wfn.org | Synod Discusses Structural Reform of Russian Regional Church

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Synod Discusses Structural Reform of Russian Regional Church Body
New Leadership Structure Proposed for ELCROS

MOSCOW, Russia/GENEVA, 30 March 2005 (LWI) - Structural reforms in the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States (ELCROS) was the
main subject of the recent synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
European Russia (ELCER), an independent regional member church of
ELCROS.

Discussions at the Twelfth Synod of ELCER, February 22-25, centered on
the transformation of ELCROS into an alliance of churches with a new
leadership structure. The position of archbishop would subsequently no
longer exist within the church body that brings together Lutheran
churches in the former Soviet Republic. 

Synod members adopted a document developed by the ELCER Conference of
Deans, which will be submitted to the ELCROS General Synod in St
Petersburg, Russia, at the end of April. 

The synod members elected a new presidential committee headed by Dr
Ludmila Pankratova, a solicitor from Nischnekamsk (Tatarstan Deanery).
This was necessary because the Russian Ministry of Justice invalidated
the committee elected in September 2002, citing irregularities in the
process. The head of the church and his deputy had been appointed in
accordance with the ELCER constitution, thus Bishop Siegfried Springer
and Dean Rerich were confirmed in their positions.

According to the ELCROS church office, Archbishop Georg D. Kretschmar
had tried to gain the support of synod members for the alliance of
regional churches to be continued in its current form. 

ELCROS church office director, Hans Schwahn, had pointed out that the
implementation of the working paper at the general synod assembly in
April would  no longer be possible. Indeed, it would require fundamental
amendments of the current church constitution. The suggested changes
would first have to be clarified with the Ministry of Justice to
ascertain their legal status. 

The ELCROS constitution had been registered as an exceptional case in
1999 after lengthy negotiations, as Russian law does not provide for
alliances of regions located beyond Russian borders within a single
church, Schwahn explained. 

ELCROS comprises 170 congregations and congregational groups that are
part of twelve deaneries. Springer has been head of the Moscow-based
ELCER since 1992. The ELCROS has 250,000 members and has been a member
of the Lutheran World Federation since 1989. (374 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 66 million Christians. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the
dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be
freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

*    *	   *

LWI online: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
PO Box 2100, CH-1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: (41.22) 791.63.54
Fax: (41.22) 791.66.30 
Editor: pmu@lutheranworld.org