Ashared church (German:Simultankirche),simultaneum mixtum, a term first coined in 16th-centuryGermany, is a church in which public worship is conducted by adherents of two or more religious groups. Such churches became common in the German-speaking lands of Europe in the wake of theProtestant Reformation.[1] The different Christiandenominations (such asRoman Catholic,Lutheran,Reformed, orUnited, etc.), share the samechurch building, although they worship at different times and with differentclergy. It is thus a form ofreligious toleration.[1]
Simultaneum as a policy was particularly attractive to rulers who ruled over populations which contained considerable numbers of both Catholics and Protestants. It was often the opposite ofcuius regio, eius religio and used in situations where a ruler was of a different religion than the majority of the people, and not strong enough to impose his religion on the population.[1]
During theNine Years' War (1688–1697),Louis XIV of France occupied theElectorate of the Palatinate, a Protestant region situated mainly in the western part of what is today Germany, where he introduced thesimultaneum. At the end of the war the region returned to Protestant control, but a last-minute addition to theTreaty of Ryswick provided for a continuation of thesimultaneum. Although intended to apply only to the Palatinate, thesimultaneum was subsequently also applied in portions of ProtestantAlsace (a region ruled by France, but where theEdict of Fontainebleau was not enforced).
Following the compromise between the ReformedAniconism and LutheranAdiaphora in Ringstedt's Reformed-Lutheran simultaneum of St. Fabian there is a Lutheran altar, but it shows no crucifix, but only candles.Map of all simultaneum churches in GermanyLutheran and Catholic altars in St. M. Kozal church inGniezno, PolandTriple in New York. AUnited Methodist church, now shared byJewish, andPresbyterian congregations.
Arundel, St. Nicholas' Church andFitzalan Chapel. This consists of an Anglican parish church, with a separate Roman Catholic chapel attached, the latter being the burial place of the Dukes of Norfolk. Although these exist within a single building, it is suggested that this should not be properly considered a simultaneum, as there is no worship space which is shared, but used at different times. The two spaces are separated by an iron grille, and a glass screen, which is kept locked, except during very occasional ecumenical services. The glass screen replaces a brick wall which was erected by a Duke of Norfolk in the 19th century. It was lowered in 1956 and entirely removed in 1970.[4]
Warrington, The Church of the Resurrection and St. Bridget was a shared church building between the Church of England's Church of the Resurrection and the Roman Catholic's St Bridget's RC Church. The building opened in 1988 after originally being planned in 1984 when BishopDavid Sheppard, the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, and ArchbishopDerek Worlock, RC Prelate of Liverpool, put forward the proposal.[5] The worship space within the Church was shared by both communities, but Anglican and Catholic services were at different times throughout the week. The Church closed in November 2022 due to falling numbers of parishioners.
Virginia Beach, Church of the Holy Apostles, Roman Catholic and Anglican simultaneum[6]
Pennsylvania; Historically, Lutheran (ELCA) and Reformed (UCC) German immigrants commonly shared churches, particularly in thePennsylvania Dutch Country region, although some congregations have since built their own separate churches.[7]
The main traditional pilgrim churches of Jerusalem and Bethlehem are shared between several denominations. The regulatory work is known as the "Status quo", a type of church-sharing which is in no way related to the West European Protestant-Catholic sharing system described here (the "simultaneum").[citation needed][who?]
Musée virtuel du Protestantisme, "Le Simultaneum" (French language): "Le simultaneum résulte de l'histoire alsacienne. Il s'agit d'un édifice cultuel utilisé simultanément par les deux confessions catholique et protestante."[3]
[The] Rhein and Laeng of Herrliesheim: Brief History of Alsace-Lorraine[4]
