| Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church | |
| Abbreviation: | CELC |
| Main Classification: | Protestant |
| Orientation: | Lutheran |
| Polity: | Episcopal |
| Associations: | International Lutheran Council |
| Area: | Sri Lanka |
| Branched From: | Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod |
| Congregations: | 16 |
| Members: | 5,000 |
| Ministers Type: | Pastors |
| Ministers: | 4 |
| Churches: | 5 |
| Other Names: | Lanka Lutheran Church |
The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC), formerly known as Lanka Lutheran Church, is a Lutheran body in Sri Lanka.[1] It is a denomination of around 5000 members and has been in fellowship with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) since 2001. It is a full member of the International Lutheran Council.
In the 1927, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod began missionary work in what was then known as Ceylon as an outgrowth of its work in India. The work was centered on the Tamil-speaking Hindus in the tea estate region central Sri Lanka.[2] In 1978, the churches were registered with the Sri Lankan government.[3] In 1998, the LCMS resident missionaries were withdrawn from the country.[4] The name Lanka Lutheran Church was adopted in about the year 2000. In 2001, the Lanka Lutheran Church became a partner church of the LCMS[5] and joined the International Lutheran Council. It also joined the Lutheran World Federation, reporting a membership of 1,200.[6] The church lost its government registration in about 2006. By 2009 it reported having 5,324 baptized members.[7]
In 2013, LCMS missionaries returned and worked to revive the church body. In September 2017, the first convocation of the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church adopted a new constitution; previous constitutions had merely been copies of those of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church. The new name of the church was chosen to show that the Lutheran church had been in the country since at least the 1920s. The convocation also ordained a new pastor for the first time in ten years and established the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Publishing House.
Originally named the Lanka Lutheran Church, leadership of the church was assumed by missionaries of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 2015, and the name was officially changed to the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church in February 2017.[8] The first pastor ordained into the CELC was Rev. P. Gnanakumar, who had served as a vicar in the Lanka Lutheran Church for more than a decade, and was ordained on 2 September 2017 by Rev. Charles Ferry,[9] the LCMS regional director for Asia.[10] On the same day, Rev. Dr. Edward Naumann,[11] LCMS Theological Educator for South Asia, launched the church's official publishing house, the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Publishing House (CELPH).[12] In October 2017 all three pastors of the Lanka Lutheran Church, Rev. Nadaraja, Rev. Arulchelvan, and Rev. Devanesanin, applied and were accepted for membership of the CELC Ministerium, bringing the total number of Sri Lankan pastors to four.
On October 9, 2022, the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC) consecrated its first bishop, Rev. Arumanayagam Arulchelvan. The consecration was conducted by Archbishop Joseph Omolo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), joined also by ELCK Bishops Kispin and Titus.[13]
The CELC has 16 congregations, of which 5 have their own church buildings. Most of the congregations are located in the Central Province, with one each in the Northern, Sabaragamuwa, Uva, and Western provinces.[14]
The CELC is served by four pastors[15] and five evangelists.[16] Given that there are fewer pastors than congregations, the pastors attempt to visit each congregation at least once a month to administer Holy Communion.
The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church is a member of the International Lutheran Council, but has no official relationship with the Lutheran World Federation. On 26 September 2018, the International Lutheran Council received the CELC as a full member, thus bringing international recognition to the CELC.[17] [18]
The CELC Church Order provides for an episcopal polity, which is not considered to be a point of doctrine, as the church works closely with the LCMS, which maintains a congregational polity. According to its governing Church Order, the CELC classifies all clergy of the LCMS and churches in communion with the LCMS as "recognized clergy" who are therefore granted permission to conduct Word and Sacrament ministry in CELC congregations.[19]