LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 146

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5. THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
WHEREAS, The LCU accepts all the canonical books of the
sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the
inerrant, revealed Word of God; and
WHEREAS, The LCU accepts the symbolic books of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, compiled in the Book of
Concord of 1580, as a correct exposition of the sacred
Scriptures; and
WHEREAS, On Sept. 21, 2016, Bishop Charles Bameka, on
behalf of the LCU, formally requested altar and pulpit
fellowship with the LCMS; and
WHEREAS, Bylaw 3.9.5.2.2 (b) says, “When a church body
applies for formal recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship
with the Synod, such recognition shall be proposed at a
convention of the Synod only after the approval of the
commission”; and
WHEREAS, In face-to-face discussions with Bishop
Bameka and other key leaders of the LCU, the CTCR has
examined the teachings and practices of the LCU and found
them to be faithful to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions,
and has proposed the recognition of fellowship between the
LCU and the LCMS; 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 we give thanks that despite various
challenges, God, by His grace, has equipped and prepared the
LCU to give a faithful, confessional Lutheran witness in
Uganda; and be it further
Resolved, That we give thanks to God that doctrinal
discussions between official representatives of the LCMS and
the LCU have resulted in recognition of complete concord and
agreement; and be it further
Resolved, That the Synod formally declare recognition of
altar and pulpit fellowship between the LCU and the LCMS;
and be it further
Resolved, That we encourage and walk with the LCU as it
continues to proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ in
Uganda; and be it further
Resolved, That we pray for God’s blessings in the coming
years on our agreement in the confession of the Gospel that we
enjoy as partner churches, and for the blessing of the Lord
upon the members and leaders of the LCU; and be it finally
Resolved, That in thanksgiving for this partnership in the
Gospel, the convention assembly celebrate its approval by
rising and singing the common doxology.
Action: Adopted (2)

The resolution being put to a “yea, yea, it shall be so” voice vote,
the resolution was so adopted, unanimously, and the common
doxology was sung. President Harrison having noted a plaque
commemorating the fellowship being consummated by the
convention today, Bishop Charles I. Bameka addressed the
assembly, with his remarks included in Today’s Business 3.
146 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 (68TH) LCMS CONVENTION

To Recognize Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with
the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Ukraine
RESOLUTION 5-04
Report R12 (CW, 52–60); Overture L5-51 (TB, 1:49–51)
Preamble
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine (ELCU) has its
roots in the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine
(GELCU). Lutheranism had come to Ukraine near the end of
the eighteenth century, with a mass migration of German
farmers and craftsmen invited by the Russian czar to help
develop Ukraine. Because many of these immigrants were
Lutherans, congregations were formed, and churches built. In
the twentieth century, with the Russian Revolution and the
rise of atheistic communism (especially under Stalin in the
1930s), Lutheranism was nearly wiped out. But after the
collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
beginning with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a new era
began, and Lutheranism had an opportunity to re-emerge.
The GELCU was established by 1992, even as many ethnic
Germans living in the former USSR were allowed to repatriate
back to Germany. Nonetheless, from 1992–2014, GELCU
continued to be led by German bishops and was supported
financially by partner German churches affiliated with the
state church of Germany, namely, the Evangelische Kirche in
Deutschland (EKD, Evangelical Church in Germany). It was
also supported at that time by the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF). Before Rev. Serge Maschewski was installed as the
bishop of GELCU, the bishop of GELCU was also a member of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia (ELCROS) Bishops’
Council (also affiliated with LWF).
Rev. Maschewski (who is Ukrainian and German but was
raised in Kazakhstan) was elected as Bishop of GELCU in 2013
and took office in 2014. He was allowed to repatriate to
Germany in the 1990s and was able to enroll in the Russian
Project of Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW), where
he was introduced to historic confessional Lutheran theology.
After returning to Germany, he was viewed as an ideal
candidate in the continuation of the German line of bishops of
GELCU. He was also the first bishop of GELCU who was not
only a German speaker, but also fluent in Russian (from his
upbringing in Kazakhstan) and in Ukrainian.
With his newly found confessional Lutheran convictions,
however, Rev. Maschewski and GELCU soon came into
conflict with the theology of GELCU’s sponsors from Germany
and the LWF. When directed to receive ordained women
pastors to work within GELCU, for example, Bishop
Maschewski refused to allow it, as did his synod in
convention. The same was true when GELCU was pressured
to embrace the LGBTQ agenda in the church’s life in Ukraine.
The conflict escalated to the point that, in 2015, GELCU
severed its fellowship with its heretofore German partner
churches, dropped its membership in the LWF, and left the
ELCROS Bishops’ Council, leaving GELCU alone and isolated.
Resolutions