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Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Española

Spanish Lutheran bishop passes on to glory

Former IELE Bishop José Luis de Miguel.

SPAIN – On February 14, 2023, Rev. José Luis de Miguel of the Spanish Evangelical Lutheran Church (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Española – IELE) entered into glory. Rev. Luis was the first Spanish-born pastor to lead the Lutheran church in Spain—a role in which he served until shortly before his death when his health declined due to cancer.

Bishop Luis studied for the pastoral ministry at Seminario Concordia El Reformador in the Dominican Republic. He was ordained in 2017, after having first been made a deacon in 2012. In 2020, he was named the Spanish church’s first bishop, although the consecration could not take place until 2021 because of the pandemic.

In addition to serving the church, Rev. Luis also worked for the Spanish Association Against Cancer.

After Bishop Luis became ill, the Spanish church held an extraordinary convention on February 4, 2023 to elect a new leader. Rev. Felipe Lobo Arranz was selected to guide the church as president during this time of transition.

In a video address to the church following Bishop Luis’ death, President Lobo noted that the news had been very hard for the church. Expressing his condolences to the former bishop’s wife and children, President Lobo went on to say that the whole church “remembers him fondly, knowing that we will soon see each other again—that soon we will all be together with Christ, where [Bishop Luis] is right now, watching Him and contemplating Him.”

IELE President Felipe Lobo Arranz.

President Lobo encouraged members of the church to take comfort in the knowledge of the resurrection, pointing them to the promises of God in 1 Corinthians 15. “The reality of life is certain; the reality of death is certain,” he said. “But just as true is the reality of resurrection.”

Those who know Christ, President Lobo said, can look forward in hope to eternal life with Christ: “Remember that death has been defeated by Jesus Christ on the cross of calvary.”

The IELE grew out of mission efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (IELA), which was later supplemented by missionary support from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Today the Spanish church has four congregations and, following the death of Bishop Luis, three Spanish-born pastors, as well as the support of one LCMS missionary.

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Lutherans in Spain welcome new bishop

IELE Bishop José Luis de Miguel (fifth from left) and those participating in his consecration.

Rev. Luis kneels as he is consecrated bishop of the IELE.

SPAIN – On October 9, 2021, the Spanish Evangelical Lutheran Church (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Española – IELE) celebrated the consecration of its new bishop, Rev. José Luis de Miguel, during the church’s Annual Assembly in El Escorial.

Bishop Luis has been a pastor in the Spanish church for four years. A worker-priest, he also serves as a health promotion technician for the Spanish Association Against Cancer. He succeeds Rev. David Warner, a missionary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), to become the first native-born Spaniard to lead the church in Spain.

“Lutheranism has always developed in Spain through foreign missions, mainly from Argentina and the United States,” the IELE noted in a release. “The installation of the new bishop is a sign of the maturation of the Spanish Lutheran church.”

The multi-language consecration service featured involvement from churches in Finland, Portugal, and the United States, as well as from LCMS missionaries stationed in other regions. Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF), President Adalberto Hiller of the Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELP), and Fifth Vice President Christopher Esget of the LCMS all participated in the service, together with Rev. James Krikava (LCMS Eurasia Director), Rev. Joel Fritche (LCMS Dominican Republic), LCMS pastor Fred Gaede, and other church representatives.

Participants in the IELE’s 2021 Annual Assembly.

The 2021 Annual Assembly also featured the ordination and installation of a new pastor, as well as a lecture by Rev. Dr. Arthur Just of Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne, Indiana), who spoke on “Mercy in the Gospel of St. Luke.”

The IELE has four congregations and approximately 100 members. The church first began to emerge in the 1990s, when Spaniards interested in Lutheranism made contact with Lutherans in France. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina (IELA) subsequently began to send missionary pastors to Spain in 2000, followed later by missionaries from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

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