Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC) was constituted in the year 1927 in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the Indian successor to the United Lutheran Church in America which was started as a self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating church among Telugu Christians. In India. Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau of the Danish-Halle Missionary Society at Tranquebar were the first Protestant Missionaries to India who were Lutherans. In Andhra Pradesh. The AELC was founded as a mission field of the then General Synod of the Lutheran Church in America by John Christian Frederick Heyer (known  as Father Heyer) on 31 July 1842. As a first step, schools were established. With new baptisms, the confidence of the missionaries increased. Later hospitals were established. Administration. The current Moderator / Bishop of the AELC is Most Rt.Rev.Dr.K.F.PARADESI BABU elected in the recent elections of the AELC, against BY K. Fredrick Paradesi Babu. For administrative purposes, six synods have been established, each taken care of by a Synod President. A 24-member Executive Council whose members are drawn from the six synods administers the Church society. Moderator / Bishop. The Executive Council of this Church Society elects a  set of office-bearers each quadrennium. The Moderator / Bishop heads this century-old Church Society. In earlier nomenclature, the term "President" was used. However, with the arrival of Rev. G. Emmanuel, the nomenclature was changed to "Moderator / Bishop" to denote a more ecclesiastical term. However, the term "President" also continues to be used. Women's ordination. For long, women's ordination in the AELC was "taboo". One of the first theologically trained women of this Church, the Fuller Theological Seminary-educated Rev. Dr B. V. Subbamma could have been ordained long ago. But Church leaders, fearing her leadership kept the  issue of women's ordination aside. However, with sustained efforts and dialogue of Dr. K. Rajaratnam, Rev. Dr. Prasanna Kumari Samuel, and Dr. Monica J. Melanchton of the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute (GLTCRI), the dream of women's ordination became a reality. With the active cooperation of the then President, Bishop G. Emmanuel, seventeen women were ordained into pastoral ministry on 20 February 1999.