To Rudīte Losāne
Chair of the LLWTA board
Sīpeles iela 15, Riga LV-1058
In Riga
18.06.2010. A.D.
Thank you for both of the LLWTA’s letters. We have received them. We are grateful for the suggestion to postpone the ELCL Synod’s vote on the amendment to the Constitution concerning the question of reserving ordination solely to male candidates. Our Church’s Pastors’ Conference decided on such an amendment on 11 November 2009. In the present situation of our Church, the LLWTA’s view on postponing this question also coincides with the view of the College of Bishops.
For such a postponement of an amendment to the ELCL Constitution to be possible, the possibility of amending the ELCL Constitution under the simplified procedure must be extended, which until the beginning of 2011 is ensured by the Transitional Provisions on the entry into force of the conditions of the current Constitution. In turn, for the Synod to be able to introduce changes or to extend the said provisions, a 2/3 majority must be obtained in the assemblies of all ELCL districts, in accordance with the conditions of Article 76 of the ELCL Constitution. The process of discussing the amendments to the Constitution already submitted is currently ongoing in the districts. So far this question has been put forward and voted on without problems, but the process has not yet concluded. We will learn of this only in October of this year.
Most likely the vote on this pressing question will have to be postponed until the 2013 Synod, also taking into account the fact that the Church currently has many essential tasks to address. We could return to this question after the Synod, which will be held in December of this year.
Respectfully,
Jānis Vanags
Archbishop of Riga