Synod of the Lutheran Church in Italy next week

Synod of the Lutheran Church in Italy next week

The first session of the XXIV Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy opens on April 25th

The first session of the XXIV Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy (Celi) will open in Rome on April 25th.

This year the synod activities, which will take place until April 28, also celebrate the 75 years of existence of Celi.

A little bit of history

Born in October 1949, in the aftermath of the Second World War, Celi wanted to support the existence and testimony of the Lutheran communities who found themselves having to face growing material difficulties due to the conflict that had just ended.

The Celi is an ecclesiastical institution under Italian law and a unique case among the Lutheran communities outside German territory: in fact the Lutheran communities abroad, with the exception of the Celi, are considered dependent on the German Evangelical Church (EKD).

75 years and older

The occasion is therefore that of a Synod entrusted with the government of the Church which, this year, will open with a public conference, at the Lutheran Community of Rome, with the ambitious question: what future for Christianity.

A theme that certainly concerns not only the Celi but the various Christian Churches and which combines well with the verse that identifies this year’s Lutheran assembly: Here I am, send me! (Isaiah 6, 8).

The CELI Synods are made up of representatives of the adhering Lutheran communities (15 throughout the country), the pastors or ministers of worship in office; by the extraordinary members who are proposed by the Consistory; representatives of the works recognized by the Synod.

Each Synod constitutes its own presidency, elected from among its lay members, and carries out its mandate for four years with the possibility of renewal. This is why Lutheran Synods are divided into sessions.

The presidents of the Board of Auditors, the Board of Conciliators and the Technical-Financial Commission are part of it with a consultative voice.

At the center of the work of this first session of the XXIV Synod, in addition to various moments dedicated to the 75 years since the foundation of Celi, the elections for the renewal of the presidency of the Synod and part of the Consistory.

On the Celi website you can read real-time updates on the activities, motions and resolutions approved by the Synod.