Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church
| Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Lutheran |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Associations | International Lutheran Council, European Lutheran Conference |
| Congregations | 200 |
| Members | 40,000 |
The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (German: Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche or SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body of Germany which is in fellowship with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod of North America, and a member of the International Lutheran Council (ILC). The church has about 40,000 members in 200 congregations. The seat of SELK is in Hanover, and it maintains a seminary in Oberursel.
History
In 1817, King Frederick William III of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union, a predecessor to today's Evangelical Church in Germany. As the uniting of Lutheran and Reformed Christians in Germany proceeded, some Lutheran groups dissented and formed independent churches, especially in Prussia, Saxony, Hanover and Hesse. These traditional Lutherans held that Reformed doctrine and Lutheran doctrine are contradictory on many points (especially on the nature of the Real Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper), and such doctrinal differences preclude altar fellowship.
The confessional Lutherans were persecuted during the 1800s by the state. Many of them were not allowed to have church services or get their children baptized or confirmed according to the liturgy of the Lutheran Church. In some areas of Germany, it took decades until the Confessional Lutherans were granted religious freedom.
In 1972 most of the Confessional Lutheran Church bodies in West Germany united to form the SELK. In 1991 the East German Evangelisch-Lutherische (altlutherische) Kirche (the Evangelical-Lutheran (Old-Lutheran) Church) joined the SELK.
Teachings of SELK
The SELK is holds to confessional Lutheran doctrine, similar to that of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in the U.S. The SELK has declined to join the Lutheran World Federation, viewing that body as being too liberal theologically. However, the even more traditional Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany), formerly in communion with the SELK, suspended relations in 1987 over perceived doctrinal laxity within the SELK itself.
SELK does not ordain women as priests/pastors, and they are strictly against blessing gay couples. This is in contrast to the German "mainline Protestant" churches, which do ordain women to ministry and officially don't allow blessing gay couples but - couvering a broad range of theological positions - discuss allowing it in some cases. The "mainline Protestant" churches (about 25 mio members) are organized in the Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD).