The Power that Forms the Church: XXIII Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia (ELCER)

Orenburg

  “We dedicate our synod assembly to the theme of love. The foundation of our actions and efforts should be love. The power of love that forms the Church, which makes her strong, unified and alive,” - with these words the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of European Russia (ELCER) Dietrich Brauer greeted delegates and guests of the XXIII Synod of the ELCER, held April 2-3 in Orenburg. The theme of the synod assembly was taken from 1 John 4.21 - “And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” Ecumenical guests and leaders of local and state administration attended the opening of the assembly. The Vice-Govenor of the Orenburg oblast Oleg Dimov emphasized in his greeting that “Lutherans have made a significant contribution to the development of the Orenburg krai.” 

  Partners from the Church of Saxony participated in the work of the synod. “We eagerly take part in the life of your church, for it is important to know what concerns you.” ELCER vice-bishop Norbert Hintz spoke of the constant prayer support from partners in the Martin-Luther-Bund: “your successes bring us happiness, and your defeats give us a reason to pray for you.” 

  29 delegates – deans, pastors and laity from the 12 deaneries of the ELCER – discussed

questions that were in the agenda and made a number of important decisions over 2 days. Delegates accepted the report of Bishop Dietrich Brauer, the head of the administration of the ELCER Viktor Weber and the auditing commission and the budget for 2014-2015 was approved. Delegates dedicated special attention to the offering plan from congregations for church-wide needs. The synod created a permanent commission on education headed by Dean Elena Bondarenko, elected Elena Kurmyshovoa as the Coordinator of Diaconal Ministry and Vera Tkach as the Coordinator for Youth Ministry. Delegates decided to change the structure of the Volga-Kamskiy deanery by including the congregations of the  Ulyanovsk deanery and at the same time to create a deanery of Samara made up of the congregations and groups of Samara and the Samara obl. The Volga-Kamskiy deanery will be led by the pastor from Ulyanovsk Vladimir Provorov and the Samara deanery by the pastor from Samara Olga Temirbulatova. 

  The synod assembly gave serious attention to the situation in Crimea and made a decision to write a letter to the leadership of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine and to the congregations of Crimea. 

  In light of the then-upcoming General Synod (i.e., Churchwide assembly) in September of 2014 the delegates of the ELCER synod decided to recommend to the General Consistory that Dietrich Brauer become the Archbishop of the ELC.

  For the 3rd year in a row the synod assembly of the ELCER was held not in Moscow but in a provincial region; It was in Samara in 2012 and in Novorossisk and Krasnodar in 2013. This tradition has proved to be worthwhile. Holding these decision-making meetings of the church in various regions strengthens the authority of the Lutheran church in Russia. Getting acquainted with the state of congregations in our church helps in making timely decisions for the strengthening of the church.