Lutheran World Federation

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; German: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations 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.

"LWF" redirects here. For the aircraft, see Lightweight Fighter program.

Lutheran World Federation
Type	Communion
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheran
President	Musa Panti Filibus
General Secretary	Martin Junge
Headquarters	Ecumenical Centre (Geneva, Switzerland)
Origin	1947
Members	74 million
Official website	lutheranworld.org

The LWF now has 145 member church bodies in 89 countries representing over 74 million Lutherans.[1] 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 is the LWF's humanitarian and development arm. It has programmes in 24 countries and is the UNHCR 9th largest implementing partner. The LWF is a member of ACT Alliance.

On 31 October 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. A similar event took place in Lund Cathedral at the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation when Pope Francis visited Scania, Sweden's southernmost province that originally was Danish.[2][3]

119 of the 145 member churches (80%) ordain women as ministers.[4]

History

The LWF was founded at Lund, Sweden, in 1947. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, it replaced the more informal Lutheran World Convention, which had been founded in 1924. The goal was to coordinate international activities of the many Lutheran churches, to provide a forum for discussions on theological and organizational issues, and to assist in philanthropy, missionary activity, and exchange of students and professors. A key leader was Executive Secretary Sylvester C. Michelfelder (1889–1951), representing the American Lutheran Church. He had been a leader in organizing $45 million in American help for the rebuilding of Protestant churches in Germany after 1945. By the time of his death in 1951, the federation represented 52 churches in 25 countries.[5]

Largest churches

The 20 largest member churches are (with number of members in millions; 2016 statistics):

1. Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (8.3)[6]
2. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (6.5)[7]
3. Church of Sweden (6.3)[8]
4. Protestant Christian Batak Church (4.5)[9]
5. Church of Denmark (4.4)[10]
6. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (4.2)[11]
7. Church of Norway (3.8)[12]
8. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (3.7)[13]
9. Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (3)[14]
10. Malagasy Lutheran Church (3.0)[15]
11. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Germany (2.7)[16]
12. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Germany (2.5)[16]
13. The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (2.2)[17]
14. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (2.1)[16]
15. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg (2.1)[18]
16. Protestant Church in the Netherlands (2)[19]
17. Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (1.02)[20]
18. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (0.8)[21]
19. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony (0.73)[18]
20. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (0.6)[22]

Federation officials

President

The President is the federation's chief official representative and spokesperson. He or 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.[23]

№	Portrait	Name	Term	Church	Nationality
1		Anders Nygren (1890–1978)	1947–1952	Church of Sweden	Sweden
2		Hanns Lilje (1899–1977)	1952–1957	Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover	Germany
3		Franklin Clark Fry (1900–1968)	1957–1963	United Lutheran Church in America (until 1962) Lutheran Church in America (after 1962)	United States
4		Fredrik A. Schiotz (1901–1989)	1963–1970	American Lutheran Church	United States
5		Mikko Juva (1918–2004)	1970–1977	Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland	Finland
6		Josiah Kibira (1925–1988)	1977–1984	Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania	Tanzania
7		Zoltán Káldy (1919–1987)	1984–1987	Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary	Hungary
8		Johannes Hanselmann (1927–1999)	1987–1990	Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria	Germany
9		Gottfried Brakemeier (born 1937)	1990–1997	Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil	Brazil
10		Christian Krause (born 1940)	1997–2003	Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick	Germany
11		Mark Hanson (born 1946)	2003–2010	Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	United States
12		Munib Younan (born 1950)	2010–2017	Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land	Palestine
13		Musa Filibus (born 1960)	2017–present	The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria	Nigeria

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 the Communion Office Leadership Team, comprising department and unit heads appointed by the Council, and carries out the decisions of the Assembly and Council.[24]

№	Name	Term	Nationality
1	Sylvester Michelfelder (1889–1951)	1947–1951	United States
2	Carl Lund-Quist (1908–1965)	1951–1960	United States
3	Kurt Schmidt-Clausen (1920–1993)	1960–1965	Germany
4	André Appel (1921–2007)	1965–1974	France
5	Carl Henning Mau Jr. (1922–1995)	1974–1985	United States
6	Gunnar Stålsett (born 1935)	1985–1994	Norway
7	Ishmael Noko (born 1943)	1994–2010	Zimbabwe
8	Martin Junge (born 1961)	2010–present	Chile

Members

This map shows the global distribution of Lutheranism based on The LWF 2013 membership data.[25][lower-alpha 1]

Lutheranism by country in 2013, Lutheran World Federation member churches

Sorted by country in alphabetical order

• Angola

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Angola

• Argentina

Evangelical Church of the River Plate (includes Paraguay and Uruguay)

United Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Australia

Lutheran Church of Australia (includes New Zealand) – associate member church (also an associate member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Austria

Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria

• Bangladesh

Bangladesh Lutheran Church

Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Belarus

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

• Belgium

Lutheran Church of Belgium: Arlon and Christian Mission

• Bolivia

Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church

German-Speaking Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Bolivia

• Botswana

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana

• Brazil

Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil

• Cameroon

Church of the Lutheran Brethren of Cameroon

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon

• Canada

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

• Central African Republic

Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic

• Chile

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile

Lutheran Church in 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

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo

• Costa Rica

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Costa Rica

Lutheran Costarican Church

• Croatia

Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia

• Czech Republic

Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren

Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession

• Denmark

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark (includes Church of Greenland, but not the Church of the Faroe Islands)

• Ecuador

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ecuador

• El Salvador

Salvadoran Lutheran Church

• Eritrea

Evangelical Church of Eritrea

• Estonia

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Ethiopia

Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum)

• Finland

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

• France

Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine

United Protestant Church of France

Malagasy Protestant Church in France

• Ghana

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Georgia

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

• Germany

Church of Lippe, Lutheran Classis

Evangelical Church in Central Germany

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg

Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe

Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad

• Guatemala

Evangelical Lutheran Congregation "La Epifania"

• Guyana

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana

• Hungary

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary

• Honduras

Christian Lutheran Church of Honduras

• Iceland

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland

• India

Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh

Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church

Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam

India Evangelical Lutheran Church (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church

Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church

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 Evangelical Church in Minahasa

Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia

Christian Protestant Angkola Church

Evangelical Church in Kalimantan

Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church (also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum)

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

The Lutheran Church in Ireland

• Italy

Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy

• Japan

Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church

Japan Lutheran Church – associate member church (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Jordan

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan & the Holy Land

• Kazakhstan

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

• Kenya

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council and a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum)

Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Korea, Republic

Lutheran Church in Korea (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Kyrgyzstan

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

• Latvia

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia

• Liberia

Lutheran Church in Liberia

• Liechtenstein

Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein

• Lithuania

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania

• Madagascar

Malagasy Lutheran Church (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Malawi

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi

• Malaysia

Basel Christian Church of Malaysia

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia

Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore

The Protestant Church in Sabah

• Mexico

German-Speaking Evangelical Congregation in Mexico

Mexican Lutheran Church

• Mozambique

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mozambique

• Myanmar

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Myanmar

Lutheran Church of Myanmar

Myanmar Lutheran Church (also an associate member of the International Lutheran Council)

The Mara Evangelical 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

Nepal Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church

• Netherlands

Protestant Church in the Netherlands

• Nicaragua

Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope

• Nigeria

Lutheran Church in Nigeria

The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria

• Norway

Church of Norway

Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway

• Palestine

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan & the Holy Land

• Peru

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Peru

Peruvian Lutheran Evangelical Church

• Papua New Guinea

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea

Gutnius Lutheran Church (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Philippines

Lutheran Church in the Philippines (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Poland

Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession in Poland

• Romania

Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania

• Russia

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Rwanda

Lutheran Church of Rwanda

• Senegal

Lutheran Church of Senegal

• Serbia

Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia

• Sierra Leone

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone

• Singapore

Lutheran Church in Singapore

• Slovak Republic

Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovak Republic

• Slovenia

Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in 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

Lanka Lutheran Church (also a full member of the International Lutheran Council)

• Suriname

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Suriname

• Sweden

Church of Sweden

• Switzerland

Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein

• Taiwan (Republic of China)

Lutheran Church of Taiwan

Taiwan Lutheran Church

• Tanzania

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum)

• Thailand

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand

• Ukraine

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

• United Kingdom

Lutheran Church in Great Britain

The Lutheran Council of Great Britain

• United States of America

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

• Uruguay

Evangelical Church of the River Plate

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Uruguay

• Uzbekistan

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States

• Venezuela

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela

Lutheran Church of Venezuela

• Zambia

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia

• Zimbabwe

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe

Views on same-sex unions

Some member denominations have recognized same-gender unions through marriage, a blessing rite, or special prayers. These include the Church of Denmark, Church of Iceland, Church of Norway, Church of Sweden, Evangelical Church in Austria, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chile, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy, a majority of the churches within the Evangelical Church in Germany, Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil, Evangelical Church of the River Plate, Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and the United Protestant Church of France.[26]

On the other side, several churches, including the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, the Malagasy Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania, which recognize marriage as solely the union between a man and a woman, have broken ties with many of the churches supporting same-gender unions.[27]

See also

• Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference
• Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
• International Lutheran Council
• List of the largest Protestant denominations
• Porvoo Communion
• World Council of Churches

Notes

1. One of the countries with a higher number of Lutherans is the United States. The LWF does not include the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and several other Lutheran bodies which together have over 2.5 million members.

References

1. "About the LWF". The Lutheran World Federation. August 2016.
2. "The Lutheran World Federation". The Lutheran World Federation. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
3. "Pope Francis to visit Sweden for Reformation commemoration". Catholicherald.co.uk. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
4. "More than 80 percent of LWF churches ordain women". The Lutheran World Federation. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
5. Schjørring, Kumari & Hjelm 1997; Wentz 1965.
6. "Ethiopia | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
7. "Tanzania | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
8. "In English". Svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
9. "Indonesia | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
10. "Denmark | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
11. "Väestönmuutokset 2015*" (PDF). sakasti.evl.fi. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
12. "Norway | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
13. "ELCA Facts". Elca.org. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
14. "India | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
15. "Madagascar | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
16. "Germany | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
17. "Nigeria | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
18. "Germany | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
19. "Netherlands | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
20. "World Map || Latin America and Caribbean || Brazil". Worldmap.org. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
21. "Namibia - The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
22. "South Africa | The Lutheran World Federation". Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
23. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-12-24. Retrieved 2011-12-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
24. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-22. Retrieved 2012-01-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
25. "The Lutheran World Federation 2013 Membership Figures" (PDF). Lutheranworld.org. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
26. "Gay Marriage Around the World". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
27. "Ethiopian Church Severs Ties With Lutherans Over Homosexuality". Christian Post. Retrieved 17 June 2016.

Bibliography

• Schjørring, Jens Holger; Kumari, Prasanna; Hjelm, Norman A., eds. (1997). From Federation to Communion: The History of the Lutheran World Federation. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-8006-3110-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Wentz, Abdel Ross (1965). "The Lutheran World Federation". In Bodensieck, Julius (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church. 2. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House. pp. 1422–1432.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Official website