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.
Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University), and has degree-granting authority under a Danish charter ratified by the government of West Bengal. ACTC is on the Hussain Sagar canal (north) in Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the Secunderabad Junction railway station.
Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute is an ecumenical seminary situated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, South India. It is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University).
Evangelical Lutheran Church can refer to many different Lutheran churches in the world. Among them are the following:
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.
The National Council of Churches in India is an ecumenical forum for Protestant and Orthodox churches in India. It provides a platform for member churches and organizations to act on common issues relating to Christianity in India.
E. C. John was an Indian Old Testament scholar and a member of the Society for Biblical Studies in India. He was also a member of the George Bell Institute at the University of Chichester, Chichester and the Society for Old Testament Study, England.
United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI) is a communion of twelve Christian denominations in India. It has approximately four million members. It is a member of the World Council of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, the National Council of Churches in India, the ACT Alliance and Lutheran World Federation. The churches belonging to the UELCI are:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh is a Church belonging to the Lutheran denomination in India. It has about 22,000 members. The head office is situated in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. It is affiliated with United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, National Council of Churches in India, Lutheran World Federation and Christian Conference of Asia. It is currently led by Bishop Rt. Rev. Surendra Sukka It exists since 1923. The other churches belonging to the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India are:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States is a Christian denomination in India. It has about 25,000 members. It belongs to the Lutheran World Federation. Its president is Godwin Nag. The other churches belonging to the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India are:
Good Samaritan Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in India. It has about 40,000 members. Its headquarters is in Bhadrachalam, Telangana. It has been founded in 1972. It is led by T. Esther Rani. The other churches belonging to the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India are:
The Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in south India, which was established in 1919 and has approximately 200,000 members. Its headquarters is in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the prominent mainline Lutheran churches in Tamil Nadu.
South Andhra Lutheran Church is a Christian denomination in India. It is Telugu-speaking. It is led by Bishop Rev.E.Vijayabhasker, who elected by an election It has tens of thousands of members. It belongs to the Lutheran World Federation. Several church lands which were given to the leaders by missionaries are being sold after decades. The other churches belonging to the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India are:
Telugu Christians or Telugu Kraistava are a religious community who form the third-largest religious minority in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. According to the 2001 Census of India, there are over a million Christians in Andhra Pradesh, constituting around 1.51% of the state's population. This is a decrease from the 1971 census figure which put the percentage of Christians in state as 2%, and this decrease is mainly a result of low birth rates and emigration.
The India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) is a confessional Lutheran Christian church body of India headquartered in Tamil Nadu. It belongs to the International Lutheran Council and the Lutheran World Federation. It has three synods, named Ambur Synod, Nagercoil Synod, and Trivandrum Synod. The IELC was founded through the missionary efforts of the US-based Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), with whom it remains in altar and pulpit fellowship.
A. N. Gopal was the second Indian President of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society and served from 1951 to 1955. On completion of his term, he was assigned the responsibility of president of the Lutheran Theological College, Rajahmundry.
Samuel William Schmitthenner was a Lutheran who served as the President of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India from 1969 to 1981.
K. Frederick Paradesi Babu is the current President of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society. He had his ministerial formation at the Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad, a Seminary affiliated to the nation's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University).
B. V. Subbamma also known as Bathineni Venkata Subbamma was an Indian theologian and scholar. Noted for founding Christian ashrams, she was widely recognized for her analysis of Christianity from a cultural perspective. She was one of the first women in India to attain theological training and was one of the inaugural women pastors ordained by the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC) in 1999 at AELC-St. Matthews West Parish, Guntur.
In the state of Andhra Pradesh the most widely professed religion is Hinduism, with significant Muslim communities. According to 2011 Census of India figures, Hindus (~90.89%), Muslims (~7.30%) and Christians (1.34%) form the three largest religious groups in the total population of the state. Jains (0.06%) and Buddhists (0.04%) are the minority religious groups of the state.
