Anne Burghardt new General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation

On 19 June 2021, the Lutheran World Federation Council elected Rev Anne Burghardt, a native of Estonia, to succeed Rev Martin Junge, who will retire from the office of LWF General Secretary on 31 October 2021. Rev Anne Burghardt is currently head of the Department for Development at the Theological Institute of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK) and the church's advisor for international and ecumenical relations. The President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Kurt Cardinal Koch, congratulated the newly elected General Secretary and wished her God's blessing in view of the tasks and challenges ahead.

The Lutheran World Federation Council met virtually from 18 to 23 June 2021. Father Augustinus Sander OSB, who is responsible for relations with Lutherans in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, addressed the participants of the internationally composed assembly in a written greeting. He expressed the hope "that the common study of the [Augsburg Confession] in view of the 500th anniversary of its presentation in 2030 will enable us to discover new ecumenical perspectives".