The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide (LELCW; Latvian: Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca pasaulē (LELBP)) is a Lutheran denomination with a presence in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela. Until 2020 it was known as the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (LELCA; Latvian: Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca ārpus Latvijas (LELBĀL)).
In 2014, Lauma Lagzdiņš Zuševics, an American, was the first woman elected Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad.[1][2]
In 2016, the church established itself within Latvia, and Archbishop Zuševics stated that it would have to change its name accordingly.[3] Later that year the Evangelical Cross Congregation of Liepāja left the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB/ELCL) and joined the LELBA/LELCA instead due to its support for the ordination of women which the LELB/ELCL had banned the previous week.[4] The split between the two churches thus became less geographic and more theological. In October 2020, the church changed its name to the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide.
