LibGuides: HTH 201 Global Christianity: Lutheran History

Welcome

Here you will find information and resources related to general Lutheran Church and organizational history.

ELCA & Predecessor Bodies History

Pennsylvania Ministerium (1747‑1962)

First Lutheran church body in North America
Founded by Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg (1711-1787) on August 26, 1748 in Philadelphia, PA
Other Names:
- German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of North America (1748–1792)
- German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States (1792–1918)
Merged into ULCA 1918

Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America (1820‑1918)

Commonly known as the General Synod
Established in 1820 in Hagerstown, MD
Merged into ULCA in 1918
Separations:
- United Synod of the South (1863)
- General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (1866)

United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) (1918-1961)

Established in 1918 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation
Merger of General Synod (est. 1820), General Council (est. 1867), and United Synod of the South (est. 1863)
Merged into Lutheran Church in America in 1962

Lutheran Church in America (LCA) (1962-1987)

Established in 1962 in Detroit, MI
Merger of ULCA, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, American Evangelical Lutheran Church, AND Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church
Headquartered in New York City
Separations: Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (1986)
Merged into Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) (1987-present)

Established on April 30, 1987 at Constituting Convention in Columbus, OH with operations beginning January 1, 1988
Headquartered in Chicago, IL
Merger of:
- Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ
- Lutheran Confessional Synod
- Alliance of Renewal Churches
- North American Lutheran Church
Separations:
- Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ
- Lutheran Confessional Synod
- Alliance of Renewal Churches
- North American Lutheran Church

Lutheran Merger Chart

Index of Seminary Archives

Seminary Archives Home Page
Index of Seminary Archives Holdings
Finding Aids
Digital Collections (ongoing project)
NEW Finding Aid Database (collections are still being added)

The land on which United Lutheran Seminary sits, and which stretches between its two campuses, is tribal land, inhabited originally by the Lenni Lenape, the Susquehannock, and the Seneca tribes. We honor those original caretakers of this land, and we pay respect to the original inhabitants of what we now call Pennsylvania. Acknowledging this history is consistent with the seminary’s commitment to welcome and equity, which calls us in Christ to repentance, reconciliation, and wholeness. Even though the sad history of colonization cannot be undone, this land acknowledgement is one small way for us to remember what happened here, to understand our part in this story, and to develop a more healthy relationship with the land and its original inhabitants.