Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania


The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is the federation of Lutheran churches in Tanzania and one of the largest Lutheran denomination in the world with more than 6 million members.
The church is led by a presiding bishop and twenty-five diocesan bishops, representing 25 dioceses, and has a membership of more than 6.5 million. The Head Office of the Church is in Arusha, where it has owned the New Safari Hotel since 1967. The church is affiliated with the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Christian Council of Tanzania, the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum, and the Lutheran World Federation.
The ELCT is an organization which reaches out to the people of Tanzania offering worship opportunities, Christian education, and numerous social services.

History

In 1938, seven Lutheran churches founded a federation known as the Federation of Lutheran Churches in Tanganyika. On June 19, 1963, the churches merged to become a single church known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.
In 1964, Johannes Lilje, then presiding bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, consecrated Stefano Moshi, who had been elected as the first president of the newly formed church body and who had been an advocate for the establishment of episcopacy, as the first presiding bishop of the ELCT.

Divisions

The ELCT decided to establish a relationship with the North American Lutheran Church, and both churches approved a "Memorandum of Understanding" at the Convocation held at August 2013, paving the way for full communion between the two churches.