Evangelical Church of Westphalia

The Evangelical Church of Westphalia (German: Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The seat of the praeses (German: Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged on June 13, 1945, when the ecclesiastical province of Westphalia within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union assumed its independence as church body of its own. The EKvW is a full member of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD),and the Reformed Alliance and is a church whose bases are in a Union between parishes in Lutheran and Calvinistic traditions. The church is also a member of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. Because the church is not run by a "bishop" there is no cathedral. Präses (President) of the church is Annette Kurschus (2012). Annette Kurschus became the first female praeses of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia in 2011.