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Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheranism
Polity	Episcopal
Associations	Lutheran World Federation; International Lutheran Council; Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum; World Council of Churches;
Region	Kenya
Founder	Martin Lundstrom
Branched from	Church of Sweden
Members	350,000 as at December 2023

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (Swahili: Kanisa la Kiinjili la Kilutheri Katika Kenya) is a Lutheran denomination in Kenya. It is a member of the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum, the Lutheran World Federation (since 1970), the International Lutheran Council (since 2005), and the National Council of Churches of Kenya. Its current archbishop is the Most Reverend Joseph Ochola Omolo.

History

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) was born out of the missionary work of the Swedish Lutheran Mission in 1948 under the name Swedish Lutheran Mission (SLM). In 1963, the name of the church was changed and registered as the Lutheran Church of Kenya (LCK). In 1973, the name was changed again to ELCK with three districts, namely North District, Kisii District, and Nyanza District.

In 1996, the church adopted episcopal polity, after the pattern of the Church of Sweden from which it had derived much early influence. The first bishop, Francis Nyamwaro, was elected that year. In 2002, the church was restructured into four dioceses (Central, Lake, South-West, and North-West). The first archbishop was elected and each diocese elected a diocesan bishop.

Structure

Archdiocese

The Uhuru Highway Lutheran Church in Kenya at Nairobi was established in 1964 and was consecrated in 1980. In 2005, this church in Nairobi was elevated to the status of a cathedral under the leadership of the first archbishop of the national church—the most Reverend Dr. Walter Obare Omwanza. Following the example of the Anglican Church of Kenya, the cathedral in Nairobi, together with its precincts, has now been separated into a distinct diocese, styled the Archdiocese of the ELCK,^[2] and named Uhuru Highway Cathedral Diocese.^[3] The cathedra of the archbishop is located here,^[2] with the archbishop heading the staff team of three ordained clergy and assorted lay ministers.

Dioceses

The entire ELCK is administered from the Nairobi Head office, the Cathedral at Uhuru Highway being the seat of the archbishop. The church consists of nine dioceses:

Uhuru Highway Cathedral Diocese
South-West Diocese
Lake Diocese
Southern Lake Diocese
Central Eastern Diocese
Central Rift Valley Diocese
North-West Diocese
Nyamira Diocese
Kerio Valley Diocese (Established in 2022)

Doctrine

The ELCK is a confessional Lutheran denomination, with doctrines centred upon the Christian scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired word of God, the catholic creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed), and the text of the Lutheran Augsburg Confession of 1530 together with Martin Luther's Large and Small Catechisms. The ELCK holds to mainstream Lutheran doctrines of the forgiveness of sins in baptism, and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.^[4]

Mission and objectives

ELCK exists to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ through the proper administration of the sacraments, providing the confessional Lutheran teachings, and caring for the well being of the whole person. The vision of this Church is to proclaim the good news of the crucified and resurrected Christ, the only way to salvation.

References

^ Data from Lutheran World Federation Archived 2020-11-25 at the Wayback Machine.
^ ^a ^b "History and background". Uhuru Highway Cathedral. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
^ See diocesan links at ELCKenya Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine.
^ See statements at the official website of the archdiocese Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine.