UpdateBot at 02:32, 18 June 2022

2022-06-18T02:32:01Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
|name = India Evangelical Lutheran Church
|image =
|imagewidth =
|caption =
|main_classification = [[Protestant]]
|orientation = [[Lutheran]]
|theology =
|structure = National church, [[Middle judicatory|middle level]] synods, and local congregations
|leader_name1=President|leader =Rev. Suviseshamuthu
|headquarters = [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
|founder =
|founded_date = 1959
|founded_place =
|branched_from = [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]]
|absorbed =
|separations =
|merged_into =
|associations = [[United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India]]<br/>[[International Lutheran Council]]<br/>[[Lutheran World Federation]]
|area = [[India]]
|congregations = 764
|members = 115,000 baptized<br/>70,000 communicant
|ministers = 120
|hospitals=3|primary_schools=59|secondary_schools=11|tertiary=2|other_names =
|website={{url|http://www.ielc.in}}|footnotes =
}}
'''India Evangelical Lutheran Church''' ('''IELC''') is a Christian denomination in [[India]]. Its headquarters is in [[Tamil Nadu]]. It belongs to the [[International Lutheran Council]]<ref name="ILC">{{cite web |title=India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC) |url=http://www.ilc-online.org/members/asia/india/ |access-date=18 June 2022 |website=[[International Lutheran Council]]}}</ref> and the [[Lutheran World Federation]]. It has three synods named Ambur, Nagercoil, and Trivandrum. The India Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded through the missionary efforts of the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] (LCMS),<ref name=Forum>{{cite web|last1=Vethanayagamony|first1=Peter|title=The Lutheran Churches of India|url=http://www.lutheranforum.org/extras/the-lutheran-churches-of-india/|publisher=Lutheran Forum|access-date=9 November 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906075803/http://www.lutheranforum.org/extras/the-lutheran-churches-of-india/|archive-date=6 September 2012}}</ref> with whom it remains in [[altar and pulpit fellowship]].<ref name=LCMS>{{cite web|title=India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC)|url=http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=1340|publisher=Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref>

The inception of IELC is rooted in the mission work of LCMS, beginning in 1894. Over the following decades, the LCMS sent more than 60 missionaries to serve in India. The work in India was known as the Missouri Evangelical Lutheran Mission (MELIM) and was carried out in areas of the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Malayalam]] languages. In 1959, the IELC was established as an LCMS partner church and now does work in an additional seven languages.<ref name="ILC" />

The IELC has approximately 764 congregations, 115,000 baptized members, 70,000 communicant members, and 220 active pastors. It also has 59 elementary schools, 11 high schools, 7 schools for the handicapped, and three hospitals. There about 800 teachers serve those schools, many of them graduates of the IELC's teachers training institute.<ref name="ILC" />

Concordia Theological Seminary in [[Nagercoil]] was founded in 1924 to train pastors.<ref name="ILC" /> On 30 November 2017, [[Cyclone Ockhi]] damaged the seminary campus so severely that IELC leaders doubted that they would ever be able to reopen. Nevertheless, the seminary was able to rebuild. The new and renovated structures have retained the historic appearance of the campus. The rededication in June 2022 included representatives from the LCMS, which had helped with the reconstruction. The reopened seminary has almost 100 students, with plans to increase enrollment to 130 in two years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harmelink |first=Daniel |date=2022-06-17 |title=Rebuilt seminary dedicated in Nagercoil, India |url=https://reporter.lcms.org/2022/rebuilt-seminary-dedicated-in-nagercoil-india/ |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=Reporter |publisher=[[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]]}}</ref>

The IELC is a member of the [[World Council of Churches]], the [[Christian Conference of Asia]], the [[National Council of Churches in India]], and the Lutheran World Federation Council of Churches in India. It is a member church in the [[United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India|United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India]] (UELCI), a communion of Lutheran churches.<ref name="UELCI">{{cite web|title=Member Churches|url=http://uelci-india.org/memberchurches.asp|publisher=United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India|access-date=18 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070401191845/http://uelci-india.org/memberchurches.asp|archive-date=1 April 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The current president of the IELC is Rev. Suviseshamuthu, who was elected as president of the IELC in May 2017, succeeding President Gambeeram, who presided at the election; President Suviseshamuthu's election was also observed by two representative of the Office of International Mission of the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod|LCMS]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ctsn.edu.in/2017/06/03/seminary-welcomes-new-ielc-president-rev-suvi/|title=Seminary Welcomes New IELC President Rev. Suviseshamuthu|last=Admin|first=Seminary|date=2017-06-03|website=Concordia Theological Seminary|access-date=2017-06-04}}</ref> LCMS representatives likewise witnessed the election of Rev. Gambeeram on 27 May 2014, who succeeded President Samuel.<ref name="IELC">{{cite web|title=Administration|url=http://ielc.org/administration/|publisher=India Evangelical Lutheran Church|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref> President Harrison officially recognized Rev. Raja Gambeeram as the president of the IELC on behalf of the LCMS on Epiphany, 6 January 2015.<ref name="LCMS2">{{cite web|title=Visit by President of India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC)|url=http://wmltblog.org/2015/01/visit-by-president-of-india-evangelical-lutheran-church-ielc/|publisher=Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Christ Lutheran Church Kattukadai]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ielc.in Website of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090605112647/http://www.uelci.org/index.asp Website of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India]
*[http://www.ielctrivandrumsynod.org Website of the Trivandrum Synod of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELC)]

==See also==
*[[Adivasi]]
*[[Christianity in India]]

{{Churches in India}}
{{International Lutheran Council Churches}}
{{Lutheran World Federation Churches}}

[[Category:1959 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Christianity in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Christianity in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Lutheranism in India]]
[[Category:International Lutheran Council members]]
[[Category:Lutheran World Federation members]]
[[Category:Affiliated institutions of the National Council of Churches in India]]

India Evangelical Lutheran Church - Revision history

UpdateBot at 02:32, 18 June 2022