TheEvangelical Church of Westphalia (German:Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is aUnited Protestantchurch body inNorth Rhine-Westphalia.
The seat of thepraeses (German:Präses, the head of the church) isBielefeld. The EKvW emerged on 13 June 1945, when the ecclesiastical province of Westphalia within theLutheran Church of the old-Prussian Union assumed its independence as church body of its own. The EKvW is a full member of theEvangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and theReformed Alliance[1] and is a church whose bases are in aUnion between parishes inLutheran andCalvinistic traditions. The church is also a member of theCommunion of Protestant Churches in Europe.Präses (president) of the EKvW isAnnette Kurschus (2012), as its first female leader.
The church permits theordination of women.Blessing of same-sex marriages has been allowed from 2019.[3][4][5]
52°01′16.98″N8°31′59.16″E / 52.0213833°N 8.5331000°E /52.0213833; 8.5331000
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