Department of Church Affairs
| Department of Church Affairs Ebtileng ov Eklesäl Akers | |
 Coat of Arms of Aerla | |
| Style | Secretary |
|---|---|
| Residence | Noursala |
| Appointer | President |
| Inaugural holder | Kevin Morts (1709 AN) |
| Formation | 1709 AN |
The Department of Church Affairs (Commonspeak: Ebtileng ov Eklësal Akers) was a sub-cabinet department in the Government of Aerla responsible for overseeing the government's relationship with the Aerlan Nazarene Church, operating under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior. It's chief responsibilities were to ensure of cooperation of the church's relations with public education and the oversight of church property.
The Department was originally formed as the Department of Worship soon after Aerla's independence in 1709 AN when much of the land in the country, particularly in the northeast, was owned by the Church. The name of the Department was changed to the Department of Church Affairs a year later in 1710 AN. Since then, the DoCA has overseen the handover and sale of such lands. Although the secretariat appointment to the agency was traditionally secular, this norm was broken when President Michel Sabbagh appointed a Priest, James Lansa, as Secretary. This was met with criticism from the Reformist Bloc, who saw it as a violation of the separation of church and state. However, the High Court of Aerla upheld Lansa's appointment as legal, as there are no prohibitions against clergy serving in governmental positions.
Lansa would be fired after Thomas Guthrie took office following the 1750 Election. Guthrie did not appoint a Secretary for the Department, pending it's abolition by the National Assembly. The DoCA was abolished in 1752 AN following the passage of the Department of Church Affairs Abolition Act, 1752, with its responsibilities either transferred to other Departments/Ministries, or deregulated altogether.
