| Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia | |
| Cathedral in Riga | |
| Classification | Protestant |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Lutheranism |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Associations | Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, Porvoo Communion |
| Geographical areas | Latvia |
| Origin | 1517 |
| Separated from | Roman Catholic Church |
| Congregations | 293 |
| Members | 580,000. |
| Official website | http://www.lelb.lv/ |
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca, or LELB) 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.
The Church is governed by a Consistory composed of clergy and laity elected by the synod. The Archbishop serves as its president. Archbishop Jānis Vanags, first elected in 1993 at a special synod meeting following the death of Archbishop Kārlis Gailītis in 1992, was consecrated bishop on August 29, 1993, by the Archbishop of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.
Church is divided in three dioceses: Archdiocese of Riga supervised by Archbishop of Riga and since 10 April 2010 with suffragan bishop; diocese of Liepāja and diocese of Daugavpils.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia reports as of 2006 that there are 113 pastors and 86 evangelists serving its 293 congregations. In 2009, the estimated baptized membership was 250,000. The Latvian Evangelical Church Abroad has 25,020 baptized members.[1]
The ELCL is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches, and is currently negotiating membership in the Porvoo Communion. ELCL is in full fellowship with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS). The ELCL is not in full church fellowship with those LWF member church bodies who practise ordinations and marriages of homosexuals, looking on LWF more as a forum of discussions for Lutherans.
Along with the Church of Sweden, the ELCL claims full apostolic succession.
Confessional Lutheran Church, another Lutheran church in Latvia, affiliated with the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference
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