The Church of Denmark or Danish National Church (Danish: Den Danske Folkekirke or simply Folkekirken, literally: "the People's Church"), formally known in English as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark, is the state church and largest denomination in Denmark and Greenland. Since the Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein, the church has been Evangelical Lutheran and Denmark's state church with the Danish monarch as its supreme authority. The 1848 Constitution of Denmark designated the church "the Danish people's church". The church is financially supported by the state, but membership is voluntary. The reigning monarch is the supreme authority, but not the head, of the Church, with the Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs, currently Manu Sareen, as the highest administrative authority of the Church. The Danish parliament, Folketinget, is the supreme legislative authority for the church. As of 1 April 2012 (2012 -04-01), 79.6% of the population of Denmark are members of the National Church.
Read more about Church Of Denmark: Organization, Doctrine, Church and State, Other Current and Former State and National Churches in The Nordic Evangelical-Lutheran Tradition
Famous quotes containing the word church:
“The tavern will compare favorably with the church. The church is the place where prayers and sermons are delivered, but the tavern is where they are to take effect, and if the former are good, the latter cannot be bad.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)