Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania
Kanisa la Kiinjili la Kilutheri Tanzania
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheran
Polity	Modified episcopal polity with some powers reserved to the congregation as in congregationalism
Leader	Rev.ALEX GEHAZ MALASUSA
Associations	Global Forum, LWF, LUCCEA. AACC, WCC, CCT, ACT, MAF, TCRS
Region	Tanzania and Zanzibar
Headquarters	Arusha, Tanzania
Origin	June 19, 1963 [1]
Branched from	Federation of Lutheran Churches in Tanganyika
Congregations	1,104
Members	7,916,253 (2020)[2]
Ministers	1,500
Official website	http://www.elct.org/

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT; Swahili: Kanisa la Kiinjili la Kilutheri Tanzania) is the federation of Lutheran churches in Tanzania and one of the largest Lutheran denominations in the world, with more than 6 million members, or 13% of the Tanzanian population. It is the second largest Lutheran church in the world and the largest Lutheran church in East Africa.^[3][4]

The church is led by a presiding bishop and twenty-eight diocesan bishops, representing 28 dioceses. The head office of the church is in Arusha, where it has owned the New Safari Hotel since 1967. The church is affiliated with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the Christian Council of Tanzania, the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum, and the Lutheran World Federation.

The ELCT is an organization which reaches out to the people of Tanzania offering worship opportunities, Christian education, and numerous social services, including disaster response, healthcare, and AIDS education and relief.^[5]