A German court in Minden has declared that the "decision to ban worship services was illegal" as "the measure was 'disproportional', not founded in the law for infection prevention and violated the freedom of religion severely." The case referred to the total ban on public worship passed by the municipal council of Lage, a small town in the state of Lower Saxony, during Easter 2021.
The pastor of the Bible Congregation, Peter Dridiger, commented that this was an “important victory.” He continued: “The Bible Congregation did not resist the government with the procedure. Instead, it took a decision of the executive powers to court because it violated the Constitution”. Therefore, this ruling will serve the judicial protection of churches in the future.