As the Bayrische Landwirtschaftliche Wochenblatt reported on Thursday, the farmers gathered at the protest rally expressed their displeasure at the fact that the diocese wants to centralise the management of its parishes and reallocate the leased land on a best-bid basis.
It was said that 950 plots in 105 parishes would be affected.
Not all of the 300 previous tenants had been considered in the reallocation.
The drastic increase in lease prices, which in some cases almost doubled, was the main source of displeasure.
The farmers criticised the church for what they saw as an unfair lease price policy and called for renegotiations and more fairness in the allocation of land.
The new regulation only served to maximise the diocese's profits and was "pure capitalism".
Neither Bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics of Eisenstadt nor his economic director Johannes Stipsits attended the demonstration in front of St Martin's Cathedral.
A spokesperson for the demonstration has already announced that the protests will continue if there is no reaction from the diocese.
They would then demand the bishop's resignation.
Limited room for renegotiation
Only the press spokesperson and the head of the church contribution office commented to the weekly newspaper. They clarified that all lease offers had been submitted by farmers in the bidding process, none had been determined by the diocese.
According to the press officer, many farmers thanked the landlord as they had never had the opportunity to lease church land before.
"However, we can assure you that we have handled the allocation objectively to the best of our knowledge and belief," it continues.
There is limited room for renegotiation, as the new contracts have already been sent out and come into legal effect once signed.
"We have held many discussions and will not reopen leased areas that have already been promised; in this respect, we as the Diocese of Eisenstadt do not consider further talks to be expedient at the present time," the press officer concluded.