“If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). A few weeks ago, we noted that a growing number of young persons in the West are discovering historic Christianity for its beauty and faithful propagation of the Word-centered around Jesus Christ. This has been a phenomenon in the U.S. for several years now. An increasing number of young men and women in Europe, too, want to be connected to something bigger. Their search begins on the Internet, where they discover winsome and prolific pastors, many of whom are from the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Quite logically, these “seekers” next look for an LCMS sister church in their home country. Lorenzo Murrone and Joshua Salas, who reside in Rome, are part of this exciting movement. But after discovering muscular Christianity in confessional Lutheranism, their passion took them one step further: they wanted to serve the Lord vocationally as well. As such, four years ago they enrolled in the first cohort of the English program of Riga Luther Academy (https://www.lut.edu.lv/studies-in-english), the LCMS-supported online seminary in Latvia. Faculty members back then were Revs. Drs. John Bombaro, Charles Cortright, and Arthur Just, and I. We pastors had the great privilege of instructing this first class in the Fall semester of 2021. Joshua and Lorenzo excelled in their studies, as did their classmates. In addition, these men are greatly contributing to the growth of confessional Lutheranism by translating the Divine Service liturgy and many classic Lutheran hymns into Italian—in a country dominated by Roman Catholicism. Tomorrow, God willing, they will be ordained, receiving their first calls from the Chiesa Luterana Confessionale d’Italia (Confessional Lutheran Church of Italy). Welcome to the pastoral brotherhood, Joshua and Lorenzo, and may the Lord bless you as you share our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament with the wonderful people of Italy. It is a noble task indeed!
You can watch the beautiful ordination service here.
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The Tiews in Germany 