Press Releases

The Bishops’ Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD) has reacted with concern to Israeli government’s announced intention to annex parts of the West Bank. They fear that this step will further exacerbate the political conflict situation in the Holy Land.

With an urgent plea that the future of people in Europe lies in Europe and should not be left to the nation states alone, Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and Bishop Georg Bätzing, chair of the German Bishops’ Conference, have encouraged an active design of the German presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The executive committee, on behalf of the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has decided, in close consultation with the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and other host churches and local partners, to postpone the 11th assembly, originally planned for September 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany, until 2022.

The situation in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos is becoming increasingly unbearable for the people stranded there. Currently over 20,000 refugees are staying in and around camps designed to accommodate 3,000.

Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Chair of the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD) and Bishop Ralf Meister, Senior Bishop of the United Protestant Lutheran Church in Germany (Vereinigte Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, VELKD) regret the British decision to leave the European Union.

In her annual report on the first day of synod, Irmgard Schwaetzer, president of the synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), referred to the new dimension of peace ethics. The current issues are only partially comparable with those facing us at the time of the Cold War, said Schwaetzer. “We need a debate on peace ethics”, she stated.