The LWF was established in 1947 as a Federation of Lutheran churches.
The LWF was founded in the wake of the Second World War, at a time when Lutheran churches aspired for greater fellowship and solidarity among themselves. It relies on four pillars:
- Rescue the needy
- Common initiatives in mission
- Joints efforts in theology
- A common response to the ecumenical challenge.
LWF historical highlights
The Lutheran World Federation’s (LWF) first Assembly took place in Lund, Sweden, from the 30th June to the 6th July 1947, under the theme: “The Lutheran Church in the World Today”. It was attended by 47 member churches from 26 countries.
Archbishop Erling Eidem from Uppsala, Sweden presided in his capacity as retiring president of the Lutheran World Convention.
Professor Anders Nygren of Lund was elected the first President of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Dr Sylvester C. Michelfelder of the USA who had served as acting executive secretary was confirmed at the first Executive Secretary of the LWF.
The main decision was the adoption of a constitution for the LWF which comprised thirteen articles, the first three stating the name, the doctrinal basis and the nature and purposes.
The Lund Assembly elected an Executive Committee of sixteen persons, four each from Germany, the Nordic Countries, the United States and other countries.
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Since 1947 there have been 14 Presidents
| 1950s | 1. | Anders Theodor Samuel Nygren Country of origin: Gothenburg, Sweden Date of birth: 15.11.1890 Date of death: 20.10.1978 Period of mandate: 1947-1952 |
| 2 | Hanns Lilje Country of origin: Hanover, Germany Date of birth: 20.08.1899 Date of death: 06.01.1977 Period of mandate: 1952-1957 |
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| 1960s | 3 | Franklin Clark Fry Country of origin: Pennsylvania, USA Date of birth: 30.08.1900 Date of death: 06.06.1968 Period of mandate: 1957-1963 |
| 4. | Fredrik Axel Schiotz Country of origin: Chicago, USA Date of birth: 15.06.1901 Date of death: 25.02.1989 Period of mandate: 1963-1970 |
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| 1970s | 5. | Mikko Juva Country of origin: Kaarlela, Finland Date of birth: 22.11.1918 Date of death: 01.01.2004 Period of mandate: 1970-1977 |
| 1980s | 6. | Josiah Mutabuzi Kibira Country of origin: Kashenye, Tanzania Date of birth: 25.08.1925 Date of death: 18.07.1988 Period of mandate: 1977-1984 |
| 7. | Zoltan Kaldy Country of origin: Iharosbereny, Hungary Date of birth: 29.03.1919 Date of death: 17.05.1987 Period of mandate: 1984-1987 |
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| 8. | Johannes Hanselmann Country of origin: Ehingen/Ries, Germany Date of birth: 09.03.1927 Date of death: 02.10.1999 Period of mandate: 1987-1990 |
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| 1990s | 9. | Gottfried Brakemeier Country of origin: Cachoeira do Sul, Brazil Date of birth: 04.01.1937 Period of mandate: 1990-1997 |
| 2000s | 10. | Christian Krause Country of origin: Brandeburg, Germany Date of birth: 06.01.1940 Period of mandate: 1997-2003 |
| 11. | Mark Hanson Country of origin: USA Date of birth: 02.12.1946 Period of mandate: 2003-2010 |
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| 2010s | 12. | Munib Younan Country of origin: Palestine Date of birth: 18.09.1950 Period of mandate: 2010-2017 |
| 13. | Panti Filibus Musa Country of origin: Nigeria Date of birth: 25.01.1960 Period of mandate: 2017-2023 |
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| 2020s | Bishop Henrik Stubkjær Country of origin: Denmark Date of birth: 31.12.1961 Period of mandate: 2023-Currently |
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Since 1947 there have been 9 General Secretaries
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1950s |
1. | Sylvester Michelfelder Country of origin: New Washington, Ohio, USA Date of birth: 27.10.1889 Date of death: 30.12.1951 Period of mandate: 1947-1951 |
| 2 | Carl Elof Lund-Quist Country of origin: Lindsborg, Kansas,USA Date of birth: 19.09.1908 Date of death: 26.08.1965 Period of mandate: 1951-1960 |
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1960s |
3 | Kurt Schmidt-Clausen Country of origin: Hanover, Germany Date of birth: 01.10.1920 Date of death: 25.01.1993 Period of mandate: 1960-1965 |
| 4. | André Appel Country of origin: France Date of birth: 20.12.1921 Date of death: 01.11.2007 Period of mandate: 1965-1974 |
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1970s |
5. | Carl Henning Mau, Jr Country of origin: Seattle, USA Date of birth: 22.06.1922 Date of death: 31.03.1995 Period of mandate: 1974-1985 |
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1980s |
6. | Gunnar Johan Staalsett Country of origin: Nordkapp, Norway Date of birth: 10.02.1935 Period of mandate: 1985-1994 |
| 1990s-2000s | 7. | Ishmael Noko Country of origin: Zimbabwe Date of birth: 29.10.1943 Period of mandate: 1994-2010 |
| 2010s | 8. | Martin Junge Country of origin: Chile Date of birth: 21.08.1961 Period of mandate: 2010-2021 |
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2020s |
9. | Anne Burghardt Country of origin: Estonia Date of birth: 19.11.1975 Period of mandate: 2021-2026 |
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At The Lutheran World Federation’s (LWF) first Assembly, four women were delegates. Two were from the former United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA): Sister Anna Ebert und Dr Nona Diehl with Ms and Dr Aasgaard in the middle in the picture (right picture). Out of the 178 delegates, this represents 2,8% of the total delegations. It should be noted also that a small number of women were invited as visitors for this first Assembly.
The world of 1952 was still a time of refuge. The 13 women delegates at the LWF Hannover Assembly had come together to meet some very specific needs. They focused on post-war women and concentrated on topics as discussed in the Study Document for Section VI: “Home and Family”, the “Question of birth control, “Women in public life” and “What does the Bible say about men and women?”. Women came together to discuss what seemed to be their ever increasing estrangement from the Church at a time when new challenges to religion were being posed by the rise of communism.
The world of 1957 was “a world of new nations and cold war”. 18 women were appointed delegates among 255 men, representing only 17% of the total delegation. Lutheran women from all over the world participated actively in the Assembly and welcomed the first young woman delegate from the South: Maria von Reiswitz from the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche in Chile, she was only 23 (second from the left on the picture).
In July 1963, a Women’s pre-assembly conference was held in Schmalensee (Germany). The conference, entitled “Christian Women Today”, had representatives from 22 countries. They were mainly delegates and official visitors appointed member churches to participate in the Helsinki Assembly scheduled for 1963. Financial support for this gathering came mostly from women’s organizations in North America, but resources from a number of women’s groups were offered.
As Zeitgeist: the wounds of the Second World War were healing and despite the East- West tensions, Europe had managed to avoid hostilities. Regional conflicts flared, however, and the decolonization process was not yet complete. For the first time a pre-assembly Women Conference took place in Bastad, Sweden in 1969, attended by 40 women from the LWF member churches in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Europe and the Americas. There were also a number of women representing churches other than the Lutheran Church.
Women realized “now they do have lots of things together – why not later on?” . In an article in Lutheran World written by Kathleen Hurty, a US delegate to the Assembly, she described: “The invisibility of women in the LWF Assemblies in language and worship and decision-making was altered slightly at Dar Es Salaam. Visions of a new community of women and men in authentic partnership expanded into tentative clarity with the election of six women to the LWF Executive Committee.
Consistently mentioned as a high priority was the need for leadership development. Between 1977 and 1984 a number of regional consultations also took place with the purpose of enhancing opportunities for exchange, learning and sharing within the world regions. Five major consultations were held in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Regional consultants were appointed: Nancy Y. C. Chow from Hong Kong, Bondu V. Subbama from India, Eva Jorkey from Liberia, Kaanaeli Makundi from Tanzania and Rosalind Daniel from Malaysia. From 1978 to 1984, WICAS entered a phase of stabilization and expansion with priorioties such as networking, leadership training and biblical and theological study. At Budapest, 32% of the delegates were women.
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Women who made Communion
The LWF Council consists of member churches representatives, elected by the Assembly. It meets once a year to ensure that LWF is satisfactorily organized and run according to its defined purpose and in accordance with resolutions made by the Assembly.
| Since 2023 | |
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| 2017-2023 |
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