Hours of discussion, but no result: the synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria has once again postponed the decision on how to proceed after the failed election of the new state bishop. The plenary is now to meet again on Thursday at 2 p.m., as the spokesman for the regional church, Johannes Minkus, said after unexpectedly long deliberations by the synod on Thursday night.
According to information from the Evangelical Press Service, the second attempt at elections could follow the synod decision immediately. It was discussed that the two candidates who were in the running until the end will then be back on the ballot paper. There would then be a maximum of two more ballots.
The first attempt to elect a bishop ended unsuccessfully on Monday after the maximum six ballots possible according to church law. The Munich regional bishop Christian Kopp (58) and the Landshut dean Nina Lubomierski (47) could not unite the required absolute majority of 55 votes of all 108 synodal voters in the last two ballots.
At the beginning of the election, Windsbach’s dean Klaus Schlicker (56) and “Mission EineWelt” director Gabriele Hoerschelmann (55) also ran. Both had withdrawn their candidacies during the course of the election.
If the synod – the church parliament of the 2.1 million Evangelicals in Bavaria – decides against a second election attempt in the plenary session from 2 p.m., the election preparation committee will have to start a completely new process with a candidate search and candidate selection. This would probably require a specially convened electoral synod in late summer or autumn. A successor is being sought for the incumbent Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. His twelve-year term ends on October 31, 2023.