Evangelical Church on La Plata

IERP church building in Basavilbaso , Entre Ríos

The Evangelical Church on La Plata ( Spanish : Iglesia Evangélica del Río de la Plata - IERP ) is a United Church in Argentina , Uruguay and Paraguay . She is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Community of Reformed Churches (WRK), the Lutheran World Federation , the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) and the Community of Evangelical Churches in Europe (CPCE). Its official seat is in Buenos Aires .

history

The Evangelical Church on La Plata goes back to German-speaking immigrants who wanted to preserve their linguistic and ecclesiastical identity in the countries on La Plata. In 1843 the first German-speaking parish was established in Buenos Aires. In 1899 the German-speaking congregations in Argentina, Uruguay (Montevideo) and Paraguay (Asunción) joined forces to form the German Evangelical La Plata Synod . Because the establishment was carried out by the Evangelical Upper Church Council in Berlin, the parishes formally belonged to the Evangelical Church of the older provinces of Prussia (from 1922: Church of the Old Prussian Union ). In 1934, the synod of the German Evangelical Church joined and has been a subsidiary of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) since 1945 .

It did not become independent until 1965, after the main language had gradually changed from German to Spanish. This marked the change from the immigrant church to a church rooted on La Plata. Since 1970, the Instituto Universitario ISEDET has served to train pastors . After the 1976 coup, the Church was an important opposition to the Argentine military dictatorship with its advocacy of human rights. Since the beginning of the “debt crisis” in the 1990s, she has been committed to countering the economic neoliberalism that the IMF and World Bank have imposed on the Argentine state. In 2010 the Reformed Churches in Argentina ( Iglesias Reformadas en Argentina ) joined the IERP.

organization

The 42 congregations (with around 250 preaching sites) form seven districts. The Synod , which meets every two years, is the highest organ of the Church. It elects a church leadership ( Junta Directiva ) headed by a church president (since 2018: Leonardo Schindler ). It has around 25,150 members.

Church presidents

• 1965–1968: Friedrich Hoppe
• 1968–1974: Heinz Joachim Held
• 1974–1980: Peter Lienenkämper
• 1980–1998: Rodolfo Reinich
• 1998-2002: Juan Pedro Schaad
• 1998–2002: Federico Schaefer
• 1998-2002: Carlos Duarte
• since 2018: Leonardo Schindler

literature

• Hans-Jürgen Prien : The history of Christianity in Latin America . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1978.
• Karl Schwittay: Evangelical Church on La Plata . Ed. Church Chancellery of the Evangelical Church of the Union. Berlin 1985.
• René Krüger: Life, work and mission of the Evangelical Church on La Plata . In: The Protestant Diaspora. Yearbook of the Gustav-Adolf-Werk 70 , 2001, pp. 139–163.
• Juan Abelardo Schvindt: Ecclesiology and Mission in the Environment of the Evangelical Church on La Plata . In: The Protestant Diaspora. Yearbook of the Gustav-Adolf-Werk 73 , 2004, pp. 131–146.
• Daniel Beros: “Faithfulness and tolerance” in the experience and perspective of the Evangelical Church on La Plata . In: Messages from ecumenism and work abroad 2005 , ed. from the church office of the EKD .
• René Krüger: The churches in the La Plata area in the process of confession . In: The Protestant Diaspora. Yearbook of the Gustav-Adolf-Werk 75 , 2006, pp. 30–54.
• Claudia Häfner: Getting home on La Plata: from the German Evangelical La Plata Synod to the Iglesia Evangélica del Río de la Plata . LIT Verlag, Münster 2008. ISBN 978-3-8258-1731-2 .

Web links

Commons : Evangelical Church at La Plata  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of the IERP
• Entry on the World Council of Churches website
• Entry on the website of the Lutheran World Federation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sabine Plonz: On the way to a liberating mission. Ecumenical learning in conversation with Latin America . In: Freddy Dutz (Red.): On the way to a liberating mission. Ecumenical dialogue with Latin America (= world mission today, vol. 54). Evangelisches Missionswerk in Deutschland, Hamburg 2004, pp. 7–61, here p. 35.
2. ↑ Quiénes somos on the IERP website.
3. ↑ Statutes of IERP
4. ↑ Argentina / Paraguay / Uruguay: New church president elected. Press release of the Gustav-Adolf-Werk from October 15, 2018.
5. ↑ Entry on the website of the World Council of Churches, accessed on September 3, 2018.