Celebrating the common source – and a new dawn!

"Celebrating the common source – forging the bond of peace"! This is the motto for the festive service to mark the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Lebus. It will take place on Sunday, September 28 at 2 p.m. in Fürstenwald Cathedral, the old episcopal church of the diocese. There will be one Catholic and one Protestant bishop from Poland and Germany, four in total, as well as a Polish children's choir, the Fürstenwalde choir and brass band, guests of honor and many others. Everyone is invited! But who knows the diocese of Lebus, and where is it actually located!

The diocese of Lebus was the first Christian church in the Oderland-Spree region. It included areas to the right and left of the Oder in today's districts of Märkisch Oderland, Oderland-Spree and the city of Frankfurt (Oder), as well as in the Polish voivodeship of Lubuskie, which continues to bear its name. With its foundation in 1124/25, the Christian faith arrived in the Oder region hundreds of years later than in other parts of Germany. And in fact it did not come from Germany, but from Poland! Duke Boleslaw III had the diocese founded as part of the ecclesiastical province of Gniezno in a landscape that was still "pagan" in pre-Christian times.

In the first century of its existence, the diocese was mainly inhabited by Polish people. It was not until the mid-13th century that German settlers arrived, until the late Middle Ages when the population was mainly German and became Protestant after the Reformation. The history of the diocese ended at that time.

Many centuries, two world wars and various expulsions later, Polish and German people are once again living in the Oder region. They belong to the Protestant and Catholic churches and others, and in Germany many have no religion. In recent decades, an amazing community has grown up among them, between administrations, sports clubs and cultural institutions and here and there also between church communities. But can such diverse people live together peacefully in the long term, especially when there are social stress tests, such as the populist border controls that are now in place?

The answer to this question, the discovery of common ground and togetherness, can be experienced in Fürstenwalde on September 28, 2025. After the services, all participants are welcome to join us at the large coffee table.