CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Juan Cobrda, bishop of the Slovak Zion Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced he will resign as bishop effective Aug. 31, one year earlier than the end of his present term as bishop.
Cobrda, 71, has served nine years as bishop of the synod. He announced his departure in a February letter to members of the Slovak Zion Synod Council. The ELCA Conference of Bishops honored Cobrda for his service when it met March 7-12 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Slovak Zion Synod is the only non-geographic synod of the ELCA's 65 synods. It includes 6,010 Lutherans in 36 congregations scattered from Wisconsin to Connecticut. It is also the only ELCA synod organized on an ethnic basis, with historic roots in Slovakia and the surrounding regions of Eastern Europe. The synod office is at Cobrda's residence in suburban Chicago.
In his resignation letter, Cobrda cited his 44 years of ordained ministry and an ongoing synod restructuring process as reasons for his decision to leave as bishop. A new bishop will be elected at the 2002 Slovak Zion Synod Assembly, June 21-23, at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. Muhlenberg College is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.
"The church's mission on this globe is carried out by dedicated people such as you," Cobrda wrote in his letter to the synod council. "I have enjoyed your presence, concerns, inputs, hard work and dedication during the good and bad times. I thank you for your partnership and support as this important journey of my life comes to an end."
Cobrda was born in Pribovce Turiec, Czechoslovakia. He began his career in ministry in 1954, serving as a lay preacher at two Slovak- Spanish congregations in Berisson and Buenos Aires, Argentina until 1958.
From 1955 to 1958, Cobrda attended Lutheran Theological Seminary, Jose C. Paz, Buenos Aires, and in 1959 he attended Hamma School of Theology, Springfield, Ohio.
He was ordained by the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (UELC) in 1958 and served as that church's bishop from 1966 to 1976. He served as a vice president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) from 1970 to 1977. The LWF is a global communion of 133 Lutheran churches in 73 countries, representing more than 60 million Lutherans.
In 1984 he earned a master of sacred theology degree at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP). In 1988 he earned a master of divinity degree at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. LTSP and Trinity are among eight ELCA seminaries.
From 1975 to 1993, Cobrda served as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Trenton, N.J.; El Redentor Inglesia, Buenos Aires; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, (Firestone) Akron, Ohio; and Trinity Slovak Lutheran Church, Chicago. He was first elected Slovak Zion Synod bishop in 1993 and was re-elected to a six-year term as synod bishop in 1997.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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