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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2026, Page 339

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
Ov. 5-05

To Admonish and Converse with
Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church
WHEREAS, The Holy Scriptures enjoin us to maintain the unity
of the faith in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3, 13); and
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Confessions state, “The church is the
assembly of saints in which the gospel is taught purely and the
sacraments are administered rightly. And it is enough for the true
unity of the church to agree concerning the teaching of the gospel
and the administration of the sacraments. It is not necessary that
human traditions, rites, or ceremonies instituted by human beings
be alike everywhere” (AC VII 1–3, Kolb/Wengert); and
WHEREAS, The bishop of the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran
Church (SELC), a church in altar and pulpit fellowship with The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod since 2013, has taught that socalled “apostolic succession” is necessary for a church to have a
valid ministry; and
WHEREAS, By promoting this teaching and interjecting itself in
the life of another sister church body, the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Brazil (IELB), by asserting the claim of apostolic
succession, by ordaining deacons, and by establishing
congregations outside of Siberia, the SELC has created scandal,
confusion, and disharmony in the confession of the one true and
saving Gospel; and
WHEREAS, The bishop of the SELC is also identified as the
“guiding bishop” of the Independent Anglican Congregation in
Thailand (IACT), a church that according to its website
(inachurchthailand.com/weddings-blessings) allows for the
blessing of LGBTQ unions; therefore be it
Resolved, That the President of the Synod admonish the bishop
of our Siberian sister church to immediately cease and desist in
these unwanted intrusions into the life of the IELB; and be it further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod in consultation with
the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR)
engage in conversation with the leadership of the SELC to assist
them in embracing a genuinely biblical, Lutheran confession of the
one Office our Christ Jesus has instituted for the pure preaching of
the Gospel and the right administration of the Sacraments; and be it
further
Resolved, That the President of the Synod in consultation with
the CTCR admonish the bishop of the SELC to withdraw
immediately from the unionistic relationship with the IACT; and be
it finally
Resolved, That the President of the Synod report the outcome of
these efforts to the 2029 Synod convention with a recommendation
as to whether the conditions for altar and pulpit fellowship with the
SELC still obtain.
Elm Grove, Elm Grove, WI ; Immanuel, Eagle, NE
Ov. 5-06

To Address Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Kenya Membership in Lutheran World Federation
WHEREAS, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK)
is a partner church body of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod,
in full altar and pulpit fellowship with the same; and

339

WHEREAS, The ELCK is also a member church of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) as indicated by the LWF website
(lutheranworld.org/member-churches); and
WHEREAS, The LWF includes member churches such as the
heterodox Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that engage in
anti-biblical teachings and practices, including the ordination of
women and the performance of same-sex “marriages”; and
WHEREAS, Membership in the LWF establishes altar and pulpit
fellowship with these member churches and implies agreement with
their anti-biblical teachings and practices; and
WHEREAS, Constitution Article VI 2 states as one of the
conditions of membership in the Synod the “renunciation of
unionism and syncretism of every description”; and
WHEREAS, The North Dakota District currently supports the
ELCK through Project 24; and
WHEREAS, This support of a church body in fellowship with the
LWF suggests fellowship on the part of the district with the LWF;
and
WHEREAS, The President of the Synod (Bylaw 3.3.1.1.2) and
Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR, Bylaw
3.9.5.2.2) are assigned responsibility for evaluating existing
fellowship relations with other church bodies; therefore be it
Resolved, That the district in convention direct the district
president to monitor the progress of the President of the Synod and
CTCR regarding ELCK and LWF fellowship; and be it further
Resolved, That the district president report to the spring pastors’
conferences in 2025, 2026, and 2027 and through district media;
and be it finally
Resolved, That the Synod in convention be memorialized to
reevaluate the partner church body status of the ELCK in view of
the ELCK’s membership in the LWF.
North Dakota District
Ov. 5-07

To Declare State of “Fellowship in Protest” with
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia
WHEREAS, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has
confessed that “All Christians are required by God … to have
church-fellowship only with orthodox church-bodies,” (LCMS, A
Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod
[adopted 1932], 28) in accordance with the Divine Command to
avoid those who “cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to
the doctrine that you have been taught,” (Rom. 16:17); and
WHEREAS, The Formula of Concord, in line with this Biblical
truth, confesses that external fellowship in the church is to be based
upon agreement “in the doctrine and all its articles,” as well as “in
the right use of the holy Sacraments,” (FC SD X 31); and
WHEREAS, For this reason, the basis for the establishment of
church fellowship between the LCMS and the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Latvia (ELCL or LELB) was “doctrinal agreement
between our two churches,” (2001 Res. 3-05); and
WHEREAS, The LCMS repudiates “unionism, that is, churchfellowship with the adherents of false doctrine, as disobedience to
God's command, as causing divisions in the church, Rom. 16:17; 2
John 9, 10, and involving the constant danger of losing the Word of
God entirely, 2 Tim. 2:17–21,” (A Brief Statement, 28); and

2026 Convention Workbook