Lutheran World Federation

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; ) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of Lund in the aftermath of the Second World War in 1947 to coordinate the activities of the many differing Lutheran churches. Since 1984, the member churches are in pulpit and altar fellowship, with common doctrine as the basis of membership and mission activity.

The LWF now has 150 member church bodies in 99 countries representing over 78 million Lutherans; as of 2023, it was the sixth-largest Christian communion (see list of denominations by membership). The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.

The Department for World Service is the LWF's humanitarian and development arm. It has programmes in 24 countries and is the UNHCR ninth largest implementing partner. The LWF is a member of ACT Alliance.

On 31 October 1999, in Augsburg, Germany, the LWF signed the ''Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification'' with the Roman Catholic Church. The ''Catholic–Lutheran dialogue'' is a series of discussions that began during July 1964 as an outgrowth of the Second Vatican Council. The statement is an attempt to narrow the theological divide between the two faiths. The declaration also states that the mutual condemnations between 16th-century Catholic church and Lutheranism no longer apply. A similar event took place in Lund Cathedral on 31 October 2016, the 499th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, with the signing of the ''Statement on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan in a special Catholic-Lutheran dialogue''.

In 2016, 119 of the 145 member churches (80%) ordain women as ministers. Provided by Wikipedia