Seniorat (Protestant)
A seniorate is a subdivision level of the Evangelical Church AB in Austria and the Evangelical Church AB in the Slovak Republic , which includes several parishes and is between the lowest level parish and higher level superintendent ( diocese ), and has a senior at the top. In contrast to the two levels mentioned, the senior council does not have the status of a corporation under public law . Most of the dioceses of the Evangelical Church AB in Austria are divided into two seniorates, in exceptional cases three.
In contrast to the Roman Catholic dean , the senior has no right to visit , but is a permanent member of the superintendential committee and is there to represent the interests of his communities. In the event of illness or other hindrance, the senior will represent the superintendent and may then wear a small pectoral cross ( pectoral ).
The seniorates have lost more and more importance since 1945, since the freedom from state tutelage since the end of the Second World War allowed the establishment of a superintendent for each federal state (exception Vorarlberg, which belongs to the Evangelical Church HB in Austria ), i.e. former seniorates in full-fledged Dioceses could be converted.
There are 14 seniorates in the Evangelical Church AB in the Slovak Republic.
Trivia
For those honored in this way, the title “Senior” entails an endless chain of inner-church jokes, starting with “It's not that old at all” and going through the popular term “Seniorita” for female seniors, which is formally not correct with “Senior woman ", But simply to be addressed as" Ms. Senior ".
literature
- Church constitution . In: Evangelischer Oberkirchenrat AB (Hrsg.): Collection of the church laws of the Evangelical Church AB in Austria. , ongoing (as of 08/2008).
- Peter F. Barton: Evangelical in Austria (= studies and texts on church history and history , second series, volume XI). Vienna / Graz / Cologne 1987.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information about the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
