Second World War, when Latvia was occupied and incorporated into the Soviet Union
, the archbishop and 131 (being 55%) of the clergy went to exile. In 2020 the church changed its name to the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Worldwide (LELCW; Latvijas Evaņģēliski luterisko Baznīcu pasaulē).
In 2014 it was announced that Lauma Lagzdiņš Zuševics, an American, was the first woman elected Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad.[1][2]
In 2016, the church established itself within Latvia, and Archbishop Zuševics stated that it would have to change its name accordingly.[3] Later that year the Evangelical Cross Congregation of Liepāja left the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (LELB/ELCL) and joined the LELBA/LELCA instead due to its support for the ordination of women which the LELB/ELCL had banned the previous week.[4] The split between the two churches thus became less geographic and more theological.