Confession of Faith
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania is a member of the Body of Christ and her special mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to administer the Holy sacraments.
The church confesses the Old and New Testament Canonical Scriptures to be the inspired word of God and the only norm of Christian Doctrine and life. It confesses the Apostolic Symbol, the Niceo – Constantinopolian Symbol and the Athanasian Symbol to be doctrinally correct summaries of the teachings of the Holy Scripture. The church’s confession belief and teaching is regulated according to the Symbolical contents of the writings in the Lutheran Book of Concord, which are understood to be an accurate and suitable summary of the teachings of the word of God. In addition to the ecumenical creed noted above included in the Book of Concord are:
Concord means harmony and agreement among evangelical Lutheran Christians concerning the teachings of the Word of God, both Law and Gospel. The Church firmly holds its Lutheran Doctrinal position as set forth in the Book of Concord, not in so far as (quatenus) it agrees with the Word of God, but because (quia) it agrees fully with the word of God, the unchanging standard (norma normans) of Christian teaching. Methods of Biblical interpretation which conflict with this doctrinal position are rejected.
The evangelical Lutheran church in Lithuania is an independent church free of Governmental control and regulation with regard to its teaching, confession and worship. The church is registered and fully recognized as an historical Christian church with full rights by the Lithuanian Government. Its form of church government is episcopal-synodical. The synod representing all parishes and clergy meets every 5 years. The consistory consisting of clergy and laity selected for service by the bishop and the synod regulates in collaboration with the bishop all church activity between meetings of the synod.
All evangelical Lutheran congregations in Lithuania hold membership in the ELCL, and fraternal relations are maintained with Lithuanian Lutherans living abroad.
Parishes are geographical in nature in which the pure Gospel is proclaimed and the Sacraments are administered. The parishes are not regarded as independent, autonomous organizations, but as the Lithuanian Lutheran Church in a given place.
No associations with other groups either at home or abroad are allowed to in any way modify or negate the churches staunch doctrinal position and practice.