Evangelical Alliance Austria celebrates 50 years of existence

In the city of Wels, the Evangelical Alliance Austria (EAÖ) held an annual assembly that marked the 50^th anniversary of the entity.

The council welcomed 11 new members this year, and unanimously adopted new statutes.

In a press release, the EAÖ spoke of the “rich history” that goes back to “the beginnings of the Evangelical Alliance in Austria, which can be traced back to 1863, the local alliances, which had been operating independently of each other until then, came together in 1975 and founded the Austrian Evangelical Alliance”.

Today, Austria’s Evangelical Alliance is “a meeting place for people of almost all Christian denominations”, they explained, “with seven regional alliances and 10 working groups, it is also strongly anchored in the federal states”.

Three changes in the executive committee were announced as well.

The event looked at the past but also looked at “how the Evangelical Alliance can be made fit for the future”.

The new ‘constitution’ approved this year “does not change the aims and purpose of the Evangelical Alliance Austria”, the ÖEA said. Structural changes were decided to improve the work of sub-grops and eliminate duplicities. “With the new statutes, the flourishing plant called ‘Evangelical Alliance Austria’ is getting a bigger pot, which will enable healthy growth in the coming years”.

The name of the entity also changed slightly: body is now called Evangelical Alliance Austria instead of Austrian Evangelical Alliance. “This emphasises that we are part of a European and global movement” and “the new name also makes it a little easier for Christians and congregations with a migrant background to feel welcome in the Alliance”.

Oliver Stozek has been general secretary of the EAÖ since September 2022.