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The Christian Community is a Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 denomination
Denomination

Denomination may refer to:*Religious denomination, such as a:**Christian denomination**Jewish denomination**Islamic denomination**Hindu denominations...
. It was founded in 1922 in Switzerland by a group of mainly Lutheran theologians and ministers led by Friedrich Rittelmeyer
Friedrich Rittelmeyer

Friedrich Rittelmeyer was a Evangelical Church in Germany German minister, theologian and co-founder and driving force of The Christian Community....
, inspired by Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner was an Austrians philosopher, literary scholar, educator, architect, playwright, social thinker, and Esotericism. After gaining initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher, at the beginning of the twentieth century he founded a new spiritual movement, Anthroposophy, as an esoteric philosophy growing...
, the Austrian philosopher and founder of anthroposophy
Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spirituality world accessible to direct experience through inner development — more specifically through cultivating conscientiously a form of thinking independent of sensory experience....
. Christian Community congregations exist as financially independent groups with regional and international administrative bodies overseeing their work. There are approximately 350 worldwide. The international headquarters are in Berlin, Germany.

The Christian Community is led by the "circle of priests," with leaders known as coordinators appointed within the circle.






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The Christian Community is a Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 denomination
Denomination

Denomination may refer to:*Religious denomination, such as a:**Christian denomination**Jewish denomination**Islamic denomination**Hindu denominations...
. It was founded in 1922 in Switzerland by a group of mainly Lutheran theologians and ministers led by Friedrich Rittelmeyer
Friedrich Rittelmeyer

Friedrich Rittelmeyer was a Evangelical Church in Germany German minister, theologian and co-founder and driving force of The Christian Community....
, inspired by Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner was an Austrians philosopher, literary scholar, educator, architect, playwright, social thinker, and Esotericism. After gaining initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher, at the beginning of the twentieth century he founded a new spiritual movement, Anthroposophy, as an esoteric philosophy growing...
, the Austrian philosopher and founder of anthroposophy
Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spirituality world accessible to direct experience through inner development — more specifically through cultivating conscientiously a form of thinking independent of sensory experience....
. Christian Community congregations exist as financially independent groups with regional and international administrative bodies overseeing their work. There are approximately 350 worldwide. The international headquarters are in Berlin, Germany.

The Christian Community is led by the "circle of priests," with leaders known as coordinators appointed within the circle. A first coordinator (Erzoberlenker) is consulted by two second coordinators (Oberlenkers). There are also third coordinators (Lenkers) on the regional level and a synod of priests. There is no additional ordination for the leadership. The priesthood of the Christian Community has always been open to women.

Practice

The Christian Community does not require its members to conform to any specific teaching or behaviour. The main practices are:

  • The Christian Community celebrates the Eucharist
    Eucharist

    The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christianity sacrament commemorating, by consecrating bread and wine, the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and eventual crucifixion, when he gave them bread saying, "This is my body", and wine...
    , which it calls the "Act of Consecration of Man."


  • There are six other sacraments; Baptism
    Baptism

    In Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted as a full member of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered....
    , Confirmation, Marriage
    Marriage

    Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
    , The Last Anointing
    Anointing

    To anoint is to pour or smear with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions and races....
    , Sacramental Consultation, and the Sacrament of Ordination
    Ordination

    In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies....
    .


  • It takes the whole of the New Testament
    New Testament

    The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
     and especially the four gospels as its inspiration.


See also

  • Anthroposophy
    Anthroposophy

    Anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spirituality world accessible to direct experience through inner development — more specifically through cultivating conscientiously a form of thinking independent of sensory experience....
  • Rudolf Steiner
    Rudolf Steiner

    Rudolf Steiner was an Austrians philosopher, literary scholar, educator, architect, playwright, social thinker, and Esotericism. After gaining initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher, at the beginning of the twentieth century he founded a new spiritual movement, Anthroposophy, as an esoteric philosophy growing...
  • Berthold Wulf
    Berthold Wulf

    Berthold Wulf is a Germany priest, poet and philosopher....


External links

  • with extensive introductory articles
  • also with introductory articles
  • German site of The Christian Community
  • with full programmes for all congregations in the region
  • priest seminaries of the Christian Community in , and
  • by Michael Tapp, retired priest in The Christian Community, former national coordinator for the UK and then Australia/New Zealand
  • An online peer-reviewed open access journal inspired by the theology of The Christian Community