LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 135

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THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
the Gospel and administration of the sacraments, to His
glory and to the building up of His church.
Action: Adopted by unanimous vote (3)
(After the resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote [yes:
1,106; no: 0], the Common Doxology was sung while fellowship
documents were signed.)

To Declare Altar and Pulpit Fellowship
with Evangelical Lutheran Church
of Lithuania
RESOLUTION 3-04
Overtures 3-03-04 (CW, pp. 156–57)
Preamble
Predominately Roman Catholic, Lithuania is a small
country in northeastern Europe on the eastern coast of the
Baltic Sea, with Latvia to the north and Poland to the
south. Beginning in the mid-16th century the Lutheran Reformation spread rapidly throughout this country as pastors and congregations learned to know and accept
Lutheran confessional doctrine. The spread of Reformation
teaching was aided by the translation of Luther’s Small
Catechism into Lithuanian in 1547 and the publication of a
Lutheran hymnal in 1560. By the early part of the 20th
century the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania
(ELCL or LELC) had grown to about 120,000 members.
World War II and Soviet occupation from 1944 to 1991
brought great hardship upon the people of Lithuania. Many
Lutheran churches were closed and their members deported to Siberia, some never to be seen again. In spite of
the persecution and distress the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania endured, they have remained faithful to Lutheran confessional teaching. They
have begun to rebuild and have now grown to a size of some
30,000 communicants, with 17 pastors and 2 deacons serving 53 congregations.
In recent years The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania have
had numerous informal contacts, revealing a common doctrinal commitment. In response to a specific request from
the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania for official theological discussions between our
churches, a preliminary meeting was held in St. Louis in
March 2000, followed by formal theological discussions held
in Klaipeda, Lithuania, in May 2000. LCMS representatives attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania’s convention in July 29, 2000, in Taurage, when the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania adopted a resolution calling for closer relationships with the LCMS. This
resolution states:
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania possesses and strives
toward the preservation of the right and pure preaching and teaching of
the apostolic Word of God, and the right administration of the Sacraments as they were instituted by our Lord Himself. This was the goal of
the confessors of the Augsburg Confession (AC VII) and of the Formula of Concord (FC X, 31). However, we are now faced with false
doctrines which endanger the biblical and confessional identity of our
Lutheran Church in Lithuania.
Rejecting these false doctrines, we confess the complete authority of
the Bible and its teaching as it is rightly and unchangingly stated in the
Book of Concord. Therefore we can have full fellowship with those
churches who share with us the same faith and teaching, and which do

135

not ordain or promote the ordination of women, which do not stand for
homosexual behavior, which do not make compromise on the matter of
justification, and which confess that in the Holy Supper each communicant is given and receives under the bread and wine the true body and
blood of the Lord.

Additional meetings took place between the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Lithuania and LCMS representatives
in September and November 2000, when additional steps
were taken toward the formal recognition of church fellowship between our churches.
WHEREAS, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania has its origin in the spread of the Lutheran Reformation into Eastern Europe in the 16th century; and
WHEREAS, The pastors and congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania have remained faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions in spite
of severe hardship and testing during certain periods of
their history as a Lutheran church; and
WHEREAS, There have been increasing contacts between
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania in recent years; and
WHEREAS, Doctrinal discussions between official representatives of the LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Lithuania have revealed that complete agreement between our two churches in doctrine and practice exists; and
WHEREAS, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania does not ordain women as pastors; and
WHEREAS, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania at its synodical convention held on July 29, 2000, expressed its desire to come into fellowship with the LCMS;
and
WHEREAS, The CTCR has reviewed pertinent information regarding the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania and has recommended that the LCMS enter into altar
and pulpit fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Lithuania; therefore be it
Resolved, That we give thanks to God for the goodness
and grace that He has shown to our brothers and sisters in
Christ in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania
throughout their long history, preserving them steadfast in
their faith and confession; and be it further
Resolved, That we acknowledge with thanksgiving to
God the unity of confession that He has given to our church
bodies under the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS declare altar and pulpit fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania; and be it further
Resolved, That the LCMS formally recognize the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania as a partner church
and that the President of the Synod be responsible for continuing to implement this relationship; and be it finally
Resolved, That we ask our gracious Lord to continue to
strengthen the bond of fellowship between our churches
and deepen our common commitment to the proclamation
of the Gospel for the life and salvation of many.
Action: Adopted (2)
(A motion to amend the resolution by deleting the fifth
whereas failed. The resolution was adopted [yes: 1,113; no: 29],

200l Convention Proceedings