Augsburg Fortress
Encyclopedia
Augsburg Fortress is the official publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) and also publishes for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
(ELCIC) as Augsburg Fortress Canada. Headquartered in Minneapolis
, Minnesota
Augsburg Fortress publishes The Lutheran
, the Lutheran Book of Worship
, Lutheran Study Bible
and Evangelical Lutheran Worship
, as well as a range of academic and educational titles. The current CEO
of Augsburg Fortress is Beth Lewis.
was formed in 1988 when the Board of Publication/Fortress Press and Augsburg Publishing House merged as their parent denominations
joined together with the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
to form the ELCA
. Its two predecessor companies were:
Note: Today's Augsburg Fortress continues to use "Fortress Press" as an imprint for academic titles and "Augsburg" for popular titles.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
(ELCA) and also publishes for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 152,788 baptized members in 624 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–Canada, having 72,116 baptized members...
(ELCIC) as Augsburg Fortress Canada. Headquartered in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
Augsburg Fortress publishes The Lutheran
The Lutheran
The Lutheran is the primary publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The editorial offices are at 8765 West Higgins Road in Chicago, Illinois with the denominational offices...
, the Lutheran Book of Worship
Lutheran Book of Worship
Lutheran Book of Worship is a worship book and hymnal used by several Lutheran denominations in North America. It is often referred to by its initials as the LBW, and in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America the LBW is sometimes called the "green book" as opposed to With One Voice, a...
, Lutheran Study Bible
Lutheran Study Bible
Lutheran Study Bible or The Lutheran Study Bible is one of two different study bibles released in 2009 in the United States based on Lutheran theology....
and Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Evangelical Lutheran Worship or ELW is the current, primary liturgical and worship guidebook and hymnal for use in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, replacing its three predecessors, the Lutheran Book of Worship , the Hymnal Supplemental , and...
, as well as a range of academic and educational titles. The current CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Augsburg Fortress is Beth Lewis.
History
The pressPrinting press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
was formed in 1988 when the Board of Publication/Fortress Press and Augsburg Publishing House merged as their parent denominations
Religious denomination
A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity.The term describes various Christian denominations...
joined together with the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches 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 in 1976, and ended as an independent body when it became part...
to form the ELCA
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
. Its two predecessor companies were:
- Augsburg Publishing House: At the time of the 1988 ELCA merger, the company was affiliated with The American Lutheran ChurchAmerican Lutheran ChurchThe American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
. It was founded in 1891 in Minneapolis at Augsburg Seminary. At that time both the publishing house and seminary were part of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of AmericaUnited Norwegian Lutheran Church of AmericaThe United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was the result of the union formed in 1890 between the Norwegian Augustana Synod , the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America , and the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood .In 1897, a group of churches left the UNLC and...
(UNLC); however the seminary would leave the UNLC to form the Lutheran Free ChurchLutheran Free ChurchThe Lutheran Free Church was a Lutheran denomination that existed in the United States from 1897 to 1963 mainly in Minnesota and North Dakota...
in 1897. The publishing house left the campus in 1894, relocating to the downtown area in 1908. By 1960 it was the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran ChurchEvangelical Lutheran Church (United States)The Evangelical Lutheran Church or ELC was formed in 1917 as the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America .-Background:The Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was formed by merger of the Hauge Synod , the Norwegian Synod , and the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America...
. With the 1960 merger of Lutheran denominations that formed the "new" American Lutheran ChurchAmerican Lutheran ChurchThe American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
(ALC), Augsburg was designated that church's publishingPublishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
arm. It then absorbed the publishing houses of several denominations that participated in the merger, including Wartburg Press (est. 1881) of the "old" American Lutheran Church and the Danish Lutheran Publishing House (est. 1893) in Blair, NebraskaBlair, NebraskaBlair is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,990 at the 2000 census. Blair is a part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
of the United Evangelical Lutheran ChurchUnited Evangelical Lutheran ChurchThe United Evangelical Lutheran Church was one of the many denominations formed when Lutherans came to the United States from Europe...
. When the Lutheran Free Church joined in 1963 its publishing house Messenger Press (est. 1922) was added.
- Fortress Press: Fortress Press was the publishing arm of the Lutheran Church in AmericaLutheran Church in AmericaThe Lutheran Church in America was a U.S. 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....
(LCA), headquartered in PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It came into existence in 1962 with the merger of Lutheran denominations that created the LCA.
Note: Today's Augsburg Fortress continues to use "Fortress Press" as an imprint for academic titles and "Augsburg" for popular titles.
See also
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
- American Lutheran ChurchAmerican Lutheran ChurchThe American Lutheran Church was a Christian Protestant denomination in the United States that existed from 1960 to 1987. Its headquarters was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Upon its formation in 1960, the ALC designated Augsburg Publishing House , also located in Minneapolis, as the church publisher...
- Lutheran Church in AmericaLutheran Church in AmericaThe Lutheran Church in America was a U.S. 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 LutheranThe LutheranThe Lutheran is the primary publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The editorial offices are at 8765 West Higgins Road in Chicago, Illinois with the denominational offices...
- Concordia Publishing HouseConcordia Publishing HouseConcordia Publishing House , founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri at 3558 S. Jefferson St. Louis, MO, CPH publishes the Synod's official magazine, The Lutheran Witness and the Synod's hymnals, including...
, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod'sLutheran Church - Missouri SynodThe Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...
official publishing house. - Northwestern Publishing House, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod's official publishing house.
External links
- Augsburg Fortress official site.
- Company history from the Augsburg Fortress website.
- The Lutheran