Conference of Evangelical Church Leaders in the GDR

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Conference of the Evangelical Church Leaders in the GDR (abbreviated KKL , also Conference of the Church Leaders ) was a governing body of the Evangelical Church in the GDR . From 1969 onwards, the KKL was the most important organ of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR .

history

The forerunner of the Conference of Evangelical Church Leaders in the GDR (KKL) was the Eastern Church Conference , which existed until 1949 . In June 1969 the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR was founded, thus separating the East German member churches from the all-German EKD . Together with the Synod (60 members), the KKL formed the highest governing body of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR (BEK). Since the synod met less often, the KKL soon developed into the decisive governing body of the federal government. The KKL had 26 members:

The KKL met every two months for a two-day meeting, in which the speakers of the secretariat could participate without voting rights. The head of the central office of the Diakonisches Werk and a delegate from the Reformed Church also had an advisory right to participate without voting rights. In the periods when there were no meetings, a five-member board elected from the ranks of the KKL ran the business.

Board

Erich Honecker (right) welcomes the KKL Executive Board in March 1978, including Albrecht Schönherr (center) and Werner Krusche (left)

The five board members and the head of the secretariat were elected by the conference. The President of the Synod was a member of the Executive Committee of the KKL. The chairmen of the board were:

  • 1960–1968: Friedrich-Wilhelm Krummacher
  • 1968–1969: Niklot Beste (Mecklenburg regional bishop), chairman
  • 1969–1981: Albrecht Schönherr (Berlin-Brandenburg Bishop), chairman with the areas of connection between the federal government and the state organs and churches in the Federal Republic
  • 1981–1982: Werner Krusche (Bishop of the Church Province of Saxony), chairman, from 1977 deputy chairman of the KKL board
  • 1982–1986: Johannes Hempel (Saxon regional bishop), chairman
  • 1986–1990: Werner Leich (Thuringian regional bishop), chairman
  • 1990–1991: Christoph Demke (Bishop of the Church Province of Saxony), chairman

Other board members were:

  • 1969–1971: Gottfried Noth (Saxon regional bishop), deputy chairman with the field of ecumenical tasks,
  • 1969–1977: Gerhard Juergensohn (senior consistorial councilor in Lausitz), deputy chairman with the field of connection to the member churches,
  • 1969–: Martin Kramer (pastor), board member responsible for federal internals,
  • 1969–: Ingo Braecklein (Thuringian regional bishop and synod president), board member responsible for the connection to the synod
  • 1982–1990: Manfred Stolpe , deputy chairman.

The governing body comprised the following secretaries:

  • 1969–1982: Manfred Stolpe , Secretary of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR
  • 1982–1991: Martin Ziegler , Secretary of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR

literature

  • Anke Silomon: Synod and SED state: the Synod of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR in Görlitz from 18. – 22. September 1987 . Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-525-55724-8 .
  • Anke Silomon: Claim and Reality of the “Special Community”: the East-West Dialogue of the German Protestant Churches 1969–1991 . Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 978-3-525-55747-1 .

Web links

Commons : Conference of Evangelical Church Leaders in the GDR  - Collection of images