Religion: Protestant Church Congress begins in Nuremberg

religion
Evangelical Church Congress begins in Nuremberg

Flags fly in front of the exhibition center in Nuremberg, where the 38th Evangelical Church Congress begins today. photo

© Daniel Karmann/dpa

Starting today, tens of thousands of people are meeting in Bavaria’s second largest city for the 38th Protestant Church Congress. Steinmeier, Scholz and other politicians have also announced their presence.

At the start of the 38th German Evangelical Church Congress, the Bavarian Evangelical Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm confirmed that a sign of hope should emanate from the meeting of faith. “I hope that this will be a church day of hope,” he said on Wednesday in Nuremberg. “That’s what we need most at the moment.” Piety and commitment to the world belonged together: “You cannot pray without working for justice.”

At the start of the Kirchentag, the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) rejected a replacement of state services for the churches in Germany. “I am against these plans,” he said. He was against banning the church from public life.

The money is state consideration for the expropriation of German churches and monasteries at the beginning of the 19th century as part of secularization. With the exception of Hamburg and Bremen, all federal states therefore pay an annual sum to the Catholic and Protestant churches. Most recently it was around 550 million euros per year.

Public funds for the Church Day

In the run-up, there had been criticism that the Kirchentag, for which, according to the organizers, around 60,000 tickets had been sold by the start, was also financed from public funds.

According to the head of the Kirchentag, Stephan Menzel, the Kirchentag has a budget of 20.5 million euros for two years. This includes 5.6 million euros from the Bavarian state church, 5.5 million euros from the Free State of Bavaria and 3 million euros from the city of Nuremberg. Up to one million euros in non-cash benefits can also be added.

The President of the Kirchentag, Thomas de Maizière, responded to the criticism by thanking for the public donations. “That’s generous” and he also thinks it’s important, he said. “But it doesn’t come naturally.”

Around 2000 events are planned as part of the Kirchentag – primarily in Nuremberg, but also in the neighboring city of Fürth. “Now is the time” is the motto of the great faith meeting, it comes from the Gospel according to Mark. On the big podiums, topics include climate change and its consequences, arms deliveries to Ukraine and new working environments.

Information on the Kirchentag Details on the program Information on the Reformation in Nuremberg Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria

dpa

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