The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (; NEK) was a Lutheran regional church in Northern Germany which emerged from a merger of four churches in 1977 and merged with two more churches in 2012. The NEK largely covered the area of the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg where it was the most important Christian denomination. It had 2.1 million members (as of 2006) in 595 parishes, constituting 46% of the regional population.
In May 2012 the NEK, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church merged into Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.Nordkirche.de (german)
The NEK was a full member of the Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD), the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), and the Lutheran World Federation (joined 1977). The church was also a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe.
History The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1977 by the merger of four former state churches: the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Eutin (), which had been split off from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg and represented the former Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck. the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Hamburg (); the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the State of Lübeck (); the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Schleswig-Holstein; ()
It is named after its ambit mostly located north of the River Elbe. In 1992 Maria Jepsen was the first woman to become a bishop in the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church. At Pentecost 2012 it merged with the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church to form the new Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.
Prominent buildings
The most prominent church buildings and sees of the bishops were Schleswig Cathedral, Lübeck Cathedral and St. Michaelis in Hamburg.
Practices
Ordination of women and blessing of same-sex unions were allowed.
List of bishops
Bishops of the Hamburg district (Sprengel Hamburg; 1977–2008)
The preaching venue of the bishop was the new St. Nicholas Church (till 1987) and thereafter St. Michael's. 1977–1983: Hans-Otto Wölber 1983–1992: Peter Krusche 1992–2008: Maria Jepsen
Bishops of the Holstein-Lübeck district (Sprengel Holstein-Lübeck; 1977–2008) The preaching venue of the bishop was the Lübeck Cathedral. 1964–1981: Friedrich Hübner, until 1977 bishop of Holstein in Kiel for the Evangelical-Lutheran State Church of Schleswig-Holstein 1981–1991: Ulrich Wilckens 1991–2001: Karl Ludwig Kohlwage 2001–2008: Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter
Bishops of the Schleswig district (Sprengel Schleswig; 1977–2008)
The preaching venue of the bishop was the Schleswig Cathedral. 1967–1978: Alfred Petersen, until 1977 bishop of Schleswig for the Evangelical-Lutheran State Church of Schleswig-Holstein 1979–1990: Karlheinz Stoll 1991–2008: Hans-Christian Knuth 2008–today: Gerhard Ulrich
Bishops of the Hamburg and Lübeck district (Sprengel Hamburg und Lübeck; since 2008)
The preaching venue of the bishop is the St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg. 2008–2010: Maria Jepsen 2011–today: Kirsten Fehrs
Bishops of the Schleswig and Holstein district (Sprengel Schleswig und Holstein; since 2008) The preaching venue of the bishop is the Schleswig Cathedral. 2008–2014: Gerhard Ulrich 2014–today:
References
External links North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (English) Protestant Church in Germany (English)