Coetus of the Reformed preacher of East Frisia

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The New Church in Emden, the meeting place of the Coetus of the Reformed preachers in East Frisia

The Coetus (Latin for assembly, meeting) of the Reformed preachers in East Frisia is the gathering of preachers. It is considered to be the oldest pastors' association within the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). It currently has between 60 and 70 members. The venue is the New Church in Emden .

history

The Coetus of the Reformed preachers East Frisia was founded in 1544 by the theologian Johannes a Lasco . Lasco had been superintendent in East Frisia since 1542 . The country was divided into a Calvinist western part and a Lutheran eastern part, until then largely without political control.

In addition, so shortly after the Reformation there was no regular training for Protestant theologians, the majority of whom were Catholic priests who had converted to the new faith. In addition, there were also self-appointed preachers who presented letters of recommendation from other congregations.

Lasco now began to make visitations to see whether the preachers really followed the right faith . For this purpose he founded the Coetus in 1544 as an assembly of all preachers of the universal church. The Lutherans also belonged to the Coetus until 1590. Here the unity of doctrine should be ensured, especially at the sacrament. However, this did not succeed in the long run. The Coetus has been the only assembly of Reformed pastors since 1590, but has no jurisdiction . As such, it still exists today.

In the beginning, the weekly meetings took place in different places until the Emden Gasthauskammer in the former Franciscan monastery became a permanent venue, later the New Church in Emden. The conferences took place from the first Tuesday after Easter through the summer until the Tuesday after Michaelmas Day. Under Menso Alting , the Coetus gave itself a new order in 1576, which envisaged the Coetus as a church-governing organ on a presbyterial-synodal basis. However, various Lutheran pastors and Count Edzard II did not sign the new order, which promoted the development of two denominational churches in one territory. On June 3, 1583, Count Edzard banned the Coetus, which was continued in his offices in Leer and Stickhausen as well as in the office of Greetsiel under his reformed brother Johann II . After Johann's death in 1591, Edzard abolished the Coetus in all of East Frisia and tried to win his rule over to the Lutheran Church, which only led to a further polarization of the two denominations. In the Emden Concordat of 1599, the Reformed and the Lutheran creed were recognized as having equal rights.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Emder Zeitung of May 11th, 2009: Library rejects speakers: conference has to move
  2. ↑ archiv-heinze.de: Coetus
  3. ^ Reformiert-info.de: Johannes a Lasco
  4. ↑ Smid: East Frisian Church History. 1974, p. 213.
  5. ↑ Smid: East Frisian Church History. 1974, pp. 255-268.

literature

  • Ernst Kochs, Diddo Wiarda: Legacy and Mission - 450 Years Coetus of the Evangelical Reformed preachers in East Frisia . Sollermann, Leer 1994, ISBN 3-928612-15-8 .
  • Menno Smid: East Frisian Church History (=  East Frisia in the protection of the dike; 6 ). Self-published, Pewsum 1974.