The Lutheran Bishop of Bavaria, the Rt. Rev. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm has been re-elected chairman of Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).

The Lutheran Bishop of Bavaria, the Rt. Rev. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm has been re-elected chairman of Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). Meeting in Bremen from 8-11 Nov 2015 the members of the EKD Synod gave Dr. Bedford-Strohm 124 of 125 votes cast. Synod president Irmgard Schwaetzer declared, “We are delighted at this outstanding result.” Together with the members of the Council, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm would guarantee the presence of the church in the societal debates of the present, she added. “There is a growing need for ethical orientation,” she underlined. “And the upcoming Reformation anniversary will also pose high demands on public communication by theologians and church leaders.” Dr. Bedford-Strohm (55), was born in 1960 in Memmingen, Bavaria, and served as professor of Systematic Theology and Contemporary Theological Issues at Bamberg University before he was consecrated bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria in 2011. In 2014 he was elected chairman of the EKD in succession to Nikolaus Schneider.