Protestant Church of Luxembourg
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The Protestant Church of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Protestantesch Kiirch vu Letzebuerg, French: Eglise Protestante de Luxembourg, German: Evangelische Kirche von Luxemburg) is a Protestant denomination that operates solely in Luxembourg.
The church was founded by order of Grand Duke Adolphe on 16 April 1894.[1] At the time, the state supported Roman Catholicism, under the Concordat of 1801, and Adolphe sought to redress the balance by recognising the country's Protestant minority. However, the Protestant population was divided into several denominations, including Lutherans, Calvinists, and Waldensians. Adolphe decided to create a new church that synthesised the Augsburg and Helvetian creeds (i.e. Lutheranism and Calvinism), allowing him to recognise both traditions whilst supporting only one church.
Many Lutherans and Calvinists decided not to join the new church; the Protestant Church of Luxembourg has only 1,100 registered members, and remains just one of several Protestant churches.[2] Other Protestant churches operating in Luxembourg include the Protestant Reformed Church of Luxembourg, the Evangelical Church in Germany, the Church of England, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the Church of Denmark, and the Church of Scotland.
Although its teachings stem from a combination of Calvinism and Lutheranism, the Protestant Church of Luxembourg is not a united church. The united church in Luxembourg is the Alliance of Protestant Churches in Luxembourg.
[edit] References
- ^ (French) Eglise Protestante du Luxembourg. 31 March 1998. Luxembourg Council of State. URL accessed 24 May 2006.
- ^ Luxembourg. July 2005. Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. URL accessed 24 May 2006.
