Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany)
The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church ( ELFK ) is a small Lutheran Confessional Church in Germany. Since 1919 she has held the status of a public corporation. Your 16 municipalities located predominantly in the area of Saxony. However, there are also congregations and preaching places in other parts of Germany. In addition, a sermon place in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg is maintained. The ELFK counted 1,317 church members in 2010.
History
The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church is primarily on those Lutherans in the Kingdom of Saxony, the 1871 split from the Saxon church back. While in Prussia the Union of the Lutheran and Reformed congregations was the reason for the formation, gave in Saxony, where there were very few exceptions, no Reformed congregations, liberal tendencies that gained space in the Lutheran Church, the occasion. The tendencies found expression among others the abolition of the " religious oath ", ie the pastors were no longer committed to the Lutheran Confessions. Therefore, several pastors left the State Church and founded in 1876 the " United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saxony and other states of Germany." It was for independent Lutheran churches for the first time the term " free church " used.
For the first Church President Friedrich Ruhland was chosen.
1877 joined the Synodalverband also Lutheran congregations under Frederick Brunn from the Prussian Hesse - Nassau in which stood for some time in close contact with the Saxon Bekenntnislutheranern. In the following years, also joined communities from Bavaria, other parts of Prussia and other states of the German Empire of ELFK. By joining Danish Lutheran Free Church fell to 1911, the addition of "Germany " on behalf of the ELFK away.
The Free Church also maintained close contacts with the Missouri Synod, a larger Lutheran Church in the United States of America, which had been founded by German immigrants. The genesis of the ELFK was accompanied by the theologian Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther bekenntnislutherischen. This came from Saxony and was the first president of the Missouri Synod. Friedrich Ruhland in turn had learned his theological training in the Missouri Synod. The relationships between these American Church and the Free Church remained until well into the 20th century.
After the Second World War, the churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church were separated by the Iron Curtain. The West German Evangelical Lutheran Free Church then joined in 1972, the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ( SELK ). The East German Evangelical Lutheran Free Church was in 1972 with the Evangelical Lutheran ( Old Lutheran ) Church on the territory of the GDR a cooperative association of independent Evangelical Lutheran Churches in the GDR. However, they announced 1984 confession reasons this collaboration again. A formal merger it was not already been. In West Germany, where the churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church belonged to SELK since 1972, in 1989 broke up a small part of a community of the SELK. After the reunification of the two German states, a part of these communities rejoined the ELFK. It is therefore to this day as an independent Lutheran Confessional Church.
Due to disputes over the doctrine of Church and Ministry, it came in 2001 and formed in the following years for the removal of a community and individual priest, the independent Lutheran congregations. 2004 also broke up the community Plauen due to different perspectives on the topic of church fellowship of the ELFK. She joined then at the SELK.
Teaching
Characteristic of the theology of the Lutheran orthodoxy ELFK and hence also of the Wittenberg church reformer Martin Luther. The Bible is considered to be inspired by God. Furthermore, the ELFK represents the principle of inerrancy of the Bible.
The Lutheran Book of Concord in which the confessional writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church were collected in 1580, it is considered to be correct and binding on the church interpretation of the biblical writings. These confessional writings include, for example, the Apostles' Creed, the Augsburg Confession and Luther's Small Catechism. Future Pastors before the takeover took office it obliged to be guided by the Bible and the Book of Concord.
Against this background, the teaching of ELFK describe as konkordienlutherisch and conservative. Practical examples are the closed communion table and the negative attitude regarding the ordination of women to the parish office.
Furthermore, the ELFK is keen to keep their distance towards politics and polity. So is her - omitted the collection of church taxes through public tax - despite the legal possibility.
Church organization
The individual municipalities of the Free Church have against the church as a whole lot of autonomy and together form the Synodalverband. The church Synod of ELFK meets every two years. It has 32 voting delegates, each of the 16 parishes appoint a community representative and their pastor. The Church Synod determined by the internal and external management of rights and duties which are of the church transferred from the individual communities. She chooses the representatives of the church and determine their powers and duties. The elected representatives are accountable to the Church Synod for their administration.
As a senior clergyman, a Church President is elected by the synod church for four years. He serves the church synod and the synod council of five members as Chairman and shall be pastor of ELFK. Currently, Pastor Martin Wilde holds this office.
The above-mentioned synod council is the governing body of the Free Church. It shall include, in addition to the Church President, two pastors and two church members. The synod council carries out the administration of the Church according to the guidelines of the Church Synod and represents the whole Church.
Facilities
Despite the relatively low number of links the church Free Church maintains some facilities in addition to their church buildings and community centers.
So has the ELFK in Leipzig since 1953 a small Theological Seminary, which ensures the training of their own prospective theologians and can look back on older predecessor institutions. The establishment of the seminar was necessary because in the wake of the Cold War East German church members of ELFK, who had studied at the originally co-founded the ELFK Lutheran Theological Seminary in Oberursel Hessen, the return to the German Democratic Republic was difficult.
In addition to the Theological Seminary, Dr. Martin Luther Elementary School as well as a roots -off in the 19th century Christian bookstore is of the ELFK since 2001 in Zwickau chat with connected publisher.
Church Community
Compared to other Lutheran Free Churches in Germany the ELFK takes a favorable view regarding ecumenism. A full agreement in doctrine and practice, in their view, an essential prerequisite for the determination of church fellowship. Therefore, it is however not a member of the Council of Christian Churches in Germany, but part of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, whose churches are encouraged to fellowship with other teaching churches - especially from the Lutheran World Federation and the International Lutheran Council erect, at. Consequently, the ELFK has neither the Agreement nor Leuenberger signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.