To Recognize Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church of Bolivia

Official Workbook overture source text

5-01 
To Recognize Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with 
Evangelical Lutheran Christian Church of Bolivia 
Preamble 
Iglesia Cristiana Evangelica Luterana, the Evangelical Lutheran 
Christian Church (ICEL) has its roots in the work of the Norwegian 
Lutheran Mission (NLM) that began in the 1970’s, primarily in 
rural, Quechua-speaking areas of southern Bolivia. NLM built an  
infrastructure for its missionaries and mission work in Bolivia, 
including a retreat center and office in Cochabamba and a training 
center and radio station in Sucre. Internal migration from the rural 
areas to the large cities spurred development of congr egations in 
several of the major cities. The congregations affiliated with NLM 
formed an independent church body (ICEL) in 1997. Its first 
president was a layman, Mario Delgado. 
Mr. Delgado received the first visit of the Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod (LCMS) from then area secretary Rev. Douglas 
Rutt. Rev. Rutt connected ICEL with the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church of Brazil (IELB) which invited a delegation of ICEL to visit 
a conference on mission in Brazil in 2000 in São Paulo. This 
represented ICEL’s first contact with a confessional Lutheran 
church body in Latin America, and eventually led to IELB President 
Carlos Winterle signing an agreement of altar and pulpit fellowship 
with the ICEL in 2002. At this time, ICEL also began participating 
as an observer in regional meetings of the International Lutheran 
Council (ILC). There was also contact with and support from 
LCMS sister churches in Chile and Argentina. 
NLM had established a training school in Sucre, Bolivia called 
CLET Centro Luterano de Estudios Teológicos, Lutheran Center of 
Theological Studies (CLET) as well as a more advanced seminary 
in Arequipa, Peru called Seminario Teológico Luterano 
Latinoamericano, Latin American Lutheran Theological Seminary 
(SETELA). When the NLM closed the program at CLET (for 
financial reasons), ICEL began to seek other possibilities for 
theological education of future pastors. While ICEL remains 
thankful for the mission endeavors of NLM in Bolivia, ICEL no 
longer has a formal relationship with NLM. 
The LCMS Office of International Mission (OIM) began working 
indirectly with ICEL in 2012 when 20 scholarships were awarded 
to Seminario Concordia of Buenos Aires, Argentina for the purpose 
of forming pastors for the Argentine Evangelical Lutheran Church 
(IELA), partner churches and others —including four Bolivian 
pastors. At the same time, Luther Academy began to offer two 
courses a year in Bolivia, taught by professors such as Rev. Cristian 
Rautenberg and Rev. Omar Kinas of Chile and Rev. Mark Braden 
of the LCMS. When Concordia El Reformador Seminary (CMSCR) 
opened in 2017 in Santiago, Dominican Republic, three Bolivian 
students transferred to that institution. Presidents of ICEL have 
regularly attended all annual CMSCR symposia. 
In September 2018, a delegation of OIM pastors attended the 
ordination of Rev. Osmel Soliz, one of the first Bolivian graduates 
of the seminary scholarship program. The liturgy followed the 
historic ordo and the ordination rite included a quia subscription to 
the Lutheran Confessions. The delegation, including Rev. Ted 
Krey, Rev. Dr. Arthur Just, and Rev. James Sharp, also engaged in 
informal discussions with members of the ministerium and the 
national council of ICEL about issues such as the Sacraments, th e 
office of the Holy Ministry, and worship. In 2019, Bolivia was 
included as one of the countries under Rev. Sharp’s responsibility 
in order to facilitate continued communication between ICEL and 
OIM.  
In May 2020, ICEL presented a document on the office of the Holy 
Ministry signed by the entire Bolivian ministerium to Rev. Krey and 
Rev. Joel Fritsche. This document affirmed the scriptural and 
confessional doctrine of the pastoral office and represented ICEL’s 
firm commitment to move away from its pietistic theological roots. 
CMSCR began monthly zoom lectures with ICEL leaders/pastors 
which included Scriptural and confessional teaching on the office 
of the Holy Ministry and other topics. At a 2021 meeting of the ILC 
in Mexico City, the ICEL asked the IELB to ordain the (previously 
un-ordained) ministerium of ICEL, since the two church bodies had 
already been in altar and pulpit fellowship since 2002. As part of 
their ordination oaths, each ICEL pastor confessed the Old and New 
Testament Scriptures to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God, 
the only rule for all faith and life, and a quia subscription to the 
Lutheran Confessions as a true and faithful exposition of the Holy 
Scripture. 
LCMS observers, including the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Shaw, LCMS 
Director of Church Relations, were present for this and related 
events. During the first -ever LCMS FORO with ICEL held March 
23–24, 2022, in Sucre, Rev. Dr. Shaw presented copies of Luther’s 
Small Catechism in Quechua, a first for ICEL. During and after the 
March 25–26, 2022, ICEL National Convention, Rev. Dr. Shaw met 
with the Rev. Limberth Fernández, ICEL President, and the ICEL 
Executive Committee for ICEL -LCMS exploratory fellowship 
discussions, which included discussion of the basis for church 
fellowship, i.e., agreement in the Gospel in all its articles founded 
on the authority of Holy Scripture and the testimony of the Lutheran 
Confessions. In June 2022, President Fernández wrote to President 
Matthew Harrison requesting formal fellowship discussions with 
the LCMS. 
A Bolivia dialogue team was appointed by President Harrison 
consisting of LCMS representatives Rev. Dr. Shaw, Rev. Dr. Joel 
Lehenbauer, Rev. Mark Braden, Rev. Michael Frese, and Rev. 
James Sharp. The first round of official fellowship talks with ICEL 
was h eld in St. Louis in April 2023, followed by an initial 
familiarization overview and discussion with the CTCR on April 
13. A second round of official fellowship discussions was held in 
Cochabamba, Bolivia, in April 2024. These dialogues exhibited a 
remarkable unity in doctrine and practice. By this time, the ICEL 
Constitution and Religious Canon had been revised to reflect a 
confessional Lutheran understanding of church and ministry, a 
commitment to the entirety of the Book of Concord as a true and 
faithful exposition of the Holy Scripture, and clear processes for 
ICEL to walk and work together as a church body in witness, 
service, and fellowship.  
A third round of official fellowship discussions took place in 
February 2025, with President Fernández meeting with the CTCR