Free churches in Austria

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Free churches in Austria
Free churches in Austria
General
Belief Protestantism
organization Modified Congregationalism
particularities Public corporation
president Chairman:
Reinhard Kummer
Deputy:
Karl Peloschek
founding
Establishment date August 26, 2013
Origin and development
Merger with
numbers
Members 20,000 as of 2013
Communities more than 160
schools 8th
Others
Also called: FKÖ (abbreviation)
Website freikirchen.at
schulamt-freikirchen.at

The Free Churches in Austria (FKÖ) have been a recognized religious community in Austria since 2013 and consist of five free church leagues . The free churches practice the baptism of believers , so they reject the baptism of small children . They have about 20,000 people in 160 congregations.

history

Since the beginning of Christianization, Austria has been shaped by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. Therefore, Austrian church historiography focuses mainly on Catholicism. The Evangelical Church and Orthodoxy are also included in the overview. The Anabaptist movement of the 16th century is also mentioned, but hardly the newer free churches.

Prehistory in Austria

The Reformation triggered by Martin Luther is also valued as an important event in free churches. From a free church point of view, it is "a lasting merit of the reformers to have shown that a different, new look at the Bible and a different implementation of its statements are possible compared to the traditional church understanding." Luther and Ulrich Zwingli , the Anabaptist movement emerged , in a sense as a radical Reformation movement. This spread quickly in the Habsburg Monarchy . However, due to the persecution ordered by the Habsburg rulers, it could not last. The tolerance patent of 1781 did not change anything; it only applied to Lutherans and Reformed (as well as Orthodox). In the context of the settlements on the military border , some exercising rights were granted, but these were forfeited again under absolutism.

It was not until the late 19th century that some communities began to tolerate a certain amount. The Herrnhut Brothers Congregation was the first state-approved church in Austria similar to that of a free church. It was recognized in 1880 under the name Evangelical Brethren Church (Herrnhuter Brothers Church) (although the recognition was revoked in 2012 due to a lack of active parishes in Austria). In the early 20th century (when Bosnia's Islam was also recognized) there were approved religious communities in more remote areas of Austria-Hungary (such as the Mennonites in Lemberg / Galicia, 1908).

The oldest continuously existing free churches in the area of ​​today's Austria are the Baptists . As early as 1846, some Baptists met in Vienna for a small group, to which Edward Millard from the Bible Society later joined as an important pillar. In 1869 they formally established a community. Pentecostal congregations emerged in the 1920s in Vienna and in the state of Salzburg (and then also in Bad Ischl). Associations of such congregations emerged from the 1940s and 1950s, at this time also the first Mennonite congregations. The Federation of Evangelical Congregations came into being in the 1990s. The Elaia community, which emerged as such in Austria, is an amalgamation of several charismatic communities that emphasize Israel as the root of Christianity in the 2000s.

The Methodists made an application for recognition as a church as early as 1892, the Baptists in 1906. This and other applications were kidnapped by the state and finally rejected. A corresponding application by the Mennonites was also rejected in 2009. In 1998 Baptists, Evangelicals and Pentecostals were given the new status of a denominational community, followed by the Mennonites in 2001 and the Elaia Christian congregations in 2006. But such confessional communities also experienced disadvantages and legal uncertainties, so that full recognition was still sought. A Catholic working group, which has been active since 2009, provided support for the consultations and contacts. In the course of these talks, the most promising path turned out to be a merger of the free church leagues. Such a merger came about after two years. There had been theological differences between evangelicals and Pentecostals, but the free church leaders saw a great common ground.

Recognition 2013

These five leagues have previously had the status of registered religious denomination communities - that is a middle level between private associations on the one hand and recognized churches and religious communities on the other.

The Confessional Community Act of 1998 requires that the community in question has a membership of 2 ‰ of the Austrian population (around 8.5 million at the time of the recognition of the Free Churches), i.e. around 17,000 members at that time. The relevant census was that of 2001. At that time, the religion was also asked. In the process, 7,186 of the resident population (i.e. Austrian citizens and foreigners added together) claimed responsibility for the Pentecostal churches, 4,892 for the Evangelicals, 2,108 for the Baptists and 381 for the Mennonites, for a total of 14,567. Here, the “non-religious” children who were not baptized were also given by their parents (which is appropriate for a comparison with the number of members of popular churches that practice infant baptism). For recognition in 2013, a number of around 20,000 members could be credibly represented.

The recognition "as a church (religious society)" took place by ordinance of the Minister of Education of August 26, 2013. The status of a corporation under public law is linked to the recognition :

"Recognition of the supporters of the Federation of Baptist Congregations, the Federation of Evangelical Congregations, the ELAIA Christian Congregations, the Free Christian Congregation - Pentecostal Church and the Mennonite Free Church in Austria as a church (religious society)."

The application was submitted in January 2013, and recognition as a church took place on August 26, 2013 by the Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture as the 16th state-recognized church or religious society.

The recognition of the free churches was also supported by representatives of the people's churches . Lawyer Peter Krömer, who is also President of the Synod of the Evangelical Church AB , represented the Free Churches in their application. According to Christoph Schönborn , the free churches in Austria are the strongest growing group among Christians.

Belief base

In their common belief base, the free churches profess “Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the world”, and they have the Bible as “the foundation of their belief, thought and action”. They are also connected with all Christians worldwide and refer to the common Apostles' Creed .

The free churches see the spread of the message of salvation of Jesus Christ as their task; “God's love and restoring power should become visible through the life and work of its members and in this way change people and societies.” And they see the Bible as “written and compiled by people with the help of divine inspiration”; as "Word of God", reliable without restrictions, "highest guideline in all questions of faith and conduct of life."

In their presentation of the theological profile of the FKÖ , Anna Bösch and Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer name the following “central theological concerns”: Jesus as the focal point, personal belief, the Bible as the basis, theological training, independent and active local congregations, solidarity with all Christians , Significance of mission as well as the separation and interaction of state and church.

When it comes to specific questions, there are also differences within the groups: Walter Klimt estimates that around half of the communities allow women to take on leadership positions. With regard to the emphasis on the autonomy of the individual municipality, Klimt points out that there was more than 98% approval of the merger in all five leagues, so that the integration into a larger whole was definitely affirmed.

organization

The free churches emphasize - in the sense of congregationalism - the independence of the individual local congregation. The unions do not represent a hierarchically governed church, it is an alliance or an association. The fact that a recognized religious society represents several organisationally independent congregations or congregational associations with theological orientations that differ in details is not new. B. also for the Catholic (Rome-Uniate) and Lutheran / Reformed Church and others. What is unusual around the world, however, is such a broad association of Protestant free churches.

The Evangelical Methodist Church , internationally often assigned to the Free Churches, as the Evangelical Methodist Church in Austria, on the other hand , forms its own church, which is particularly close to the Lutheran / Reformed Evangelicals (A. and H. B) .

Participating free churches

The following unions belong to the free churches in Austria (penultimate column number of local congregations at the beginning of the 2010s, for the larger unions approximately; in the last column approximate number of members at the beginning of the 2000s):

logo G. M.
Logo of the Austrian Baptist Union.JPG Federation of Baptist Congregations in Austria 025th 02000 (1)
Logo of the Federation of Evangelical Congregations in Austria.JPG Federation of Evangelical Congregations in Austria (BEG) 045 05000
Logo of the Free Christian Church Pentecostal Church in Austria.JPG Free Christian Congregation - Pentecostal Church (FCGÖ) 080 07200
Elaia 2.JPG Elaia Christian Congregations (ECG) 007th 00400
Logo of the Mennonite Free Church of Austria. JPG Mennonite Free Church Austria 006th 00400
(1) 2014: around 1400

The federations united here do not represent the totality of the Austrian free churches : In addition there are “other free church congregations to which the free churches in Austria feel connected.” The total number of congregations should be 300, the free church Christians in Austria could be around 50,000 be.

Number of members

In 2001 the four unions included in the census had 103 communities with officially counted almost 15,000 members. In 2012 - now with the seven Elaia churches - there were already 166 churches, an increase of more than half. It is only z. T. to new communities; many existed earlier, but did not join one of the leagues until 2001–2012 (especially charismatic congregations that joined the Pentecostal league). Similarly, there was also an increase in the membership of these five frets. An estimate by the free churches comes to more than 20,000 people.

There are particularly many free church - belonging to the FKÖ - parishes in Vienna and in Upper Austria (each more than 30). The Pentecostal congregations are strongly represented in seven federal states (with the exception of Tyrol and Burgenland). The Baptists have almost half of their congregations in Vienna. There are Mennonite communities mainly in Upper Austria.

Structures

The coordination of these free churches in Austria is carried out by a council that was formed in 2013 and consists of leaders of these leagues. Walter Klimt took over the chairmanship at the beginning and handed it over to Edwin Jung in 2015, who handed it over to Reinhold Eichinger in 2017. It is envisaged that a representative from another federal government will take the chair every two years. The council consists of nine people, whereby the groups are represented differently depending on their number of members: At the beginning in 2013, the Pentecostal church was represented by Anton Bergmair and Eduard Griesfelder, the Baptists by Klimt by Anita Ivanovits, the Evangelicals by Erich Röhrer and Reinhold Eichinger, Elaia through Helmuth Eiwen and the Mennonites through Reinhard Kummer.

In September 2019 a new chairmanship was elected in the Mennonite Free Church in Vienna-Meidling. Reinhard Kummer from the Mennonite Free Church was elected to succeed Reinhold Eichinger from the Federation of Evangelical Congregations. Karl Peloschek, chairman of the Elaia Christian congregations, was deputy.

Religious instruction

In September 2014, one year after recognition, the free churches started their own joint religious instruction . It extends across all federal states; Around 1,500 students took part in the 2015/16 school year, and around 90 religious teachers taught. At the Ecclesiastical Pedagogical University in Vienna and Linz, a course "Religion Free Church " is offered; Trained teachers receive the additional qualification to give religious instruction. Paul Tarmann, Armin Wunderli and Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer teach in this course .

literature

  • Anna Bösch, Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer: The theological profile of the “Free Churches in Austria”. In: Johann Hirnsperger, Christian Wessely (ed.): Paths to salvation? (= Theology in Cultural Dialogue, 7d), Innsbruck 2018, pp. 151–162.
  • Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer : Free churches in Austria since 1846. On the sources and on questions of method . In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria , vol. 124/125, 2008/09, pp. 270–302.
  • Frank Hinkelmann : Denomination. Handbook of the Churches, Free Churches and Christian Communities in Austria . edition ea, Linz 2009, chap. V: The Protestant, state-registered religious denomination communities, pp. 111–151.
  • Karl W. Schwarz: Protestant Free Churches in Austria - From Tolerance (1781) to Legal Recognition (2013). In: Free Church Research 25 (2016) pp. 215–234.

Web links

  1. ^ Federation of Baptist Congregations in Austria (baptisten.at)
  2. ^ Federation of Evangelical Congregations in Austria (beg.or.at)
  3. ↑ Free Christian Church - Pentecostal Church (austria.freichristengemeinde.at)
  4. ↑ elaia Christian communities (elaia.at)
  5. ↑ Mennonite Free Church Austria (mennoniten.at)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b New leadership for Austria's free churches. In: ORF.at . September 13, 2019, accessed September 13, 2019 .
  2. ^ Daniel Heinz : Church, State, and Religious Dissent. A History of Seventh-day Adventists in Austria, 1890–1975 . Frankfurt / Main 1993, p. 11: "Austrian church history ... is still written largely from a Catholic or Lutheran viewpoint."
  3. ^ Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer, Frank Hinkelmann : The importance of the popular church Reformation for the theology of Austria's free churches , in: Martina Fuchs, Astrid Schweighofer (arr.): Reformation time and Protestantism in Austrian memory (= yearbook for the history of Protestantism in Austria 132 / 133, 2016/2017, Leipzig 2019), pp. 287–297, there 297.
  4. ↑ On the Anabaptist movement in Austria see Reinhold Eichinger, Josef F. Enzenberger: Anabaptist, Hutterer, Habaner in Austria. Baptist Museum in Niedersulz . VTR, Nuremberg 2011 (also English: Anabaptists, Hutterites and Habans in Austria. Anabaptist Museum in Austria . VTR, Nuremberg 2012).
  5. ↑ Federal Law Gazette II No. 31/2012 , regarding Herrnhuter
  6. ^ Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer (Ed.): Fresh water on arid land. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Baptist Congregations in Austria (= Baptism Studies, Vol. 7). Oncken, Kassel 2005, p. 211.
  7. ↑ See Hans-Peter Lang: Free Churches on the Way to State Recognition. In: Johannes Fichtenbauer, Lars Heinrich, Wolf Paul (eds.): Milestones on the way to reconciliation. 20 years of “ecumenism of hearts” at the round table for Austria. Vienna 2018, pp. 265–274.
  8. ↑ Michael Weiß in “Free Churches in Austria” before recognition? , Religion ORF , January 20, 2013.
  9. ↑ Statistics Austria Religions 2001 .
  10. ↑ The Elaia Christian congregations were not yet a registered denominational community at that time and were therefore not yet given as a possibility in the 2001 census.
  11. ↑ Federal Law Gazette II No. 250/2013
  12. ↑ See legally recognized churches and religious communities in Austria ( Memento of the original from April 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Federal Chancellery, bka.gv.at (legal basis); Legally recognized churches, religious communities and state-registered religious denominations in Austria. In: Federal Chancellery: help.gv.at . February 15, 2016, accessed May 10, 2016 .  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bka.gv.at
  13. ^ Religion ORF on Aug. 29, 2013 on press conference , on Aug. 28, 2013 on religious instruction , on Aug. 26, 2013 , on June 12, 2013 , on Jan. 20, 2013 on the merger of five free church associations ;
    Free churches in Austria before recognition as a religious community , Der Standard , August 26, 2013.
  14. ↑ Free churches want state recognition as a church ( memento of the original from June 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.evang.at archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Evangelical Church, January 23, 2013.
  15. ^ Free churches in Austria officially recognized , religion.orf.at, August 26, 2013.
  16. ^ Faith , website of the free churches.
  17. ^ Bösch, Graf-Stuhlhofer: The theological profile of the "Free Churches in Austria" , in: Ways to Salvation? , 2018, pp. 151–162.
  18. ↑ Interview, published in der Furche on Aug. 29, 2013 under the title: Unity in diversity, respect for one another. Reprinted in baptisten.at p. 15.
  19. ↑ As formulated on their website , accessed in 2013.
  20. ↑ Walter Klimt estimates 45–60,000, Religion ORF .
  21. ↑ In November 2013 there were a total of 156 municipalities in the FKÖ. Their distribution to federal states and federations was shown in a diagram by Christian Bensel: Linguistic notes on sermons in the “Free Churches in Austria”. In: Christian Bensel, Jonathan Mauerhofer (ed.): Sermon between claim and reality. VTR, Nuremberg 2016, pp. 14–33, there 15.
  22. ^ Free churches in Austria: Persons of the free churches in Austria
  23. ↑ At the time of recognition, in August 2013, the ORF spoke of "around 3,000 free church students in Austria" as the future addressees of this religious education offer.
  24. ↑ KPH Vienna / Krems, course on religion free church

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 1.7 ″  N , 16 ° 23 ′ 10.9 ″  E