German Democratic Republic (GDR): The Church in the German Democratic Republic, and Church Relations between the GDR and UK

A file of correspondence and reports concerning the position of the church in East Germany. The documents cover events at Evangelical synods in East Germany; the position and administration of dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in East Germany; and the position of churches as the largest East German organisations not under direct party control. Other documents in the file cover a visit to Britain by Klaus Gysi, the East German State Secretary for Church Affairs, who delivered a speech at Chatham House; the establishment of links between British and East German churches, including a suggestion that an Anglican presence be established in Berlin; and a proposal that the Archbishop of Canterbury visit East Germany to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the theologian Martin Luther. The file also includes a despatch on the position of the church in East German society, examining church-state relations, the financing of the church, theological training, and church buildings.