Josiah Kibira

Josiah Kibira was a bishop in the Lutheran Church in Tanzania. He also served as president of the Lutheran World Federation (1977-1984). In his ministry and leadership, he put forward a view of the Church as both global and local; he brought together the center and the periphery. From a small fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria to the presidency of the Lutheran World Federation, Josiah Kibira knit the concerns of both the local and the global church together into a single garment. He came in contact with numerous strands of the Christian tradition, which drove him to profound theological reflection on the nature and meaning of Christianity for Africa, as well as the significance of Africa for Christianity. Kibira was able to see the potential within different streams of theology, but he also saw the dangers. No one thinker had “the whole truth,” but rather he sought to give all voices a place at the table.