Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria


The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria is a major Lutheran denomination in Nigeria, a member of the Lutheran World Federation.
It was established as an independent church in 1913 from the Sudan United Mission, Danish Branch, known today as Mission Afrika. The LCCN now has 2,200,000 members in over 2,400 congregations nationwide. Members of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria are among the Christians and members of other religious groups being persecuted by Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization.
The Archbishop of the LCCN, Dr Panti Filibus Musa, was elected to become the 13th President of the Lutheran World Federation on the 14th of May 2017 at Safari Hotel in Windhoek Namibia during the 12th Assembly of the LWF.

History

The SUMD first sent missionaries to Africa in 1913 with the pioneers being Niels Brønnum, his wife Margaret C. Young, and Dagmar Rose. Brønnum's wife died shortly after arriving and Rose brought back the Brønnum's infant son to Europe. Brønnum continued his work and established a mission in Numan.
The mission eventually expanded and in 1948, the first five indigenous Nigerian pastors were ordained. By 1955, it was known as the Lutheran Church of Christ in the Sudan and in 1956 became independent as the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria with Pilgaard Pedersen as its first President. In 1960, Akila Todi was elected the first indigenous Nigerian president of the Church. He was made bishop in 1973 when the church adopted a modified episcopal polity.

Structure

The LCCN is led by an archbishop and is further divided into nine dioceses, each led by a bishop. The headquarters of the LCCN is in Numan. The current archbishop is the Most Revd Musa Panti Filibus PhD.

Dioceses

When the LCCN was established in 1956, the title of the head of the Church was president. The title was changed to bishop in 1973 and with the establishment of diocesan bishops within the LCCN, the title was again changed to Archbishop in 1997.
The LCCN participates in ecumenical work through its affiliation with:
The LCCN also works in partnership with: