First female pastor-administrator appointed in Polish Lutheran Church

For the first time in the history of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, a woman will hold the position of pastor-administrator.

The decision was made at the request of Bishop Jerzy Samiec during the Consistory meeting on May 8th, one day after the first anniversary of the ordination of Rev. Radacz as a pastor. Rev. Halina Radacz, will assume her responsibilities from Bishop Jan Cieślar, the previous administrator of the parishes, on June 1st, 2023.

In the Polish church, the administrator has the authority of a parson, but can be reassigned by the Consistory to another place of service. The parson is elected by the congregation, while the administrator is appointed by the Consistory.

Rev. Halina Radacz (nee Płoszek) was born on August 12th, 1958 in Gdańsk. She comes from a Lutheran family and graduated from the Faculty of Theology at the Christian Academy of Theology in Warsaw. During her studies, she completed her practice at the offices of the Bishop of the Church and the Consistory. She managed the Betania Retreat House in Wapienica near Bielsko-Biała in 1983 and served as a catechist in her home parish in Sopot from 1984 to 1985, and then in the parish in Dzialdowo from 1985 to 1989. She also served as a diocesan catechist in the Mazurian diocese.

Her ordination as a deacon took place on January 25th, 1987, in Lidzbark Welski, Masuria. She served as the minister of the parish in Olsztynek from 1989 to 1998 and was then employed in the Ecumenical Office of the Polish Television on behalf of the Polish Ecumenical Council from 1998 to 2022. Since September 1998, she has been serving as a minister of the parish in Żyrardów, and since 2014, also in Rawa Mazowiecka.

A year ago, on May 7th, 2022, she was ordained as a pastor along with eight other deacons at the Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw.