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Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina
Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Argentina
Abbreviation	IELA
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheran
Theology	Confessional Lutheran
President	Rev. Arturo Truenow
Region	Argentina
Headquarters	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Origin	1986
Branched from	Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
Congregations	231
Members	27,890 baptized; 20,631 confirmed
Ministers	73
Official website	iela.org.ar

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (Spanish: Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Argentina, IELA) is a conservative, confessional Lutheran synod that holds to the Book of Concord. It has about 27.890 members. The IELA is a member of the International Lutheran Council.

History

The IELA had its beginnings in November 1905 in Aldea San Juan, Entre Ríos Province in northeastern Argentina, when missionaries from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) began mission work among the Russian-German immigrants there. In the 1920s, additional work was undertaken in Chaco Province among Russian-German immigrants from the Volga region of Russia.^[2]

The work in Argentina was originally part of the Brazilian District of the LCMS, which later became the independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil. The congregations in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile were placed in a new Argentine District in 1926/1927. The IELA became an independent church body in 1986.^[3]

Educational institutions

Seminary training was conducted at Porto Alegre, Brazil, until 1942, when what is now known as Seminario Concordia was established in Villa Ballester. The seminary moved to the José León Suárez suburb of Buenos Aires in 1948.^[4] Pre-seminary training was originally given at Colegio Concordia, which was established in 1926 in Crespo, Entre Ríos. That training was incorporated into the Seminario Concordia in 1950. A preparatory school named Colegio Concordia was opened in 1956 at Obera, Misiones.^[3]

References

^ "Argentina - Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina". International Lutheran Council. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
^ Cruz, Joel Morales (2014). The Histories of the Latin American Church: A Handbook. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. pp. 118–119. ISBN 9781451465648. Archived from the original on 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
^ ^a ^b Lueker, Erwin L.; Poellot, Luther; Jackson, Paul, eds. (2000). "Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Districts of The". Archived copy. Christian Cyclopedia (Online ed.). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Seminario Concordia, José L. Suárez, Buenos Aires". The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.