LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 128

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and Church Relations formally recommended church fellowship
with the ELCL to the Synod President; and
Whereas, President Harrison declared fellowship that same
month after consultation with the Praesidium; and
Whereas, Appropriate protocol documents guiding interactions between the LCMS and ELCL have been developed; therefore
be it
Resolved, That we acknowledge with gratitude the unity of confession that has been given to our churches under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit; and be it further
Resolved, That we give thanks that despite political turmoil, war,
and economic deprivation, God, by His grace, has equipped and
prepared the members of the ELCL to give a faithful, confessional
Lutheran witness in Liberia; and be it further
Resolved, That we give thanks to God that doctrinal discussions
between official representatives of the LCMS and the ELCL have
revealed that complete agreement exists between our two churches
in doctrine and practice; and be it further
Resolved, That this convention endorse the Synod President’s
declaration of altar and pulpit fellowship between the LCMS and
the ELCL; 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 churches; 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.
Action: Adopted (3)
(After brief discussion, Res. 4-01 was adopted as presented [Yes:
946; No: 7], with the assembly rising and singing the Doxology.)

in Siberia, for the purpose of theological education and seminary
development. Since that time, a number of Missouri Synod pastors
and professors have traveled to Siberia, and a group of pastors and
laypeople in the Missouri Synod founded the Siberian Lutheran
Mission Society to assist this emerging church, the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELC). The SELC was officially licensed
by the Russian government in 2002, and Bishop Vsevolod Lytkin
was consecrated that same year. The name of the SELC was formally adopted in 2007. With about 2,000 individual members, 22
parishes and mission stations, and 17 clergy, the SELC is a small
church numerically. It covers a geographical area, however, that
extends five thousand miles from east to west.
In January 2010, representatives of the SELC and The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) met in St. Louis for discussions
toward the goal of formal altar and pulpit fellowship at the request
of Bishop Lytkin. In October 2010, Drs. Albert Collver, Timothy
Quill, and Joel Lehenbauer conducted an on-site visit to the SELC,
hosted by Bishop Lytkin and other Siberian Evangelical Lutheran
Church leaders at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Novosibirsk. Bishop Lytkin expressed appreciation for his church body’s
relationship with the Missouri Synod and reaffirmed the desire
that this relationship be formalized. Theological discussions at this
meeting revealed no barriers to the establishment of altar and pulpit fellowship between the LCMS and the SELC.
Whereas, The SELC traces its origin to the Lutheran churches
in the territories that would eventually be incorporated into the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); and
Whereas, These once-thriving churches and their pastors suffered greatly from Communist persecution in the USSR; and
Whereas, The Evangelical Lutheran confession has now been
reestablished in these regions by God’s grace; and
Whereas, The LCMS, in obedience to God’s Word and the
Lutheran Confessions, endeavors to seek out other Lutheran
churches that believe, teach, and confess the same true faith; and
Whereas, The LCMS already enjoys church fellowship with
many other Lutheran churches throughout the world; and

To Endorse Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with
the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church

Whereas, The LCMS has enjoyed a working relationship with
the Lutherans who are now part of the SELC since 1996, providing teachers and lecturers in theology; and

RESOLUTION 4-02

Whereas, The SELC was established as an independent
Lutheran church in 2002 and subsequently requested formal
church fellowship discussions with the LCMS; and

Overture 4-02 (CW, pp. 163–164)
Preamble
Before the Russian Revolution of 1917, there were millions of
Lutherans in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltics, and other territories that
would eventually comprise the Soviet Union. Some have estimated
that there were 1.2 million Lutherans within Russia and Siberia
proper, and another 2–3 million in the other territories. Yet, by
1937, every Lutheran congregation had been liquidated and their
pastors arrested, exiled, or executed. The Communists were quite
effective in nearly destroying Lutheranism in Russian lands.
In 1996, representatives from Concordia Theological Seminary
in Fort Wayne began a relationship with a group of Lutherans in
Siberia. This partnership was one of cooperation, initiated by those
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2 0 1 3 C o n v e n t io n P r o c e e d i n g s

Whereas, Representatives of the LCMS conducted a formal
visit to the SELC in October 2010 and concluded that there is complete agreement between our two churches in doctrine and practice
and therefore no obstacle to altar and pulpit fellowship; and
Whereas, At its 2010 convention the Synod adopted Res.
3-04A “To Amend Bylaw 3.9.6.2.2 (2010 Handbook 3.9.5.2.2) re
Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with Small, Formative, or Emerging
Confessional Churches,” which recognizes that in certain cases
a streamlined approach to altar and pulpit fellowship with such
emerging churches would be beneficial; and
Whereas, The 2010 Handbook (Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2[c]) now provides
that “When a small, formative, emerging confessional Lutheran
R e s olu t i on s