| Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | LELBP |
| Classification | Christian |
| Orientation | Protestant |
| Theology | Lutheranism |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Archbishop | Lauma Zušēvica |
| Associations | Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, Porvoo Communion |
| Region | Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Republic of Ireland,Latvia, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela |
| Origin | 1922 |
| Members | 25,000 |
| Official website | www |
TheLatvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide (Latvian:Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca pasaulē, abbreviatedLELBP) is aLutheran denomination with a presence in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland,Latvia, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, theUnited States, and Venezuela. Until 2020 it was known as theLatvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (Latvian:Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca ārpus Latvijas (LELBāL)).
It is a member of theLutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1947. It is also a member of theWorld Council of Churches and theConference of European Churches and part of thePorvoo Communion. The church was originally established in 1922. During theSecond World War, whenLatvia wasoccupied and incorporated into the Soviet Union, the archbishop and 131 (being 55%) of the clergy went to exile.
In 2014,Lauma Lagzdiņš Zuševics, an American, was the first woman elected Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad.[1][2]
In 2016, the church established itself within Latvia, and Archbishop Zuševics stated that it would have to change its name accordingly.[3] Later that year the Evangelical Cross Congregation ofLiepāja left theEvangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB/ELCL) and joined the LELBA/LELCA instead due to its support for the ordination of women which the LELB/ELCL had banned the previous week.[4] The split between the two churches thus became less geographic and more theological. In October 2020, the church changed its name to the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide.
