Lutheran Church - Canada
Encyclopedia
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
, confessional Lutheran
Confessional Lutheran
Confessional Lutheran is a name used by certain Lutheran Christians to designate themselves as those who accept the doctrines taught in the Book of Concord of 1580 in their entirety, because they believe them to be completely faithful to the teachings of the Bible...
denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
in Canada. With about 70,000 members, it is the second-largest Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
body in Canada after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 152,788 baptized members in 624 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–Canada, having 72,116 baptized members...
(ELCIC). The LCC was founded in 1988 when most Canadian congregations
Religion in Canada
Religion in Canada encompasses a wide range of groups. The preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms references "God", and the monarch carries the title of "Defender of the Faith". However, Canada has no official religion, and support for religious pluralism is an important part of...
of the St. Louis-based Missouri Synod (LCMS) formed an autonomous Canadian church body with a synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
. Sixteen Canadian congregations — one in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, the rest in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
— remain affiliated with the LCMS.
Following its founding in 1988, LCC created three district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
s. The Alberta-British Columbia District offices are in Edmonton, Alberta
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
; the Central District in Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
; and the East District in Kitchener, Ontario
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
. Like other conservative
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
Lutheran bodies, LCC professes the Lutheran Confessions as contained in the Book of Concord
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord or Concordia is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century...
(e.g. theology of an inerrant Bible). The LCC practises closed communion
Closed communion
Closed communion is the practice of restricting the serving of the elements of Holy Communion to those who are members of a particular church, denomination, sect, or congregation...
, rejecting shared communion
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
even with other Christians who do not subscribe to the LCC's doctrines. The church body is in communion with some member synods of the International Lutheran Council
International Lutheran Council
The International Lutheran Council is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran denominations. It is to be distinguished from the larger Lutheran World Federation, which is an association of the more theologically moderate to liberal Lutheran churches, all of which are in full communion with...
(e.g., the LCMS). Many LCC congregations use Lutheran Service Book
Lutheran Service Book
Lutheran Service Book is the newest official hymnal of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church–Canada . It was prepared by the LCMS Commission on Worship and published by Concordia Publishing House, the official publisher of the LCMS...
as their hymnal. The current president of LCC is Rev. Dr. Robert Bugbee.
The church body has established Concordia University College of Alberta
Concordia University College of Alberta
Concordia University College of Alberta is an Canadian independent university in Edmonton, Alberta. The enabling legislation is the Post-secondary Learning Act.-History:...
in Edmonton, and two seminaries, Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary
Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary
Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary is a seminary of Lutheran Church - Canada affiliated with Brock University and located on that institution's campus on the Niagara Escarpment at the center of Canada's Niagara Peninsula in St...
in St. Catharines, Ontario and Concordia Lutheran Seminary
Concordia Lutheran Seminary
Concordia Lutheran Seminary is situated on the towering north bank of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, the provincial capital of Alberta...
in Edmonton, Alberta.
LCC is involved with foreign mission efforts in the following countries: Nicaragua, where work begun in 1997 resulted in the founding of the "Iglesia Luterana Sinodo de Nicaragua" (ILSN) in 2008; southeast Asia, where it assists in providing theological education for future pastors in Thailand and Cambodia; and Ukraine, where it partners with the "Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Ukraine" (SELCU) in the training of future pastors at Concordia Seminary in Usatovo (near Odessa) in the southern part of the country.
As of 2009 it has 72,116 baptized members.
See also: List of Christian denominations