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Berlin Protestant Church Disowns Pastor’s ‘Polywedding,’ Calls It No Marriage

Leadership said church marriages presuppose a prior two-person civil union under German law.

Overview

  • EKBO confirmed that a Kreuzberg pastor’s ceremony for four men at a pop-up wedding event was a blessing and not a church wedding.
  • Bishop Christian Stäblein said the church marries only couples who are already civilly wed and rejected allegations of polygamy in this context.
  • Propst Christina-Maria Brömmel reiterated that evangelical weddings bless the union of two people, distancing the church from multi-person rites presented as weddings.
  • Pastor Lena Müller had posted photos and video of the ceremony on Instagram and described believing the men were “truly married before God.”
  • The event was not entered in the church register because no civil marriage existed, and German law permits only two-person marriages while prohibiting polygamy, with no disciplinary action reported to date.