National Reich Church

The National Reich Church, officially The German Evangelical Church (German:Deutsche Evangelische Kirche) and colloquially Reichskirche, was a unified state church that espoused a single doctrine compatible with National Socialism. The Protestant opposition to Nazism established a rival German Evangelical Church, called the Confessing Church, an umbrella of independent regional churches. After World War II, both of these bodies were replaced by the new umbrella called Evangelical Church in Germany. The National Reich Church abolished the ministerial priesthood and supplanted them with National Reich orators; it also prohibited the publication of the Christian Bible and called for the Mein Kampf to be placed on the altar table in its stead. In addition, in the parishes of the National Reich Church, the swastika replaced the Christian cross. Services of the National Reich Church were held on Saturday evenings, rather than Sunday mornings.