Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church body in the United States that was one of the churches that merged into the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1962. It had its roots among the Swedish immigrants in the 19th century.[1]

Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church
ClassificationLutheran
AssociationsNational Lutheran Council
RegionUnited States
OriginJune 1860
Jefferson Prairie Settlement, Wisconsin
SeparationsConference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (1870)
Norwegian Augustana Synod (1870)
Merged intoLutheran Church in America (1962)
Congregations1,219
Members619,040
Ministers1,353
Other name(s)Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America (1860–1870)
Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America (1870–1894)
Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America (1894–1948)

In 1961, just before its merger into the LCA, the Augustana Synod had 1,353 pastors, 1,219 congregations, and 619,040 members.[2]

Formation

The Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America was established in 1860. The organizing meeting was held at the Jefferson Prairie Settlement, near Clinton, Wisconsin on June 5–8. A group of Swedish Lutheran pastors including Jonas Swensson, Lars Paul Esbjörn, Tuve Hasselquist, Eric Norelius, and Erland Carlsson pioneered development of the Augustana Synod.[3]

"Augustana" is a shortened version of Confessio Augustana, the Latin name of one of Lutheranism's defining documents, the Augsburg Confession, presented in 1530 in the German city of Augsburg. Along with the Swedish members of the church were Norwegian and Danish members who left the church in 1870 to form the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Norwegian Augustana Synod. Also in 1870 the synod was renamed the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America. In 1894 the name was changed to Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America. In 1948, the name Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church was adopted.[4]

Originally somewhat conservative, the church turned gradually more liberal after historical criticism had been introduced at its seminary. The Augustana Theological Seminary was located on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. It was later merged into the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago at the time of the formation of the Lutheran Church in America.[5]

Augustana Church was the direct parent to several liberal arts colleges in the United States: Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois; Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota; Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas; California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California; Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska; and the defunct Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey. Augustana and Gustavus Adolphus consistently rank among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the U.S., and the other institutions are recognized as strong regional colleges.[6]

While the Augustana Church only had about 600,000 members when the Lutheran Church in America was formed, its influence on its successor bodies has been significant, incorporating many of Augustana's emphases on mission, ecumenism, and social service. Herbert W. Chilstrom, the first presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is a graduate of the Augustana Theological Seminary and was ordained to Augustana's ministry in 1958. Included among the Augustana-founded congregations is Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the largest Lutheran congregation in the world with over 13,000 members.[7]

Presidents

Conferences
NameBaptized membersCongregations
California Conference38,68276
Canada Conference10,50749
Central Conference125,312188
Columbia Conference38,69767
Iowa Conference30,27063
Minnesota Conference182,374300
Nebraska Conference19,19950
New England Conference48,34988
New York Conference54,061125
Red River Valley Conference28,812106
Superior Conference20,97463
Texas Conference6,73127
West Central Conference25,57961

Final statistics of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (December 31, 1961).

References
  1. "Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church". Concordia Publishing House. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. "Augustana Synod". American Denomination Profiles. Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  3. "Gathering to celebrate birth of Augustana Synod". Augustana College. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  4. "The Augustana Synod And The Covenant Church: Contact, Conflict, And Confluence 1860-2010". Swedish-American Historical Society. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  5. "Our Story". Lutheran School of Theology. Archived from the original on November 12, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  6. "Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church Institutions". Augustana Heritage Association. Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  7. Bruce D. Johnston. "Historic Churches of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church". Augustana Heritage Association. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  8. "Sven Peter August Lindahl papers (1843-1908)". Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  9. Gustavus Adolphus College. "Dr. Gustaf Albert Brandelle". Swedish-American Historical Society. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  10. "Dr. Petrus Olof Bersell". Gustavus Adolphus College. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  11. "Benson, Oscar Algot, 1891-1972". ArchiveGrid. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  12. "Malvin H. Lundeen, Augustana's last president" (PDF). Augustana Heritage Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-17. Retrieved November 19, 2015.

Other sources
  • Arden, G. Everett (1958) Half a Million Swedes (America's Lutherans. Omar Bonderud and Charles Lutz, editors. Columbus OH: Wartburg Press. pages 28–30).
  • Blanck, Dag, "Two Churches, One Community: The Augustana Synod and the Covenant Church, 1860–1920," Swedish-American Historical Quarterly 63 (April–July 2012), 158–73.
  • Follstad, Virginia (2007) The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church in Print (Plymouth, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press)
  • Granquist, Mark, "Parallel Paths: The Augustana Synod and the Covenant Church, 1920–1945," Swedish-American Historical Quarterly, 63 (April–July 2012), 174–86.
  • Granquist, Mark (2008) The Augustana Story: Shaping Lutheran Identity in North America (Augsburg Fortress Publishers) ISBN 978-0806680255
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