The Evangelical Synod of North America, before 1927 German Evangelical Synod of North America, in German ''(Deutsche) Evangelische Synode von Nord-Amerika'', was a

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 agai ...

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

existing from the mid-19th century until its 1934 merger with the

Reformed Church in the United States The Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. The present RCUS is a conservative, Calvinist denomination. It affirms the principles of the Reformation: '' Sola scriptura'' (Scrip ...

to form the

Evangelical and Reformed Church The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A ...

. This church merged with the

Congregational Christian Churches The Congregational Christian Churches were a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United ...

denomination in 1957 to create the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

Beliefs

Centered in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, the denomination was made of German Protestant congregations of mixed

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 ...

and Reformed heritage, reflecting the 1817 union of those traditions in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

(and subsequently in other areas of Germany). This union, both in Germany and in the United States, was deeply influenced by

pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy an ...

. The denomination accepted the

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg ...

of the Reformed and

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 P ...

and

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 ...

of the Lutherans as its confessional documents; where there was disagreement the individual believer had freedom to believe either tradition. The church eventually developed its own Evangelical Catechism, reflecting its "united" faith. In keeping with core Protestant convictions, the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

was considered the ultimate standard of its faith.

History

The German Evangelical Church Society of the West (''Der Deutsche Evangelische Kirchenverein des Westens'') was founded on October 15, 1840, at ''Deutsche Evangelische St. Johannes Gemeinde Zu Gravois Settlement Missouri''. St. Johns Evangelical United Church of Christ (as it is known today) had been founded in 1838 by newly arrived German immigrants. They were living in a wilderness farming community a day's journey south of St. Louis. The small congregation built a church out of logs by hand on this hill. A memorial was erected in 1925 commemorating the founding of the Evangelical Synod of North America and still stands today in front of the church. At the 1866 General Convention in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mar ...

, the name Evangelical Synod of the West was adopted. In 1868, the governance was changed to one in which delegates to the convention were elected by district. Previously, the full membership attended each convention. In 1872, the synod merged with the German Evangelical Synod of the East (covering western New York and Ohio) and the German Evangelical Synod of the Northwest (covering Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan), becoming the German Evangelical Synod of North America. By 1877 the synod had 324 pastors. The denomination established

Eden Theological Seminary Eden Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ in Webster Groves, Missouri, near St. Louis, Missouri. The seminary was established in 1850 by German pastors in what was then the American frontier. The pastors soon formed ...

in St. Louis, Missouri, for the training of its clergy; today, Eden remains a seminary of the United Church of Christ. In the early 20th century, the Evangelical Synod became active in the

ecumenical movement Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

, joining the

Federal Council of Churches The Federal Council of Churches, officially the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, was an ecumenical association of Christian denominations in the United States in the early twentieth century. It represented the Anglican, Baptist, Ea ...

and pursuing church union. In 1934, it had 281,598 members and 1,227 pastors. At that time it joined with another denomination of German background, the Reformed Church in the United States, forming the Evangelical and Reformed Church. This church united, in turn, in 1957, with the General Council of

to form the United Church of Christ.

Notable people and congregations

The oldest Evangelical Synod congregations are believed to be Femme Osage United Church of Christ near

Augusta, Missouri Augusta is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 253 at the 2010 census. The city boasts wineries, antique shops, restaurants, B&B's, a wood shop, a glass studio, massage therapy, a historic museum and The Au ...

; Bethlehem United Church of Christ in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all ...

; Saint John's-Saint Luke Evangelical and Reformed United Church of Christ in Detroit, Michigan; or The United Church in Washington, D.C., each of which were founded in 1833. The oldest Lutheran church in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, was an Evangelical Synod congregation. The Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Sankt Paulus Gemeinde (German Evangelical Lutheran St. Pauls Congregation) was founded in 1843 and is now known as St. Pauls United Church of Christ. Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church, St. Joseph, Missouri, was founded 1858 by Rev. Heckmann to serve the families who had come from various parts of Germany who were part Lutheran, part United and part Reformed. The new congregation was named The United Evangelical Protestant Congregation of St. Joseph, Missouri. The Zion Evangelical Church in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, was founded in 1867. The merger of the Evangelical Synod and the Reformed Church in the United States took place in this building on June 26–27, 1934.

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...

and

H. Richard Niebuhr Helmut Richard Niebuhr (September 3, 1894 – July 5, 1962) is considered one of the most important Christian theological ethicists in 20th-century America, best known for his 1951 book ''Christ and Culture'' and his posthumously published book ...

, two siblings who developed strong reputations during the mid-20th century for their theological acumen, were both members of the Evangelical Synod and its successors.

References

External links

"The Deaconess Movement in 19th-century America: pioneer professional women"
by Ruth W. Rasche in ''Hidden History in the United Church of Christ''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Evangelical Synod Of North America Former Christian denominations Lutheran denominations in North America United Church of Christ Reformed denominations in the United States United Church of Christ predecessor churches

Beliefs

History

Notable people and congregations

References

Further reading

External links