Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of Lund in the aftermath of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
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 148 member church bodies in 99 countries representing over 77 million Lutherans; as of 2020, it is the sixth-largest Christian communion (see list of denominations by membership). The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations,
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
, 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 ninth largest implementing partner. The LWF is a member of ACT Alliance.
On 31 October 1999 in
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. 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
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
when
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...
visited
Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skån ...
, Sweden's southernmost province that originally was Danish.
119 of the 145 member churches (80%) ordain women as ministers.
History
The LWF was founded at Lund, Sweden, in 1947. Based in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, 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.
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positi ...
Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony (''Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens'') is one of 20 member Churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), covering most of the state of Saxony. Its headquarters are in Dresden, and its b ...
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.
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. On 19 June the LWF Council elected Estonian theologian Rev. Anne Burghardt as the next General Secretary. She is the first woman to serve in this role. Rev. Burghardt will assume office on 1 November.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana is an Evangelical Lutheran church in Botswana. It has a membership of 22,000, and has been a member of the Lutheran World Federation since 1986. It is also affiliated with its regional expression, the ...
Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong
The Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong or TTMHK () is one of the eight Lutheran bodies in Hong Kong. It currently has approximately 10,600 members.
The current president of TTMHK is Elder Wong Fook Yee.
History
The TTMHK was established in its ...
Evangelical Church of Eritrea
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
The Global Confessional & Missional Lutheran Forum (Global Forum) is a global gathering of national and regional Lutheran churches. The forum was founded in Dallas, Texas by invitation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2015 to bring togeth ...
'')
* Finland
:
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positi ...
* France
:
Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine
The Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine (french: Union des Églises protestantes d'Alsace et de Lorraine, UEPAL; german: Die Union der Protestantischen Kirchen von Elsass und Lothringen; gsw-FR, D' Union vu da Protäschtàntischa ...
Malagasy Protestant Church in France The Malagasy Protestant Church in France (french: Église protestante malagache en France; mg, Fiangonana Protestanta Malagasy aty Andafy) (FPMA) was founded in 1959 by Malagasy students in France with the agreement of the Federation of Protestan ...
Church of Lippe
The Church of Lippe (german: link=no, Lippische Landeskirche) is a Reformed (Calvinist) member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany that covers what used to be the Principality of Lippe.
Seat of the church administration is Detmold. The ...
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony (''Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens'') is one of 20 member Churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), covering most of the state of Saxony. Its headquarters are in Dresden, and its b ...
:
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe (german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Schaumburg-Lippe) is a Lutheran member church ( Landeskirche) of the Evangelical Church in Germany. It covers the former principality of Schaumburg- ...
:
Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad
The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (LELCA) ( lv, Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca ārpus Latvijas (LELBĀL); german: link=no, Lettische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche im Ausland) is a Lutheran denomination with a presence in ...
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland ( is, Hin evangelíska lúterska kirkja), also called the National Church ( is, Þjóðkirkjan), is the officially established Christian church in Iceland. The church professes the Lutheran faith an ...
* India
:
Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh is a Church belonging to the Lutheran denomination in India. It has about 22,000 members. The head office is situated in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. It is affiliated with United Evangelical Lutheran Chu ...
:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States is a Christian denomination in India. It has about 25,000 members. It belongs to the Lutheran World Federation.
Its president is Godwin Nag.
The other churches belonging to the United Evangelical ...
Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam
Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam (GELC) is a major Christian Protestant denomination in India. It has hundreds of thousands of members. It was established on 2 November 1845. It belongs to National Council of Churche ...
:
India Evangelical Lutheran Church
India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) is a Christian denomination in India. Its headquarters is in Tamil Nadu. It belongs to the International Lutheran Council and the Lutheran World Federation. It has four synods named Ambur Synod, Nagerc ...
Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church
Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church is a major Lutheran Christian denomination in India. It was established in 1882. At that time, the founder of The Schleswig Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society of Germany (SHELM) in Germany was Pasto ...
:
Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (NELC) is a multi-lingual Lutheran Christian church that is centred mainly in four states of North India - Jharkhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Bengal. The reach of the Church extends into Nepal and the ...
:
South Andhra Lutheran Church
South Andhra Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in India. It is Telugu-speaking.
It is led by Bishop Rev.E.Vijayabhasker, who elected by an election It has tens of thousands of members. It belongs to the Lutheran World Federation.
Sever ...
:The
Arcot Lutheran Church
Arcot Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in India. It has about 40,000 members. It belongs to National Council of Churches in India, United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, Lutheran World Federation and World Council of Churches. The ...
Batak Christian Community Church The Batak Christian Community Church () is a Lutheran denomination in Indonesia. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1972. It is affiliated with the Christian Conference of Asia, the Communion of Churches in Indone ...
Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa The Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa (Gereja Masehi Injii di Minahasa) is a Protestant, Calvinist and Reformed church in Indonesia. It was founded in North Sulawesi on 30 September 1934.
Christianity was introduced to Minahasa by Johann Fr ...
:
Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia
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'' (Χρ� ...
Evangelical Church in Kalimantan The Rheinische Missiongesellschaft zu Bremen (RMG) started missions in Kalimantan, now known as Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southea ...
Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
The Global Confessional & Missional Lutheran Forum (Global Forum) is a global gathering of national and regional Lutheran churches. The forum was founded in Dallas, Texas by invitation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2015 to bring togeth ...
Simalungun Protestant Christian Church
Gereja Kristen Protestan Simalungun (GKPS - Simalungun Protestant Christian Church) is a Lutheran and Reformed Protestant church formally founded to spread Christianity among the Simalungun people, a tribe living in Simalungun, North Sumatra, Indo ...
:The
United Protestant Church
A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations.
Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...
* Ireland
:The
Lutheran Church in Ireland
The Lutheran Church in Ireland ( ga, An Eaglais Liútarach in Éirinn, german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Irland) is a Lutheran church, operating across the island of Ireland.
In 1955 the Lutheran church was re-established in Dublin and m ...
Japan Lutheran Church
The or NRK (based on its Romaji initials) is a confessional Lutheran denomination in Japan. It currently has approximately 766 baptized members in 35 congregations nationwide.
The current chairman of the NRK is Rev. Shin SHIMIZU.
History
Dur ...
Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
The Global Confessional & Missional Lutheran Forum (Global Forum) is a global gathering of national and regional Lutheran churches. The forum was founded in Dallas, Texas by invitation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2015 to bring togeth ...
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway
The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church, or the Free Church as it is commonly known ( no, Den Evangelisk Lutherske Frikirke, shortened ''Frikirken''), is a nationwide Lutheran church in Norway, consisting of 83 congregations and 21,817 baptised memb ...
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea is a Protestant church denomination located in Papua New Guinea that professes the Lutheran branch of the Christian faith. The Church is incorporated by a 1991 Act of the Parliament of Papua New ...
Lutheran Church in the Philippines
The Lutheran Church in the Philippines is a Lutheran denomination in the Philippines. It was founded by Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod missionaries in 1957.
The Lutheran Church in the Philippines is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, ...
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania (german: Evangelische Kirche A.B. ugsburgischen Bekenntnissesin Rumänien, ro, Biserica Evanghelică de Confesiune Augustană în România) is a German-speaking Lutheran church in ...
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia ( sl, Evangeličanska cerkev augsburške veroizpovedi v Sloveniji) is a Lutheran denomination in Slovenia. It is led by Bishop Leon Novak. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federat ...
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
Taiwan Lutheran Church
The Taiwan Lutheran Church (TLC; ) is one of the six Lutheran bodies in Taiwan. It currently has 80 mission sites nationwide (including 40 local congregations, 30 church plants and 10 parachurch organizations) with a total of 11,422 baptized m ...
Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
The Global Confessional & Missional Lutheran Forum (Global Forum) is a global gathering of national and regional Lutheran churches. The forum was founded in Dallas, Texas by invitation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2015 to bring togeth ...
Lutheran Church in Great Britain
The Lutheran Church in Great Britain (LCiGB) is a small Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. The LCiGB is a member church of the Lutheran World Federation and of The Lutheran Council of Great Britain, the umbrella organisation f ...
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positi ...
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy
The Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy ( it, Chiesa Evangelica Luterana in Italia, german: Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Italien, abbreviated CELI or ELKI) is a Protestantism, Protestant denomination in the Lutheranism, Lutheran tradition in ...
Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
The Global Confessional & Missional Lutheran Forum (Global Forum) is a global gathering of national and regional Lutheran churches. The forum was founded in Dallas, Texas by invitation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2015 to bring togeth ...
List of the largest Protestant denominations
This is a list of the largest Protestant denominations. It aims to include sizable Protestant communions, federations, alliances, councils, fellowships, and other denominational organisations in the world and provides information regarding the me ...
*
Porvoo Communion
The Porvoo Communion is a communion of 15 predominantly northern European Anglican and Evangelical Lutheran churches, with a couple of far-southwestern European (in the Iberian Peninsula) church bodies of the same denomination. It was establish ...