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Gay Cleric Nominated for Bishop
Abstract: Will the North Elbian Synod elect the first gay Lutheran Bishop?
At the end of September, Bishop Hans Christian Knuth who heads the Schleswig Diocese of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church will retire. His successor will be elected on July 12 by the North Elbian Synod, the 140-member "parliament" of the North Elbian Church.
The church's election committee has put forward two nominees: Gerhard Ullrich and Horst Gorski (pictured). Pr. Gorski is gay, and if elected, would become the first openly gay Lutheran bishop in Germany.
While Pr. Gorski's nomination has become the subject of much conversation, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) (of which the North Elbian Church is a member) has declined to intervene.
According to LWF General Secretary Reverend Ishmael Noko: This is a pastoral issue that each church individually must deal with. We have no position on this issue at the moment.
