Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference

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The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC) [1] is the successor to the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America except that it is international in scope rather than restricted to North America.

First founded in 1993 with thirteen confessional Lutheran national churches as members, the Conference has grown to twenty members today. Plenary sessions are held every three years. To date there have been seven plenary meetings (1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011), with regional meetings held in the intervening years.

The organization rejects the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification signed between the Lutheran World Federation ecclesial communion and the Catholic Church.

Membership [edit]

Member church bodies confess "the canonical books of the Old and New Testament as the verbally inspired and inerrant Word of God and submits to this Word of God as the only infallible rule and authority in all matters of doctrine, faith, and life."[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." [2]

Members cannot be in fellowship with church bodies whose doctrine or practice deviate from the confessional standard of the CELC.[3]

Member church bodies sorted by country in alphabetical order:

  • Australia
Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Australia
  • Austria
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church
  • Bulgaria
Bulgarian Lutheran Church
  • Cameroon
The Lutheran Church of Cameroon
  • Canada
WELS-Canada (Part of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod)
  • Czech Republic
Czech Evangelical Lutheran Church
  • Finland
Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church
  • Germany
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church
  • Indonesia
Geraja Lutheran
  • Japan
Lutheran Evangelical Christian Church
  • Latvia
Confessional Lutheran Church
  • 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
  • Portugal
Lutheran Church of Portugal (Associate member)
  • Puerto Rico
Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church
  • Russia
Evangelical Lutheran Church - "Concord"
  • South Korea
East Seoul Canaan Church
  • Sweden
Lutheran Confessional Church
  • Ukraine
Ukrainian Lutheran Church
  • United States of America
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
  • Zambia
Lutheran Church of Central Africa

References [edit]

  1. ^ Constitution of the CELC, Art. 2, Sect. 1
  2. ^ Constitution of the CELC, Art. 2, Sect. 2
  3. ^ Constitution of the CELC, Art. 4, Sect. 1

External links [edit]