Where we come from
The German Protestant Kirchentag is the same age as the German Federal Republic. Reinold von Thadden-Trieglaff founded the Kirchentag in 1949 together with some of his friends in Hannover. He founded it as a movement of Protestant lay people.
For them, independence from the official state Church was just as important as their Christian faith, which combines spirituality with a responsibility towards society and the world. They established a faith-based open forum for democracy, human rights, ecumenism and raising awareness against every kind of discrimination.
Even in a divided Germany, the Kirchentag remained united until 1961. Only a few weeks before the Berlin Wall was built, a Kirchentag was organised in the already divided city of Berlin. In the following years, it was not allowed to organise Kirchentags as they were known, in the former GDR. Therefore, courageous Christians in East Germany established smaller more local Kirchentags to celebrate their faith in public. Strong ties remained between the two organisations. Just two years after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the Kirchentag movements in East and West united once again.
Many initiatives and proposals have come out of the German Protestant Kirchentag. In 1961, it started the dialogue between Jews and Christians in Germany. In the 1970s, new forms of worship e.g. Liturgical Nights, Celebratory Communion Services and Evening Prayers, together with modern church hymns and songs, led visitors to discover new expressions of faith. And the discussions about peace and environmentalism which shaped Germany in the 1980s had their beginnings largely at the Kirchentag.
