Synod of Barmen

Synod of Barmen, meeting of German Protestant leaders at Barmen in the Ruhr, in May 1934, to organize Protestant opposition to the teachings of the so-called German Christians, who sought to reinterpret Christianity as an Aryan religion free from all Jewish influences. Those “German Christians” were subtly supported by the Nazi government, so that opposition to them could be understood as opposition to the government. The synod was of decisive importance in the development of the German Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche). Representatives came from established Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches, although some of the church governments had already been captured by “German Christians” and others had decided to limit their activities to passive resistance. The Pastors’ Emergency League (Pfarrernotbund), headed by Martin Niemöller, was the backbone of the active opposition to the “heresy” of the “German Christians.” Various lay leaders and groups also rallied to the cause.

At Barmen the representatives adopted six articles, called the Theological Declaration of Barmen, or the Barmen Declaration, that defined the Christian opposition to any interpretation of Christianity based on racial theories. The major theological influence was that of Karl Barth, who held that the only way to offer effective resistance to the secularizing and paganizing of the church in Nazi Germany was to hold fast to true Christian doctrine. The declaration was cast in the classical form of the great confessions of faith, affirming major biblical teachings and condemning those who were attempting to accommodate Christianity to National Socialism. It is treated as a confession by some denominations.