At present, discussions are taking place in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia about establishing the office of deacon, reserving the office of deacon for men.
The Lutheran World Federation has published a document (2012) on diaconal ministry in the life of the congregation, which describes the history of diaconal ministry, its development over the course of history, and in the Lutheran tradition. We invite you to familiarize yourself with this document (link here).
(Download the document in .pdf format)
The document describes diaconal ministry in the first centuries of Christianity and its development in the present day. The Augsburg Confession (articles 5 and 14) establishes that the ordained office includes the ministry of the Word and Sacrament, that is, the ministry of a pastor. Accordingly, in the Lutheran movement of the 16th and 17th centuries, the office of deacon disappeared.
Only in the 19th century did it gradually begin to develop in Germany, the Netherlands, and Northern Europe – not as an office, but as a service to those who at some point in their life had fallen into difficulty. Thus diaconal ministry in the Lutheran congregation began to take place in hospitals, schools, and work with immigrants.
Does the LELB plan to follow the Lutheran tradition or the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church in its decision-making, which ordains only men to the office of deacon? We will very likely be able to judge this after next year’s LELB Synod.