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International Lutheran Council

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International Lutheran Council
TypeAssociation
ClassificationProtestant
OrientationLutheran
TheologyConfessional Lutheran
ChairmanJuhana Pohjola
SecretaryGijsbertus van Hattem
General SecretaryRev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz
TreasurerGerry Wiley
Origin1993
Members7.15 million (2018)
Official websiteilcouncil.org Edit this at Wikidata

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.

The organization was constituted in 1993 at a council held in Antigua, Guatemala, although it traces its roots back to theological conferences held in various locations during the 1950s and 1960s. It is to be distinguished from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference.

The council has 59 participating churches as of 2022.[1] Among its larger members are the Malagasy Lutheran Church (5.3 million members),[2] the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS 1.6 million members ),[3] the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (243,093 members),[4] and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (350,000 members)[5]. Altogether, approximately 7,150,000 adherents belonged to ILC member churches in 2018,[6] with other churches such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (250,000 members) and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod Church of South Sudan and Sudan (150,000 members)[7] being added to the ILC in 2022–2024.[8][9]

The council's chairman is Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland.[10] 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 Lutheran World Federation, in 1999. However, the ILC has been involved in dialogue with the PCPCU, with a final report released on 30 November 2021.[11][12]

In recent years, several churches affiliated with the LWF have expressed interest in building closer ties to or applying for membership in the ILC due to its traditional theological viewpoints, which has caused the LWF to completely sever ties with the ILC.[13]

History

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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 LCMS who had been observers at the LWF assembly in Hannover. 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, in 1958 and in Cambridge, England, 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.[14]

Five more "theological conferences" were held until the name was shortened to International Lutheran Conference at the Eighth Conference in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Resolutions passed during this period described the ILC as a partnership, forum, or "group of independent Lutheran churches".[15] 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".[16][17]

At the 2018 World Conference meeting, held in Antwerp, Belgium, 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.[6]

At the 2022 World Conference meeting, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia was accepted as a full member.[18] It had already been accepted as an observer member in February 2022.[19]

Chairmen

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World Conferences

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International Lutheran Theological Conference (1952–1975)

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1. 1952 – Uelzen, Germany

2. 1959 – Oakland, California, United States

3. 1963 – Cambridge, England

4. 1966 – Frankfurt, Germany

5. 1968 – Cambridge, England

6. 1970 – St. Louis, United States

7. 1973 – Madras, India

8. 1975 – Porto Alegre, Brazil (At this meeting, the name changed to “International Lutheran Conference”)

International Lutheran Conference (1978–1993)

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9. 1978 – Papua New Guinea

10. 1981 – St. Louis, United States

11. 1984 – Obot Idim, Nigeria

12. 1987 – Berlin, Germany

13. 1989 – Seoul, South Korea

14. 1991 – Hong Kong

15. 1993 – Antigua, Guatemala (At this meeting, the name changed to “International Lutheran Council”)

International Lutheran Council (1995–present)

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16. 1995 – Adelaide, Australia

17. 1997 – St. Louis, United States

18. 1999 – Cambridge, England

19. 2001 – Warburg, South Africa

20. 2003 – Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil

21. 2005 – Berlin, Germany

22. 2007 – Accra, Ghana

23. 2009 – Seoul, South Korea

24. 2012 – Niagara Falls, Canada

25. 2015 – Buenos Aires, Argentina

26. 2018 – Antwerp, Belgium

26. 2022 - Kisumu, Kenya

Members

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By country in alphabetical order

Full members

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Light green countries are home to one or more members or associate members of the International Lutheran Council
  • Argentina
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Argentina)[21]
  • Belgium
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium (Evangelisch-Lutherse Kerk in België)[22]
  • Benin
Lutheran Church in Africa—Benin Synod[23][6]
  • Bolivia
Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia (Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana de Bolivia) - also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
  • Brazil
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil)[24]
  • 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)
  • Ethiopia
Ethiopian Evangelical Lutheran Church[25]
  • Denmark
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Denmark (Den evangelisk-lutherske Frikirke i Danmark)[26]
  • Finland
Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (Finnish: Suomen evankelisluterilainen lähetyshiippakunta, Swedish: Evangelisk-lutherska missionsstiftet i Finland)[27][28][6]
  • France
Evangelical Lutheran Church-Synod of France (Église Évangélique Luthérienne - Synode de France)[29]
  • Germany
Independent Evangelical—Lutheran Church (Selbständige Evangelisch - Lutherische Kirche)[30]
  • Ghana
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana[31] - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
  • 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 - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
  • Kenya
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya[32] - also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum (withdrew from Lutheran World Federation in April 2026[33])
  • Korea, South
Lutheran Church in Korea (기독교한국루터회)[34] - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
  • Latvia
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia[35] - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
  • Liberia
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia[6]
  • Madagascar
Malagasy Lutheran Church[36][6] - 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[37]
  • Norway
Lutheran Church in Norway (Den Lutherske Kirke i Norge)[38]
Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway (Det evangelisk-lutherske stift i Norge)[28][6]
  • Papua New Guinea
Gutnius Lutheran Church
  • Paraguay
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Paraguay (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana del Paraguay)
  • Philippines
Lutheran Church in the Philippines - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
  • Portugal
Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church[39]
  • Russia
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria (Евангелическая-лютеранская Церковь ИНГРИИ)[40] - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Сибирская Евангелическо-Лютеранская Церковь)[41]
  • South Africa
Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa[42]
Lutheran Church in Southern Africa[43]
  • Spain
Spanish Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELE)
  • Sri Lanka
Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church,[25] replacement body for the Lanka Lutheran Church - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
  • Sweden
The Mission Province (Missionsprovinsen)[44][28][6] - also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
  • Togo
Lutheran Church of Togo[45][6]
  • Uganda
Lutheran Church of Uganda[46][6]
  • United Kingdom
Evangelical Lutheran Church of England[47]
  • United States of America
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
American Association of Lutheran Churches
Lutheran Ministerium and Synod – USA
  • Uruguay
Lutheran Church of Uruguay[6]
  • Venezuela
Lutheran Church of Venezuela (Iglesia Luterana de Venezuela)

Associate members

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  • Indonesia
Indonesian Lutheran Christian Church[6] - also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum
  • Peru
Evangelical Lutheran Church - Peru (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana - Perú) - also a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum (Note: this is not the same Lutheran denomination as Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en el Perú, known as Christuskirche, member of the Lutheran World Federation).
  • Rwanda
Lutheran Mission in Africa—Synod of Thousand Hills[6]
  • South Africa
St. Peter Confessional Lutheran Synod of South Africa[6]
  • South Sudan
South Sudan Evangelical Lutheran Church[6]
  • Taiwan
The Lutheran Church of the Republic of China[6] - also a full member of the Lutheran World Federation
  • Turkey and Bulgaria
Istanbul Lutheran Church[48]

Other bodies

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Additionally, there exist multiple churches which though not yet members of the ILC, have been allowed as guests within ILC conferences, including the Cambodia Lutheran Church, the Myanmar Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Brethren – Japan.[49] Furthermore there exist multiple churches which though are not yet in the ILC, are in full altar-pulpit fellowship with multiple active ILC member churches or have been established by ILC affiliated churches such as the LCMS, including the incredibly fast growing Confessional Lutheran Church in Angola and the Concordia Lutheran Church in Mozambique born out of LCMS and IELB missionary efforts,[50] or the UIELCF which is in full communion with the Finnish Mission Diocese.[51]

Former members

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The Lutheran Church of Australia and the Lutheran Church of Japan were removed from associate membership on March 21, 2025, due to their failure to adhere to the doctrinal position of the ILC. In particular, both churches had decided to allow the ordination of women into the pastoral office.[52]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "2022 World Conference: ILC Welcomes New Members". 13 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Fiangonana Loterana Malagasy, KMSL Faradofay Report, September 2024
  3. ↑ Cite error: The named reference LCMS Inc.- Annual Report2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ↑ "Brazil - Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Block, Mathew (13 September 2022). "2022 ILC World Conference opens in Kenya". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "ILC welcomes 17 new member churches representing 4,15 million Lutherans worldwide". International Lutheran Council. 26 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "South Sudan and Sudan (ELCSS/S)". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Block, Mathew (13 September 2022). "2022 World Conference: ILC Welcomes New Members". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Block, Mathew (29 October 2024). "ILC assembly receives two churches into full membership, reveals plans for 2025 World Conference". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "2022 World Conference: Bishop Pohjola elected as ILC Chairman". 14 September 2022.
  11. ↑ Block, Mathew (13 September 2018). "Meetings between ILC and PCPCU continue". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  12. ↑ Block, Mathew (30 November 2021). "Final report on ILC-PCPCU conversations released". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "News". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Pearce, E. Geo; Ahlers, Peter H. F. "International Lutheran Conference - Summary of International Conferences" (PDF). International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  15. ↑ Pearce & Ahlers pp.8-10
  16. ↑ Pearce & Ahlers pp.15-6
  17. ↑ Constitution/Guiding Principles
  18. ↑ Block, Mathew (26 September 2022). "The ILC's 2022 World Conference in brief". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  19. ↑ Block, Mathew (23 February 2022). "ILC welcomes Latvians into membership". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  20. ↑ Block, Mathew (20 April 2017). "Former ILC Chairman enters into glory". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "Argentina". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "Belgium". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "Benin". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  24. ↑ "Brazil". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  25. 1 2 Block, Mathew (14 June 2023). "ILC welcomes Ethiopians and Sri Lankans into membership". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  26. ↑ "Denmark". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  27. ↑ "Finland". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 Collver, Al (20 January 2016). "The Nordic Lutheran Dioceses and the International Lutheran Council Discuss Membership". ILC Online. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  29. ↑ "France". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  30. ↑ "Germany". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  31. ↑ "Ghana". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  32. ↑ "Kenya (ELCK)". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  33. ↑ https://reporter.lcms.org/2026/evangelical-lutheran-church-in-kenya-withdraws-from-lutheran-world-federation/
  34. ↑ "Korea". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  35. ↑ "Latvia". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  36. ↑ "Madagascar". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  37. ↑ "Nigeria". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  38. ↑ "Norway and Iceland (LKNI)". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  39. ↑ "Portugal". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  40. ↑ "Russia (ELCIR)". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  41. ↑ "Russia (SELC)". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  42. ↑ "South Africa (FELSISA)". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  43. ↑ "South Africa (LCSA)". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  44. ↑ "Sweden". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  45. ↑ "Togo". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  46. ↑ "Uganda". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  47. ↑ "England". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  48. ↑ Block, Mathew (3 June 2024). "Lutherans in Turkey and Bulgaria join the ILC". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  49. ↑ Block, Mathew (15 September 2025). "ILC's 2025 World Conference begins". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  50. ↑ Mertz, Megan (12 April 2022). "From Mission Plant to Mission Partner". Engage. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  51. ↑ Pylvänäinen, Pauliina (15 February 2024). "Lähetyshiippakunta ja Seurakuntaliitto tunnustivat kirkollisen yhteyden". Lähetyshiippakunta. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  52. ↑ Block, Mathew (3 April 2025). "LCANZ and JLC removed from membership in the ILC". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
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