TheBaptist Union of Denmark (Danish:Baptistkirken i Danmark) is aBaptistChristian denomination inDenmark. It is a member of theEuropean Baptist Federation, theBaptist World Alliance, and theWorld Council of Churches. Headquarters of the Union are maintained inCopenhagen.
The first work in Denmark generally considered Baptist began in 1836 whenJulius Köbner, a Danish Jew, visited Hamburg, Germany and met some individuals with Baptist views.[1][2] Köbner was an associate and co-worker ofJohann Gerhard Oncken (1800–1884), often considered the father of European Baptists.[3] Oncken baptized these believers and established a church in Copenhagen in 1839.[4] Until 1849, when religious liberty was granted through theConstitution of 1849, Baptists were fined, imprisoned, and theirinfants baptized by compulsion.[5] The Baptists were instrumental in the obtaining ofreligious freedom in Denmark.
The Baptist Union was formed in 1849, and remained a part of the German Baptist Union until 1888. In that year, it was reorganized, influenced by the emigration of Danish Baptists to theUnited States, and the returning influence of American Baptists on the Danish. TheNew Hampshire Confession of Faith was adopted in place of theGerman Confession of 1847. A number of Danish pastors studied at Morgan Park Seminary inChicago, Illinois. In 1918, they established their own theological seminary.
Doctrinally, the Danish Baptists have evolved from a generallyCalvinisticclosed Baptist tradition to a moreArminian ecumenical body.Open communion has been practiced since the 1930s.
According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 4,937 members and 54 churches.[6]
The theological seminary is located inTølløse.
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