wfn.org | Former LWF President Krause reaches 65

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

Former LWF President Krause Reaches 65
Noko Sends Greetings on Behalf of Lutheran Worldwide Communion

GENEVA, 6 January 2005 (LWI) * Former President of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), Bishop emeritus Dr Christian Krause celebrates his 65th
birthday today. In a congratulatory letter, LWF General Secretary, Rev Dr.
Ishmael Noko, recalls how the president developed bonds of friendship with
many people from different cultures within and outside the church. In his
greetings, on behalf of the Lutheran communion, Noko says he hopes Krause
"can draw from these contacts spiritual gifts and strength as you continue
to serve in God's vineyard where every act of kindness carries the unique
signature of love."

Krause was elected LWF President at the 1997 LWF Ninth Assembly, in Hong
Kong, China. His six-year presidential term officially ended in July 2003
at the LWF Tenth Assembly, in Winnipeg, Canada. During his time in office,
Krause was among signatories from the LWF and Roman Catholic Church to the
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), on 31 October
1999 in Augsburg, Germany. In signing the declaration, Lutherans and Roman
Catholics confirm they have reached a consensus on the basic truths
regarding justification, and that the condemnations of the 16th century
Reformation do not apply to the teachings presented in the JDDJ.

Krause, who studied theology in Marburg, Heidelberg and Göttingen, in
Germany, as well as in Chicago, USA, was research assistant in the then
LWF Department of Theology in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1966 until 1967.
After a role as assistant pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Hanover (ELCH), Germany, he was ordained as an ELCH pastor within the
Geneva Lutheran congregation in 1969. Between then and 1970, he became
special assistant to the LWF Department of Theology. Between 1971 and
1972, he was a headquarters staff member of the Tanganyika Christian
Refugee Service (former LWF Department of World Service) in Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania.

Between 1972 and 1985, Krause was executive secretary (Oberkirchenrat) of
the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, and chairperson of the
LWF National Committee in Germany. He then became general secretary of the
German Protestant Church Convention (Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag)
in Fulda, Germany, until 1994.

In June 1994, Krause was elected bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Brunswick, Germany. At the beginning of 2002, he retired from this
position and concentrated on his responsibilities as LWF President, as
chairperson of the Governing Board of the Protestant Church Development
Service (EED), and as president of the Luther Center in Wittenberg,
Germany.

In June 1999, Krause became Doctor Honoris Causa of the Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. In 2001, he was awarded the Knight
Commander's Cross (Badge and Star) of the Order of Merit of the Federal
Republic of Germany.

Krause remains active in several honorary posts and currently lives in
Wolfsbüttel, Germany. He continues as chairperson of the EED Governing
Board, and as president of the Luther Center, Wittenberg, Germany.

(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 65 million Lutherans. 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.]

* * *

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