Augsburg Lutheran Churches
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The Augsburg Lutheran Churches is a moderate-to-conservative confessional
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
denomination in the
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.


History

The Augsburg Lutheran Churches was formed in 2001 in response to the
Called to Common Mission Called to Common Mission (CCM) is an agreement between The Episcopal Church (ECUSA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in the United States, establishing full communion between them. It was ratified by the ELCA in 1999, the ECU ...
, an agreement between the Episcopal Church and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, establishing full communion between them. This agreement's most controversial element was a move towards
episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, having a
bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
with full
apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...
. The founders of the Augsburg Lutheran Churches believed that the
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 Re ...
(1530), considered the founding document of
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
, holds that
ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
is not a
sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
, but a human ceremony. Thus its observance need not be uniform across the church. In 2003, the Augsburg Lutheran District reorganized as a separate denomination and adopted its present name, the Augsburg Lutheran Churches. The Augsburg Lutheran Churches works together with the
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) is an association of Lutheran congregations located primarily in the United States. It describes itself as an affiliation of autonomous Lutheran churches and not a denomination. It began in 2001 ...
, and some of its congregations have joint membership in both bodies. It also enjoys a cordial relationship with the
North American Lutheran Church The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) is a Lutheran denomination with over 420 congregations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, counting more than 142,000 baptized members. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged by th ...
. Its official seminary is the
Institute of Lutheran Theology The Institute of Lutheran Theology is a private Lutheran seminary in Brookings, South Dakota. It provides distance education online and at its campus in Brookings. History The Institute of Lutheran Theology was started in 2009 by conservative ...
.


Beliefs

The Augsburg Lutheran Churches has a very simple doctrinal statement with a set of affirmative and negative theses titled 'Our Declaration'. The topics covered are: 1) The Trinity: Our Great Heritage 2) The Cross: Where we begin 3) Sin and Death: Our Problem 4) The Word of the Cross: God’s Answer 5) Mission and Church: God’s Action in this World 6) The Christian Life: God’s Action in this World


References


External links


Official website


See also

{{Portal, Christianity *
Confessing Movement The Confessing Movement is a largely lay-led theologically conservative Christian movement that opposes the influence of theological liberalism and theological progressivism within several mainline Protestant denominations and seeks to ret ...
*
Lutheran CORE Lutheran CORE, or Coalition for Renewal, is a community of confessing Lutherans spanning several Lutheran church bodies. It ultimately led to the formation of the North American Lutheran Church, a denomination consisting mostly of congregations w ...
* WordAlone Lutheran denominations Lutheran denominations in North America 2001 establishments in Iowa