The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of

confessional Lutheran Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the ''Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfulne ...

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 ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since ...

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. The organization was constituted in 1993 at a council held in Antigua, Guatemala, although it traces its roots back to

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

conferences held in various locations during the 1950s and 1960s. It is to be distinguished from the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) 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 ...

(LWF) and the

Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference 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 hel ...

. The council has 54 participating churches as of 2018. Among its larger members are the

Malagasy Lutheran Church The Malagasy Lutheran Church (in Malagasy it is known as FLM: ''Fiangonana Loterana Malagasy'') is one of the most important Christian churches in Madagascar, established in 1950 by the unification of 1,800 Lutheran congregations in central and so ...

, the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The L ...

(LCMS), the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (, IELB) is a Lutheran church, which was founded in 1904 in Rio Grande do Sul, a southern state in Brazil. The IELB is a conservative, confessional Lutheran synod that holds to the Book of Concord. It sta ...

, and the Lutheran Church—Canada. Altogether, approximately 7,150,000 adherents belong to ILC member churches. The council's chairman is Bishop

Hans-Jörg Voigt Hans-Jörg Voigt (born Dresden, East Germany, 7 June 1962) is a German Lutheran bishop. He is the bishop of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany and the chairman of the International Lutheran Council. Bishop Voigt is married t ...

of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The executive secretary is Albert B. Collver III of the LCMS. Delegates to the ILC meet every two years. The organization has not accepted the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, an agreement reached by the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the

, in 1999. However, the ILC has been involved in dialogue with the PCPCU, with a final report released on 30 November 2021.

History

The origins of the ILC go back to a meeting at Uelzen, Germany, in July 1952 by Lutherans who were not happy with the theological course being taken by the Lutheran World Federation. Among the participants were delegates from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod who had been observers at the LWF assembly in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. Other delegates were present from churches affiliated with the LCMS from Germany, Australia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. Two further meetings were held, in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

, in 1958 and in

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...

, in August 1963. At the latter meeting it was decided to create a permanent organization, a "Continuation Committee", to act for the group in between meetings, which were now dubbed International Lutheran Theological Conferences. The committee was also tasked with publishing a theological journal and a committee bulletin, and with facilitating exchanges of pastors, theological professors, and students. However, the meeting explicitly disclaimed it was founding a group in opposition to the LWF. Five more "theological conferences" were held until the name was shortened to International Lutheran Conference at the Eighth Conference in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Resolutions passed during this period described the ILC as a partnership, forum, or "group of independent Lutheran churches". At the Fifteenth Conference in Antigua, Guatemala, the group decided on creating a more formal structure as an association of churches and adopted a set of ''Guiding Principles'' that would serve as a constitution and theological point of reference. The "Continuation Committee" was replaced by an "Executive Council". At the 2018 World Conference meeting, held in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, on 25–26 September 2018, the ILC voted to admit 17 new church bodies, 11 as full members and 6 as associate members. This increased the church members of ILC to 54 and their faithful to 7.15 million members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia voted to seek membership at the ILC at its synod on 6 August 2021.

Members

''By country in alphabetical order''

Full members

* Argentina : Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Argentina) * Belgium : Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium (Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk in België) *Benin : Lutheran Church in Africa—Benin Synod * Bolivia : Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia (Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana de Bolivia) ''- also a member of the

Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum The Global Confessional & Missional Lutheran Forum (Global Forum) is a global gathering of national and regional Lutheran churches. The forum was founded in Dallas, Texas by invitation of the North American Lutheran Church in 2015 to bring togeth ...

'' * Brazil :

(Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil) * Burkina Faso : Evangelical Lutheran Church of Burkina Faso * Canada : Lutheran Church—Canada * Chile : Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Republic of Chile (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de la República de Chile) * China (Hong Kong SAR) : Lutheran Church—Hong Kong Synod (香港路德會) * China, Republic of (Taiwan) : China Evangelical Lutheran Church (中華福音道路德會) * Denmark : Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Denmark (Den evangelisk-lutherske Frikirke i Danmark) https://www.vivit.dk * Finland :

Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland The Mission Diocese, officially the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, ( fi, Suomen evankelisluterilainen lähetyshiippakunta, sv, Evangelisk-lutherska missionsstiftet i Finland) is an independent confessional Lutheran "ecclesial s ...

(Finnish: Suomen evankelisluterilainen lähetyshiippakunta, Swedish: Evangelisk-lutherska missionsstiftet i Finland) * France : Evangelical Lutheran Church-Synod of France ( Église Évangélique Luthérienne - Synode de France) * Germany : Independent Evangelical—Lutheran Church ( Selbständige Evangelisch - Lutherische Kirche) * Ghana :

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana is a Lutheran denomination in Ghana. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lu ...

''- also a full member of the

'' * Guatemala : Lutheran Church of Guatemala (Consejo Luterano Iglesia Luterana en Guatemala) * Haiti : Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti (Eglise Evangelique Lutherienne D'Haiti) * India :

India Evangelical Lutheran Church 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 four synods named Ambur Synod, Nagerc ...

''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation'' * Japan :

Japan Lutheran Church The or NRK (based on its Romaji initials) is a confessional Lutheran denomination in Japan. It currently has approximately 766 baptized members in 35 congregations nationwide. The current chairman of the NRK is Rev. Shin SHIMIZU. History Dur ...

(日本ルーテル教団) ''- also an associate member of the Lutheran World Federation'' * Kenya : Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya ''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation and a member of the

'' * Korea, South : Lutheran Church in Korea (기독교한국루터회) ''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation'' *Liberia : Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia *Madagascar :

''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation'' * Mexico : Lutheran Synod of Mexico (Sinodo Luterano de Mexico) * Nicaragua : Lutheran Church Synod of Nicaragua (Iglesia Luterana Sínodo de Nicaragua) * Nigeria : Lutheran Church of Nigeria * Norway : Lutheran Church in Norway (Den Lutherske Kirke i Norge) :

Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway ( no, Det evangelisk-lutherske stift i Norge) is a Lutheran diocese in Norway, founded in Kautokeino in 2013. Branched out from the " Church of Norway in Exile" (formerly the Deanery of Strandebarm), the bishop ...

(Det evangelisk-lutherske stift i Norge) * Papua New Guinea :

Gutnius Lutheran Church The Gutnius Lutheran Church, formerly the Wabag Lutheran Church, is a Lutheranism, Lutheran body existing in Papua New Guinea. ''Gutnius'' means "Good News (Christianity), Good News" in Tok Pisin. It was established by the Lutheran Church–Missou ...

* Paraguay : Evangelical Lutheran Church of Paraguay (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana del Paraguay) *Peru :

Evangelical Lutheran Church - Peru Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...

(Iglesia Evangélica Luterana - Perú) ''- also a member of the

Note: this is not the same Lutheran denomination like Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en el Perú, known as Christuskirche, member of the Lutheran World Federation''). * Philippines :

Lutheran Church in the Philippines The Lutheran Church in the Philippines is a Lutheran denomination in the Philippines. It was founded by Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod missionaries in 1957. The Lutheran Church in the Philippines is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, ...

''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation'' * Portugal :

Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church The Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church (''Igreja Evangélica Luterana Potuguesa'' or ''IELP'') is a Confessional Lutheran church. It is a member of the European Lutheran Conference and of the International Lutheran Council. History Beginning ...

* Russia : Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia (Евангелическая-лютеранская Церковь ИНГРИИ) ''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation'' :

Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church The Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Сибирская Евангелическо-Лютеранская Церковь) is a Russian Lutheran church whose bishop is Vsevolod Lytkin. It was officially founded in 2003, and participates in th ...

(Сибирская Евангелическо-Лютеранская Церковь) * South Africa : Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa : Lutheran Church in Southern Africa *Spain :

Spanish Evangelical Lutheran Church The Spanish Evangelical Lutheran Church ( es, Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Española or ''IELE'') is a Confessional Lutheran church. It is in communion with other confessional Lutheran churches in the European Lutheran Conference (ELC) and globally ...

(IELE) * Sri Lanka : Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church, replacement body for the Lanka Lutheran Church ''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation'' *Sweden :The

Mission Province The Mission Province ( sv, Missionsprovinsen ) is a Swedish independent ecclesiastical province founded by members of the Church of Sweden who are opposed to the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate. The province, which aligns ...

(Missionsprovinsen) ''- also a member of the

'' *Togo : Lutheran Church of Togo *Uganda : Lutheran Church of Uganda * United Kingdom : Evangelical Lutheran Church of England * United States of America :

American Association of Lutheran Churches The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC, also known as The AALC) is an American Lutheran church body. It was formed on November 7, 1987, as a continuation of the American Lutheran Church denomination, the majority of which merged with ...

: Lutheran Ministerium and Synod – USA *Uruguay : Lutheran Church of Uruguay * Venezuela : Lutheran Church of Venezuela (Iglesia Luterana de Venezuela)

Associate members

* Australia :

Lutheran Church of Australia The Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) is the major Lutheran denomination in Australia and New Zealand. It counts 540 congregations and 30,026 members according to official statistics. It was created from a merger of the Evangelical Lutheran Chu ...

''- also an associate member of the Lutheran World Federation'' *Indonesia : Indonesian Lutheran Christian Church ''- also a member of the

'' *Myanmar (Burma) : Myanmar Lutheran Church ''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation'' *Rwanda : Lutheran Mission in Africa—Synod of Thousand Hills *South Africa : St. Peter Confessional Lutheran Synod of South Africa *South Sudan : South Sudan Evangelical Lutheran Church *Taiwan : The Lutheran Church of the Republic of China ''- also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation''

References

External links