The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC) is an international fellowship of 34 Confessional Lutheran church bodies.
The CELC was founded in 1993 in Oberwesel, Germany with an initial thirteen church bodies. Plenary sessions are held every three years. To date there have been ten plenary meetings (1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2021), with regional meetings held in the intervening years.
The CELC rejects the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification signed between the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church.
History After the decline and dissolution of the Synodical Conference in the 1950s and 1960s, there was renewed interest for fellowship with other Lutheran church bodies. The Rev. Edgar Hoenecke called for a worldwide fellowship of Lutheran church bodies in the late 1960s.
Over the years, many people advocated for an international Lutheran organization and did much to help bring it about. However, three people are noted as having some of the biggest influence in helping to bring about a new international Lutheran organization: Pres. Gerhard Wilde of the Evangelisch-Lutherische Freikirche (ELFK), Pres. George Orvick of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), and Prof. Wilbert Gawrisch of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
On April 27–29, 1993, the CELC was formed in Oberwesel, Germany with Lutheran church bodies from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.
Today, the CELC consists of thirty-four Lutheran church bodies worldwide.
Membership
Member church bodies confess "the canonical books of the Old and New Testament as the verbally inspired and inerrant Word of God and submit to this Word of God as the only infallible rule and authority in all matters of doctrine, faith, and life."Constitution of the CELC , Art. 2, Sect. 1 They also accept "the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church contained in the Book of Concord of 1580, not in so far as, but because they are a correct exposition of the pure doctrine of the Word of God."Constitution of the CELC , Art. 2, Sect. 2
Members cannot be in fellowship with church bodies whose doctrine or practice deviate from the confessional standard of the CELC.Constitution of the CELC , Art. 4, Sect. 1 In practice, this means CELC members cannot also be members of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) or the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
Member church bodies sorted by country/region in alphabetical order:
Albania Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church of Albania Australia Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Australia Bulgaria Bulgarian Lutheran Church Cameroon Lutheran Church of Cameroon Canada WELS-Canada (Part of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) Chile Christian Church of the Lutheran Reformation of Chile Czech Republic Czech Evangelical Lutheran Church East Asia East Asia Lutheran Synod Ethiopia Lutheran Church of Ethiopia Finland The Lutheran Confessional Church of Finland St. Johannes Evangelical Lutheran Congregation Germany Evangelical Lutheran Free Church Hong Kong South Asian Lutheran Evangelical Mission India Christ Evangelical Lutheran Ministries of India Lutheran Mission of Salvation—India Indonesia Lutheran Church of Indonesia (Gereja Lutheran Indonesia) Japan Lutheran Evangelical Christian Church Kenya Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ—Kenya Latvia Confessional Lutheran Church in Latvia Malawi Lutheran Church of Central Africa Mexico Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Church Nigeria Christ the King Lutheran Church All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria Norway Lutheran Confessional Church Peru Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Peru Portugal Lutheran Church of Portugal Puerto Rico Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church Russia Evangelical Lutheran Church - "Concord" South Korea Seoul Lutheran Church Sweden Lutheran Confessional Church Taiwan Christ Lutheran Evangelical Church—Taiwan Ukraine Ukrainian Lutheran Church United States of America Evangelical Lutheran Synod Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Zambia Lutheran Church of Central Africa
Conventions The CELC holds a triennial convention in various countries around the world. The CELC conducts official business at these conventions. Representatives from all CELC member synods attend these conventions. The conventions center around a main doctrinal theme and include worship and Scripture-based essays.
1993 Theme: Holy Scripture Oberwesel, Germany
1996 Theme: Justification Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
1999 Theme: The Holy Spirit Winter Haven, Florida, USA
2002 Theme: Christology Gothenburg, Sweden
2005 Theme: The Last Things Narita, Japan 2008 Theme: Evangelism Kyiv, Ukraine
2011 Theme: The Church New Ulm, Minnesota, USA
2014 Theme: Sanctification Lima, Peru
2017 Theme: Reformation- Then and Now Grimma, Germany
2021 The Tenth Triennial Convention Online conference
References
External links
Scholarly articles about the CELC