About Sonntagsblatt

Sonntagsblatt

Sonntagsblatt, the Evangelische Wochenzeitung für Bayern, is the Protestant weekly newspaper for Bavaria, published by the Evangelischer Presseverband für Bayern (EPV) in Nuremberg. Appearing since 1945 with one of the first postwar press licenses in Bavaria, it is the highest-circulation Protestant regional church newspaper in Bavaria. Published weekly in six regional editions and, since 2016, also as a daily online magazine, it reports on church, faith, society, and culture for a Bavarian Protestant readership, and its future is currently being reviewed by the church in the wake of a 2026 funding decision.

Overview

Sonntagsblatt is a weekly newspaper published by the Evangelischer Presseverband für Bayern e. V., the central Protestant media house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria (ELKB). The print edition appears every Sunday in six regional editions: Nuremberg and Middle Franconia (editorial office Nuremberg), Munich and Upper Bavaria (Munich), Ansbach and Würzburg (Würzburg), Augsburg and Swabia (Augsburg), Upper Franconia (Bayreuth), and Regensburg and Eastern Bavaria (Regensburg). The sold circulation was 14,458 copies in the fourth quarter of 2018 according to IVW, with some 14,000 subscribers reaching around 20,000 readers in Bavaria as of 2018; the media data for 2025 report a distributed circulation of 9,615 copies and more than 17,000 readers, reflecting the long-term circulation decline that has affected the entire church press.

The newspaper is published on behalf of the Bavarian church council, and its content combines church news and Protestant perspectives on current affairs with culture, service journalism, and community reporting. Special publications accompany the weekly paper, including the Sonntagsblatt Thema magazine and educational materials such as the Weltreligionen project booklet. Since 2016 Sonntagsblatt has also appeared as a daily online magazine at sonntagsblatt.de, with its own editor-in-chief and ISSN 2941-2641, extending the weekly's journalism into continuous digital coverage.

The paper's future is currently under review: in February 2026 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria announced it would terminate its funding agreement with the EPV at the end of December 2026, citing declining church tax revenues, and stated that the future of individual offerings such as Sonntagsblatt had not yet been decided. The church said it would decide later on new forms of cooperation with the EPV from 2027, and that media offerings were being reviewed for reach, impact, and economic viability.

History

Sonntagsblatt appeared in 1945 with license number 7 from the American military government, making it one of the first newspapers licensed in Bavaria after the Second World War. The Evangelischer Presseverband für Bayern, founded in the immediate postwar period, became the institutional home of Protestant journalism in Bavaria. From 1947 the Bavarian pastor Robert Geisendörfer led the media house as managing director, initially operating from a single room in a villa near the English Garden in Munich. The Sonntagsblatt grew into the highest-circulation Protestant church regional newspaper in Bavaria, carried by a loyal subscriber base in the parishes.

Editorial leadership has shaped the paper's profile over the decades. The print editor-in-chief since 2000 is the theologian and journalist Helmut Frank, who succeeded the Erlangen professor of Christian journalism Johanna Haberer, herself a formative figure in Protestant media thought. Since 2016 the online edition has had its own editor-in-chief, the art historian and journalist Rieke C. Harmsen, reflecting the editorial independence of the digital daily from the weekly print rhythm. The EPV today is directed by the theologian Roland Gertz, who has also chaired the Evangelical Media Association in Germany (EMVD) since 2014, giving the Bavarian media house a voice in national church media policy.

The EPV's development into a multi-branch media house mirrors the diversification of church communication: alongside the newspaper, the association operates the Evangelischer Pressedienst (epd) state service for Bavaria, which supplies church and society news to secular and church media; Evangelisches Fernsehen (efs) and the Evangelische Funkagentur (efa) for television and radio; the Claudius publishing house for books; the Vernetzte Kirche unit for networked church communication; an evangelical media agency; and an online and crossmedia editorial department. The February 2026 funding decision marks the most significant institutional caesura in the paper's postwar history, with the outcome for the Sonntagsblatt brand still open and the church promising a later decision on new forms of cooperation from 2027.

Coverage and Content

The Sonntagsblatt's coverage centers on the Protestant church in Bavaria and beyond: synod reporting, church politics, parish life, and theological debate. Around this core the paper builds a general-interest weekly: current affairs from a Protestant perspective, culture and books, service and lifestyle pages, and the devotional and community elements that have characterized church newspapers for generations. The six regional editions allow each church district's editorial office to report on local parishes, church councils, and regional events, giving the paper a closeness to its readers that national church media cannot replicate.

The daily online magazine at sonntagsblatt.de extends the coverage with continuously updated news, opinion, and service content, aimed at readers who follow church and society topics online and at a younger audience that encounters the church primarily through digital channels. The Sonntagsblatt Thema specials and the educational project materials, such as the Weltreligionen booklet with project ideas and worksheets for schools covering Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, extend the brand into thematic magazines and teaching resources used in religious education and project work. The editorial stance is that of a Protestant public sphere: reporting that takes faith seriously while engaging critically with politics, culture, and social change, and that gives the church's own controversies, from synod debates to parish conflicts, the journalistic attention they deserve.

Organization and Ownership

Sonntagsblatt is published by the Evangelischer Presseverband für Bayern e. V., a non-profit association and the central Protestant media house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. The EPV is legally independent of the church but publishes the paper on behalf of the Bavarian church council, a construction that gives the editorial offices journalistic distance from the church administration while keeping them accountable to the church's public mission. The association is led by director and board chairman Roland Gertz. The print editor-in-chief is Helmut Frank (since 2000); the online editor-in-chief is Rieke C. Harmsen (since 2016). The EPV maintains editorial offices in all Bavarian church districts: Nuremberg, Munich, Würzburg, Augsburg, Bayreuth, and Regensburg. Financial details beyond the publicly reported church funding relationship are not publicly confirmed.

Digital Presence

Sonntagsblatt.de operates as a daily online magazine with its own editorial leadership and ISSN, offering continuously updated church and society news alongside the weekly print content. The EPV's broader digital presence includes the Vernetzte Kirche unit, the online and crossmedia department, and social media channels for the association's brands. Newsletters and the efs television and efa radio offerings complement the digital portfolio. The funding review announced in 2026 explicitly covers the EPV's media offerings by reach, impact, and economic viability, which includes the digital operations.

The Protestant Weekly of Bavaria

For eighty years Sonntagsblatt has been the weekly companion of Bavarian Protestantism: licensed in the ruins of 1945, grown into the highest-circulation church regional newspaper in the state, and now navigating the digital transformation and a funding caesura whose outcome will decide the paper's next chapter and with it the future of Protestant journalism in Bavaria.