LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 284

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284

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

for their position on the Holy Scriptures and the Book of Concord;
and
WHEREAS, Many of these confessors of the faith were defrocked
because of their faithful witness to Christ and His Word; and
WHEREAS, The ELMDF bears witness to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ in a country where about 2 percent of the population attends
church on a weekly basis; and
WHEREAS, The ELMDF accepts all the canonical books of the
Sacred Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testaments as the
infallible, revealed Word of God and the symbolic books of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, compiled in the Book of Concord of
1580, as a correct exposition of Holy Scripture; and
WHEREAS, The ELMDF is in altar and pulpit fellowship with
several partner churches of the LCMS in Europe and Canada; and
WHEREAS, The ELMDF has requested altar and pulpit fellowship
with the LCMS; and
WHEREAS, Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (c) says:
When a small, formative, emerging confessional Lutheran
church body (identified as such by the President of the Synod as
chief ecumenical officer) requests recognition of altar and pulpit
fellowship with the Synod, after consultation with the
Praesidium and approval by the commission, such recognition
may be declared by the President of the Synod subject to the
endorsement of the subsequent Synod convention;
and
WHEREAS, The CTCR has recommended the recognition of
fellowship with the ELMDF as a faithful Lutheran church body,
after having carefully and thoroughly considered this matter by
means of extensive correspondence, meetings with ELMDF
representatives, and the examination of pertinent documents that
describe the doctrine and practice of the ELMDF; and
WHEREAS, President Matthew C. Harrison, by virtue of the
authority vested in him according to Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (c), wrote to
then-Bishop Risto Soramies on Oct. 5, 2020, stating: “I am able to
declare recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship between our two
churches. Praise God!”; therefore be it
Resolved, That we acknowledge with gratitude the unity of
confession that has been given to our church bodies under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit; and be it further
Resolved, That this convention formally endorse the recognition
of altar and pulpit fellowship between the ELMDF and the LCMS;
and be it further
Resolved, That we give thanks to God for the faithful and
courageous Lutheran witness the ELMDF provides within its own
country, to the Nordic world, and beyond; and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage and walk with the ELMDF as they
proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world; and be it
further
Resolved, That we pray for God’s blessings in the coming years
on this agreement in the confession of the Gospel that we enjoy as
partner church bodies; and be it finally
Resolved, That in celebration and thanksgiving of this
partnership in the Gospel, the convention assembly signify its
approval by rising and singing the Doxology.
Commission on Theology and Church Relations

2023 Convention Workbook

Ov. 5-02

To Recognize Altar and Pulpit Fellowship
with the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in South Sudan and Sudan
Preamble
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and Sudan
(ELCSS/S) was established as an independent church body in 1993
in Juba, Sudan, under the leadership of a layman, Andrew Mbugo
Elisa. Mr. Elisa had encountered Luther’s Small Catechism and the
Book of Concord through the efforts of the Lutheran Heritage
Foundation (LHF). In 1999 Mr. Elisa was ordained as the church
body’s first pastor and later became its first bishop in 2006. Despite
severe political instability, civil war, and economic turmoil, the
ELCSS/S grew rapidly in the years after 1999 as it planted churches
throughout South Sudan and Sudan. That same year a working
agreement between the new church and The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod (LCMS) was signed. LCMS assistance was
instrumental in the planting of churches in war-torn areas of South
Sudan, especially in the Nuba Mountains. A seminary for training
pastors and other church workers was established in 2000. The
seminary, Concordia Lutheran Institute for Holy Ministry
(CLIHM), was established in Khartoum together with the
headquarters for the ELCSS/S, which had relocated from Juba
because of political turmoil. Various visiting LCMS professors and
pastors have assisted in the preparation of the ELCSS/S church
workers since the beginning of CLIHM.
After a promising first decade of history, the ELCSS/S suffered a
serious blow in 2008, when Bishop Elisa was stricken with a
number of health problems, including brain cancer. The Lord called
him home on Dec. 31, 2008. An interim bishop was appointed in
2010, and in 2011 the church elected Rev. Wilson Noah Rule as
bishop. Unfortunately, in subsequent years there was considerable
internal controversy concerning the leadership and governance of
the ELCSS/S.
Throughout the subsequent years, however, ELCSS/S and the
LCMS continued to work together in educational and other ministry
endeavors. Cooperation between the two churches and various
Synod entities (such as LHF, LCMS mission personnel, and LCMS
districts) stimulated numerous conversations about a formal
recognition of fellowship between our church bodies. As early as
1999, Bishop Elisa wrote to ask the LCMS to consider fellowship.
Bishop Elisa renewed that same request in 2005, and in 2013 the
request was again extended by Bishop Rule. The Commission on
Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) discussed this request in
2013 and requested further information from the ELCSS/S. A
meeting between LCMS officials and ELCSS/S representatives
took place in April of 2015, followed by consultation between
CTCR committee members and Dr. Robert Rahn of LHF.
In 2016 Rev. Peter Anibati Abia was elected bishop. Bishop Abia
renewed the ELCSS/S request for fellowship with the LCMS on
Oct. 25, 2018. A visit by Bishop Abia to the US for meetings with
LCMS personnel was proposed. Because of COVID-19 restrictions,
however, the meeting was delayed until April 2021 when Bishop
Abia met on the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary with
the executive director of the CTCR, Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, and the
chairman of the CTCR’s church relations committee, Dr. Naomichi
Masaki. The meeting included discussion of the ELCSS/S’s
constitution, faith statements, congregational practices, educational