In winter the church stays cold - Archdiocese with urgent appeal

Created: 08/09/2022 22:19

By: Sofia Popovidi

Because of the energy crisis, the Archdiocese of Cologne recommends not heating the churches in winter (symbol image).

©Oliver Berg/dpa

Energy crisis: Churches in Cologne are advised not to heat this winter.

Cologne – The Ukraine war and the resulting energy crisis are also feeling the effects of the Cologne churches.

The Archdiocese of Cologne has now recommended that the churches not heat this winter in order to save on energy costs.

"It is clear to us that services and events in the churches will be less comfortable as a result, some formats may no longer be possible and there will also be user groups who may be prevented from visiting the churches as a result," says a circular to the parishes, as reported by 24RHEIN.

This is not the first austerity measure in Cologne.

Before that, it was already decided to switch off the lighting of certain buildings, for example the Cologne Cathedral, at night.

Because of the energy crisis, the ice rink at Ebertplatz is also on the verge of collapse.

Churches should not heat because of the energy crisis

The Archdiocese of Cologne also recommends that the parishes save energy.

In the letter "Energy & Church" the Archdiocese has compiled information and recommendations on the subject of saving energy in churches and community buildings.

One of the most urgent recommendations is to switch off the church heating in the coming months, according to the letter to the pastors and employees of the Cologne churches.

That would also affect the Cologne Cathedral.

According to the Archdiocese of Cologne, churches and chapels are currently heated with gas and oil-fired warm-air heaters.

These heaters use fossil fuels and consume a lot of energy.

The churches could therefore save immense heating costs here and help people in need with part of the money saved.

"Against this background, we see it as an act of solidarity that we, as a church, are noticeably committed to saving energy and, if possible, also allowing the financial resources saved to benefit people on the fringes of our society," the archdiocese wrote in the letter explained.

Energy crisis in Cologne: the city is planning further savings measures

The energy crisis is also making itself felt in other parts of Cologne.

Mayor Henriette Reker recently appealed to the people of Cologne to save energy in order to prevent a possible emergency in the coming winter months.

The city of Cologne has also developed a concept to save energy in recent months.