wfn.org | LCMS declares altar and pulpit fellowship with two Lutheran bodies

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Board for Communication Services
1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

News Release

61st Regular Convention St. Louis, Mo. July 14-20, 2001

July 16, 2001 #6

Contact: Bruce Kueck (314) 342-5715

LCMS declares altar and pulpit fellowship with two Lutheran bodies in the 
Baltic states

ST. LOUIS -- Delegates to the 61st Regular Convention of The Lutheran 
Church Missouri Synod on Sunday, July 15, voted to declare altar and pulpit 
fellowship with two Lutheran church bodies in the Baltic states: the 
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania and the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church of Latvia.

Altar and pulpit fellowship recognizes agreement between church bodies in 
doctrine and practice. It allows the exchange of pastors and permits 
members to take Holy Communion at each other s altars.

Delegates rose and sang the doxology praise to God after the votes and when 
the leaders of the Baltic church bodies and LCMS President Robert T. Kuhn 
signed the protocol documents that formalize the new fellowship relationships.

Both church bodies suffered persecution when their countries fell under 
communist control in the years after World War Two. Missouri Synod 
Lutherans made contact with Lutherans in Lithuania and Latvia after the 
Baltic states were freed from Soviet domination in 1991. There have been 
continuing and increased contacts since then.

"God s message and grace preserved us," Lithuanian Bishop Jonas Kalvanas 
told the Missouri Synod delegates. He and Archbishop Janis Vanags of Latvia 
represented their church bodies at the convention.

Although the votes were one sided 1,113 to 29 for fellowship with the 
Lithuanian church, 1,023 to 129 with the Latvian church the resolutions 
were not adopted without debate. Most of the debate centered on the fact 
that the Latvian church, though it no longer is ordaining women as pastors, 
has a small number of women pastors who were ordained during the years of 
communist domination. The Missouri Synod believes that Scripture limits the 
pastoral office to men.

Delegates adopted an amendment to the resolution declaring fellowship to 
add that Latvia s women pastors are not recognized as pastors for service 
in the Missouri Synod.

Latvian Archbishop Vanags acknowledged efforts to stop practices consider 
to be contrary to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, but added that 
his church also is "for something," namely proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ, especially among the young people of his country.

In other business from the floor committee on theology and church 
relations, the convention adopted without discussion a resolution to thank 
God for the ministry of the Synod s late president, Dr. A.L. Barry. Barry 
died in March.

The resolution said that Barry was devoted "to increasing and enhancing 
unity in the one true faith within the Synod." It also expressed gratitude 
for the evangelistic-outreach emphasis "Tell the Good News about Jesus," 
which Barry developed and which was adopted at the 1998 convention.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Photos of convention coverage are available at 
www.lcms.org/convention/

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