Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia

Last updated
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia logo.png
ClassificationProtestant
Orientation Lutheran
Associations Council of Churches in Namibia
Lutheran World Federation
World Council of Churches
Origin1957
Congregations54 [1]
Members420,000 [2]
Official website www.elcrnam.org

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN; German : Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in der Republik Namibia) is a Lutheran denomination based in Namibia. It has a total membership of about 420,000. [2]

The ELCRN grew out of work done by the Rhenish Missionary Society starting in 1842. The denomination was established in 1957 as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South West Africa (Rheinische Mission). It adopted its present name in 1990, following Namibian independence. [1] It joined the Lutheran World Federation in 1970, [2] and the World Council of Churches in 1992. [1]

Together with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, the ELCRN operates Paulinum Theological Seminary. In 2007, these two denominations. along with the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, formed the United Church Council of the Lutheran Churches in Namibia. The aim of this body is ultimately to achieve church union. [1]

In December 2015, the ELCRN postponed its synod, which usually meets every six years, "pending the rectification of alleged irregularities regarding administrative procedures." [3] The synod took place from 30 January – 4 February 2016, but then the election of members to the national church council was "reportedly conducted improperly as some members with voting rights were denied participation in the election process." [4] The elections were declared null and void and an extraordinary synod was then held in July 2016. No consensus could be reached, however, and the term of the current church council was extended until 31 August 2017. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Sweden</span> Evangelical Lutheran church

The Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest Lutheran denomination in Europe and the third-largest in the world, after the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of 2021, it has approximately 3.04 million baptized members in 8,724 congregations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod</span> Denomination of Lutheran Christianity in the United States

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran denominations. Member bodies of the ILC hold "an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord as the true and faithful exposition of the Word of God." The member church bodies are not required to be in church-fellowship with one another, though many of them are.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutheran World Federation</span> Global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia</span> Protestant-oriented Christian denomination in Latvia

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia is a Lutheran Protestant church in Latvia. Latvia's Lutheran heritage dates back to the Reformation. Both the Nazi and communist regimes persecuted the church harshly before religious freedom returned to Latvia in 1988. In contrast to Estonia, where state atheism reduced the once 80% Lutheran majority to barely 10% by 2011, the Latvian Lutheran church saw its membership drop to around 20% but has recovered and now includes approximately 30% of the population. The church reports having 250,000 members according to the Lutheran World Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus</span> Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia. It is the largest member church of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a Lutheran denomination with some Pentecostal influence and one Presbyterian-leaning synod, with a large Pietistic following.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutheranism by region</span> Aspect of religion

Lutheranism is present on all inhabited continents with an estimated 80 million adherents, out of which 74.2 million are affiliated with the Lutheran World Federation. A major movement that first began the Reformation, it constitutes one of the largest Protestant branches claiming around 80 million out of 920 million Protestants. The Lutheran World Federation brings together the vast majority of Lutherans. Apart from it, there are also other organisations such as the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as multiple independent Lutheran denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zephania Kameeta</span> Namibian bishop and politician

Zephania Kameeta is a Namibian religious and political leader. Since March 2015, he has been the Namibian Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg is a Lutheran church in the German state of Lower Saxony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa is a Lutheran church in South Africa. The church has 580,000 baptized members in seven dioceses in South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini, and is the largest Lutheran church in the southern African region. It is a member of the Botswana Council of Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Namibia</span>

Religion in Namibia is dominated by various branches of Christianity, with more than 90 percent of Namibian citizens identifying themselves as Christian. According to the government's survey, in 2013 up to 75% of the country was Protestant, including as much as 50% Lutheran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia</span> Church community in Namibia

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) is a Lutheran denomination based in Namibia. It has a total membership of over 853,522 in 2023, mainly in Northern Namibia. Formerly known as the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church (ELOC), it played a significant role in opposition to Apartheid in Namibia and was part of the Namibian independence struggle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon (EELC) is a Lutheran denomination in Cameroon. The EELC was registered as a religious body in Cameroon in 1965 and currently has approximately 253,000 members in 1,300 congregations nationwide.

Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation.

India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) is a Christian denomination in India. Its headquarters is 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 Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), with whom it remains in altar and pulpit fellowship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, also known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and the Other States (ELCROS), is a Lutheran denomination that itself comprises seven regional Lutheran denominations in Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan as well as individual congregations in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Established in its current form in 1999, ELCROS currently has about 24,050 members in more than 400 congregations within its jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia</span>

The German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia is a Lutheran denomination based in Namibia. It was founded in 1960, and has 4,100 members in 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia". World Council of Churches. Archived from the original on 19 December 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN)". Lutheran World Federation. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. Tjihenuna, Theresia (7 December 2015). "ELCRN forced to postpone synod over irregularities". The Namibian . Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 Tjihenuna, Theresia (8 August 2016). "ELCRN extends council term". The Namibian . Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.