Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church (Сибирская Евангелическо-Лютеранская Церковь) is a Confessional Lutheran denomination that operates in Russia. It originally grew out of evangelistic efforts by their first bishop Vsevolod Lytkin, who began preaching Christianity in Novosibirsk in the early 1990s. The church was previously affiliated with the Church of Estonia as the 'West Siberian Christian Mission' until it gained administrative autonomy in 2003. On May 6, 2007 Vsevolod Lytkin was consecrated as Presiding Bishop of the SELC by Archbishop Andres Poder along with Jānis Vanags, Kuna Pajula, Mindaugas Sabutis, and Einar Soone in a ceremony at St. Mary's Cathedral, thus granting the SELC full autonomy from the EELC. The SELC participates in the International Lutheran Council and as of July 22, 2013 the SELC has been in full communion with the LCMS.