Christian Cyclopedia

Union and Unity Movements in the United States, Lutheran.

Until ca. the middle of the 18th c., attempts to organize Luths. in the US gen. did not go beyond the cong. level.

The Ministerium of Pennsylvania was organized 1748 (see United Lutheran Church in America, The, Synods of, 22; abbreviated ULC, Syns. of in the rest of this par.), Ministerium of New York 1786 (see ULC, Syns. of, 15), Ev. Luth. Syn. and Ministerium of North Carolina 1803 (see ULC,; Syns. of, 10, 16), Ohio Syn. 1818 (see Ohio and Other States, The Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of), Maryland and Virginia Syn. 1820 (see ULC, syns. of, 11, 29), Tennessee Syn. 1820 (see Henkels, The, 2, 3; ULC, Syns. of 10, 16). Others followed.

Next step was organization of syns. into larger bodies. The General* Syn. of the Ev. Luth. Ch. in the USA organized 1820, suffered under tensions of war and liberal-conservative conflict in the 1860s. The General* Council of the Ev. Luth. Ch. in N. Am. organized 1867, The United* Syn. of the Ev. Luth. Ch. in the South 1886.

These 3 larger groups united 1918 in The United* Luth. Ch. in Am.

The Mo. Syn. organized 1847 (see Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, The), the Synodical* Conf. 1872. For related efforts toward doctrinal unity with others see, e.g., Brief Statement; Chicago Theses (1925); Common Confession.

The The American* Luth. Ch. (ALC) organized 1930.

For union and unity movements among Norwegians see Anti-Missouri Brotherhood; Eielsen Synod; Evangelical Lutheran Church, The; Hauge Synod; Madison Settlement; Norwegian-Danish Augustana Synod in America, The; United Norwegian Lutheran Church in America, The.

For similar movements among Swedes see Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church; Baptist Churches, 18; Evangelical Covenant Church, The; Evangelical Free Church of America; Illinois, Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Northern.

For similar movements among Danes see Danish Lutherans in America.

For similar movements among Finns see Finnish Lutherans in America.

American* The Luth. Conf. formed 1930.

The American* Luth. Ch. (The ALC) organized 1960.

The Lutheran* Ch. in Am. formed 1962/63.

The Lutheran* Council in the USA organized 1966.

The Synod* of Ev. Luth. Chs. became an LCMS dist. 1971. EL

See also United States, Lutheranism in the, 8, 9.

Documents of Lutheran Unity in America, ed. R. C. Wolf (Philadelphia, 1966).