Austrian Evangelical Alliance

The Austrian Evangelical Alliance (ÖEA) is an evangelical gathering movement from various Christian churches and religious denominations. The ÖEA is a member of the World Evangelical Alliance and the European Evangelical Alliance . The association is based in Bürmoos

history

The Evangelical Alliance was founded in London in 1846 . In Austria , the International Alliance Prayer Week took place for the first time in Vienna in 1863 and in Oberschützen (in today's Burgenland, organized by the Protestant parish). In the first decades pastors from free churches as well as employees of missionary and diaconal works tried to achieve this kind of togetherness.

The decades from 1920 to 1960 are well documented by a dense source of sources. In the 1920s, u. a. the Reformed Hans Jaquemar and Hans Haberl. In the post-war decades (from 1945 to the 1960s), senior representatives of the Evangelical Church , such as Georg Traar and Gustav Entz, also took part . The alliance, which until then was mainly represented in the capital Vienna, now also spread to the federal states. In 1975, an Austrian Evangelical Alliance (ÖEA) was founded, constituted as an association in 1988 (official approval, i.e. "non-prohibition", took place in 1989). The ALLIANZ SPIEGEL has been published quarterly since 1986 as a general information organ.

Belief base

The belief base of evangelicals around the world highlights eight tenets as fundamental:

God (triune), Bible (inspired and reliable), man (fallen and sinful), Jesus (became man and died for men), righteousness (received through faith in Jesus), Holy Spirit (causes rebirth and sanctifies), Church (formed from believers, responsible for spreading the word), Jesus' return (and eternal life of believers).

This basis was explained by the ÖEA so that its self- image becomes recognizable - as an orientation aid e.g. B. for communities that are considering a collaboration with the ÖEA. The preamble at the beginning emphasizes the revelation given in the Old and New Testaments. The explanation deals with the process of Bible interpretation:

“In order to understand this revelation, most of us need a translation into our own language. But even when reading a translation of the Bible, we use our understanding and our experience, we use Bible commentaries, and we take the interpretations of Christian teachers seriously. And we ask the Holy Spirit to unlock this revelation for us. The understanding of this closed disclosure arises from a combination of several factors. However, the content of the disclosure is not supplemented; we do not expect that future or present visions should have such a meaning that they stand on the same level as the said revelation. "

organization

Legal status

The alliance is legally organized as a registered association with its headquarters in Bürmoos in the province of Salzburg .

management

The board currently includes:

Chairman: Hans Widmann
Deputy Chairman: Monikas Faes
Treasurer: Rainer Saga
Deputy Treasurer: Sven Kühne
Secretary: Margit Eichhorn
Deputy Secretary: Rudolf Borchert

literature

Frank Hinkelmann : History of the Evangelical Alliance in Austria. From its beginnings in the 19th century to the end of the 20th century (= studies on the history of Christian movements of the Reformation tradition in Austria , 1). Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft , Bonn 2006, ISBN 3-938116-18-8 ; 2nd expanded edition 2012.
Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer (Ed.): Evangelical Alliance in Vienna from the First Republic to the Nazi era (1920–45). Edition of the meeting minutes and programs (= studies on the history of Christian movements of the Reformation tradition in Austria, 2). Publishing house for culture and science, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-938116-86-9 .
Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer: The Evangelical Alliance of Vienna in Dark Times. About YMCA, Jewish and People's Mission as well as People's and Free Churches until 1945. Verlag für Theologie und Religionswissenschaft, Nuremberg 2015 (generally understandable, based on the edition).