The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) is a major

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

denomination in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, a member of 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). It was established as an independent church in 1913 from the Sudan United Mission, Danish Branch (SUMD), known today as Mission Afrika. The LCCN now has 2,200,000 membersLutheran World Federation
LWF Statistics 2018
/ref> in over 2,400 congregations nationwide. Members of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria are among the Christians and members of other religious groups being persecuted by

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...

, an

Islamic terrorist Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities f ...

organization. The Archbishop of the LCCN, Dr Panti Filibus Musa (also given as , and commonly known by his middle name as Dr Filibus Musa), was elected to become the 13th President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) on 14 May 2017 at Safari Hotel in Windhoek Namibia during the 12th Assembly of the LWF.

History

The SUMD first sent missionaries to Africa in 1913 with the pioneers being Niels Brønnum, his wife Margaret C. Young, and Dagmar Rose. Brønnum's wife died shortly after arriving and Rose brought back the Brønnum's infant son to Europe. Brønnum continued his work and established a mission in Numan. The mission eventually expanded and in 1948, the first five indigenous Nigerian pastors were ordained. By 1955, it was known as the Lutheran Church of Christ in the Sudan and in 1956 became independent as the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria with Pilgaard Pedersen as its first President ( ha, Ekkilisiyan Kristi a Nijeriya Lutheran). In 1960, Akila Todi was elected the first indigenous Nigerian president of the Church. He was made bishop in 1973 when the church adopted a modified

episcopal polity An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. (The word "bishop" derives, via the British Latin and Vulgar Latin term ''*ebiscopus''/''*bis ...

Structure

The LCCN is led by an archbishop and is further divided into nine dioceses, each led by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. The headquarters of the LCCN is in Numan. The current

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

is the Most Revd Musa Panti Filibus PhD.

Dioceses

* Abuja Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Benjamin Fuduta : Congregations in the city of

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plan ...

Federal Capital Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

, Gombe State,

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tou ...

, Bauchi State, Niger State, Oyo State, Lagos State and Edo State * Arewa Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Amos B. Elisha : Congregations in Northern

Adamawa State Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...

* Bonotem Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Jediel Mumsisuri Nyenbenso : Congregations in southern Adamawa State * Gongola Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Peter Bartimawus PhD : Congregations in Northwestern Adamawa State * Mayo-Belwa Diocese :Bishop: The Rt Revd Zethan L. Gajere :Congregations in Southern Adamawa State * ShallHolma Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Dimga Jones Kadabiyu : Congregations in North Eastern Adamawa State * Todi Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Clement Dogo : Congregations in North-Central Adamawa State * Taraba Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Joshua Jen :Congregations in North Eastern Taraba State * Yola Diocese : Bishop: The Rt Revd Amos Yakubu : Congregations in Central Adamawa State

Presidents and Archbishops of the LCCN

When the LCCN was established in 1956, the title of the head of the Church was president. The title was changed to bishop in 1973 and with the establishment of diocesan bishops within the LCCN, the title was again changed to Archbishop in 1997. * 1956-1960 : Rev Pilgaard Pedersen * 1960-1987 : Rev Akila Todi : Title changed to Bishop in 1973 * 1987-2002 : The Most Revd David Windibiziri : Title changed to Archbishop in 1997 * 2002–2017 : The Most Revd Nemuel A. Babba *2017–present : The Most Revd Dr Musa Panti Filibus (also known as Dr Filibus Musa)

Affiliations

The LCCN participates in

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

work through its affiliation with: *

Lutheran Communion in Western Africa Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Christian Association of Nigeria The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is an umbrella organisation containing numerous Christian denominations in Nigeria. History The Christian Association of Nigeria was founded in 1976, and originally only contained the Catholic Church a ...

Christian Council of Nigeria Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria The Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria (TEKAN) is a federation of Christian denominations in Nigeria. It was founded in 1955. Its president is Nemuel Abubakar Babba. Members *Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) * The Lutheran Church of C ...

Joint Christian Ministry in West Africa A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

The LCCN also works in partnership with: *

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 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. , it has approxim ...

, *

Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America consists of 65 synods which are configured into nine regional offices. Each of the synods of the ELCA elects one bishop and three synod council officers at its Synod Assembly to oversee the spiritual and ...

Global Health Ministries Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

* Mission Afrika

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lutheran Church Of Christ In Nigeria, The Lutheranism in Africa Churches in Nigeria Lutheran World Federation members 1913 establishments in the British Empire