Church of Lippe

The Church of Lippe (German: Lippische Landeskirche) is a Reformed member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany that covers what used to be the Principality of Lippe.

Seat of the church administration is Detmold. The preaching venue of the spiritual leader (Landessuperintendent) of the Church of Lippe is the Redeemer Church in Detmold. The Church of Lippe comprises 69 congregations and 166,163 members. The Church of Lippe is mostly Reformed with a Lutheran minority (c. 30,000), 80% of the members belong to one of the 59 Reformed parishes.

Its official Creeds are the Athanasian Creed, Nicene Creed, Apostles Creed, Belhar Confession, Heidelberg Catechism. Barmen Declaration along with Luther's Small Catechism. The denomination is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, of the Union of Evangelical Churches and of the Evangelical Church in Germany, also the Reformed Alliance. The Lutheran classis, comprising the Lutheran parishes within the Lippe church, is member in the Lutheran World Federation.

Lutheran worship started in Lemgo in 1522 and by 1533 all the County of Lippe adopted Lutheranism. In 1538 the Lippe Diet adopted a Church Order (constitution), which was adapted in 1571. Simon VI, Count of Lippe adopted the Reformed Faith in 1605 and promoted its spreading within his county, using his monarchic privilege of cuius regio, eius religio. He prevailed with his faith mostly superseding the previously dominant Lutheran faith. A minority, mostly in the city of Lemgo, remained Lutheran and in 1617 the city was granted the right to determine its faith independently of the ruling counts. The Church of Lippe was the state church of the County and Principality of Lippe (elevated in 1789) until the end of the monarchy in 1918.

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