A gunman attacked a service held by his former congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses at their worship corridor on Thursday night time, killing six individuals and injuring eight earlier than taking his personal life within the northern German metropolis of Hamburg, officers mentioned.

The worldwide Christian denomination based in the USA has a greater than 100-year historical past in Germany. Immediately, about 170,000 members name the European nation residence, in line with the denomination’s web site.

The denomination itself dates again to the nineteenth century. It was based by Charles Taze Russell, a minister from Pittsburgh. Now headquartered in Warwick, New York, it claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million. Members are identified for his or her evangelistic efforts together with knocking on doorways and distributing literature in public squares.

Here’s a fast take a look at the worldwide denomination’s beliefs and their historical past in Germany:

— In Germany, there are about 2,020 Jehovah’s Witness congregations and 170,491 ministers. One in 498 Germans observe the religion, in line with the denomination’s web site.

— Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t name their place of worship a church, however “Kingdom Corridor.” It’s because they imagine the Bible refers to worshippers — not the constructing — because the church. The constructing or corridor the place congregants meet to worship Jehovah (the God of the Bible and His Kingdom) is subsequently often known as “Kingdom Corridor of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

— Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t use the cross in worship as a result of they imagine the Bible signifies that Jesus didn’t die on a cross, however on a easy stake, and that the Bible “strongly warns Christians to flee from idolatry, which might imply not utilizing the cross in worship,” the denomination’s web site states.

— Every congregation is supervised by a physique of elders. About 20 congregations make up a circuit and are often visited by touring elders often known as circuit overseers.

— The Jehovah’s Witnesses observe strict church self-discipline, and those that are deemed to be unrepentant sinners could also be “disfellowshipped,” or excommunicated.

— The denomination’s practices embrace a refusal to bear arms, salute a nationwide flag or take part in secular politics, since they imagine Jesus instructed them to stay politically impartial. On the similar time, Jehovah’s Witnesses say they respect authorities as a part of the “association of God” and that it’s their responsibility to obey secular legal guidelines so long as they don’t contradict the legal guidelines of God, in line with denomination’s web site.

— On January 27, 2021, the German State Parliament commemorated the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ brave stand in opposition to Nazi abuse. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was hosted on-line and was considered by greater than 37,000 individuals from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

— About 1,500 Jehovah’s Witnesses died through the Holocaust out of about 35,000 who lived in Germany and Nazi-occupied nations on the time. Greater than 1,000 died in prisons and focus camps. Members of the religion have been persecuted by the Nazi regime as a result of they remained politically impartial. In addition they refused to signal a doc renouncing their beliefs and disobeyed the regime’s orders by persevering with to fulfill for worship, doing public ministry and displaying kindness to Jewish individuals.

— On Jan. 27, 2017, Jehovah’s Witnesses acquired the identical authorized standing that’s granted to main religions in Germany, which meant they’re considered as a single non secular entity. Previous to gaining this standing, their nationwide headquarters in Germany and 1000’s of congregations within the nation have been thought-about unbiased non secular associations.

— Within the U.S., Jehovah’s Witnesses suspended door-knocking within the early days of the pandemic’s onset, simply as a lot of the remainder of society went into lockdown too. The group additionally ended all public conferences at its 13,000 congregations nationwide and canceled 5,600 annual gatherings worldwide — an unprecedented transfer not taken even through the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, which killed 50 million individuals worldwide.

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Related Press faith protection receives help via the AP’s collaboration with The Dialog US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely answerable for this content material.

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