkerület (Reformed Church in Romania, District Transsilvania)
- Romániai Református Egyház, Királyhágómelléki Református Egyházkerület (Reformed Church in Romania, Western district)
- Schweizerischer Evangelischer Kirchenbund (Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches SEK)
- Slezská církev evangelická a.v. (Silesian evangelical church of the Augsburg Confession)
- Slovenska Evanjelika A.V. Cirkev v Juhoslavii (Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Yugoslavia)
- Szerbiai Református Keresztyén Egyház (Reformed Christian Church in Serbia)
- Union Evangelischer Kirchen in der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland (Union of Evangelical Churches UEK)
- United Free Church of Scotland (UFCOS)
- United Methodist Church
- United Methodist Church (Central and Southern Europe)
- United Methodist Church, Eurasia Episcopal Area
- United Reformed Church in the United Kingdom