The United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) was established in 1918 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

after negotiations among several American Lutheran national

synods A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

resulted in the merger of three

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a c ...

synods: the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly (Church of England), Church Assembly, is t ...

(founded in 1820), the

General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...

(1867), and the

United Synod of 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 th ...

(1863). The

Slovak Zion Synod Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arka ...

(1919) joined the ULCA in 1920. The Icelandic Synod (1885) also joined the United Lutheran Church in America in 1942. Prior to the formation of the ULCA, the original three synods had formed various committees between 1877 and 1902 to coordinate activities. One of these was a joint committee to prepare a "Common Service for all English-speaking Lutherans". As a result of that committee's work, the Common Service of 1887 was adopted by all three synods, and the '' Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church'' was jointly published by the publishing houses of the three synods in 1917. The ULCA took over publication of the Common Service Book upon its formation in 1918. In 1962, after a five-year merger process, the United Lutheran Church in America became part of the new

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 ...

(LCA). Twenty-six years later, on January 1, 1988, the LCA joined with 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 ...

(1960) and the

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 ...

, (1978) to form 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 ...

, which is today the largest Lutheran church body in the United States.''Histories of bodies that merged to form the ULCA'' (Evangelical Church in America) In 1961, just before its merger into the LCA, the ULCA had 4,893 pastors, 4,363 congregations, and 2,390,075 members.

Presidents

* Frederick Hermann Knubel 1918-1944 *

Franklin Clark Fry Franklin Clark Fry (August 30, 1900 – June 6, 1968) was a leading American Lutheran clergyman, known for his work on behalf of interdenominational unity. Early years Fry's parents were Franklin Foster Fry and Minnie C. Fry, née McKeown. He w ...

1944-1962

References

Other sources

*Wolf, Edmund Jacob. ''The Lutherans in America; a story of struggle, progress, influence and marvelous growth'' (New York: J.A. Hill. 1889) *Bente, F. ''American Lutheranism Volume II'' (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. 1919) *Nichol, Todd W. ''All These Lutherans'' (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishers. 1986) History of Christianity in the United States Evangelical Lutheran Church in America predecessor churches Christian organizations established in 1918 {{Lutheran-stub