The Laestadian Lutheran Church (LLC) is a religious

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

movement, its teachings based on 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 ...

and the

Lutheran Confessions ''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 ...

. From June 9, 1973, the organisation was named the Association of American Laestadian Congregations (AALC), before the association changed its name in 1994 in order better to convey its spiritual heritage. , the Laestadian Lutheran Church has 33 member congregations in the United States and Canada, with highest concentrations of members in

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 t ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

in the United States and in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada; the congregations are served by about 90 ministers, nearly all of them

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric and who does not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Although lay preache ...

s. In Northern Europe, the association's sister organizations are the Conservative Laestadians' Central Association of the Finnish Associations of Peace (') in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, the Sveriges fridsföreningarnas centralorganisation in Sweden, and the

Estonian Lutheran Association of Peace The Estonian Lutheran Association of Peace (Estonian: Eesti Luterlik Rahuühendus) is a conservative laestadians organization in Estonia. It has one Association of Peace in Tartu. It does mission work in Tallinn, Tartu and Southeast Estonia. It ...

('). The main teaching among them is of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

' suffering, death, and resurrection. The work of Jesus Christ continues in this world as the work of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

. The Laestadian Lutheran Church teaches of God's kingdom and the need for repentance and the forgiveness of sins. The church holds, in accord with the Lutheran Confessions, that the Bible is the highest guide and authority for Christian faith, doctrine, and life. The norms in the congregation such as refraining from birth-control, make-up, and dancing, are some of the things members do not feel are right to do as a child of God. The Laestadian Lutheran Church takes its name from

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

and

Lars Levi Laestadius Lars Levi Laestadius (; 10 January 1800 – 21 February 1861) was a Swedish Sami pastor and administrator of the Swedish state Lutheran church in Lapland who founded the Laestadian pietist revival movement to help his largely Sami congregati ...

. Laestadius 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 ...

pastor who served in northern Sweden from 1825 to 1861. The movement reached

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

with Finnish immigrants in the 1860s. Congregations were first formally organized in

Cokato, Minnesota Cokato is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,799 at the 2020 census. History Cokato was founded in 1869 when the First Division of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. The city was ...

, in 1872 and

Calumet, Michigan Calumet ( or ) is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the ...

, in 1873. The Laestadian movement in North America has suffered a number of

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

s since 1890. The subjects of disagreement have mainly been the understanding of justification, God's congregation, and the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian 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 to be a visible symbol of the rea ...

s. The last division occurred in 1973 and resulted in the establishment of the Laestadian Lutheran Church.

References

External links

Laestadian Lutheran Church Home pageLLC Member CongregationsSRK in Finland
{{Authority control Evangelical denominations in North America Laestadianism Lutheran denominations in North America Christian organizations established in 1973 Lutheran denominations established in the 20th century

See also

References

External links