Augsburg Fortress Publishers is the official publishing house of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...
(ELCA). Headquartered in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. Through various imprints, Augsburg Fortress Publishers publishes worship, music, curricular, and devotional resources and distinctive books for congregations, higher-education learning and scholars, children, and adult general readers. Tim Blevins has been the CEO since August, 2018. Beth Lewis was the
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
from September 3, 2002–July 2018.
/sup>
History
Augsburg Fortress was formed in 1988 when Fortress Press of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and Augsburg Publishing House of Minneapolis merged, after their parent denominations, the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) and the American Lutheran Church (ALC) merged to form the ELCA.
Augsburg Publishing House was affiliated with the ALC. It had been founded in 1891 at Augsburg Seminary in Minneapolis Both the publishing house and seminary were part of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (UNLC). The publishing house left the seminary campus in 1894, relocating to the downtown area in 1908. By 1960 it had become the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. With the 1960 merger of Lutheran denominations that formed the "new" American Lutheran Church, Augsburg was designated that church's publishing arm. It absorbed the publishing houses of the other denominations participating in the merger, including Wartburg Press (established 1881) of the "old" American Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, and the Danish Lutheran Publishing House (established 1893) of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Blair, Nebraska
Blair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, Omaha-Council Bluffs Me ...
. When the Lutheran Free Church joined the ALC in 1963, its publishing house, Messenger Press (established 1922), was also added.
Augsburg, and Wartburg before it, had published the old ALC denominational magazine ''The Lutheran Standard'', which had ancestry back to the 1840s in the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio.
Fortress Press was the publishing arm of the LCA, headquartered in northwest Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, in the Muhlenberg Building, a unique U-shaped brick building of Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...
style. The building was named for Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg and other members of the Muhlenberg family who were important in American Lutheranism. Henry is considered the "Patriarch of American Lutheranism" and the prime organizer of the first Lutheran synod in America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, in 1746.
The LCA came into existence in 1962 with the merger of several smaller Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
denominations. The largest forerunner of the Fortress Press was the Muhlenberg Press of the United Lutheran Church in America, the largest partner in the LCA merger. The oldest ancestor was the Henkel Press, started by the son of Paul Henkel, a famous late 18th and early 19th century Lutheran pastor, missionary, and evangelist in the Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
region.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, is the legislative body of the Church ...
.
Augsburg Fortress re-branded as 1517 Media from July 2016 to September 2024. In October 2024, the company reverted to its "doing business as" name, Augsburg Fortress Publishers—returning to a name that held resonance within the ELCA and connects them back to their roots. Augsburg Fortress continues to use its name as an imprint for church resources and Fortress Press as an imprint for academic and reference titles. Other imprints include Beaming Books, Broadleaf Books, and Sparkhouse.
See also
* Concordia Publishing House, official publishing house of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
* Northwestern Publishing House, official publishing house of 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 Christian theology, theologically conservative, it was founded ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Augsburg Fortress
official site
Beaming Books
official site
Broadleaf Books
official site
Fortress Press
official site
Sparkhouse
official site
Christian publishing companies
Book publishing companies based in Minnesota
Publishing companies established in 1988
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America