Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia
| Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia | |
|---|---|
Symbol of Lutheranism
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| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Lutheran |
| Leader | Rev. Dr. Shekutaamba Vaino Vaino Nambala |
| Associations | |
| Region | Namibia |
| Headquarters | Oniipa |
| Origin | 1954 Engela |
| Branched from | Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church |
| Congregations | 123 |
| Members | 772,398 |
| Ministers | 143 |
| Secondary schools | 2 |
| Official website | www |
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) is a Lutheran denomination based in Namibia. It has a total membership of over 772,398, mainly in Northern Namibia. Formerly known as the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church, it played a significant role in opposition to Apartheid in Namibia and was part of the Namibian independence struggle.
Other Lutheran churches in Namibia are the southern based Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia and the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK).
The current presiding bishop is Dr. Shekutaamba V. V. Nambala.
The church developed out of the work of the Finnish Missionary Society that began in 1870 among the Ovambo and Kavango people in the northern area of what became German South West Africa. In 1954, an independent church known as the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church (ELOC) was established with Birger Eriksson as its first president.
The first Namibian bishop of ELOC, Leonard Auala, played a notable role in the struggle for Namibia's independence. 1971 an open letter was jointly written with Moderator Paulus Gowaseb of the Rhenish Mission's United Evangelical Lutheran Church in South West Africa (later known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia) to the Prime Minister of South Africa, B.J. Vorster declared their church's opposition to the continued rule of South Africa and the acceptance of the recommendation by the International Court of Justice for the withdrawal of South Africa's mandate and a transition period towards independence.
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