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For he (Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
(Hebr. 11:10)
Confessional Lutheran Church of Latvia
We are glad to announce that independent confessional Lutheran congregations in Latvia now are in a process of forming a new church body. April 16, 1999, there was a pastoral conference in which pastors from our Confessional Lutheran fellowship decided to call a Synod meeting on the Ascension Day of our Lord, May 20, 1999, with a purpose to found an independent church body under the name Confessional Lutheran Church in Latvia (CLCL) (read below chapter Legal problems with the registration of CLCL). For we trust the only true foundation laid not by a human hand, but by God Himself. We have found it in the Scriptures as they are explained and confessed in the Book of Concord.
A brief history
The congregations which form the Confessional Lutheran Church of Latvia either have come from the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church (LELC) which is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, or are new Lutheran congregations which has been formed by former members of LELC, or as new mission congregations. First independent Confessional Lutheran congregations were registered with the Latvian state in early 1997. They were Kekava, Bulduri and Jelgava Lutheran congregations, who experienced a bitter persecution from the administration of LELC. In May 1997, Riga Lutheran Congregation was formed, later the same spring Limbazi, Aloja joined. On June 15, 1997 there was an Ordination Service in which Rev. Gundars Bakulis, M.D., and Rev. Ugis Sildegs, B.D., were ordained to serve Riga Lutheran congregation. Before this Service official fellowship between the six Lutheran congregations was declared.
During the next two years three mission preaching stations in Cesis, Pale and Ozolnieki were started which were served by our clergy. All of them were registered with a state in by the end of 1999 as new congregations.
The next fruitful year was 2002. This year Egons Mudulis graduated from Bethany Lutheran Seminary in Mankato (MN, USA) and was going to be ordained in August of 2002. But actually it came out, that instead of one new pastor, four new pastors were ordained in August 4, 2002. Three graduates, Aigars Dabolins, Uldis Alpe and Janis Gaisins, from Luther Academy, Seminary of LELC, could not stand the spirit of the national church, and joined our fellowship. August 4, was a great day in our church: not only we got 4 new pastors, but the first (yet the only one) newly built church building was consecreated for Kekava congregation usage.
Janis Gaisins began mission in his native town Ventspils, in the west of Latvia by the Baltic Sea. In a couple of months the 10th congregation of our fellowship was founded and registered by the state.
Aigars Dabolins began mission in a chain of maritime villages (Plienciems, Apsuciems, etc.) by the Riga Gulf. In April of 2003 a new congregation was founded.
Egons Mudulis has began mission in Liepaja, another large town on the western coast of Latvia, by the Baltic Sea. Uldis Alpe has become pastor of Limbazi congregation.
Mission strategy
We believe that the Great Commission of our Lord is valid till the end of the world therefore we are preaching, teaching and distributing the means of grace according to the teaching of the Scriptures as it is explained and confessed by our Lutheran fathers in the Christian Book of Concord.
We hope that our Confessional Lutheran Church of Latvia will become a fountain of blessing for many.
By the assistance of the Thoughts of Faith and cooperating with our good friends from ELS and WELS the Augsburg Institute,ltd. is publishing newspaper Latvian Lutheran which is our means of communicating with Latvian society. Latvian Lutheran has been a blessing in our mission work.
In 2001 we have published the Latvian translation of the Book of Concord, in 2000 C.F. Walther^apostrofs;s, Law and Gospel. These are our main book publications, but there are several others already done, and many more in future.
Fellowship
We are following the Lutheran principle to avoid fellowship with the heterodox, but at the same time to seek fellowship with those who are faithful to the teaching of the Bible and to our Lutheran Confessions. Therefore in today^apostrofs;s postmodern world of subjectivism, syncretism and universalism we are especially glad that we can be in fellowship with the churches of Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference.
Both from your public confession and from the personal contacts with the churches which form CELC we know that CELC is the only sound Lutheran stronghold today.
..all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant - these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.
(Is. 56:6b-7a)
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