Lutheran World Federation

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

Part of a series on
Lutheranism
Luther's rose
show Book of Concord Apostles' Creed Nicene Creed Athanasian Creed Augsburg Confession Apology of the Augsburg Confession Luther's Small / Large Catechism Smalcald Articles Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope Formula of Concord
show Theology Theology of Martin Luther Justification Law and Gospel Sola gratia Sola scriptura Christology Sanctification Two kingdoms catholicity Two states of the Church Priesthood of all believers Divine Providence Marian theology Theology of the Cross Sacramental Union Homosexuality
show Sacraments and worship Baptism Eucharist Confession Confirmation Matrimony Anointing of the Sick Holy Orders Lutheran hymn Lutheran hymnwriters Normative principle Lutheran art
hide Organization Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference Global Confessional & Missional Lutheran Forum International Lutheran Council Lutheran World Federation Denominations Lutheranism by region
show History Start of the Reformation Reformation Crypto-Lutherans Gnesio-Lutherans Lutheran orthodoxy Pietists Haugeans Laestadians Finnish Awakening Old Lutherans Neo-Lutherans High church Lutherans Confessional Lutheranism
show Missionaries John Campanius Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg Hans Egede Johann Heinrich Callenberg Johann Phillip Fabricius Paul Henkel John Christian Frederick Heyer Karl Graul Martti Rautanen Wilhelm Sihler F. C. D. Wyneken Hans Paludan Smith Schreuder Lars Olsen Skrefsrud Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen Onesimos Nesib Paul Olaf Bodding Johann Flierl Christian Keyser Jens Christensen
show Bible translators Martin Luther Casiodoro de Reina Kjell Magne Yri Onesimos Nesib Aster Ganno Kristian Osvald Viderø Jákup Dahl Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg Johann Phillip Fabricius William Tyndale John Rogers George Constantine Jozef Roháček Johannes Avetaranian Guðbrandur Þorláksson Ludvig Olsen Fossum Hans Egede / Paul Egede Otto Fabricius Nils Vibe Stockfleth Olaus Petri / Laurentius Petri Martti Rautanen Primož Trubar Jurij Dalmatin Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen Sebastian Krelj Mikael Agricola Norwegian Bible Society Samuel Ludwik Zasadius Stanislovas Rapolionis Laurentius Andreae Hans Tausen Olaf M. Norlie Jonas Bretkūnas Hans Paludan Smith Schreuder Antonio Brucioli Mikołaj Jakubica Matthias Bel Johann Ernst Glück William F. Beck
show Theologians Martin Luther / Katharina von Bora Philip Melanchthon Johannes Bugenhagen Johannes Brenz Justus Jonas Hans Tausen Laurentius Petri Olaus Petri Mikael Agricola Matthias Flacius Martin Chemnitz Johann Gerhard Abraham Calovius Johannes Andreas Quenstedt Johann Wilhelm Baier Philipp Spener David Hollaz August Hermann Francke Henry Muhlenberg Friedrich Schleiermacher Lars Levi Laestadius Charles Porterfield Krauth C. F. W. Walther F. W. Stellhorn Søren Kierkegaard Rudolf Otto Ernst Troeltsch Rudolf Bultmann Paul Tillich Hermann Sasse Dietrich Bonhoeffer Wolfhart Pannenberg
v t

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.

The LWF now has 148 member church bodies in 99 countries representing over 77 million Lutherans;^[1] 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, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.

The 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 , 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; 2021 statistics):

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.^[22]

№	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		(1925–1988)	1977–1984	Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania	Tanzania
7		[de] (1919–1987)	1984–1987	Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary	Hungary
8		[de] (1927–1999)	1987–1990	Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria	Germany
9		[pt] (born 1937)	1990–1997	Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil	Brazil
10		[de] (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.^[23] 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.^[24]

№	Name	Term	Nationality
1	Sylvester Michelfelder (1889–1951)	1947–1951	United States
2	[de] (1908–1965)	1951–1960	United States
3	[de] (1920–1993)	1960–1965	Germany
4	[fr] (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	[de] (born 1961)	2010–2021	Chile
9		2021-	Estonia

Members[]

This map shows the global distribution of Lutheranism based on The LWF 2013 membership data.^[25][a]

Lutheranism by country in 2013, Lutheran World Federation member churches

Sorted by country in alphabetical order

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[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lutheran World Federation.

• Official website