But the origins of the church are much older and diverse. In the 16th century the region of Montbéliard, which at that time was a part of the Duchy of Wurttemberg, accepted the Lutheran Reformation. The church order of 1560 introduced compulsory education and urged that book learning should be based on genuine piety. Developments in Montbéliard generally paralleled those in Strasburg and Alsace. In 1802 the district of Montbéliard came under the Higher Consistory of Strasburg.
In Paris on the other hand, there was an important Lutheran influence in the years 1520-30, but the first Lutheran congregation was the one at the Swedish Embassy (1626). The first more conventional parish was established in 1809. From 1853 to 1870 the district of Paris was part of the church in Alsace and was supported mainly by the Higher Consistory of Strasburg.
Today the EELF is aware of its minority position, even in the region of Montbéliard where it was for a long time the majority church, and is learning to live serenely with that situation by emphasizing the participation of the laity, redistributing its resources to various "church projects" and maintaining its specialized ministries such as home mission, information and communication, youth, industrial mission, Bible learning etc.
One of the challenges this church is facing, like all small churches, is to be sufficiently present in the "ecumenisme" of the church and the multiple national and international Protestant organizations and beyond. The EELF lives only from the voluntary contributions of its members. The lack of financial and human resources reminds the church even more of the temptation to withdraw into a ghetto, and the calling to mission and communion within the universal church.
Find the journal "Fraternité Evangelique" online:
publications-lutheriennesonline.org
Church Saint Martin in Montbéliard
