Kazakhstan

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Who is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan and what are its ministries?

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Kazakhstan (ELCRK) is a regional church of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States (ELCROS), which is a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). ELCRK has 54 congregations and congregational groups which are united in 6 affiliates. In 2006, there were 11 pastors and 33 preachers working in the church. Education is done at the Lutheran Spiritual Seminary in Astana.

The ELCRK supports partnership relationships with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Westphalia in Germany. 

For more information, see ELCROS.

How do the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America accompany one another in ministry?

Through the churchwide ELCA Global Mission unit, the ELCA relates to and is in bilateral relationship with over 80 companion churches and institutions. The ELCA Global Mission unit stewards a church-to-church relationship with ELCROS, of which the ELCRK is a part.

The relationship with the ELCRK is deepened and extended by its relationship, through the ELCA Companion Synods program, with the Southern Ohio Synod.

Kazakhstan: the context in which the ELCRK serves

Kazakhstan has been a presidential republic since 1991, when it became the last Soviet republic to declare its independence. Approximately 15.3 million people live in Kazakhstan, only slightly more than half of whom are Kazakh by ethnicity. The state language is Kazakh, but Russian is still widely spoken.

Between 1991 and 2006 the Kazakh economy experienced a decrease in the proportion of agriculture and industry to that of the service sector in the country’s GDP. Kazakhstan currently has the fastest growing economy in the Middle East and has established its economic position on the international stage. Kazakhstan has a long tradition in heavy industry. especially in metallurgy and mechanical engineering related to raw materials resources. The auto, rubber making, armament, energy and consumer goods industries are very important, as are traditional industries such as glass-making. However, unemployment fluctuates around 10% and is preconditioned by the level of education of Kazakh workers. Tendencies of long-term unemployment are increasing for the physically challenged and older age groups.