First Lutheran Bishop in
Costa Rica
Melvin Jiménez was
consecrated as the first
Lutheran bishop in Costa
Rica at a ceremony at
the Lutheran church in
San José.
Jiménez is a graduate of
sociology at the
Universidad de Costa
Rica (UCR) and has a
master's degree in
theology from the
Lutheran School of
Theology in Chicago.
Jiménez was consecrated
by Medardo Gómez,
Lutheran bishop of San
Salvador, at a service
attended by Lutheran
bishops from the U.S.,
Germany, Sweden, El
Salvador and Nicaragua,
along with Anglican
bihops from El Salvador
and Costa Rica.
The Lutheran presence in
Costa Rica began in 1963
with the arrival of
missionaries from the
USA. It was not until
1988, when a group of
Costa Rican Lutherans
began the first
congregation with a
volunteer "Pastoral
Team" and also developed
a diaconic program with
several indigenous
communities.
In 1992 three persons
were ordained and in
1995 two pastors were
called to full-time
ministry. At the present
time, the Lutheran
Church in Costa Rica (ILCO)
has 8 congregation and
17 missions. There are a
total of 1100 members.
Jiménez was ordained as
a minister in 1990,
becoming president of
the Lutheran Church of
Costa Rica in 2000. |
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