Lutheran World Federation
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran churches headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of Lund in the aftermath of the Second World War in 1947 to coordinate the activities of the many differing Lutheran churches. Since 1984, the member churches are in pulpit and altar fellowship, with common doctrine as the basis of membership and mission activity.
The LWF now has 145 member church bodies in 79 countries representing 70.3 million of the world's 73.9 million Lutherans.[1] However, some Lutherans disagree with the way the Lutheran World Federation arrives at these numbers, because millions of them are actually non-Lutherans inside bodies that are mostly Reformed, but include some Lutherans as part of an absorption of a smaller Lutheran church body into a larger Protestant body. These larger Protestant bodies belong to the LWF on the basis of a Lutheran component rather than on the basis of being a Lutheran church body. [2] The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
The Department for World Service (DWS) is the LWF's humanitarian arm. It has programs in 35 countries. The LWF is a member of ACT Alliance.
On October 31, 1999, in Augsburg, Germany, the Lutheran World Federation signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church. The statement is an attempt to narrow the theological divide between the two faiths. The Declaration also states that the mutual condemnations between 16th century Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church no longer apply.
The largest member churches are (with number of members in millions; 2010 statistics):
- Church of Sweden (6.7)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (5.6)
- Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (5.57)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (4.5)
- Church of Denmark (4.47)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (4.38)
- Protestant Christian Batak Church, North Sumatera Indonesia (4.17)
- Church of Norway (3.99)
- Malagasy Lutheran Church (3.0)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Germany (2.8)
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[edit] Federation Officials
- Bishop Dr Munib Younan, President
- Rev. Martin Junge, General Secretary
[edit] President
The President is the Federation's chief official representative and spokesperson. He/she presides at meetings of the Assembly, Council and Meeting of Officers, and oversees the life and work of the Federation in consultation with the General Secretary.[3]
[edit] General Secretary
The Lutheran World Federation Council elects the General Secretary, who is appointed for a seven-year term. The person appointed is eligible for re-election.The General Secretary conducts the business of the Federation assisted by a Cabinet, comprising department and unit heads appointed by the Council, and carries out the decisions of the Assembly and Council.[4]
[edit] Members
Sorted by country in alphabetical order
- Angola
- Argentina
- Australia
- Lutheran Church of Australia - associate member church
- Austria
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chile
- China (Hong Kong SAR)
- The Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod
- The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church
- Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong
- Colombia
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia
- St Matthew's Lutheran Congregation
- St. Martin's Lutheran Congregation
- Congo, Democratic Republic of
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Finland
- France
- Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of France
- Malagasy Protestant Church in France
- Ghana
- Georgia
- Germany
- Church of Lippe (Lutheran Section)
- Evangelical Church in Central Germany
- Evangelical Church of Pomerania
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg
- Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe
- Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad
- North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Hungary
- Honduras
- Iceland
- India
- Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States
- Good Sheperd Evangelical Church
- Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam
- India Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church
- North Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam
- South Andhra Lutheran Church
- The Arcot Lutheran Church
- The Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Indonesia
- Batak Christian Community Church
- Christian Communion of Indonesia Church in Nias
- Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia
- Christian Protestant Angkola Church
- The Indonesian Christian Church
- Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church
- Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church
- Protestant Christian Batak Church
- The Protestant Christian Church
- Protestant Christian Church in Mentawai
- Simalungun Protestant Christian Church
- The United Protestant Church
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Japan Lutheran Church - associate member church
- Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Korea, Republic
- Kyrgyztan
- Latvia
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Basel Christian Church of Malaysia
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia
- Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore
- The Protestant Church in Sabah
- Mexico
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Myanmar
- Lutheran Church of Myanmar
- Myanmar Lutheran Church
- The Mara Evagelical Church
- Namibia
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN - GELC)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN)
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Palestine
- Peru
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (N-T)
- Moravian Church in South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan (Republic of China)
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
[edit] Presidents of LWF
From | Until | Name | Sending Church |
---|---|---|---|
1947 | 1952 | Anders Nygren | Church of Sweden |
1952 | 1957 | Hanns Lilje | Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover |
1957 | 1963 | Franklin Clark Fry | United Lutheran Church in America; after 1962, Lutheran Church in America |
1963 | 1970 | Fredrik A. Schiotz | American Lutheran Church |
1970 | 1977 | Mikko Juva | Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland |
1977 | 1984 | Josiah M. Kibira | Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania |
1984 | 1987 | Zoltán Káldy | Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary |
1987 | 1990 | Johannes Hanselmann | Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria |
1990 | 1997 | Gottfried Brakemeier | Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil |
1997 | 2003 | Christian Krause | Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick |
2003 | 2010 | Mark Hanson | Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
2010 | present | Munib Younan | Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land |
[edit] See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Lutheran World Federation |
- World Council of Churches
- Lutheran Church of Australia
- Asia Lutheran Communion and Asia Lutheran News (ALN)
- Africa Lutheran Communion
[edit] References
- ^ Hanson, Mark S. (September 2006). "Why LWF matters". The Lutheran ((The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)): p. 58. http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article_buy.cfm?article_id=6071.
- ^ For more information on this, see William Schumacher, "Theological Observer: How Many Lutherans?", Concordia Journal April 2005, http://www.csl.edu/CJApril05.pdf/
- ^ http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/who-we-are/organization/council/president
- ^ http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/who-we-are/central-offices/general-secretariat/general-secretary
[edit] External links
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