Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church
Encyclopedia
The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, 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...

 and 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...

.

History

In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers including Claus Lauritz Clausen
Claus Lauritz Clausen
Claus Lauritz Clausen was an American pioneer Lutheran minister, church leader, military chaplain and politician.-Biography:...

, Hans Andreas Stub, A. C. Preus, Herman Amberg Preus
Herman Amberg Preus
Herman Amberg Preus was an American Lutheran clergyman and church leader. He was a key figure in organizing the Norwegian Synod.-Background:Herman Amberg Preus was born in Kristiansand, Norway...

, G. F. Dietrichson, Jacob Aall Ottesen, and R. D. Brandt organized the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly known as the Norwegian Synod. It was organized at Koshkonong
Koshkonong, Wisconsin
Koshkonong is a town in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,395 at the 2000 census. The town entirely surrounds the city of Fort Atkinson. The unincorporated communities of Blackhawk Island, Koshkonong Mounds, and Vinnie Ha Ha are located in the town...

 and Luther Valley near the 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...

 outside Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

. Among the first denominational leaders was Ulrik Vilhelm Koren. The Synod adopted the ritual of the Church of Norway
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark-Norway in 1536-1537 broke the ties to the Holy See. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith...

. In 1868 the name was changed to the Synod for the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

In the early years Norwegian Synod seminary students were sent to Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary is located in Clayton, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb on the western border of St. Louis, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod . The current president of...

 in St. Louis, Missouri. Luther College
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...

 was founded near La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse, Wisconsin
La Crosse is a city in and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The city lies alongside the Mississippi River.The 2011 Census Bureau estimates the city had a population of 52,485...

 in 1861, and relocated to Decorah, Iowa
Decorah, Iowa
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,172 at the 2000 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S...

 the next year. Peter Laurentius Larsen
Peter Laurentius Larsen
Peter Laurentius Larsen was a Norwegian-American educator and Lutheran theological leader. He was the founding president of Luther College.-Background:...

 served as President of Luther College from 1861 until he resigned from the presidency in 1902.

In 1876 the denomination established Luther Seminary
Luther Seminary
Luther Seminary is the largest seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Located in the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood of St...

 in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, (later moved to St. Paul). Desiring unity and cooperation with fellow Lutherans, in 1872 the Norwegian Synod was a co-founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America
Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America
The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America was a Lutheran joint fellowship organization between the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod , the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod...

, along with the Missouri, Wisconsin, and Ohio Synods. However, the Norwegian Synod soon experienced internal division over questions concerning predestination
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...

 and conversion, and during the 1880s about a third of its congregations left. These dissenting "Anti-Missourian Brotherhood
Anti-Missourian Brotherhood
Anti-Missourian Brotherhood was the name of a group of Lutheran pastors and churches in the United States that left the Norwegian Synod. In 1872, the Norwegian Synod had been a co-founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, along with the Missouri, Wisconsin, and...

" congregations joined in 1890 with the Norwegian Augustana Synod
Norwegian Augustana Synod
Norwegian Augustana Synod was a Lutheran church body in the United States from 1870 to 1890. The group's original name was the Norwegian-Danish Augustana Synod in America. The name was shorted in 1878.-Background:...

 and the Norwegian-Danish Conference
Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America usually called the Conference was a Lutheran church body that existed in the United States from 1870 to 1890, when it merged into the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America....

 to form the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
The 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...

 (Norwegian:Den Forenede Kirke).

Further attempts at Lutheran unity continued into the early 20th century. The 1912 Madison Settlement (Norwegian: Madison Opgjør), agreed upon by representatives of the Hauge Synod
Hauge Synod
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.-Background:...

, the United Church, and the Norwegian Synod, called for doctrinal discussions and compromises to take place so that Norwegian Lutherans could unite into a single jurisdiction. The result was the Austin Agreement of 1916, and on June 9, 1917, the United Church, the Hauge Synod
Hauge Synod
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.-Background:...

, and the Norwegian Synod merged to become 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...

. Through a series of mergers, it became part of 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...

 in 1960, and currently 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...

 (ELCA).

After the merger of 1917, a small group who chose not to join the merger for doctrinal reasons, reorganized as the Norwegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (sometimes referred to as the Little Norwegian Synod). This group committed itself “to continue in the old doctrine and practice of the Norwegian Synod.” In 1957 it changed its name to become the Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod or ELS is a US-based Protestant Christian denomination based in Mankato, Minnesota, USA. It describes itself as a conservative, Confessional Lutheran body.-Membership:...

.

Presidents of the Norwegian Synod

  • A.C. Preus, 1853-1862
  • Herman Amberg Preus
    Herman Amberg Preus
    Herman Amberg Preus was an American Lutheran clergyman and church leader. He was a key figure in organizing the Norwegian Synod.-Background:Herman Amberg Preus was born in Kristiansand, Norway...

    , 1862-1894
  • Ulrik Vilhelm Koren, 1894-1910
  • Hans Gerhard Stub
    Hans Gerhard Stub
    Hans Gerhard Stub was an American Lutheran theologian and church leader. He served as Bishop of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America.-Background:...

    , 1910-1917

See also

  • Evangelical Lutheran Church (United States)
    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...

  • United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
    United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
    The 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...

  • Evangelical Lutheran Synod
    Evangelical Lutheran Synod
    The Evangelical Lutheran Synod or ELS is a US-based Protestant Christian denomination based in Mankato, Minnesota, USA. It describes itself as a conservative, Confessional Lutheran body.-Membership:...

  • The Norwegian Lutheran Church in the United States
    The Norwegian Lutheran Church in the United States
    The Norwegian Lutheran Church in the United States is a general term to describe the Lutheran church tradition developed within the United States by immigrants from Norway.-Background:...


Other sources

  • Nichol, Todd W. All These Lutherans (Minneapolis, MN: Augburg Publishing House, 1986)
  • 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)
  • Wolf, Edmund Jacob. The Lutherans in America; a story of struggle, progress, influence and marvelous growth.( New York: J.A. Hill. 1889)http://www.archive.org/details/thelutheransinam00wolfuoft
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