Lutheran World Federation


The Lutheran World Federation 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 has 154 member church bodies in 99 countries representing over 78 million Lutherans; as of 2023, it was the sixth-largest Christian communion. 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].
As of 2016, 119 of the LWF's 145 member churches ordained women as ministers.

History

The LWF was founded at Lund, Sweden, in 1947. It replaced the more informal Lutheran World Convention, which had been founded in 1923 and assembled for conventions in 1923, 1929, and 1935. The headquarters are based in Geneva, Switzerland. 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, 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 :
Member ChurchReported Members
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus12,000,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania8,500,000
Batak Christian Protestant Church6,333,000
Church of Sweden5,484,000
Church of Denmark4,253,575
Malagasy Lutheran Church4,000,000
Church of Norway3,611,670
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland3,579,616
Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church3,000,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America2,904,686
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hanover2,302,547
The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria2,200,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria2,143,233
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg1,821,266
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany1,772,953
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea1,500,000
Protestant Church in the Netherlands1,425,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia853,522
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon700,000

Federation officials and leadership

The Lutheran World Federation has a dual leadership structure. The President serves as the moderator of the Council and the Assembly and as ecclesial leader of the Federation, while the General Secretary is the chief executive officer responsible for its administration and operations. According to the LWF Constitution, both serve as chief spokespersons of the Lutheran World Federation.

President

The president presides at meetings of the Assembly, Council, and Executive Committee, and oversees the life and work of the federation in consultation with the General Secretary.
No.PortraitNameTermChurchNationality
1Anders Nygren
1947–1952Church of SwedenSwedenfont|size=90%|text=

General Secretary

The Lutheran World Federation Council elects the General Secretary for a seven-year term. The person appointed is eligible for one 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. Together with the President, the General Secretary serves as the chief spokesperson of the Lutheran World Federation. On 19 June 2021, the LWF Council elected Estonian theologian Anne Burghardt as the next General Secretary. She is the first woman and the first person from Central Eastern Europe to serve in this role and assumed office on 1 November of that year.
No.NameTermNationality
1Sylvester Michelfelder
1947–1951United StatesInterlanguage link multi|Carl Lund-Quist|defont|size=90%|text=

Members

This map shows the global distribution of Lutheranism based on The LWF 2019 membership data.

Statistics

YearNumber of denominationsNumber of individual members% of global population
200914070,053,3161.01%
201314272,268,3290.99%
201514574,261,8620.99%
201914877,493,9890.99%
202315078,431,1110.97%

Between 2009 and 2023, the Lutheran World Federation grew from 140 to 150 member denominations. In the same period, individual membership grew from 70,053,316 to 78,431,111 people. This represents a growth of 11.95% in 14 years. In the same period, the global population grew by 18.22%.
LWF statistics from 2009 to 2023 show growth in membership in Africa and Asia. At the same time, membership is declining in Europe and America. The Lutheran World Federation reports the membership of each member church as illustrated in the following chart:
Member ChurchNumber of MembersYear
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Angola92,0512023
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana26,023
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon700,000
Church of The Lutheran Brethren of Cameroon225,378
Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic120,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Congo98,123
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea11,000
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus12,000,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya100,000
Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church15,000
Lutheran Church in Liberia118,000
Malagasy Lutheran Church4,000,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi150,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mozambique18,163
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia853,522
German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia4,200
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia420,000
Lutheran Church of Nigeria65,000
Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria2,200,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Congo3,908
Lutheran Church of Rwanda7,200
The Lutheran Church of Senegal8,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone6,565
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa 3,950
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa580,000
Moravian Church in South Africa80,000
Northeastern Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa9,300
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania8,500,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia5,284
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe309,881
Lutheran Church of Australia140,000
Bangladesh Lutheran Church6,270
Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church12,070
Lutheran Church in Cambodia1,080
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land2,500
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong18,000
Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church2,399
Chinese Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod13,500
Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong12,800
South Andhra Lutheran Church95,000
Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church20,926
Manipur Evangelical Lutheran Church11,527
Christ Lutheran Church15,900
Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church100,000
Acrot Lutheran Church44,689
Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam242,803
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh23,000
Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church101,722
India Evangelical Lutheran Church150,000
Bodo Evangelical Lutheran Church12,479
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States40,064
Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church150,000
Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church3,000,000
The United Protestant Church20,000
Protestant Christian Church in Mentawi39,892
Protestant Christian Church of Nias|Communion of Protestant Christian Church]51,125
Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church23,000
Batak Christian Community Church37,718
Christian Communion of Indonesia Church in Nias26,250
Christian Protestant Angkola Church30,128
Pakpak Dairi Christian Protestant Church42,785
Protestant Christian Batak Church6,333,000
Protestant Church of Niha Keriso in Indonesia42,536
Simalungun Protestant Christian Church227,690
Protestant Christian Church 464,012
Inondesian Christian Church200,893
Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia274,685
Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church2,535
Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church21,558
Japan Lutheran Church694
Basel Christian Church of Malaysia65,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia4,250
Lutheran Church in Malaysia6,736
Protestant Church in Sabah34,731
Lutheran Church of Myanmar2,000
Myanmar Lutheran Church3,830
Mara Evangelical Church21,879
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Myanmar 3,395
Nepal Evangelical Lutheran Church1,385
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea1,500,000
Gutnius Lutheran Church - Papua New Guinea149,869
Lutheran Church in the Philippines58,000
Lutheran Church in Singapore2,727
Lutheran Church in Korea2,228
Lanka Lutheran Church5,324
Taiwan Lutheran Church9,502
Lutheran Church of Taiwan 1,517
Lutheran Church of the Republic of China431
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand4,000
Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Russia and Other States20,000
Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia3,300
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren58,521
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church160,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia1,700
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary176,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia250,000
Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide4,800
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania18,100
Evangelical Church of the [Augsburg Confession in Poland]60,244
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania23,700
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania10,773
Slovak [Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia]50,000
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Slovak Republic193,995
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia8,327
German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine1,000
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria247,834
Malagasy Protestant Church in France10,000
Union of Protestant Churches of Alsace and Lorraine220,000
United Protestant Church of France25,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony610,503
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe45,764
Church of Lippe 22,400
Evangelical Church in Central Germany615,855
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baden2,444
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany1,772,953
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg371,688
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria2,143,233
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Württemberg1,821,266
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover2,302,547
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brunswick293,979
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy6,000
Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein3,150
Protestant Church in the Netherlands1,425,000
Lutheran Church in Great Britain1,500
Evangelical Church of the River Plate25,000
United Evangelical Lutheran Church6,000
Bolivian Evangelical Lutheran Church3,731
Evangelical [Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil]614,555
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile2,500
Lutheran Church in Chile9,900
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia2,100
Lutheran Costa Rican Church500
United Evangelical Church in Cuba Lutheran Synod1,500
Salvadoran Lutheran Church15,500
Augustinian Lutheran Church of Guatemala2,892
Guatemala Lutheran Church950
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Guyana15,594
Christian Lutheran Church of Honduras2,005
Mexican Lutheran Church1,200
Nicaraguan Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope10,200
Lutheran Church of Peru853
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Suriname4,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela1,250
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark4,253,575
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland3,579,616
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland227,259
Church of Norway3,611,670
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway21,351
Church of Sweden5,484,000
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada40,171
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America2,904,686
Total78,431,111

List

Sorted by country in alphabetical order
  • Angola
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Bangladesh
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bolivia
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Cameroon
  • Canada
  • Central African Republic
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Congo, Democratic Republic of
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Czechia
  • Denmark
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Eritrea
  • Estonia
  • Ethiopia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Ghana
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Guatemala
  • Guyana
  • Hungary
  • Honduras
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Korea, Republic
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Latvia
  • Liberia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia
  • Mexico
  • Mozambique
  • Myanmar
  • Namibia
  • Nepal
  • Netherlands
  • Nicaragua
  • Nigeria
  • Norway
  • Palestine
  • Peru
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Rwanda
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore
  • Slovak Republic
  • Slovenia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Suriname
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Tanzania
  • Thailand
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom
  • United States of America
  • Uruguay
  • Uzbekistan
  • Venezuela
  • Zambia
  • '''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.