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The Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe

The United Methodist Church in Central and Southern Europe consists of about 30'000 members and friends living in 13 countries: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia. The worship services are held in more than 20 languages, but there are many more languages and ways in which members of this Church share the love of God with their neighbors.
History
1925 Constitution of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe (member-countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Baltics, Russia, Germany, Switzerland)
1936 Constitution of the Central Conference in Germany. The other Annual Conferences of the Central Conference of Central Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Switzerland and Yugoslavia) fell back into their old Connection to the General Confernce and constituted the episcopal "Sprengel" of the General Conference. Bishop Nuelsen located his office in Geneva. It was the birth of the Geneva "Sprengel".
1938 Austria became annected to Hitler-Germany. Consequently, the Mission Conference in Austria was integrated into the German Central Conference.
1939 Integration of «Methodist Episcopal Church North», «Methodist Episcopal Church South» and «Protestant Methodist Church» in the USA. As a consequence, conferences in Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia were integrated in Geneva Sprengel.
1945 Geneva Sprengel now consisted of: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Madeira Mission, North Africa, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.
1954 On October 14, the constitutive meeting of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe took place in Brussels/Belgium. Ferdinand Sigg was elected as first Bishop of this Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe.
1966 After the decease of Bishop Ferdinand Sigg (1965), District Superintendent Franz W. Schäfer was elected as the new Bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe.
1969 The Methodist Church in Belgium left the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe and assembled with other Churches to the United Protestant Church in Belgium in the course of of the following years.
1989 Heinrich Bolleter was elected new Bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe as successor of Franz W. Schäfer.
1998 The Methodist Church in Albania was established and added to the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe.
2005 Patrick Streiff was elected new Bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe.
2006 Bishop Patrick Streiff took office; Bishop Heinrich Bolleter retired.
2010 A United Methodist congregation in Brussels/Belgium was added to the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. In the same year, the congregational work in Croatia was discontinued.
2011 The Methodist Church in Romania was established and added to the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe.
2022 The UMC in Bulgaria and the UMC in Slovakia left the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe and became part of the Global Methodist Church.
2022 Stefan Zürcher was elected bishop of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe.
2023 Bishop Stefan Zürcher took office; Bishop Patrick Streiff retired.

Clear "yes" to the "regionalization" of The United Methodist Church

Methodist church regions within and outside the USA will receive the same rights. A corresponding fundamental amendment to the "Book of Discipline" was clearly adopted at the General Conference meeting in Charlotte (USA).
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The UMC in Eurasia leaves the worldwide United Methodist Church

The plan of the UMC in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to leave the worldwide United Methodist Church and form an autonomous Church was approved by a very large majority of the delegates to General Conference taking place in Charlotte, NC.
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Message of the European Bishops and Greetings from Bishop Stefan Zürcher

April 23, 2024, marked the first day of General Conference of The United Methodist Church. On this occasion, active and retired Bishops of The United Methodist Church in Europe published a joint statement, underligning their commitment to the unity of the Church. And Bishop Stefan Zürcher sent video greetings to his Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe, asking for prayers for this meaningful event in Charlotte, NC.


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"What do we want to achieve together?"

Methodist leaders from the countries of the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe met in Vienna from March 13 to 18. Reports and consultations, times of joint celebration and a theme day on working with children and young people were on the agenda. But something else also happened.


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