Over 40 different

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 ...

denominations currently exist in North America. However, most North American Lutherans belong to one of the three largest denominations, namely, 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 ...

, the

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...

, or the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...

Active denominations

Source: *

American Association of Lutheran Churches The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC, also known as The AALC) is an American Lutheran church body. It was formed on November 7, 1987, as a continuation of the American Lutheran Church denomination, the majority of which merged with t ...

(AALC) *

Apostolic Lutheran Church of America The Apostolic Lutheran Church of America (ALCA) is a Laestadian Lutheran church denomination established by Finnish American and Norwegian immigrants in the 1800s. They came mainly from northern Finland and northern Norway where they had been mem ...

(ALCA) * Association of Confessional Lutheran Churches (ACLC) *

Association of Free Lutheran Congregations The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) is the sixth largest Lutheran church body in the United States. The AFLC includes congregations from the former Lutheran Free Church in 27 different U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. Th ...

(AFLC) *

Augsburg Lutheran Churches The Augsburg Lutheran Churches is a moderate-to-conservative confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. History The Augsburg Lutheran Churches was formed in 2001 in response to the Called to Common Mission, an agreement between the ...

(ALC) *

Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations The Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations (CALC) is a small Lutheran denomination in Canada. Along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Lutheran Church–Canada, it is one of only three all-Canadian Lutheran denominations ...

(CALC) *

Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America The Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America (CLBA) is a Lutheran denomination of Christians rooted in a Pietist Lutheran spiritual awakening at the turn of the 20th century. History Origins Following the occurrence of a Pietist spiritual ...

(CLBA) * Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) * Concordia Lutheran Conference (CLC) * Conservative Lutheran Association (CLA) *

Eielsen Synod The Eielsen Synod (originally named the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) was a Lutheran church body. It was founded in 1846 at Jefferson Prairie Settlement, Wisconsin, by a group of Haugean Lutherans led by Elling Eielsen, the first Norwegi ...

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC; Estonian: ''Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik'', abbreviated EELK) is a Lutheran church in Estonia. EELC is member of the Lutheran World Federation and belongs to the Community of Protestant Church ...

(EELK) * Evangelical Lutheran Church - Eesti Synod (E.E.L.K.) *

(ELCA) *

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC; french: Église évangélique luthérienne au Canada) is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 95,000 baptized members in 519 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–C ...

(ELCIC) * Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North America (ELCM) * Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA) *

Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) is a US-based Protestant Christian denomination based in Mankato, Minnesota. It describes itself as a conservative, Confessional Lutheran body. The ELS has 130 congregations and has missions in Peru, Chile, ...

(ELS) *

General Lutheran Church The General Lutheran Church, Inc. (GLC) is a small Lutheran denomination organized on March 9, 2014, and incorporated in the state of Indiana on October 26, 2017. The address of incorporation passed to Puerto Rico when the church changed leadershi ...

(GLC) *

Illinois Lutheran Conference Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockford ...

(ILC) *

Independent Lutheran Diocese The Independent Lutheran Diocese (ILD) is a small Confessional Lutheran Association currently headquartered in Klamath Falls, Oregon. History The ILD was originally founded in 2005 as the Old Lutheran Church in America (OLCA), being formed by an ...

(ILD) *

Laestadian Lutheran Church The Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) is a religious Christian movement, its teachings based on the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions. From June 9, 1973, the organisation was named the Association of American Laestadian Congregations (AALC), ...

(LLC) *

Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( lv, Latviešu evangeliski luteriska Baznica Amerika; LELBA) is a Lutheran denomination, formed in 1957 as a federation, and reorganized in 1975 as a formal denomination. In 1978 Lauma Lagzdins ...

(LELCA) *

Lutheran Church–Canada Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) is a confessional Lutheran denomination in Canada. It is the second largest Lutheran body in Canada after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Together with the ELCIC and the Canadian Association of ...

(LCC) *

Lutheran Church - International The Lutheran Church - International (LC-I) is an American Christian denomination established in 1967 and based in Lyons, New York. Its president from 1967 to 1998 was Pastor E. Edward Tornow of North Dakota. From 1967 to 2011 the LC-I was known as ...

(LC-I) *

(LCMS) *

Lutheran Churches of the Reformation The Lutheran Churches of the Reformation (LCR) is an association of Lutheran congregations. The LCR has its roots among groups of Lutherans that broke with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) in the middle of the 20th century, and was f ...

(LCR) *

Lutheran Conference of Confessional Fellowship 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 ...

(LCCF) *

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 ...

(LCMC) *

Lutheran Orthodox Church 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 ...

(LOC) * The Reformed Lutheran Church of America (RLCA) *

The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church The Evangelical Protestant Church (GCEPC) or The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church (LEPC) is a mainline Protestant denomination under the General Conference of Evangelical Protestant Churches headquartered in Cayce-West Columbia, South Caroli ...

(GCEPC) *

Lutheran Ministerium and Synod - USA 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 ...

(LMS-USA) *

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 ...

(NALC) * Old Apostolic Lutheran Church *

Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference {{Lutheranism in the United States, expanded=synodical The Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference is a group of independent Lutheran Church (congregation), congregations. The OLCC was organized in 2006 after the charter congregations left the L ...

(OLCC) *

Protes'tant Conference The Protes'tant Conference is a loose association of Lutheran churches and churchworkers in the Religion in the United States, United States. It was organized in 1927 by former members of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) who had be ...

* United Lutheran Mission Association (ULMA) *

(WELS)

Defunct denominations

Most of the now-defunct North American Lutheran denominations merged or were absorbed into larger bodies. The following is an incomplete list. *

American Evangelical Lutheran Church The American Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC) was one of the many denominations formed when Lutherans immigrated to America. Originally known as the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (DELCA), the predominantly Danish-American chur ...

American Lutheran Church The American Lutheran Church (TALC) was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States and Canada that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters were in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, The ALC designated Augsburg ...

(The American Lutheran Church 960-1987 *

American Lutheran Church (1930) The American Lutheran Church (ALC) was formed in 1930 from the merger of the three conservative Lutheran synods of German-American origin: The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa and Other States (Iowa Synod), established in 1854; the Lutheran Sy ...

(1930-1960) *

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 ...

Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) was a U.S. church body that existed from 1976 through the end of 1987. The AELC formed when approximately 250 dissident congregations withdrew from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS ...

(A.E.L.C. 1978-1987) *

Augustana Catholic Church The Augustana Catholic Church (ACC), formerly the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church (ALCC) and the Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran (ECCL), was an American church in the Lutheran Evangelical Catholic tradition. The ACC said it was unique among ...

(ALCC) *

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 ...

* Augustana Orthodox & Evangelical Lutheran Synod *

Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America usually called the Conference was a Lutheran church body that existed in the United States from 1870 to 1890, when it merged into the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of Ame ...

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 ...

English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the Northwest English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the Northwest (Northwest Synod) was formed in September 1891 as a synod within the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America. Congregations within the synod used English as their prim ...

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada (ELCC) was a Lutheran Christian denomination active in Canada from 1966 to 1985. Prior to gaining autonomy, its congregations comprised the Canada District of the American Lutheran Church. The first presi ...

Evangelical Lutheran Church (United States) The Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed from 1917, when it was founded as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA), until 1960, when it joined two other church bodies to form the second American Luthe ...

(The Evangelical Lutheran Church) * Evangelical Lutheran Concordia English Synod (of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

) * Evangelical Lutheran Federation (disbanded 1998) * Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America (1820-1918) *

Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio The Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States, commonly known as the Joint Synod of Ohio or the Ohio Synod, was a German-language Lutheran denomination whose congregations were originally located primarily in the U.S. state of Ohio ...

(and Other States) (1818-1930) * Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Maryland (1820-1918 / 1918-1962 / 1962-1987) *

Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa and Other States, commonly known as the Iowa Synod, was founded on August 24, 1854, at St. Sebald in Clayton County, Iowa. It adopted a constitution and its name (german: Die deutsche evangelishe lutheranish ...

(XXXX-1930) *

Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America (german: Die Evangelisch-lutherischen Synodal-Conferenz von Nord-Amerika), often known simply as the Synodical Conference, was an association of Lutheran synods that professed a comp ...

Evangelical Lutherans in Mission Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELIM) was a liberal caucus within the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). It was formed in 1973 as an oppositional group of clergy following sweeping victories by Jacob Aall Ottesen Preus II (J. A. O. Preus ...

(1974-1978) *

Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod The Evangelical Lutheran Tennessee Synod (1820–1920), commonly known as just the Tennessee Synod, was a Lutheran church body known for its staunch adherence to the Augsburg Confession and commitment to confessional Lutheranism. The synod began w ...

Evangelical Synod of North America 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 Christian denomination in the United States existing from the mid-19th ...

Fellowship of Lutheran Congregations The Concordia Lutheran Conference (CLC) is a small organization of Lutheran churches in the United States which formed in 1956. It was a reorganization of some of the churches of the Orthodox Lutheran Conference (OLC), which had been formed in Se ...

Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (commonly known as the Suomi Synod, ) was a Lutheran church body which existed in the United States from 1890 until 1962. History The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (FELC) was ...

General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America The General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America, or, in brief, the General Council was a conservative Lutheran church body, formed as a reaction against the new "Americanized Lutheranism" of Samuel Simon Schmucker and the E ...

(1869-1918) *

Hauge Synod The Hauge Synod (formally Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod in America) was the name of a Norwegian Lutheran church body in the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Background The Hauge Synod (Norwegian: ) was ...

* Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Synod of America *

Lutheran Church in America The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was an American and Canadian Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. It was headquartered in New York City and its publishing house was Fortress Press. The LCA's immigrant heritage came mostly fr ...

(1962-1987) * Lutheran Church in America - Canada Section (XXXX-1985) *

Lutheran Confessional Synod The Lutheran Confessional Synod (LCS) was a Confessional Lutheran church, characterized by a strict interpretation of the Book of Concord, Lutheran Confessions and a historical liturgy. Organized in 1994, when Christ Lutheran Church in Decatur, Il ...

Lutheran Council in the United States of America The Lutheran Council in the United States of America was an ecumenical organization of American Lutherans that existed from 1967 to 1988. Succeeding the National Lutheran Council, it was founded by four Lutheran church bodies: the Lutheran Churc ...

(L.C.U.S.A.) (1962-1987) *

Lutheran Free Church The Lutheran Free Church (LFC) was a Lutheran denomination that existed in the United States, mainly in Minnesota and North Dakota, from 1897 until its merger into the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1963. The history of the church body predates ...

(XXXX-1963) *

Lutheran Synod of Buffalo The Lutheran Synod of Buffalo, founded in 1845 as the Synod of Lutheran Emigrants from Prussia (german: Synode der aus Preussen ausgewanderten lutherischen Kirche), was commonly known from early in its history as the Buffalo Synod. The synod resul ...

(XXXX-1930) *

National Evangelical Lutheran Church The National Evangelical Lutheran Church (NELC) was a Finnish-American Lutheran church body that was organized in 1898 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, as the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran National Church of America. It merged into the Lutheran Church� ...

National Lutheran Council The National Lutheran Council (NLC) was a cooperative agency of most of the Lutheran church bodies in the United States. It was established in 1918 and was replaced in 1966 by the Lutheran Council in the United States of America. History The celeb ...

(N.L.C.) *

Norwegian Augustana Synod Norwegian Augustana Synod (NAS) was a Lutheran church body in the United States from 1870 to 1890. The group's original name was the Norwegian-Danish Augustana Synod in America. The name was shorted in 1878. Background The NAS was created out of ...

Pennsylvania Ministerium The Pennsylvania Ministerium was the first Lutheran church body in North America. With the encouragement of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711–1787), the Ministerium was founded at a Church Conference of Lutheran clergy on August 26, 1748. The g ...

(Ministerium of Pennsylvania) (1748-1918) *

Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 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 ...

Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches The Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (SELC) was an American Lutheran denomination that existed from 1902 to 1971. It merged with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) in 1971 and now operates as the non-geographic SELC District of t ...

United Evangelical Lutheran Church The United Evangelical Lutheran Church (commonly known as the United Church) was one of the many denominations formed when Lutherans came to the United States from Europe. Originally known as the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Uni ...

United Lutheran Church in America The United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) was established in 1918 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation after negotiations among several American Lutheran national synods resulted in the merger of three German-l ...

(1918-1962) *

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 B ...

United Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the South The United Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the South, or simply United Synod of the South, was a historical Lutheran denomination in the southeastern United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1863, during the ...

(1861-1918)

References

External links

A Little Lecture on Little Little-Known Lutheran Synods
by Edward C. Fredrich
Concordia Historical Institute: Department of Archives and History of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
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* *

Active denominations

Defunct denominations

See also

References

Further reading

External links