Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church body in the United States that was one of the churches that merged into the Lutheran Church in America in 1962. It had its roots among the Swedish immigrants in the 19th century.[1]

Formation

The Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America was established in 1860. The organizing meeting was held at the Jefferson Prairie Settlement, near Clinton, Wisconsin from June 5–8. A group of Swedish Lutheran pastors including Jonas Swensson, Lars Paul Esbjörn, Tuve Hasselquist, Eric Norelius and Erland Carlsson pioneered development of the Augustana Synod.[2]

"Augustana" is the Latin translation of the name of the city of Augsburg in Germany, birthplace of one of Lutheranism's defining documents, the Augsburg Confession of Faith. Along with the Swedish members of the church were Norwegian and Danish members who left the church in 1870 to form two new church bodies the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Norwegian Augustana Synod. Also in 1870 the synod was renamed the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America. In 1894 the name was changed to Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America. In 1948, the name Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church was adopted. [3]

Originally somewhat conservative, the church turned gradually more liberal after historical criticism had been introduced at its seminary. The Augustana Theological Seminary was located on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. It was later merged into the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago at the time of the formation of the Lutheran Church in America.[4]

Augustana Church was the direct parent to several liberal arts colleges in the United States: Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois; Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota; Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas; California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California; Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska; and the defunct Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey. Augustana and Gustavus Adolphus consistently rank among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the U.S., and the other institutions are recognized as strong regional colleges.[5]

While the Augustana Church only had about 500,000 members when the Lutheran Church in America was formed, its influence on its successor bodies has been significant, incorporating many of Augustana's emphases on mission, ecumenism, and social service. Herbert W. Chilstrom, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's first presiding bishop, is a graduate of the Augustana Theological Seminary and was ordained to Augustana's ministry in 1958. Included among the Augustana-founded congregations is Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the largest Lutheran congregation in the world with over 13,000 members. [6]

Presidents

Conferences

Name Baptized members Congregations
California Conference 38,682 76
Canada Conference 10,507 49
Central Conference 125,312 188
Columbia Conference 38,697 67
Iowa Conference 30,270 63
Minnesota Conference 182,374 300
Nebraska Conference 19,199 50
New England Conference 48,349 88
New York Conference 54,061 125
Red River Valley Conference 28,812 106
Superior Conference 20,974 63
Texas Conference 6,731 27
West Central Conference 25,579 61

Final statistics of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (December 31, 1961).

References

  1. ↑ "Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church.". Concordia Publishing House. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Gathering to celebrate birth of Augustana Synod". Augustana College. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Augustana Synod And The Covenant Church: Contact, Conflict, And Confluence 1860-2010". Swedish-American Historical Society. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Our Story". Lutheran School of Theology. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church Institutions". Augustana Heritage Association. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ Bruce D. Johnston. "Historic Churches of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church". Augustana Heritage Association. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Sven Peter August Lindahl papers (1843-1908)". Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ Gustavus Adolphus College. "Dr. Gustaf Albert Brandelle". Swedish-American Historical Society. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Petrus Olof Bersell". Gustavus Adolphus College. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Benson, Oscar Algot, 1891-1972". ArchiveGrid. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Malvin H. Lundeen, Augustana's last president" (PDF). Augustana Heritage Association. Retrieved November 19, 2015.

Other sources

External links

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