TheProtestant Church in the Rhineland (German:Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland; EKiR) is aUnited Protestantchurch body in parts of theGerman states ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Rhineland-Palatinate,Saarland andHesse (Wetzlar). This is actually the area covered by the former PrussianRhine Province until 1920.
The seat of the church is inDüsseldorf. The church leader is not called a "bishop", but apraeses (German:Präses), and there is nocathedral. The Protestant Church in the Rhineland is a full member of theProtestant Church in Germany (EKD), and is aPrussian Union Church. The currentpraeses is Thorsten Latzel. The Evangelical Church in the Rhineland is one of 20Lutheran,united, andReformed churches of the EKD. As of December 2024, the church has 2,122,717 members[1] in 605 parishes. The Protestant Church in the Rhineland is a member of theUEK and theCommunity of Protestant Churches in Europe and also theReformed Alliance.[2] The church runs a conference venue called Evangelische Akademie. It is a member of theConference of Churches on the Rhine.
The theological teaching goes back onMartin Luther.Theordination of women is allowed. Theblessing of same-sex marriages has been allowed by thesynod and depends on the local church administration (German:Presbyterium, English:presbytery).[3]
The Protestant Church in the Rhineland emerged on 12 November 1948, when theEcclesiastical Province of the Rhineland within theEvangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union gained independence as its own church body.The Protestants in Hohenzollern merged in 1950 with theEvangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg, whilst retaining the previous old-Prussian order of service.[4]
The legislative assembly of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland is the regionalsynod (Landessynode). The election of the synod is for four years. Since 1975 the synod meets annually in January inBad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler (before 1975 in Bad Godesberg). Its elected leader (praeses) is also leader of the church.
The legislative body, then called the provincial synod (Provinzialsynode), was already established when the Rhenish church still formed an ecclesiastical province of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. The then praesides were only speakers of the synod but not the leaders of the ecclesiastical province. Instead this function was with thegeneral superintendents. Since the ecclesiastical province assumed its independence each praeses is speaker of the synod and leader of the church.
