North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church

The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (German: Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche; NEK) was a Lutheran regional church in Northern Germany which emerged from a merger of four churches in 1977 and merged with two more churches in 2012. The NEK largely covered the area of the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg where it was the most important Christian denomination. It had 2.1 million members (as of 2006) in 595 parishes, constituting 46% of the population in its ambit.

In May 2012 the NEK, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church merged into Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.[1]

The NEK was a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), and the Lutheran World Federation (joined 1977).[2] The church was also a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe.

History

The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1977 by the merger of four former state churches:

It is named after its ambit mostly located north of the River Elbe. In 2011 Kirsten Fehrs was the first woman to become a bishop in the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church. At Pentecost 2012 it merged with the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church to form the new Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.

Prominent buildings

The most prominent church buildings were Schleswig Cathedral, Lübeck Cathedral and St. Michaelis in Hamburg.

Practices

Ordination of women and blessing of same-sex unions were allowed.

List of bishops

Bishops of the Hamburg district (Sprengel Hamburg; 1977–2008)

Main article: Bishops of Hamburg

The preaching venue of the bishop was the new St. Nicholas Church (till 1987) and thereafter St. Michael's.

Bishops of the Holstein-Lübeck district (Sprengel Holstein-Lübeck; 1977–2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop was the Lübeck Cathedral.

Bishops of the Schleswig district (Sprengel Schleswig; 1977–2008)

Main article: Bishops of Schleswig

The preaching venue of the bishop was the Schleswig Cathedral.

Bishops of the Hamburg and Lübeck district (Sprengel Hamburg und Lübeck; since 2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop is the St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg.

Bishops of the Schleswig and Holstein district (Sprengel Schleswig und Holstein; since 2008)

The preaching venue of the bishop is the Schleswig Cathedral.

References

  1. ↑ Nordkirche.de (german)
  2. 1 2 3 "Bishop-Elect Gerhard Ulrich to Lead North Elbian Schleswig-Holstein Region". Lutheran World Federation. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  3. 1 2 . Deutsche Welle. 2008-06-16 Gorski if elected http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3423656,00.html Gorski if elected Check |url= value (help). Retrieved 2009-09-29. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

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