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SELK
The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (german: Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, abbreviated SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body of Germany. It is a member of the European Lutheran Conference and of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) (of which the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod of North America is also a member). The SELK has about 33,000 members in 174 congregations. The seat of SELK is in Hanover. History In 1817, King Frederick William III of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union, a predecessor to today's Union of Evangelical Churches. As the uniting of Lutheran and Reformed Christians in Germany proceeded, some Lutheran groups dissented and formed independent churches, especially in Prussia, Saxony, Hanover and Hesse. These Lutherans held that Reformed doctrine and Lutheran doctrine are contradictory on many points (especially on the nature of ...
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European Lutheran Conference
The European Lutheran Conference (ELC) is an association of Confessional Lutheran churches in Europe. The full members of the conference are in altar and pulpit fellowship with one another. The members of the ELC are also members of the International Lutheran Council. Member churches The European Lutheran Conference includes the following Lutheran churches as full members: * Evangelical Lutheran Church in Belgium (ELKB) * Evangelical Lutheran Diocese in Norway (ELDiN) * Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Denmark (ELFKiDk) * Evangelical Lutheran Church of England (ELCE) * Evangelical Lutheran Church – Synod of France (EEL-SF) * Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK) in Germany * Portuguese Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELP) * Spanish Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELE) Organization The current officers are Chairman Klaus Pahlen of the SELK; Vice-Chairman Leif Jensen of the ELFKiDk; and Secretary Claudio Flor of the ELCE. The 2018 Conference was in Hoddesdon, England. ...
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Old Lutherans
Old Lutherans were originally German Lutherans in the Kingdom of Prussia, notably in the Province of Silesia, who refused to join the Prussian Union of churches in the 1830s and 1840s. Prussia's king Frederick William III was determined to unify the Protestant churches, to homogenize their liturgy, organization and even their architecture. In a series of proclamations over several years the ''Church of the Prussian Union'' was formed, bringing together the majority group of Lutherans, the minority of Reformed. The main effect was that the government of Prussia had full control over church affairs, with the king recognized as the leading bishop. Attempted suppression of the Old Lutherans led many to emigrate to Australia, Canada, and the United States, resulting in the creation of significant Lutheran denominations in those countries. The legacy of Old Lutherans also survives in the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in modern Germany. The Prussian Union In 1799 King ...
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Hans-Jörg Voigt
Hans-Jörg Voigt (born Dresden, East Germany, 7 June 1962) is a German Lutheran bishop. He is the bishop of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany and the chairman of the International Lutheran Council. Bishop Voigt is married to Christiane and they have four children. Religious career He studied Theology in Leipzig, Berlin and Oberursel. His vicarage was in Cottbus at Holy Cross Lutheran Church between 1989-1991. He witnessed at this time the reunification of Germany. He was ordained a Lutheran minister on 15 December 1991 in Cottbus. His parish was in St. Otto von Bamberg Lutheran Church in Greifswald from 1991 to 2006. Voigt was superintendent (regional bishop) of the Berlin-Brandenburg church district from 2003 to 2006. On 11 February 2006, the synod of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church elected him as bishop. The installation divine service was in St. John's Church on 24 June 2006 in Hannover. Since 20 September 2012 Bishop Voigt has been th ...
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Prussian Union Of Churches
The Prussian Union of Churches (known under Prussian Union of churches#Status and official names, multiple other names) was a major Protestant Landeskirche, church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Continental Reformed church, Reformed denominations in Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia. Although not Unionskirche, Idstein, the first of its kind, the Prussian Union was the first to occur in a major German state. It became the biggest independent religious organization in the German Empire and later Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, with about 18 million parishioners. The church underwent two Schism (religion), schisms (one permanent since the 1830s, one temporary 1934–1948), due to changes in governments and their policies. After being the favoured state church of Prussia in the 19th century, it suffered interference and oppression at several times in the 20th century, including the persecution of many p ...
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Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to be growing Criticism of the Catholic Church, errors, abuses, and discrepancies within it. Protestantism emphasizes the Christian believer's justification by God in faith alone (') rather than by a combination of faith with good works as in Catholicism; the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by Grace in Christianity, divine grace or "unmerited favor" only ('); the Universal priesthood, priesthood of all faithful believers in the Church; and the ''sola scriptura'' ("scripture alone") that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. Most Protestants, with the exception of Anglo-Papalism, reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy, ...
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Athanasian Creed
The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. Used by Christian churches since the sixth century, it was the first creed to explicitly state the equality of the three hypostases of the Trinity. It differs from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Apostles' Creed in that it includes anathemas condemning those who disagree with its statements (as does the original Nicene Creed). Widely accepted in Western Christianity, including by the Roman Catholic Church, some Anglican and Lutheran churches (it is part of the Lutheran confessions set out in the ''Book of Concord''), and ancient liturgical churches, the Athanasian Creed over time has been used in public worship less and less frequently. However, part of it can be found as an " ...
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Confessional Lutheranism
Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutheranism, Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the ''Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfulness to the ''Book of Concord,'' which is a summary of the teachings found in Scripture, requires attention to how that faith is actually being preached, taught, and put into practice. Confessional Lutherans believe that this is a vital part of their identity as Lutherans. The term Confessional Lutheran is generally used among the more conservative churches found in groupings such as the International Lutheran Council (ILC), the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), and the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum. Churches of the larger Lutheran World Federation subscribe to the ''Book of Concord'' as an exposition of faith in so far as (''quatenus'') it agrees with their interpretation of the Bible. His ...
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Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Gaul as a development of the Old Roman Symbol, the old Latin creed of the 4th century. It has been in liturgical use in the Latin rite since the 8th century and, by extension, in the various modern branches of Western Christianity, including the modern liturgy and catechesis of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Moravianism, Methodism, and Congregational churches. It is shorter than the full Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed adopted in 381, but it is still explicitly trinitarian in structure, with sections affirming belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It does not address some Christological issues defined in the Nicene Creed. It thus says nothing explicitly about the divinity of either ...
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Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is also referred to as the Nicene Creed, or the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed for disambiguation. The Nicene Creed is the defining statement of belief of Nicene or mainstream Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The Nicene Creed is part of the profession of faith required of those undertaking important functions within the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Nicene Christianity regards Jesus as divine and "begotten of the Father". Various non-Nicene doctrines, beliefs, and creeds have been formed since the fourth century, all of which are considered heresies by adherents of Nicene Christianity. In Western Christianity, the Nicene Creed is in use alongside the less widespread Apostles' Creed. In musical setting ...
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Smalcald Articles
The Smalcald Articles or Schmalkald Articles (german: Schmalkaldische Artikel) are a summary of Lutheran doctrine, written by Martin Luther in 1537 for a meeting of the Schmalkaldic League in preparation for an intended ecumenical Council of the Church. History Luther's patron, Elector John Frederick of Saxony, asked him to prepare these articles for the Schmalkaldic League's meeting in 1537, held again in Schmalkalden. The League had been organized in 1531 as a union of various Lutheran territories and cities, to provide a united military and political front against Roman Catholic politicians and armies, led by Emperor Charles V. When the Schmalkaldic League met, Luther was taken very ill with a severe case of kidney stones and so was unable to attend the meeting. The league ultimately determined not to adopt the articles Luther had written. They were influenced not to adopt the Smalcald Articles by Philipp Melanchthon, who was concerned that Luther's writing would be regarded ...
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Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation. The Augsburg Confession was written in both German and Latin and was presented by a number of German rulers and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg on 25 June 1530. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had called on the Princes and Free Territories in Germany to explain their religious convictions in an attempt to restore religious and political unity in the Holy Roman Empire and rally support against the Ottoman invasion in the 16th century Siege of Vienna. It is the fourth document contained in the Lutheran ''Book of Concord''. Background Philipp Melanchthon, Martin Luther and Justus Jonas had already drafted a statement of their theological views in the Articles of Schwabach in 1529,Johann Michael Reu, ''The Augsburg Conf ...
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Apology Of The Augsburg Confession
The ''Apology of the Augsburg Confession'' was written by Philipp Melanchthon during and after the 1530 Diet of Augsburg as a response to the ''Pontifical Confutation of the Augsburg Confession'', Charles V's commissioned official Roman Catholic response to the Lutheran ''Augsburg Confession'' of June 25, 1530. It was intended to be a defense of the ''Augsburg Confession'' and a refutation of the ''Confutation''. It was signed as a confession of faith by leading Lutheran magnates and clergy at the meeting of the Smalkaldic League in February, 1537, and subsequently included in the German 580and Latin 584''Book of Concord''. As the longest document in the ''Book of Concord'' it offers the most detailed Lutheran response to the Roman Catholicism of that day as well as an extensive Lutheran exposition of the doctrine of Justification. Contents The major sections of the Apology are listed below, along with the article of the Augsburg Confession that Melanchthon is defending. #Concern ...
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