Evangelical Church of Anhalt opens door to merger talks as members dwindle

A shrinking church with many buildings

The Evangelical Church of Anhalt, which describes itself as the smallest regional Protestant church in Germany, is short of pastors and members. Of its 36 pastors, 27 are due to retire within the next five years, and no new generation is ready to take over. According to DIE WELT, the church has about 22,400 members, against roughly 42,000 in 2012. Another report gives a current figure of around 22,000 and says membership will fall to about 15,000. The church still looks after more than 200 listed church buildings. In the past, vacant posts were left unfilled and pastors travelled between the many village churches as itinerant preachers.

201242,000

November 202622,400

2012

42000 members

November 2026

22400 members

Data from the article text

Currently36

Set to retire within five years27

Currently

36 pastors

Set to retire within five years

27 pastors

Data from the article text

Synod votes to explore a merger

The synod met in Dessau-Roßlau on 14 November, the first of two days, and its delegates voted in a non-public session. They approved a motion to enter merger negotiations, and the church leadership is to hold talks about cooperation. The church said the decision fits its "Anhalt 2035" strategy process, which is meant to carry it into the future. A tie-up with the Evangelical Church in Central Germany (EKM) is what is emerging, and that church's territory runs from the Altmark to the southern tip of Thuringia. Karsten Wolkenhauer, the church's president, said he senses great goodwill from the EKM.

Volunteers and identity

Parishes now depend heavily on volunteers, and in many villages the church is the last organisation left alongside the fire brigade. Wolkenhauer described the change this way:

“People who get involved in the churches for the church are by now no longer just church people, but people who try to keep their church in the village running.”

The question is not only about money but also about homeland and identity. Outside the church, the name Anhalt survives mostly in hyphenated place names such as the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district. Many regard the church as one of the last institutions that still recall the region's independence. The synod repeatedly spoke of the "spirit of Anhalt", and another delegate described Anhalt as a feeling. Albrecht der Bär founded the princely house of Anhalt more than 800 years ago, and the state of Anhalt ceased to exist politically in 1946.

Budget and earlier reforms

The synod also discussed the 2027 budget on its first day. Planned income and spending for the church and its institutions amount to about 20.1 million euros. The budget law sets the financial framework for parishes, schools and other church institutions. The church had already launched wide-ranging reforms last year, and posts in both the pastoral and administrative services are to be cut in the coming years. Last year's synod also decided to drop church districts (Kirchenkreise). The Landessynode works alongside the Landeskirchenrat and the church leadership as one of three decision-making bodies.