Evangelical Church of Westphalia

The Protestant Church of Westphalia (Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia. The seat of the praeses (Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged on 13 June 1945, when the ecclesiastical province of Westphalia within the Lutheran Church of the old-Prussian Union assumed its independence as church body of its own. The EKvW is a full member of the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), and the Reformed Alliance and is a church whose bases are in a Union between parishes in Lutheran and Calvinistic traditions. The church is also a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. Präses (president) of the EKvW is Annette Kurschus (2012), as its first female leader.

Präses (President)

 * 1834–1835: Jakob von der Kuhlen
 * 1835–1841: Christian Nonne
 * 1841–1843: Bernhard Jacobi
 * 1844–1874: Wilhelm Diedrich Albert
 * 1874–1902: Ludwig Polscher
 * 1902–1914: Friedrich König
 * 1914–1927: Heinrich Kockelke
 * 1927–1949: Karl Koch (until 1934 Präses der Provinzialsynode, 1934–1945 of Bekenntnissynode, since 1945 of synode)
 * 1949–1968: Ernst Wilm
 * 1969–1977: Hans Thimme
 * 1977–1985: Heinrich Reiß
 * 1985–1996: Hans-Martin Linnemann
 * 1996–2004: Manfred Sorg
 * 2004–2012: Alfred Buß
 * 2012–: Annette Kurschus

Practices
The church permits the ordination of women. Blessing of same-sex marriages has been allowed from 2019.