# Lutheran World Federation

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vte :
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 150 member church bodies in 99 countries representing over 78 million Lutherans; as of 2023, it was 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 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, Germany, the LWF signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic–Lutheran dialogue is a series of discussions that began during July 1964 as an outgrowth of the Second Vatican Council. 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 Catholic church and Lutheranism no longer apply. A similar event took place in Lund Cathedral on 31 October 2016, the 499th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, with the signing of the Statement on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan in a special Catholic-Lutheran dialogue.
119 of the 145 member churches (80%) ordain women as ministers.

## 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.

## Largest churches

The 20 largest member churches are (with number of members in millions; 2021 statistics):
* Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (10.4)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (7.9)
* Church of Sweden (5.9)
* Batak Christian Protestant Church (4.5)
* Church of Denmark (4.3)
* Malagasy Lutheran Church (4.0)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (3.8)
* Church of Norway (3.7)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (3.6)
* Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (3.0)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, Germany (2.6)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Germany (2.3)
* The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (2.2)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (2.1)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg (2.0)
* Protestant Church in the Netherlands (1.7)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (0.9)
* Evangelical Church in Central Germany (0.7)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony (0.7)
* Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (0.6)
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (0.6)

## Federation officials
### President

The President is the federation's chief official representative and spokesperson. The president 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.
| No. | 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 [de] (1919–1987) | 1984–1987 | Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary | Hungary |
| 8 | Johannes Hanselmann [de] (1927–1999) | 1987–1990 | Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria | Germany |
| 9 | Gottfried Brakemeier [pt] (born 1937) | 1990–1997 | Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil | Brazil |
| 10 | Christian Krause [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) | 2017–2023 | The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria | Nigeria |
| 14 | Henrik Stubkjær (born 1961) | 2023–present | Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark | Denmark |

### General Secretary

The Lutheran World Federation Council elects the General Secretary 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 2021, the LWF Council elected Estonian theologian Anne Burghardt as the next General Secretary. She is the first woman to serve in this role and assumed office on 1 November of that year.
| No. | Name | Term | Nationality |
| 1 | Sylvester Michelfelder (1889–1951) | 1947–1951 | United States |
| 2 | Carl Lund-Quist [de] (1908–1965) | 1951–1960 | United States |
| 3 | Kurt Schmidt-Clausen [de] (1920–1993) | 1960–1965 | Germany |
| 4 | André Appel [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 | Martin Junge [de] (born 1961) | 2010–2021 | Chile |
| 9 | Anne Burghardt (born 1975) | 2021- | Estonia |

## Members

This map shows the global distribution of Lutheranism based on The LWF 2019 membership data.
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
    Protestant 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
* Czechia
    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 Protestant Church in Indonesia
    Christian Protestant Angkola Church
    Indonesian Christian Luther Church (also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum)
    Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church
    Protestant Christian Batak Church
    Protestant Christian Church
    Protestant Christian Church in Mentawai
    Simalungun Protestant Christian Church
    Indonesian Christian Church
    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) [de]
    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-sex unions through marriage, a blessing rite, or special prayers. These include the Church of Denmark, Church of Iceland, Church of Norway, Church of Sweden, Protestant Church A.B. 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 Protestant Church in Germany, Evangelical Church of the River Plate, Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and the United Protestant Church of France.
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-sex unions.
The Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil supports civil same-sex marriage, but does not allow its ministers to celebrate same-sex unions, neither does it ordain ministers who are living in same-sex unions.