“More and more Orthodox Christians in Germany” headlines Deutsche Welle, presenting a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon, the ethnic communities from which Orthodox Christians originate, and the opportunities they bring.
The media often discuss the decline in membership of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches. Still, it is rarely mentioned that the number of Orthodox Christians in Germany has been growing significantly for years, observes the article’s author, Christoph Strack.
Unlike Catholics and Protestants, who keep an exact record of their membership due to legal regulations, Orthodox Churches only have estimates.
Orthodox Christians have been a small presence in Germany for centuries. Their numbers began to rise significantly starting in the 1960s due to labour migration.
The Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in Germany, established in 2010, estimated the total number of Orthodox Christians at a maximum of 1.5 million ten years ago. By the end of 2021, estimations rose to three million.
4 Million Orthodox Christians in Germany
Currently, the Evangelical Church in Germany reports the presence of 3.8 million Orthodox Christians in the country. His Grace Bishop Emanuel of Christoupolis, Assistant Bishop of the Greek Metropolis of Germany (Ecumenical Patriarchate), spoke of “at least four million Orthodox faithful in Germany—women, men, children.”
“The Orthodox faith has incredible potential in this country. This number of believers cannot simply be dismissed. And we cannot talk about it as a minority. We are no longer a minority Church, and in fact, it is no longer a migrant Church. We are here,” noted Bishop Emanuel.
Bishop Emanuel of Christoupolis stated that many Orthodox Christians are German citizens, and their presence in the parliament is not yet adequately reflected.
There are over 600 Orthodox communities of various languages in Germany.
900,000 Romanian Orthodox in Germany
A few decades ago, Greeks and Russians constituted the majority of Orthodox Christians in Germany.
Currently, Romanian Orthodox Christians are the largest group, with 900,000 members, according to the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in Germany. Russians, Greeks, Bulgarians, and Serbs each have over 400,000 and, in some cases, nearly 500,000 members.
The main factors contributing to this trend are free movement in Europe and demand in the German labour market. The number of Orthodox Christians is also increasing in other European countries; in Austria, Orthodoxy has become the second-largest religion.
The 176 Romanian parishes in Germany are organized under the Archdiocese of Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg, part of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Germany, Central and Northern Europe, headquartered in Nuremberg.
The Archdiocese of Germany is led by Metropolitan Serafim Joantă, along with his Assistant Bishop Sofian of Brașov.
Photo: Facebook / Episcop Sofian Brașoveanul
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