The Lutheran Church - International (LC-I) is an American

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

established in 1967 and based in Lyons, New York. Its president from 1967 to 1998 was Pastor E. Edward Tornow of North Dakota. From 1967 to 2011 the LC-I was known as the International Lutheran Fellowship. The LC-I has a mixed episcopal/congregational structure, with four dioceses in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, including the Northeastern Diocese, the Mid-America Diocese, the Southern Diocese, and the Western Diocese. A Missionary District for Latin and Caribbean ministries is based in Puerto Rico. The LC-I also has ministry outreach in India. The current president of the LC-I is Robert W. Hotes. The Lutheran Church-International describes itself as "Confessional", "Orthodox", "Ecumenical (within the understandings based on the Book of Concord)", and "Evangelical". Confessionally, it adheres to the "Gospel of Jesus Christ as faithfully witnessed by the

Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...

of 1530, and the Book of Concord". As an orthodox

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

body, "the LC-I maintains a traditional, faithful understanding of Lutheranism within the church catholic". The Lutheran Church - International teaches that its clergy are ordained in lines of

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...

. Further, the LC-I has stated that it will "work with faithful Christians globally", and "internally with those church bodies with whom theological cooperation is possible". Finally, the LC-I sees itself as "a church of the Great Commission", seeking to "make disciples of all nations". The Lutheran World Parish is a unique ministry within the LC-I. A current LC-I brochure states that the Lutheran World Parish consists of "Individuals desiring to affiliate with the LC-I, but who are not near (a)...congregation". Established in 2006, the Order of St. Francis-Lutheran (OSF-L) is another ministry of the Lutheran Church-International. The Order is based in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

, Ontario, Canada and is headed by the Rev. Larry J. Goodnough. Goodnough was commissioned as the OSF-L Superior by Bishop Bougher of the LC-I Northeastern Diocese. The Rev. William Babbitt of Florida serves as U.S. Superior. The OSF-L is a ministry of lay persons and clergy in the spirit of

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

, not a

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...

Synods (from 2011)

2011 – The Mundelein Synod; July 27–30, 2011; University of St. Mary’s of the Lake Conference Center, Mundelein, Illinois 2012 – The Lyons Synod; (Date, July 2012); First Lutheran Church, Lyons, New YorkLC-I News, The Official Publication of the Lutheran Church-International; Volume 2, Number 1, October 2011, p.6., Lutheran Church-International

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.lutheranchurchinternational.org/ Lutheranism in Canada Lutheranism in the United States Lutheranism in North America Lutheran denominations in North America Christian organizations established in 1967