The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (ELCL) was founded in 1922, after Latvia had become an independent state in 1918. The church now known as the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide (LELCW) was established by Latvian refugees after the World War II as a continuation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia, following Latvia’s occupation and incorporation into the Soviet Union. About half of all Latvian Lutheran pastors, including the Archbishop and most of the deans, had left Latvia and were in exile in 1944.
Over the next ten years, they represented the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia at international forums, for example, as founding members of the Lutheran World Federation. They also restructured their church’s administrative framework to adapt it to life in exile. Latvian refugees, including pastors, scattered to all corners of the world, where they established congregations: in Europe, mainly in West Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden; in the Americas, mainly in the United States and Canada, but also in South America; and in Australia and New Zealand.
Consequently, after World War II, when Latvia was under Soviet occupation, ELCL was split into two parts. One part operated in Latvia under constitutional amendments and operational restrictions imposed by the Soviet regime and under strict KGB surveillance; the other part (Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Exile, later Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad) operated freely across the world. Each part had its own archbishop. This division between ELCL in Latvia and LELC Worldwide still exists today. However, since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the restoration of Latvia’s independence in 1991, both churches can freely recognize one another and cooperate openly, although theological opinions differ on some issues. In 1998, both churches adopted the document “Joint Regulations of ELCL and the LELCA” as the basis for future cooperation. Both churches consider themselves successors to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia that existed before World War II. In October 2020, the name of LELCA was changed by a synodical decision to its current name: the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide (LELCW).
LELCW is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches, and the Conference of European Churches. In September 2014, LELCW signed the Porvoo Declaration, thereby becoming a full member of the Porvoo Community of Lutheran and Anglican Churches in Europe.
The office of Archbishop of LELCW has been held by Latvian clergy from Germany, the United States, and Canada. The current Archbishop, Kārlis Žols, resides in Latvia. The church is governed by a 21-member Governing Board, comprising clergy and laypersons who make decisions regarding LELCW activities.
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Contact Information
Archbishop Kārlis Žols
Mob. ph.: +371 26635035
E-mail: arhibiskaps@lelbpasaule.lv
Secretariat: Ingrīda Kariņa–Bērziņa
E-mail: virsvalde@gmail.com
Bank Account
LATVIAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH WORLDWIDE
11 MIERA Str., K-2-28, Riga, LV-1001, LATVIA
Account: LV67HABA0551059296657
“SWEDBANK” AS
Balasta dambis 15, Riga,
LV-1048, Latvia
BIC/S.W.I.F.T.: HABALV22
Registration No.: 40003074764