German church opens Web site to mark 'peaceful revolution'

ENI has reported that the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) is encouraging parishes to commemorate the "peaceful revolution" of 1989 that marked the end of communism in eastern Europe and prepared the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall. "In various countries in central and eastern Europe the churches played an important role as a motor for change," said Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who heads the EKD, Germany's biggest Protestant umbrella, in a foreword to a collection of Internet resources for worship and commemorative events. In the former communist-ruled East Germany, "it was the Protestant church especially that prepared the way for freedom and unity," said Huber, the Protestant bishop in the German capital, where the 96-mile fortified Berlin Wall divided the city's western and eastern sectors from 1961 to 1989. East Germany's 1989 peaceful uprising has been dubbed a "Protestant revolution" because of the prominent role played by church members, and the street demonstrations that followed packed prayer meetings for peace and change.