Johannes Ernst Richard Lilje (* August 20, 1899 Hannover; † January 6, 1977 Hannover) was German Lutheran bishop and one of the pioneers of the ecumenical movement.

Lilje was general secretary of the German Student Christian Movement 1924-34. He was involved in Confessing Church

Confessing Church

The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...

 struggle in Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 from 1933 onwards. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he became the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover in 1947 until his retirement. He was also the presiding bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany

United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany

The United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany was founded on July 8, 1948 in Eisenach, Germany. Its total membership is estimated at over 10.5 million people. The Member Churches of this organisation are in full fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...

 1955-69, president of the Lutheran World Federation

Lutheran World Federation

The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran churches headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of Lund in the aftermath of the Second World War in 1947 to coordinate the activities of the...

 and World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...

. He was also abbot of Loccum

Loccum Abbey

Loccum Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in the town of Rehburg-Loccum, Lower Saxony, near Steinhude Lake.-History:...

under title Johannes XI.