With the existence of biographies of people from alternate worlds threads, there has never been one devoted to religions.
Until now.
When writing a brief history of the religion, please adhere to the following rules:
1. All religions must appear in the same alternate universe.
2. The Roman Catholic, Jewish and Hindu religions must still exist in this alternate world. However, alternate sub-divisions of these religions are allowed.
To get the ball rolling, I will start with the first entry.
The German Orthodox Church was founded by excommunicated priest Martin Luther in 1526 who was influenced by the scholarly writings of Greek Orthodox scholars and opposition to the sale of indulgences (which would absolve the purchaser of his sins). It is the leading faith of the Western Orthodox Church.
The religious service is based on the Eastern Orthodox practice with two notable differences: German is the liturgical language; and singing psalms, mostly written by Luther himself, is included in the Sunday prayer service (original Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox services did not include singing). In a break with Eastern Orthodox practice, German Orthodox priests are allowed to marry even after ordination into the priesthood (monks operate independently of priests and take a vow of celibacy)
In 1527, John the Steadfast, Elector of Saxony, declared the German Orthodox Church as the official state religion.
Today, the majority of Germany’s population is German Orthodox. Only Bavaria has a Roman Catholic majority. German Orthodox Christians are the largest minority in the Austro-Bohemian Empire, and are the majority of the population in four Swiss cantons.
Most German immigrants to the North American Union during the 18th century were German Orthodox Christians. After most congregations in the NAU changed its liturgy to English, the church made other changes to attract non-German speakers that supported the teachings of Martin Luther. In 1812, the North American churches changed its name to the Lutheran Orthodox Church.
Bishoprics in the German and Lutheran Orthodox Churches are traditionally based on population (around a million per bishopric in Europe). The bishop is the head priest of the bishopric and is elected by the head priest of each diocese (subdivision of a bishopric). All bishops must retire on their 75th birthday but are exempt from this requirement pending a vote of the dioceses. Western Orthodox Christianity does not have its equivalent of a papacy.
The church’s most well-known religious figures include Adolph Schickelgruber (Bishop of Vienna), Father Hans Erwin Rommel (head of the Reich Chaplains Corps), Abraham Welk (Bishop of Northern California and musical director of the Berkley Diocese) and the current Bishop of Saxony (and de facto leader of German Orthodox Christianity) Alois Ratzinger.