Hauge Synod
Encyclopedia
The Hauge Synod, was the name of a Norwegian
Lutheran church body in the United States
in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
. The synod was "low church" de-emphasizing formal worship and stressing personal faith in the Haugean tradition
.
The Hauge Synod was formed in 1876 following a split with The Evangelical Lutheran Church of North America (Eielsen Synod)
. The Eielsen Synod was founded in 1846 by Rev. Elling Eielsen
in Jefferson Prairie Settlement
, Wisconsin
. Eielsen was a lay preacher and evangelist from Norway who is considered the chief transplanter of the Haugean movement
from Norway to America.
Red Wing Seminary
was the Hauge Synod educational center located in Red Wing, Minnesota
. The Hauge Synod opened the seminary in 1879. Red Wing Seminary was in operation until 1917.
The Hauge Synod merged in 1917 into the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
. That group was later renamed the Evangelical Lutheran Church and then merged into the American Lutheran Church
(ALC) in 1960. The ALC later merged into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Lutheran church body in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Background
The Hauge Synod (Norwegian: Hauges norsk lutherske Synode i Amerika) was named after Norwegian revivalist lay preacher Hans Nielsen HaugeHans Nielsen Hauge
Hans Nielsen Hauge was a noted revivalist Norwegian lay minister who spoke up against the Church establishment in Norway. Hauge is considered an influential personality in the industrialization of Norway...
. The synod was "low church" de-emphasizing formal worship and stressing personal faith in the Haugean tradition
Haugean
Haugean was a pietistic state church reform movementintended to bring new life and vitality into a Norwegian State Church which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy....
.
The Hauge Synod was formed in 1876 following a split with The Evangelical Lutheran Church of North America (Eielsen Synod)
Eielsen Synod
The Eielsen Synod was a Lutheran church body. It was founded in 1846 at Jefferson Prairie Settlement, Wisconsin by a group of Haugean Lutherans led by Elling Eielsen.-Background:...
. The Eielsen Synod was founded in 1846 by Rev. Elling Eielsen
Elling Eielsen
Elling Eielsen was an American minister and Lutheran Church leader.-Background:Eielsen was born on the farm of Sunve in Voss, Norway and brought up in the religious tradition of Hans Nielsen Hauge...
in Jefferson Prairie Settlement
Jefferson Prairie Settlement
Jefferson Prairie Settlement was a pioneer colony of Norwegian-Americans located near the village of Clinton, in Rock County, Wisconsin. This site and the nearby Rock Prairie settlement outside Orfordville, Wisconsin served as a center for both Norwegian immigration and developments within the...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Eielsen was a lay preacher and evangelist from Norway who is considered the chief transplanter of the Haugean movement
Haugean
Haugean was a pietistic state church reform movementintended to bring new life and vitality into a Norwegian State Church which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy....
from Norway to America.
Red Wing Seminary
Red Wing Seminary
Red Wing Seminary was a Lutheran Church seminary located in Red Wing, Minnesota.-History:Red Wing Seminary was the educational center for the Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod in America, commonly known as the Hauge Synod. The synod de-emphasizing formal worship and stressing personal...
was the Hauge Synod educational center located in Red Wing, Minnesota
Red Wing, Minnesota
Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mississippi River. The population was 16,459 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County....
. The Hauge Synod opened the seminary in 1879. Red Wing Seminary was in operation until 1917.
The Hauge Synod merged in 1917 into the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
Evangelical 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...
. That group was later renamed the Evangelical Lutheran Church and then merged into the American Lutheran Church
American Lutheran Church
The 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) in 1960. The ALC later merged into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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...
.
Other sources
- 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)
- Satre, Lowell J The Hauge's Synod: education for awakening (editors: Fevold, Eugene L. - Frost, Gerhard E. - Quanbeck, Warren A. - Sonnack, Paul G.: Decorah, Iowa: 1977)
Additional reading
- Eielsen, Sigrid. A Haugean Woman in America : the Autobiography of Sigrid Eielsen (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Northfield, Minn., vol. 35. 2000),
- Amundsen, Arne Bugge The Haugean Heritage – a Symbol of National History, (In Search of Symbols. An Explorative Study, Jens Braarvig/Thomas Krogh, editors. Department of Cultural Studies, University of Oslo, 1997, pp. 214–233)