Synod Of The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church In America
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The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in
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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, and
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.


History

In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers including
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 ...
, Hans Andreas Stub, Adolph Carl Preus,
Herman Amberg Preus Herman Amberg Preus (June 16, 1825 – July 2, 1894) was an American Lutheran clergyman and church leader. Ordained in 1848, he became a key figure in organizing the Norwegian Synod. Background Herman Amberg Preus was born in Kristiansand, Norw ...
, G. F. Dietrichson, Jacob Aall Ottesen, and R. D. Brandt organized the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly known as the Norwegian Synod. It was organized at Koshkonong and Luther Valley near the
Jefferson Prairie Settlement Jefferson Prairie Settlement was a pioneer colony of Norwegian-Americans located in the Town of Clinton, in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. This site and the nearby Rock Prairie settlement outside Orfordville served as centers for both N ...
outside
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
. Among the first denominational leaders was
Ulrik Vilhelm Koren Ulrik Vilhelm Koren (December 22, 1826 – December 19, 1910) was a Norwegian-American author, theologian and church leader. A pioneer Lutheran minister, he played a significant role in the development of the spiritual and intellectual development ...
. The synod adopted the ritual of the
Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
. In 1868 the name was changed to the Synod for the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In the early years Norwegian Synod seminary students were sent to
Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, t ...
in St. Louis, Missouri. Luther College was founded near
La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...
, in 1861, and relocated to
Decorah, Iowa Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest commun ...
, the next year. Peter Laurentius Larsen served as president of Luther College from 1861 until he resigned from the presidency in 1902. In 1876, the denomination established
Luther Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...
in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
, (later moved to St. Paul). Desiring unity and cooperation with fellow Lutherans, in 1872 the Norwegian Synod was a co-founder of the
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 ...
along with the
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,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
synods. However, the Norwegian Synod soon experienced internal division over questions concerning
predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...
and conversion, and during the 1880s about a third of its congregations left. These dissenting "
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 ...
" congregations joined in 1890 with the
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 ...
and the Norwegian-Danish Conference to form 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 ...
(Norwegian:''Den Forenede Kirke''). Further attempts at Lutheran unity continued into the early 20th century. The 1912 Madison Settlement (Norwegian: ''Madison Opgjør''), agreed upon by representatives of the
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: ) wa ...
, the United Church, and the Norwegian Synod, called for doctrinal discussions and compromises to take place so that Norwegian Lutherans could unite into a single jurisdiction. The result was the Austin Agreement of 1916, and on June 9, 1917, the United Church, the
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: ) wa ...
, and the Norwegian Synod merged to become the
Norwegian Lutheran Church of America 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 ...
. In 1946, that body changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Through a series of mergers, it became part of the
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 ...
in 1960, and currently 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 ...
(ELCA). After the merger of 1917, a small group who chose not to join the merger for doctrinal reasons, reorganized as the Norwegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (sometimes referred to as the "Little Norwegian Synod"). This group committed itself “to continue in the old doctrine and practice of the Norwegian Synod". In 1957, it changed its name to become the
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, ...
.


Presidents

* Adolph Carl Preus, 1853–1862Rasmussen: ''Adolph Carl Preus'' (Norsk biografisk leksikon)
/ref> *
Herman Amberg Preus Herman Amberg Preus (June 16, 1825 – July 2, 1894) was an American Lutheran clergyman and church leader. Ordained in 1848, he became a key figure in organizing the Norwegian Synod. Background Herman Amberg Preus was born in Kristiansand, Norw ...
, 1862–1894 *
Ulrik Vilhelm Koren Ulrik Vilhelm Koren (December 22, 1826 – December 19, 1910) was a Norwegian-American author, theologian and church leader. A pioneer Lutheran minister, he played a significant role in the development of the spiritual and intellectual development ...
, 1894–1910 * Hans Gerhard Stub, 1910–1917


See also

* Norwegian-American Lutheranism


References


Other sources

*Aaberg, Theodore Arne. ''A City Set on the Hill, A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (Norwegian Synod) 1918-1968.'' *Nichol, Todd W. ''All These Lutherans'' (Minneapolis, MN: Augburg Publishing House, 1986) *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) *Wolf, Edmund Jacob. ''The Lutherans in America; a story of struggle, progress, influence and marvelous growth''.( New York: J.A. Hill. 188

{{DEFAULTSORT:Synod Of The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church In America Evangelical Lutheran Church in America predecessor churches Norwegian Lutheran American Norwegian Lutheran American Norwegian Lutheran American Norwegian Lutheran Norwegian-American culture 1853 establishments in Wisconsin