# Leonard Auala
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{{Short description|Namibian Lutheran Church leader}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Bishop
| honorific_prefix = {{pre-nominal styles|Revd}}
| name = Leonard Auala
| title = Bishop
| image = Leonard-Auala-1967.jpg
| alt =
| caption = 1967
| church = [Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_Namibia)
| archdiocese =
| diocese =
| see =
| term = 1963–1979
| predecessor =
| successor =
| ordination =
| ordinated_by =
| consecration =
| consecrated_by =
| rank =
| birth_date = 25 September 1908
| birth_place = Iiyale, [Oniipa](/source/Oniipa), [Ovamboland](/source/Ovamboland), [German South West Africa](/source/German_South_West_Africa)[''Kutsu Helsingin yliopiston teologisen tiedekunnan tohtoripromootioon marraskuun 2. päivänä 1967'', p. 32. Helsinki, 1967.]
| death_date = 4 December, 1983
| death_place = [Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital](/source/Onandjokwe_Lutheran_Hospital),[{{cite book | author=Ihamäki, Kirsti | title=Leonard Auala: Mustan Namibian paimen | location=Helsinki | publisher=Kirjaneliö | year=1985 | isbn=951-600-677-9 | pages=270–271}}] [South West Africa](/source/South_West_Africa)
| previous_post =
}}
'''Leonard Nangolo Auala''' (25 September 1908, Iiyale, [Oniipa](/source/Oniipa), [Ovamboland](/source/Ovamboland), [German South West Africa](/source/German_South_West_Africa) – 4 December 1983, [Onandjokwe](/source/Onandjokwe), South West Africa[{{cite book
|title= Ondjokonona yaasita naateolohi muELCIN 1925–1992
|trans-title = ‘Register of ELCIN Clergy 1925–1992’
|last= Nambala
|first= Shekutaamba V. V.
|year= 1995
|publisher= ELCIN
|location= Oniipa, Namibia
|isbn=
|pages= 58–59
}}]) was a [Namibia](/source/Namibia)n [Lutheran Church](/source/Lutheran_Church) leader.
==Early life==
Auala was born in [Oniipa](/source/Oniipa), [Ovamboland](/source/Ovamboland), [German South West Africa](/source/German_South_West_Africa). He was the son of Nakanyala Vilho yaAwala (Shihwa) waAmukwiyu and Nekwaya Loide yaShikongo shaNangolo dhaAmutenya.[[https://www.namibian.com.na/bishop-auala-centenary/ Bishop Auala Centenary.] ''The Namibian'', 25 September, 2008.] He went to primary school in Oniipa between 1919 and 1929, and between 1929 and 1931 he attended the local teacher training seminary there. During 1934–35, he studied at [Augustineum, Okahandja](/source/Augustineum%2C_Okahandja), 1934–35, and he received theological training in [Elim](/source/Elim%2C_Namibia) in 1942, when he was ordained a pastor. He received further theological training at the Moravian Theological Seminary in [Port Elizabeth](/source/Port_Elizabeth), South Africa, during 1956–57.[{{cite web
| url = http://www.elcinorg.com/founders/
| title = Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) — Founders
| date = 2021
| work = ELCIN home pages
| publisher = ELCIN
| accessdate = 4 September 2022
}}]
==Career==
Auala was consecrated a bishop in 1963 by visiting Bishop [Eelis Gulin](/source/Eelis_Gulin) from [Tampere](/source/Tampere), Finland, in connection of the Church General Synod, incorporating the [Evangelical Lutheran Owambo-Kavango Church](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Owambo-Kavango_Church) (ELOC) into the Swedish–Finnish line of [apostolic succession](/source/apostolic_succession).[{{cite web |title=Eastern Diocese |url=https://www.elcinorg.com/eastern-diocese/ |publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia |access-date=15 April 2026 |date=2024}}]
Auala was the first Namibian bishop of the [Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_Namibia) (ELCIN), a member of the [Lutheran World Federation](/source/Lutheran_World_Federation). He lived most of his life under [South African rule](/source/South_West_Africa). As a prominent religious leader for both the [Ovambo people](/source/Ovambo_people) and other groups across Namibia, Auala met regularly with the South Africans to discuss issues like [contract labour](/source/contract_labour) and other facets of [apartheid](/source/South_Africa_under_apartheid).[[http://dacb.org/stories/namibia/auala-leonard/ Leonard Auala] at the Dictionary of African Christian Biography.] A member of the [South West Africa People's Organization](/source/SWAPO), he received threats and harassment from the South African occupiers.
==Personal life==
Auala was married to Aina Aluhe yaSakeus from 1935 on. They had 10 children, six sons and four daughters.