Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America usually called the Conference was a

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 ...

church body that existed 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 ...

from 1870 to 1890, when it merged into the

United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (UNLC) was the result of the union in 1890 of the Norwegian Augustana Synod (est. 1870), the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (1870), and the Anti-Missourian ...

. The church had split from the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America (SAS) in 1870. Prior to the split the SAS had placed a Norwegian seminary in Marshall, Wisconsin, which today is located in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and known as

Augsburg University Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...

. When the Conference separated from the SAS in 1870, another church body also split from the SAS, the Norwegian-Danish Augustana Synod in America (NAS). The difference between the NAS and the Conference was the inclusion of the

Book of Concord ''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since ...

. The NAS wanted to include the entire

as the confessional base. The Conference wanted to use only the three

ecumenical creeds Ecumenical creeds is an umbrella term used in Lutheran tradition to refer to three creeds: the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed. These creeds are also known as the catholic or universal creeds. These creeds are accepted ...

Luther's Small Catechism ''Luther's Small Catechism'' (german: Der Kleine Katechismus) is a catechism written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Pr ...

, and the Unaltered

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 ...

. The two groups along with the

Anti-Missourian Brotherhood The Anti-Missourian Brotherhood was the name of a group of Lutheran pastors and churches in the United States who left the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Norwegian Synod). In 1872, the Norwegian Synod had been a co ...

group from the

Norwegian Synod The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. History In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers in ...

united in 1890 to form the

. In 1884, a group of Danish members left the Conference and formed the

Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church Association in America Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church Association in America (often known as the Blair Church) was a Lutheran church body that existed in the United States from 1884 to 1896, when it merged into the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church. History ...

also known as the Danish Association and "the Blair Church".

Presidents of the Conference

*1870-1872

Claus Lauritz Clausen Claus Lauritz Clausen (November 3, 1820 – February 20, 1892) was an American pioneer Lutheran minister, church leader, military chaplain and politician. Biography Claus Clausen was born at Borgnæs in Tranderup Parish, on the island of ...

*1872-1881 Johan Olsen *1881-1886 Theodor H. Dahl *1886-1890 Gjermund Hoyme

References

*Fevold, Eugene L. ''The Lutheran Free Church: A Fellowship of American Lutheran Congregations 1897-1963'' (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1969) *Nelson, E. Clifford, and Fevold, Eugene L. ''The Lutheran Church among Norwegian-Americans: a history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'' (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1960) Lutheran denominations in North America Danish-American history Evangelical Lutheran Church in America predecessor churches History of Christianity in the United States Religious organizations established in 1870 Lutheran denominations established in the 19th century Norwegian-American history {{Lutheran-stub