The CENTRAL ARCHIVE of The Christian Community
In the central archive in Berlin, material from the religious, social and cultural work of The Christian Community is preserved.
History of the Archive
The establishment of the central archive began when the leadership of The Christian Community moved from Stuttgart to Berlin in 2004. Premises in the Comeniushof, Gubener Strasse, were made available where documents from past and present are collected, evaluated and preserved. Like most archives, the holdings are available for research purposes to interested parties within and outside The Christian Community.
The Contents
Personalities
Historically the contents have grown from the origins of The Christian Community, and the largest part and the focus of the contents are the biographical and personal collections of the founders and the subsequent priests, consisting of the documents concerning their work enriched with materials from literary estates and bequests. In addition to biographical documents, correspondence, notes and manuscripts of sermons and lectures are kept. Additionally supplemented by parts of colletions from people close to The Christian Community, such as Christian and Margareta Morgenstern, Michael Bauer and others.
Records
The archive preserves the administrative records of the governing bodies, social welfare organizations, conference centres, Urachhaus Publishing (until 1994), and materials from the history of The Christian Community in the GDR (East Germany) and congregations that have closed.
Collection of music
Liturgical compositions for the services and rituals of The Christian Community can be found in an extensive collection of music, including compositions by Otto Crusius, Matthäus Reisch and Siegfried Thiele.
Photographs
The archive also includes an extensive collection of photos of church buildings, church interiors and ritual implements, altar pictures as well as portraits (including some by Margarita Woloschina) as well as a collection of around 450 prints and drawings by Friedrich Doldinger.
Library
The library of the central archive contains, in addition to the legacies of some founders (e.g. Rudolf Meyer), a part of the library of Urachhaus Publishing (until its merger in 1994 with the Freies Geistesleben Publishing), several series of periodical and journals publications that date back to the beginning of The Christian Community (for instance, the German Die Christengemeinschaft and its predecessors Tatchristentum and Christentum und Gegenwart as well as some journals in other languages). In addition, congregational letters and all publications by priests both in German and other languages, as well as publications about the history and work of The Christian Community.
Future
The Central Archive is interested in and ready to preserve further material and literary estates that are connected with the history of The Christian Community.
Contact
Rev Thomas Prange, Archive Director
Zentralarchiv der Christengemeinschaft
Gubener Str. 47 a
10243 Berlin
Telefon Archivleiter: +49-176-81281909
Telefon Archivbüro: +49-30-609 785 12
nepuvi@puevfgratrzrvafpunsg.betgro.tfahcsniemegnetsirhc@vihcra
Opening hours:
Any time by arrangement, please apply by phone or in writing.
2022/12