The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land, has been elected president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) July 24 at the LWF Assembly in Stuttgart. The LWF comprises 145 member churches in 79 countries, representing more than 70,1 million Lutheran Christians worldwide.

Younan received 300 votes affirming his election, 23 against and 37 abstentions. There were no other nominees.

Younan succeeds the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), who has been president of the LWF since its 2003 assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. Since 1998 Younan headed the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) as their bishop. He studied Theology in Finland and in the United States. The ELKJHL has nearly 2’000 members with six churches in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahur, Ramallah and Amman.

In 2003 Younan was elected as one of four vice-presidents of the LWF. He is a co-founder of the Council of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land (CRIHL), made up of the two chief rabbis of Israel, heads of the local churches, the Chief Judge of the Islamic Court in Palestine and other Muslim leaders. Younan is also a member of the executive committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).

The Palestinian bishop, born September 18, 1950 in Jerusalem, is married and has three children. Younan is still holder of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) refugee status card.

At the press conference following his election, he told journalists that "we should encourage Arab Christians to stay in Arab countries. For what is the Holy Land without Christians?"

Whether or not the state of Israel has "theological meaning", Younan said in reply to a journalist’s question, is not a pressing concern for him. Today "our concern in the Middle East is fear of Israelis and fear of Palestinians." It is essential, he said, that whatever theological view is adopted, "it does not impede the progress of justice. I want justice for Israel and justice for Palestine."

Representing nearly 70,1 million Christians, the LWF is the third largest Christian world communion, following the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox churches. The Lutherans confess the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the only source and norm of their doctrine, life and service. The Augsburg Confession and the Small Catechism of Martin Luther are considered as a pure exposition of the Word of God.