The President of the Lutheran World Federation will visit the Faculty of Theology of the University of Latvia
On 31 January 2015 at 12:00, the representative of the highest-level administration and spiritual leader of the Lutheran church – President of the Lutheran World Federation Bishop Munib A. Younan will deliver a guest lecture in the Small Hall of the University of Latvia
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is an association of Lutheran churches comprising 145 member churches in 79 countries, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia, encompassing 70 million of the world’s Lutherans. The LWF was founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, to join forces in providing aid to those who suffered in the Second World War. The LWF Secretariat is currently located in Geneva, alongside the global church organizations – the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches.
The visit to Latvia by the head of the LWF – its President Bishop Munib A. Younan – is a very significant event, organized by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. In cooperation with the University of Latvia Faculty of Theology, a public lecture by M. A. Younan has been organized on a topic that is especially timely in light of recent events and touches on the relations between politics, religion and society. “What should Europe and Latvia know about the religious situation in the Middle East and other ‘hot spots’?” The lecture will take place on Saturday, 31 January, at 12:00 in the Small Hall of the University of Latvia, in English. Everyone interested is invited to attend and to put their questions to the LWF President.
Bishop Munib A. Younan was elected to the office of LWF President on 24 July 2010 and is the 12th LWF President. He studied diaconia in Järvenpää, Finland, theology at the University of Helsinki, carried out scholarly research work at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, USA, and is an honorary doctor of Wartburg College (USA) and the University of Münster. Bishop Younan is a distinguished advocate for inter-religious dialogue, peace and justice in Palestine and Israel. His contribution in the fields of inter-religious relations, ecumenism and reconciliation has been internationally recognized with various honors and awards.
More about the Lutheran World Federation, its mission and its work can be found here: www.lutheranworld.org