page_title: Church of Denmark
section_title: Doctrine
hierarchical_section_title: Church of Denmark / Doctrine
caption_attribution_description: Dansk: Alter og døbefont i Besser Kirke (Samsø Kommune, Danmark). Deutsch: Altar und Taufstein in Besser Kirche (Samsø Kommune, Dänemark). English: Altar and font of Besser Church (Samsø Municipality, Denmark).
context_page_description: The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The reigning monarch is the supreme secular authority in the church. As of 1 January 2019, 74.7% of the population of Denmark are members, though membership is voluntary.
  Catholic Christianity was introduced to Denmark in the 9th century by Ansgar, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. In the 10th century, King Harald Bluetooth became a Catholic and began organizing the church, and by the 11th century, Christianity was largely accepted throughout the country. Since the Reformation in Denmark, the Church has been Evangelical Lutheran, while retaining much of its pre-Reformation liturgical traditions.
  The 1849 Constitution of Denmark designated the church "the Danish people's church" and mandates that the state support it as such.
  The Church of Denmark continues to maintain the historical episcopate. Theological authority is vested in bishops: ten bishops in mainland Denmark and one in Greenland, each overseeing a diocese. There is no archbishop; the Bishop of Copenhagen acts as a primus inter pares.
context_section_description: The church is aimed at having a wide acceptance of theological views, as long as they agree with the official symbolic books as stipulated in the Danish Code of 1683. These are:
  The Apostles' Creed
  The Nicene Creed
  The Athanasian Creed
  The Augsburg Confession
  Luther's Small Catechism
  Revised versions of the Old and New Testament were authorised by the Queen in 1992. A revised Hymn Book was authorised in 2003. Both the Bible translations and the Hymn Book implied widespread public and theological debate.
  Historically, there is a contrast between a liberal current inspired by N. F. S. Grundtvig and more strict, pietist or Bible fundamentalist movements (such as Indre Mission). These tensions have sometimes threatened to divide the Church. Tidehverv is a minor fraction based on a strict Lutheranism and anti-modern, national-conservative views.
  The Church of Denmark is member of the Porvoo Communion between Lutheran and Anglican Churches.
caption: Altar and baptismal font in Besser Church, Samsø
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