Union of Evangelical Churches in the EKD

The Union of Evangelical Churches in the EKD, commonly known by its German name Union Evangelischer Kirchen and the abbreviation UEK, is an organization within the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD). It coordinates a group of regional Protestant churches whose traditions are principally United or Reformed rather than exclusively Lutheran. The organization is therefore an ecclesiastical association and coordinating body, not a commercial brand or a separate national church operating independently of the EKD. The UEK was established on 1 July 2003 as the successor to the Evangelical Church of the Union, known in German as the Evangelische Kirche der Union (EKU). Its creation continued institutional cooperation among churches connected by United and Reformed theological and ecclesiastical traditions while placing that cooperation within the contemporary structure of the EKD. The organization’s membership includes twelve regional churches: the Protestant Church of Anhalt, the Protestant Church in Baden, the Protestant Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia, the Protestant Church of Bremen, the Protestant Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck, the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, the Church of Lippe, the Protestant Church in Central Germany, the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate, the Evangelical Reformed Church, the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland, and the Evangelical Church of Westphalia. Several other Protestant bodies participate as guests. These include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg, the Reformierter Bund, and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg. The guest arrangement reflects the UEK’s role as a forum for cooperation across related Protestant traditions rather than a body limited exclusively to churches with one uniform constitutional structure. The organization was initially based in Berlin. For structural reasons, its administrative seat was later moved to Hanover, where the EKD has its seat. This relocation reinforced the UEK’s integration into the wider administrative and institutional environment of the EKD. The UEK is governed through a Vollkonferenz, or plenary conference, composed of 47 elected members. Members serve six-year terms, and the Vollkonferenz elects a presidium. Through this structure, the organization provides a representative setting for its member churches and supports common ecclesiastical deliberation. Its work is primarily institutional, theological, and church-organizational rather than commercial: it facilitates cooperation, represents shared interests, and provides a framework for decisions affecting the participating churches. A notable decision occurred on 9 November 2019, when the UEK permitted the blessing of same-sex marriages. This marked an important development in the organization’s approach to marriage blessings and reflected an area in which Protestant regional churches have addressed changing theological, pastoral, and social circumstances through their own ecclesiastical procedures. The decision should be understood within the decentralized structure of German Protestantism, where regional churches retain significant responsibility while cooperating through umbrella institutions such as the EKD and UEK.

The Union of Evangelical Churches in the EKD, or UEK, was founded on 1 July 2003. It succeeded the Evangelical Church of the Union, an earlier organization associated with the cooperation of United and Reformed Protestant churches in Germany. The new body preserved that tradition of cooperation while operating within the institutional framework of the Protestant Church in Germany. The UEK brings together twelve member churches. They include the Protestant Church of Anhalt; the Protestant Church in Baden; the Protestant Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia; the Protestant Church of Bremen; the Protestant Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck; the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau; the Church of Lippe; the Protestant Church in Central Germany; the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate; the Evangelical Reformed Church; the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland; and the Evangelical Church of Westphalia. Their common institutional relationship is based principally on United or Reformed Protestant traditions, although the broader German Protestant landscape also includes Lutheran churches. The organization initially had its seat in Berlin. It was subsequently relocated to Hanover for structural reasons, bringing its administration closer to the seat of the EKD. The move reflects the UEK’s status as an organization embedded in the national Protestant church structure rather than an entirely separate ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The UEK also maintains guest relationships with other Protestant bodies. The listed guests include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg, the Reformierter Bund, and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg. These relationships provide a wider basis for dialogue and cooperation among regional churches and church associations with overlapping historical or theological interests. Its principal governing body is the Vollkonferenz, translated as plenary conference or full conference. The body consists of 47 elected members, each serving a six-year term. Those members elect a presidium, which provides leadership for the organization. This arrangement gives the participating churches a representative mechanism for common deliberation while leaving the regional churches as important centers of ecclesiastical authority. On 9 November 2019, the UEK allowed blessings of same-sex marriages. The decision was one of the clearest publicly identified policy developments in the organization’s history. It concerned the church’s practice of blessing same-sex marriages and illustrated how the UEK can address pastoral and theological questions affecting its member churches. Because German Protestant church governance is distributed among regional churches and umbrella organizations, the significance and implementation of such decisions remain connected to the constitutional and ecclesiastical practices of the participating bodies. Overall, the UEK functions as a coordinating and representative institution. Its activities center on cooperation among member churches, theological and church-policy discussion, institutional representation, and the maintenance of relationships among United, Reformed, and related Protestant bodies in Germany.

• 2019

  Blessings of same-sex marriages permitted

  [1]Union of Evangelical Churches in the EKDen.wikipedia.org

  On 9 November 2019, the UEK permitted the blessing of same-sex marriages.

• 2003

  UEK established

  [1]Union of Evangelical Churches in the EKDen.wikipedia.org

  The Union of Evangelical Churches was founded on 1 July 2003 as the successor to the Evangelical Church of the Union.

• Administrative seat moved from Berlin to Hanover

  [1]Union of Evangelical Churches in the EKDen.wikipedia.org

  For structural reasons, the organization’s seat was moved from Berlin to Hanover, the seat of the Protestant Church in Germany.

A coordinating association for United and Reformed Protestant regional churches within the Protestant Church in Germany, positioned between the autonomy of regional churches and the wider national framework of the EKD.

• Governance body

  Vollkonferenz

  The UEK’s elected plenary conference is its principal representative and deliberative body. It has 47 members elected for six-year terms. The members elect a presidium, giving the organization a formal leadership structure for coordinating the participating regional churches.

• Ecclesiastical cooperation · 2003

  Interchurch coordination

  The UEK provides a framework for cooperation among United and Reformed regional Protestant churches within the EKD. Its coordinating role supports common deliberation, representation, and the exchange of positions on church organization and theological matters.

• 2019

  Permission for blessings of same-sex marriagesOther

  Background

  The UEK addressed the ecclesiastical treatment of same-sex marriages within its member-church context.

  Action taken

  On 9 November 2019, the organization allowed blessings of same-sex marriages.

  Aftermath

  The decision became a notable policy development in the organization’s public history and reflected continuing changes in Protestant church practice concerning same-sex relationships and marriage blessings.

  Source

1. 1Union of Evangelical Churches in the EKDen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Union of Evangelical Churches official websiteuek-online.de