Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Republic of Poland
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Republic of Poland is a Lutheran church and the largest Protestant denomination in Poland. It has about 61,000 members and 133 parishes.
Origins and history
The church comes from the Reformation, which began in 1517. The first Lutheran sermons were in 1518, and in 1523 the first Lutheran dean, Johann Heß, was invited to Breslau, helping Christianity spread in Polish lands. In the interwar period it was the largest Protestant church, with about half a million followers, though other Lutheran churches also existed in Poland. In 1918, Lutheran parishes in Cieszyn Silesia joined the church, increasing its size, though some parishes left in 1920 when part of the area became Czechoslovakia. They were later reintegrated in 1938 after Trans-Olza was annexed.
Before World War II, nationalism created tensions, as many adherents were German and others Polish. In 1936 a presidential decree defined the church’s relationship with the state and organized it into ten dioceses with 117 parishes.
World War II and after
The war and its aftermath brought persecution and loss for church leaders and members. Many ethnic Germans left the country, and the Communist authorities seized some church properties.
Recent developments
In 1999, women began baptizing, serving as deacons, and leading services. In 2022, women were ordained as pastors. In 2024, Halina Radacz, one of the first women ordained, performed the first documented pastor blessings of same-sex couples in Poland.
Geography and size today
The church has six dioceses spanning from the north to the central-southern parts of Poland, toward the Czech border. Most members live in Silesia, where about 47,000 people belong to the church. Today the church has 133 parishes, 186 churches, and 151 chapels, served by about 153 pastors and workers. Congregations govern themselves locally with parish councils. In 2018, the church counted 61,217 adherents.
Organization and leadership
The Bishop of the Church is the senior ordained leader, elected for ten years and based in Warsaw. The current bishop is Jerzy Samiec. The church’s main governing bodies are:
- House of Bishops: the Bishop plus six diocesan bishops
- Church Synod: all bishops, 15 representative pastors, and 30 lay representatives
- Synod Council: a small body that handles certain tasks between synod meetings
- Consistory: the day-to-day administration, chaired by the Bishop with a Vice-President and six other members
The church’s role includes ministering the Word of God and the sacraments, and guiding the church to stay faithful.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:42 (CET).