Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria

The Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria (Evangelische Kirche Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses in Österreich) is a Lutheran denomination in Austria. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1947. It is also a member of the World Council of Churches, the Conference of European Churches and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe as well as the Conference of Churches on the Rhine.

Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria
Evangelische Kirche Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses in Österreich
The Lutheran Church in Vienna
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheran
Polity	presbyteral-synodal[1]
Bishop	Michael Chalupka
Associations	Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
Region	Austria
Headquarters	Vienna, Austria
Origin	16th century
Separated from	Catholic Church
Congregations	191 [2]
Members	244,583 (2023)[2]
Official website	https://evang.at/

Structure

The Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria is headed by a bishop – currently Michael Chalupka. The church consists of seven dioceses, each headed by a superintendent. These superintendencies are broadly aligned territorially with the federal states of the Republic of Austria.

Diocese	Founded	Cathedral	Superintendent
Diocese of Burgenland	1924	Resurrection Church (Eisenstadt)	Robert Jonischkeit (2021– )
Diocese of Carinthia and East Tyrol	1947	Church in Stadtpark (Villach)	Manfred Sauer (2002– )
Diocese of Lower Austria	1947	St Pölten Parish church (Sankt Pölten)	Lars Müller-Marienburg (2016– )
Diocese of Upper Austria	1783	Martin Luther Church (Linz)	Gerold Lehner (2005– )
Diocese of Salzburg and Tyrol	1966	Christchurch (Innsbruck)	Olivier Dantine (2012– )
Diocese of Styria	1947	Heilandskirche (Graz)	Wolfgang Rehner (2018– )
Diocese of Vienna	1783	Lutheran City Church (Vienna)	Matthias Geist (2018– )

Social issues

Since 2009, the Protestant Church in Austria has been an advocate of gay rights and endorsed the introduction of civil partnerships for same-sex couples.^[3] Additionally, the church permits and supports blessing services for same-sex couples to celebrate their civil union.^[4]