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. Becauseof 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 Lehen bauer, 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 and mission endeavors and ecumenical relationships. Bishop Abia then met face to face with the CTCR and LCMS President Matthew Harrison in September 2021 for formal discussions regarding church fellowship. At its December 2021 meeting, the CTCR unanimously adopted a motion recommending the recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship with the ELCSS/S. That recommendation was sent to President Harrison for his consideration and for consultation with the Praesidium. In a letter dated Aug. 28, 2022, President Harrison wrote: “I am very pleased to inform you … that by virtue of the authority vested in the President of the Synod, I am in a position to declare recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship between our two churches. Praise God!” The President then invited Bishop Abia to participate in a celebration of fellowship during a joint Divine Service held by LCMS partner churches in Kisumu, Kenya. The joyful event was held on September 18, 2022, during the Divine Service with participation by President Harrison, Bishop Abia, and Rev. Joseph Ochola Omolo, Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya.

WHEREAS, The Evangelical Lutheran Churchin South Sudan and Sudan (ELCSS/S) was established in 1993 as a confessional Lutheran Church with significant assistance from the LHF, a recognized service organization; and

WHEREAS, Despite the challenges of civil war and great turmoil, the Holy Spirit enabled the ELCSS/S to evangelize effectively in South Sudan and Sudan, beginning some 150 congregations with over 150,000 members, establishing aseminary and training school, ordaining 60 pastors, and preparing over 100 evangelists and other church workers—all in less than a decade under the leadership of the Rev. Andrew Mbugo Elisa; and

WHEREAS, Despite the untimely death of Bishop Elisa, internal dissension, and other challenges, the ELCSS/S weathered another decade of difficulties and emerged with a continuing firm commitment to the theology and practice of scriptural and confessional Lutheranism; and

WHEREAS, Throughout the history of the ELCSS/S, the LCMS in its various entities has continued to support, enable, and encourage the ELCSS/S to be and remain committed to theology and practice that is faithful to the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions; and

WHEREAS, The ELCSS/S accepts all the canonical books of the sacred Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testaments as the in errant, revealed Word of God; and

WHEREAS, The ELCSS/S 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 October 25, 2018, Bishop Peter Anibati Abia, on behalf of the ELCSS/S, renewed a long-standing request for the LCMS to recognize fellowship between our churches; 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 [CTCR], 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 examined the pertinent documents of the ELCSS/S and found them to be faithful to Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions; and

WHEREAS, President Matthew C. Harrison declared the recognition of altar and pulpit fellowship between our two church bodies in a letter to Bishop Abia on Aug. 28, 2022; and

WHEREAS, The fellowship between our church bodies was publicly announced and celebrated in a joint service held on Sept. 18, 2022, in Kisumu, Kenya; 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 violence, civil war, significant cultural and ecclesial challenges, God, by His grace, has equipped and prepared the ELCSS/S to give a faithful, confessional Lutheran witness in South Sudan and Sudan; and be it further

Resolved, That we give thanks to God that doctrinal discussions between official representatives of the LCMS and the ELCSS/S have resulted in recognition of complete concord and agreement;

and be it further

Resolved, That this convention endorse the President of the Synod’s declaration of altar and pulpit fellowship between the LCMS and the ELCSS/S; and be it further

Resolved,That we encourage and walk with the ELCSS/Sasthey proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ in East Africa; 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 Lordupon the members and leaders of the ELCSS/S; 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 common doxology.