Evangelical office

The term Evangelical Office is the short form for the office of the Commissioner of the Evangelical Churches at the federal government or the governments of the German federal states . The commissioner should keep in contact with the ministries, parties and organizations and inform the EKD and churches about current developments. He influences these by issuing statements on behalf of the EKD or the regional churches. At the same time, there is a single point of contact for politicians for several regional churches in a federal state.

history

The first Protestant office was set up by Hermann Kunst in Bonn. From 1950 to 1977 he was the first authorized representative of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) to the federal government. The “Authorized Representative of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany for the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union” represents the EKD in its entirety to the Federal Government and the German Bundestag as well as to the bodies of the European Union .

Evangelical offices have been set up in all state governments with the exception of Bremen. You work with the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) as well as with the Catholic offices .

Baden-Württemberg

The “Representative of the Protestant Churches of Baden and Württemberg at the State Parliament and the State Government” heads the Protestant Office in Stuttgart. There he represents the Evangelical Church in Baden and the Evangelical Church in Württemberg . The commissioner was Wolfgang Weber, the church councilor from 2001 to 2010 . He was succeeded by Church Councilor Volker Steinbrecher on August 1, 2011.

Bavaria

In Bavaria, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria is represented by the "Commissioner of the Bavarian regional church for relations with the state parliament and state government as well as for European issues". The position was created in 2002 and filled with Dieter Breit .

Berlin and Brandenburg

Martin Vogel from the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia is the “Commissioner for the states of Berlin and Brandenburg” . In Brandenburg, he also represents the Evangelical Church in Central Germany , the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany and the Evangelical Lutheran Regional Church of Saxony .

Hamburg

"State Church Commissioner for the State of Hamburg" is Dr. Elisabeth Chowaniec from the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Hesse

In Wiesbaden, the regional churches are represented by the "Commissioner of the Evangelical Churches in Hesse at the seat of the regional government", who represents the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau , the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck and the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland .

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

The “Joint Commissioner of the Evangelical Lutheran Regional Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church in the State Parliament and State Government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania” takes over the representation of the Evangelical Lutheran Regional Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church .

Lower Saxony

In Lower Saxony, representation at the state government is carried out by the Confederation of Protestant Churches in Lower Saxony .

North Rhine-Westphalia

The Evangelical Office of North Rhine-Westphalia (officially: "Commissioner of the Evangelical Churches in the State Parliament and State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia") in Düsseldorf has been headed by Church Councilor Dr. Thomas Weckelmann. He represents the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland , the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and the Lippe Regional Church . The office was founded in 1961. The first leader and representative of the Evangelical Churches in North Rhine-Westphalia was Johannes Doehring . His successor was Albrecht von Mutius from 1973 to 1985 ; He was followed by Helmuth Koegel-Dorfs (until 1995), Peter Krug (until 1998), Karl-Wolfgang Brandt (until 2004), Rolf Krebs (until 2013) and currently Dr. Thomas Weckelmann.

Rhineland-Palatinate

"Commissioner of the Evangelical Churches in Rhineland-Palatinate at the seat of the state government" has been Thomas Posern since 2010; his predecessor was Jochen Buchter. He represents the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau , the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (Protestant Church) . The representation takes place in office community with the Diakonische Werken in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Saarland

The “Commissioner of the Evangelical Churches in Saarland at the seat of the state government” represents the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (Protestant regional church) . Frank Matthias Hofmann has been the incumbent since 2007.

Saxony

The office was established in 1994. The "Commissioner of the Evangelical Churches in the Free State of Saxony" is Christoph Seele. In addition to the area of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony, there are also areas of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia .

Saxony-Anhalt

Albrecht Steinhäuser is the “Commissioner of the Evangelical Churches in Saxony-Anhalt” for the Evangelical Church in Anhalt , the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Braunschweig , the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia and the Evangelical Church in Central Germany .

Schleswig-Holstein

"Regional Church Commissioner for the State of Schleswig-Holstein" is Gothart Magaard from the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church and, since 2012, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany .

Thuringia

The representative of the Protestant regional churches in Thuringia is Oberkirchenrat Christhard Wagner. He heads the Evangelical Office in Erfurt. He represents the interests of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck to the state government .

literature

Kristian Buchna: A clerical decade? Church, denomination and politics in the Federal Republic during the 1950s (= Historical Foundations of Modernism 11), Nomos, Baden-Baden 2014, ISBN 978-3-8487-1230-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ See literature

[1] See literature