Protestant Church of Anhalt - Protestant Church of Anhalt
Between Flaeming Forest and the Harz Mountains, transversed by
the rivers Elbe, Mulde and Saale, you will find the region of
the Protestant Church of Anhalt (Evangelische Landeskirche
Anhalts). The geographical area in which the Protestant Church
of Anhalt is situated is almost identical with the former
principality, later duchy and finally the free state of Anhalt,
which was formally created in 1918. The Protestant Church of
Anhalt contains today congregations in 154 villages and towns.
The entire region belongs to the German federal state (Land)
Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt). The state capital is Magdeburg.
History Because of its propinquity to Wittenberg, the famous
Reformers Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon often visited
the region of Anhalt. In 1541 all ordained pastors of Anhalt
were required to use Luther’s translation of the Bible. From
1578 on, the candidates for ordination from Anhalt were no
longer ordained in Wittenberg, but in Zerbst