Lutheran World Federation

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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 144 member church bodies in 79 countries representing over 72 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 32 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.

History

The Federation was organized at Lund, Sweden, in 1947. Based in Geneva, 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. ^[3]^[4]

Largest churches

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)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Germany (2.5)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (2.4)

Federation Officials

Bishop Dr Munib Younan, President
Rev. Martin Junge, General Secretary

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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

Lutheran World Federation

Contents

History

Largest churches

Federation Officials

President

General Secretary

Members

Presidents of LWF

See also

References

Further reading

External links

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