Talks between SED General Secretary Erich Honecker and the board of the Federation of Evangelical Churches (BEK) in the GDR (Bishop Albrecht Schönherr, Bishop Werner Krusche and Consistorial Councillor Manfred Stolpe as the head of the BEK Sekretariat). Among other things, the talks cover church building projects, the preparation of the Luther anniversary in 1983, pastoral care in penal institutions, church literature and media.
However, the meeting aims primarily at clarifying positions in the difficult relationship between the Evangelical (Protestant) Church and the SED on the basis of the motto "church in socialism". Both sides – each according to its own interpretation – describe the talks as a success. The results of the talks are published as an official statement in "Neues Deutschland".
"Constructive, frank talks with the Chairman of the State Council", Neues Deutschland, 7 March 1978 (in German)less