Bekennende Kirche

Bekennende Kirche (Confessing Church), a movement in the German Evangelical Church which was originally known as Bekenntniskirche (Confessional Church) to emphasize its adherence to the Confessions of the Reformation. It was founded in 1934 by M. Niemöller, who had already a few months previously created the Pfarrernotbund (Pastors' Emergency League). It aimed at maintaining Christian independence at a time when many elements in the Church complacently accepted National Socialism. Its principal theological representative was Karl Barth. In spite of persecution and an attack in 1938 by the conforming Churches, the Bekennende Kirche survived in some measure as an opposition under the National Socialist regime. In 1948 it relinquished claims to Church government and became simply a movement for reform.