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97-831: The National Lutheran Council ( NLC ) was a cooperative agency of most of the Lutheran church bodies in the United States. It was established in 1918 and was replaced in 1966 by the Lutheran Council in the United States of America . The celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in 1917 led to the creation of the National Lutheran Commission for Soldiers' and Sailors' Welfare in October of that year, and

194-652: A revival known as the Erweckung , or Awakening . In 1806, Napoleon's invasion of Germany promoted Rationalism and angered German Lutherans, stirring up a desire among the people to preserve Luther's theology from the Rationalist threat. Those associated with this Awakening held that reason was insufficient and pointed out the importance of emotional religious experiences. Small groups sprang up, often in universities, which devoted themselves to Bible study, reading devotional writings, and revival meetings. Although

291-566: A Protestant and in the Prussian Homage was granted the title "Duke of Prussia" by his uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland. In a deal partly brokered by Luther, Ducal Prussia became the first Protestant state, anticipating the dispensations of the Peace of Augsburg of 1555. When Albert returned to Königsberg, he publicly declared his conversion and announced to a quorum of Teutonic Knights his new ducal status. The knights who disapproved of

388-591: A century of vitality, the Pietist theologians Philipp Jakob Spener and August Hermann Francke warned that orthodoxy had degenerated into meaningless intellectualism and formalism , while orthodox theologians found the emotional and subjective focuses of Pietism to be vulnerable to Rationalist propaganda. In 1688, the Finnish Radical Pietist Lars Ulstadius ran down the main aisle of Turku Cathedral naked while screaming that

485-673: A counteroffer, which Frederick William accepted. They signed the Treaty of Wehlau on 19 September 1657 and the Treaty of Bromberg on 6 November 1657. In return for Frederick William's renunciation of the Swedish-Prussian alliance, John Casimir recognised Frederick William's full sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia. After almost 200 years of Polish suzerainty over the Teutonic monastic state of Prussia and its successor Ducal Prussia,

582-711: A list of stated purposes. In 1926 a set of revised regulations was adopted. A formal constitution and bylaws were adopted in 1946 that, as a doctrinal basis, accepted the Bible as the Word of God and the only source, norm, and guide of Christian faith and life, and the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and Martin Luther 's Catechism as the true exposition and presentation of the doctrine of the Bible. Soon after

679-477: A number of his commanders already supporting Protestant ideas, Albert began to consider a radical solution. At Wittenberg in 1522, and at Nuremberg in 1524, Martin Luther encouraged him to convert the order's territory into a secular principality under his personal rule, as the Teutonic Knights would not be able to survive the reformation . On 10 April 1525, Albert resigned his position, became

776-543: A reform movement beginning in 1830. He also wrote about 1,500 hymns, including God's Word Is Our Great Heritage . In Norway , Hans Nielsen Hauge , a lay street preacher, emphasized spiritual discipline and sparked the Haugean movement, which was followed by the Johnsonian Awakening within the state-church as spearheaded by its namesake, dogmatician and Pietist Gisle Johnson . The Awakening drove

873-462: A return to the orthodox theologians of the 17th century and opposed modern Bible scholarship. As editor of the periodical Evangelische Kirchenzeitung , he developed it into a major support of Neo-Lutheran revival and used it to attack all forms of theological liberalism and rationalism. Although he received a large amount of slander and ridicule during his forty years at the head of revival, he never gave up his positions. The theological faculty at

970-492: A rival of orthodoxy but adopted some devotional literature by orthodox theologians, including Arndt, Christian Scriver , and Stephan Prätorius . Rationalist philosophers from France and England had an enormous impact during the 18th century, along with the German Rationalists Christian Wolff , Gottfried Leibniz , and Immanuel Kant . Their work led to an increase in rationalist beliefs, "at

1067-402: A theological and historical defence against the historical criticism of the Bible. Dissenting Lutheran pastors were often reprimanded by the government bureaucracy overseeing them, for example, when they tried to correct Rationalist influences in the parish school. As a result of the impact of a local form of rationalism, termed Neology , by the latter half of the 18th century, genuine piety

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1164-643: Is a carrier of the "Word of God", or that only the communion of the Bishop of Rome has been entrusted to interpret the "Word of God". The Reformation in Sweden began with Olaus and Laurentius Petri , brothers who took the Reformation to Sweden after studying in Germany. They led Gustav Vasa , elected king in 1523, to Lutheranism. The pope's refusal to allow the replacement of an archbishop who had supported

1261-603: Is possibly an allusion to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor , while the dog possibly refers to Peter Canisius . Another figure interpreted as a snail carrying a church tower is possibly a metaphor for the Protestant church. Also on the rock is the number 1599 and a phrase translating as "thus gets in the world". The historical period of Lutheran Orthodoxy is divided into three sections: Early Orthodoxy (1580–1600), High Orthodoxy (1600–1685), and Late Orthodoxy (1685–1730). Lutheran scholasticism developed gradually, especially for

1358-551: Is seen as God's Word because it has the same meaning as the original Hebrew and Greek. A mistranslation is not God's word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority. Historically, Lutherans understand the Bible to present all doctrines and commands of the Christian faith clearly . In addition, Lutherans believe that God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer of ordinary intelligence, without requiring any special education. A Lutheran must understand

1455-517: Is unknown) Albert Frederick inherited the duchy. Sigismund II was also Albert Frederick's cousin. The Elector of Brandenburg Joachim II , converted to Lutheranism in 1539. Joachim wanted to merge his lands with the Prussian dukedom so that his heirs would inherit both. Joachim petitioned his brother-in-law, king Sigismund II of Poland the co-enfeoffment of his line of the Hohenzollern with

1552-817: The Church Ordinance , should rest was "The pure word of God, which is the Law and the Gospel". It does not mention the Augsburg Confession . The priests had to understand the Holy Scripture well enough to preach and explain the Gospel and the Epistles to their congregations. The youths were taught from Luther's Small Catechism , available in Danish since 1532. They were taught to expect at

1649-686: The Council of Trent , which contends that final authority comes from both Scripture and tradition . Unlike Calvinism , Lutheranism retains many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Western Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist , or Lord's Supper, although Eastern Lutheranism uses the Byzantine Rite . Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology , divine grace ,

1746-586: The Edict of Worms , in which the Diet condemned Luther and officially banned subjects of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating Luther's ideas, facing advocates of Lutheranism with forfeiture of all property. Half of it would be then forfeited to the imperial government and the remaining half to the accusing party. The divide centered primarily on two points: the proper source of authority in

1843-616: The Holy Roman Empire , and the Roman Catholic Church, had banned him for his Protestantism. The Teutonic Order had only superficially carried out its mission to Christianize the native rural population and erected few churches within the state's territory. There was little longing for Roman Catholicism . Baltic Old Prussians and Prussian Lithuanian peasants continued to practice pagan customs in some areas, for example, adhering to beliefs in Perkūnas (Perkunos) , symbolized by

1940-739: The Inner Mission focused on renewing the situation home. Johann Gottfried Herder , superintendent at Weimar and part of the Inner Mission movement, joined with the Romantic movement with his quest to preserve human emotion and experience from Rationalism. Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg , though raised Reformed, became convinced of the truth of historic Lutheranism as a young man. He led the Neo-Lutheran Repristination School of theology, which advocated

2037-688: The Prussian Union of Churches . The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the Schism of the Old Lutherans . Many Lutherans, called " Old Lutherans ", chose to leave the state churches despite imprisonment and military force. Some formed independent church bodies, or " free churches ", at home while others left for the United States, Canada and Australia. A similar legislated merger in Silesia prompted thousands to join

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2134-642: The Roman Catholic rule of the Teutonic Knights , whose Grand Master, Albert, Duke of Prussia , a member of a cadet branch of the House of Hohenzollern , lacked the military resources to assert the order's authority. After losing a war against the Kingdom of Poland , and with his personal bishop, Georg von Polenz of Pomesania and of Samland , who had converted to Lutheranism in 1523, and

2231-633: The Second Northern War , Charles X Gustav of Sweden invaded Ducal Prussia and dictated the Treaty of Königsberg (January 1656), which made the duchy a Swedish fief. In the Treaty of Marienburg (June 1656), Charles X Gustav promised to cede to Frederick William the Polish voivodships of Chełmno , Malbork , Pomerania , and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia if Frederick William would support Charles Gustav's effort. The proposition

2328-643: The Teutonic Knights , Albert, secularized the order's prevailing Prussian territory (the Monastic Prussia), becoming Albert, Duke of Prussia . As the region had been a part of the Kingdom of Poland since the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) , King of Poland Sigismund I the Old , as its suzerain, granted the territory as a hereditary fief of Poland to Duke Albert per the Treaty of Kraków, a decision that

2425-577: The Thirty Years' War broke out, and John Sigismund himself died the following year. His son, George William , was successfully invested with the duchy in 1623 by King of Poland Sigismund III Vasa , thus the personal union Brandenburg-Prussia was confirmed. Many of the Prussian Junkers were opposed to rule by the House of Hohenzollern of Berlin and appealed to Sigismund III Vasa for redress, or even incorporation of Ducal Prussia into

2522-780: The University of Erlangen in Bavaria became another force for reform. There, professor Adolf von Harless , though previously an adherent of rationalism and German idealism , made Erlangen a magnet for revival oriented theologians. Termed the Erlangen School of theology, they developed a new version of the Incarnation , which they felt emphasized the humanity of Jesus better than the ecumenical creeds. As theologians, they used both modern historical critical and Hegelian philosophical methods instead of attempting to revive

2619-829: The de facto collectively ruled governance of Brandenburg-Prussia became more apparent through the titles of the higher ranks of the Prussian government, seated in Brandenburg's capital of Berlin after the return of the court from Königsberg, where they had sought refuge from the Thirty Years' War. After the Kingdom of Prussia's annexation of the bulk of the province of Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772, former Ducal Prussia, including previously Polish-controlled Warmia within Royal Prussia,

2716-404: The goat buck , Potrimpo , and Pikullos (Patollu) while "consuming the roasted flesh of a goat". Bishop George of Polentz had forbidden the widespread forms of pagan worship in 1524 and repeated the ban in 1540. On 18 January 1524 Bishop George had ordered the use of native languages at baptisms, which improved the acceptance of baptism by the peasants. There was little active resistance to

2813-481: The higher critical method. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center surveyed 1,926 adults in the United States that self-identified as Lutheran. The study found that 30% believed that the Bible was the Word of God and was to be taken literally word for word. 40% held that the Bible was the Word of God, but was not literally true word for word or were unsure. 23% said

2910-490: The theology of Martin Luther as Lutherans. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran , preferring the term evangelical , which was derived from εὐαγγέλιον euangelion , a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. " Gospel ". The followers of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also used that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to

3007-1150: The ALC in 1963. Finally, the ULCA, the Danish Church, and the Augustana Synod merged in 1962 to form the Lutheran Church in America . These mergers resulted in the NLC having only two members, and at the end of 1966 it was superseded by the Lutheran Council in the United States of America . When founded in 1918, the purposes of the NLC were to coordinate activities and agencies of the member bodies, provide statistical information, engage in publicity and public relations, and provide overseas relief to Lutherans affected by World War I . Those purposes broadened over time. The 1945 constitution and later amendments added such functions as making its member bodies aware of conditions to which they should speak or take action, representing

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3104-488: The Albertina also a centre of Lithuanian language and literature. While the composition of the nobility changed little in the transition from the monastic state to the duchy, the control of the nobility over the dependent peasantry increased. Prussia's free peasants, called Kölmer, were holders of free estates according to Culm law . Kölmer held them with about a sixth of the arable land, much more than in other nations in

3201-477: The Americas usually agree to teach in harmony with the entire Lutheran confessions. Some Lutheran church bodies require this pledge to be unconditional because they believe the confessions correctly state what the Bible teaches. Others allow their congregations to do so "insofar as" the confessions are in agreement with the Bible. In addition, Lutherans accept the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of

3298-401: The Bible was the written Word of God, and the only infallible guide for faith and practice. He held that every passage of Scripture has one straightforward meaning, the literal sense as interpreted by other Scripture. These teachings were accepted during the orthodox Lutheranism of the 17th century. During the 18th century, Rationalism advocated reason rather than the authority of the Bible as

3395-518: The Bible was written by men and not the Word of God. 7% did not know, were not sure, or had other positions. Although many Lutherans today hold less specific views of inspiration , historically, Lutherans affirm that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of plenary, verbal inspiration, the direct, immediate word of God. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with

3492-546: The Brandenburgian co-inheritance of Prussia, both regents guaranteed the free practice of Catholic religion in predominantly-Lutheran Prussia. Based on the agreements, some Lutheran churches were reconsecrated as Catholic places of worship (e.g. St. Nicholas Church , Elbląg in 1612). In 1618, the Prussian Hohenzollern became extinct in the male line, and so the Polish fief of Prussia was passed on to

3589-725: The Christian Church. Duchy of Prussia The duchy became the first Protestant state when Albert, Duke of Prussia formally adopted Lutheranism in 1525. It was inhabited by a German, Polish (mainly in Masuria ), and Lithuanian-speaking (mainly in Lithuania Minor ) population. In 1525, during the Protestant Reformation , in accordance to the Treaty of Kraków , the Grand Master of

3686-711: The Lithuanian nobility converting to Lutheranism or Calvinism , but at the end of the 17th century Protestantism at large began losing support due to the Counter-Reformation and religious persecutions . In German-ruled Lithuania Minor , however, Lutheranism remained the dominant branch of Christianity. Lutheranism played a crucial role in preserving the Lithuanian language . Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen . Under

3783-403: The Lutheran Bureau (for publicity) in November. On July 17, 1918, the Executive Committee of the welfare commission, consisting of 15 members from the various Lutheran bodies, met in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , and created an eight-member committee to plan for a national council. The planning committee then met in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, on August 1, 1918. Finally, the National Lutheran Council

3880-408: The Old Lutheran movement. The dispute over ecumenism overshadowed other controversies within German Lutheranism. Despite political meddling in church life, local and national leaders sought to restore and renew Christianity. Neo-Lutheran Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe and Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn both sent young men overseas to serve as pastors to German Americans , while

3977-450: The Order had deliberately been left vacant, and the order was left with but 55 knights in Prussia. Some of the knights converted to Lutheranism in order to retain their property and then married into the Prussian nobility, while others returned to the Holy Roman Empire , and remained Catholic . These remaining Teutonic Knights, led by the next Grand Master, Walter von Cronberg , continued to unsuccessfully claim Prussia, but retained much of

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4074-502: The Pietist movement's drive to right social wrongs and focus on individual conversion. The Neo-Lutheran call to renewal failed to achieve widespread popular acceptance because it both began and continued with a lofty, idealistic Romanticism that did not connect with an increasingly industrialized and secularized Europe. The work of local leaders resulted in specific areas of vibrant spiritual renewal, but people in Lutheran areas became increasingly distant from church life. Additionally,

4171-406: The Polish kingdom, but without success. During to the Polish–Swedish Wars , the duchy became administered in 1635 by the Polish statesman Jerzy Ossoliński , who was appointed by Polish King Władysław IV Vasa . Frederick William the "Great Elector", duke of Prussia and prince-elector of Brandenburg, wished to acquire Royal Prussia in order to territorially connect his two fiefs. Yet, during

4268-711: The Prussian dukedom, and finally succeeded, including the then usual expenses. On 19 July 1569, when, in Lublin , Poland, duke Albert Frederick rendered King Sigismund II homage and was in return installed as Duke of Prussia in Lublin , the King simultaneously enfeoffed Joachim II and his descendants as co-heirs. Administration in the duchy declined as Albert Frederick became increasingly feeble-minded, which led Margrave George Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach to become Regent of Prussia in 1577. Following King Sigismund III 's Prussian regency agreement (1605) with Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg and his Treaty of Warsaw , 1611, with John Sigismund of Brandenburg , confirming

4365-399: The Reformation era. The doctrinal positions of Lutheran churches are not uniform because the Book of Concord does not hold the same position in all Lutheran churches. For example, the state churches in Scandinavia consider only the Augsburg Confession as a "summary of the faith" in addition to the three ecumenical creeds. Lutheran pastors, congregations, and church bodies in Germany and

4462-427: The Roman Catholic Church with regard to the authority of the institutional church , ex opere operato effectiveness of the sacraments, and the divine authority of clergy. Unlike Catholics, however, they also urged complete agreement with the Book of Concord . The Neo-Lutheran movement managed to slow secularism and counter atheistic Marxism , but it did not fully succeed in Europe. It partly succeeded in continuing

4559-435: The Word of God and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible. Because of this, Lutherans confess in the Formula of Concord , "we receive and embrace with our whole heart the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the pure, clear fountain of Israel". The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures are confessed as authentic and written by the prophets and apostles. A correct translation of their writings

4656-514: The acceptance of its teaching. This teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a dead letter, but rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it. Scripture does not compel a mere intellectual assent to its doctrine, resting on logical argumentation, but rather it creates the living agreement of faith. As the Smalcald Articles affirm, "in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with

4753-492: The beginning of this Awakening tended heavily toward Romanticism, patriotism , and experience, the emphasis of the Awakening shifted around 1830 to restoring the traditional liturgy, doctrine, and confessions of Lutheranism in the Neo-Lutheran movement. This Awakening swept through all of Scandinavia except Iceland . It developed from both German Neo-Lutheranism and Pietism. Danish pastor and philosopher N. F. S. Grundtvig reshaped church life throughout Denmark through

4850-425: The church , often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of justification , the material principle of Lutheran theology. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by Grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone", the doctrine that scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith. This contrasts with the belief of the Roman Catholic Church, defined at

4947-415: The city to swear allegiance to him. However, in the following decades, at least one attempt to return of Polish suzerainty was made. In 1675, the Polish-French Treaty of Jaworów was signed according to which France was to support Polish efforts to regain control of the region, and Poland was to join the ongoing Franco-Brandenburgian War on the French side, however, it was not implemented. The nature of

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5044-452: The clergy. While this effectively granted official sanction to Lutheran ideas, Lutheranism did not become official until 1593. At that time the Uppsala Synod declared Holy Scripture the sole guideline for faith, with four documents accepted as faithful and authoritative explanations of it: the Apostles' Creed , the Nicene Creed , the Athanasian Creed , and the unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530. Mikael Agricola 's translation of

5141-423: The decision were pressured into acceptance by Albert's supporters and the burghers of Königsberg, and only Eric of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , Komtur of Memel , opposed the new duke. On 10 December 1525, at their session in Königsberg, the Prussian estates established the Lutheran Church in Ducal Prussia by deciding the Church Order . By the end of Albert's rule, the offices of Grand Commander and Marshal of

5238-431: The disgrace of Finnish clergymen would be revealed like his current disgrace. The last famous orthodox Lutheran theologian before the rationalist Aufklärung , or Enlightenment , was David Hollatz . Late orthodox theologian Valentin Ernst Löscher took part in the controversy against Pietism . Medieval mystical traditions continued in the works of Martin Moller , Johann Arndt , and Joachim Lütkemann . Pietism became

5335-466: The duchy under the 1657 Treaty of Wehlau , confirmed in the 1660 Treaty of Oliva . In the following years, attempts were made to return to Polish suzerainty, especially by the capital city of Königsberg, whose burghers rejected the treaties and viewed the region as part of Poland. The Duchy of Prussia was elevated to a kingdom in 1701. As Protestantism spread among the laity of the Teutonic Monastic State of Prussia , dissent began to develop against

5432-404: The elimination of newer taxes by the nobility, and a return to an older tax of two marks per hide (a measure of land of approximately forty acres). They claimed to be rebelling against the harsh nobility, not against Duke Albert, who was away in the Holy Roman Empire and said that they would swear allegiance to him only in person. Upon Albert's return from the Empire, he called for a meeting of

5529-399: The end of Polish suzerainty was met with resistance of the population, regardless of ethnicity, as it was afraid of Brandenburg absolutism and wished to remain part of the Polish Crown . The burghers of the capital city of Königsberg, led by Hieronymus Roth , rejected the treaties of Wehlau and Oliva and viewed Prussia as "indisputably contained within the territory of the Polish Crown". It

5626-401: The end of life: "forgiving of their sins", "to be counted as just", and "the eternal life". Instruction is still similar. The first complete Bible in Danish was based on Martin Luther's translation into German . It was published in 1550 with 3,000 copies printed in the first edition; a second edition was published in 1589. Unlike Catholicism, Lutheranism does not believe that tradition

5723-437: The end of the Thirty Years' War , the compromising spirit seen in Philip Melanchthon rose up again in the Helmstedt School and especially in theology of Georgius Calixtus , causing the syncretistic controversy . Another theological issue that arose was the Crypto-Kenotic controversy. Late orthodoxy was torn by influences from rationalism , philosophy based on reason, and Pietism , a revival movement in Lutheranism. After

5820-517: The estates in the Teutonic bailiwicks outside of Prussia. On 1 March 1526, Albert married Princess Dorothea , daughter of King Frederick I of Denmark , thereby establishing political ties between Lutheranism and Scandinavia . Albert was greatly aided by his elder brother George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach , who had earlier established the Protestant religion in his territories of Franconia and Upper Silesia . Albert also found himself reliant on support from his uncle Sigismund I of Poland, as

5917-531: The expense of faith in God and agreement with the Bible". In 1709, Valentin Ernst Löscher warned that this new Rationalist view of the world fundamentally changed society by drawing into question every aspect of theology. Instead of considering the authority of divine revelation, he explained, Rationalists relied solely on their personal understanding when searching for truth. Johann Melchior Goeze (1717–1786), pastor of St. Catherine's Church in Hamburg , wrote apologetical works against Rationalists, including

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6014-405: The feudal era. Administratively, little changed in the transition from the Teutonic Knights to ducal rule. Although he was formally a vassal of the crown of Poland, Albert retained self-government for Prussia, his own army, the minting of his currency, a provincial assembly , (de, Landtag ), and substantial autonomy in foreign affairs. When Albert died in 1568, his teenage son (the exact age

6111-439: The final source of knowledge, but most of the laity did not accept this Rationalist position. In the 19th century, a confessional revival re-emphasized the authority of the Scriptures and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions. Today, Lutherans disagree about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Theological conservatives use the historical-grammatical method of Biblical interpretation, while theological liberals use

6208-436: The first Finnish New Testament was published in 1548. After the death of Martin Luther in 1546, the Schmalkaldic War started out as a conflict between two German Lutheran rulers in 1547. Soon, Holy Roman Imperial forces joined the battle and conquered the members of the Schmalkaldic League , oppressing and exiling many German Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the Augsburg Interim . Religious freedom in some areas

6305-462: The growth of foreign missions in Norway to non-Christians to a new height, which has never been reached since. In Sweden, Lars Levi Læstadius began the Laestadian movement that emphasized moral reform. In Finland, a farmer, Paavo Ruotsalainen , began the Finnish Awakening when he took to preaching about repentance and prayer. In 1817, Frederick William III of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming

6402-424: The invading forces opposing Gustav Vasa during the Stockholm Bloodbath led to the severing of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy in 1523. Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås  [ sv ] , the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church properties, as well as the church appointments and approval of

6499-428: The language that scriptures are presented in, and should not be so preoccupied by error so as to prevent understanding. As a result of this, Lutherans do not believe there is a need to wait for any clergy, pope, scholar, or ecumenical council to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. Lutherans confess that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates

6596-405: The member bodies to federal and state governments and to other organizations, and to serve as the U.S. National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation , a body (originally named Lutheran World Convention) that it had been instrumental in creating in 1923. Lutheranism Bible Translators Theologians Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that identifies primarily with

6693-464: The middle of the 16th century. These finally ended with the resolution of the issues in the Formula of Concord . Large numbers of politically and religiously influential leaders met together, debated, and resolved these topics on the basis of Scripture, resulting in the Formula, which over 8,000 leaders signed. The Book of Concord replaced earlier, incomplete collections of doctrine , unifying all German Lutherans with identical doctrine and beginning

6790-502: The new Protestant religion. The Teutonic Knights having brought Catholicism made the transition to Protestantism easier. The Church Order of 1525 provided for visitations of the parishioners and pastors, which were first carried out by Bishop George in 1538. Because Ducal Prussia was ostensibly a Lutheran land, authorities traveled throughout the duchy ensuring that Lutheran teachings were being followed and imposing penalties on pagans and dissidents. The rural population of native descent

6887-402: The obscuring of the Gospel teaching of justification by grace through faith alone. The Book of Concord , published in 1580, contains 10 documents which some Lutherans believe are faithful and authoritative explanations of Holy Scripture. Besides the three Ecumenical Creeds , which date to Roman times , the Book of Concord contains seven credal documents articulating Lutheran theology in

6984-489: The only presently available sources of divinely revealed knowledge, and the only infallible source of Christian doctrine. Scripture alone is the formal principle of the faith, the final authority for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy, and sufficiency. The authority of the Scriptures has been challenged during the history of Lutheranism. Martin Luther taught that

7081-785: The organization of the NLC, the member bodies began a series of mergers. In 1918, the General Synod, General Council, and United Synod South merged to form the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA). In 1930, the Ohio Joint Synod and the Iowa Synod merged into the first American Lutheran Church , and that body merged with the Norwegian Synod in 1960 to create the second American Lutheran Church (ALC). The Lutheran Free Church subsequently joined

7178-622: The orthodoxy of the 17th century. Friedrich Julius Stahl led the High Church Lutherans . Though raised Jewish, he was baptized as a Christian at the age of 19 through the influence of the Lutheran school he attended. As the leader of a neofeudal Prussian political party, he campaigned for the divine right of kings , the power of the nobility , and episcopal polity for the church. Along with Theodor Kliefoth and August Friedrich Christian Vilmar , he promoted agreement with

7275-600: The peasants in a field, whereupon he surrounded them with loyal troops and had them arrested without incident. The leaders of the rebellion were subsequently executed. There were no more large-scale rebellions. Ducal Prussia became known as a land of Protestantism and sectarianism. In 1544, Duke Albert founded the Albertina University in Königsberg, which became the principal educational establishment for Lutheran pastors and theologians of Prussia. In 1560,

7372-620: The people shouted; "We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore". Frederick's son was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death in 1533. However, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1536 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark–Norway . The constitution upon which the Danish Norwegian Church, according to

7469-528: The period of Lutheran Orthodoxy. In lands where Catholicism was the state religion, Lutheranism was officially illegal, although enforcement varied. Until the end of the Counter-Reformation , some Lutherans worshipped secretly, such as at the Hundskirke (which translates as dog church or dog altar), a triangle-shaped Communion rock in a ditch between crosses in Paternion , Austria. The crowned serpent

7566-634: The preceding outward Word". Lutherans are confident that the Bible contains everything that one needs to know in order to obtain salvation and to live a Christian life. There are no deficiencies in Scripture that need to be filled with by tradition, pronouncements of the Pope , new revelations, or present-day development of doctrine . Lutherans understand the Bible as containing two distinct types of content, termed Law and Gospel (or Law and Promises). Properly distinguishing between Law and Gospel prevents

7663-548: The purpose of God's Law , the concept of perseverance of the saints , and predestination , amongst other matters. The name Lutheran originated as a derogatory term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Roman Catholics followed the traditional practice of naming a heresy after its leader, thus labeling all who identified with

7760-608: The purpose of arguing with the Jesuits , and it was finally established by Johann Gerhard . Abraham Calovius represents the climax of the scholastic paradigm in orthodox Lutheranism. Other orthodox Lutheran theologians include Martin Chemnitz , Aegidius Hunnius , Leonhard Hutter , Nicolaus Hunnius , Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand , Salomo Glassius , Johann Hülsemann , Johann Conrad Dannhauer , Johannes Andreas Quenstedt , Johann Friedrich König , and Johann Wilhelm Baier . Near

7857-534: The reign of Frederick I (1523–1533), Denmark–Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he soon adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, the most significant of which was Hans Tausen . During Frederick's reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark. At an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by King Christian III in 1536,

7954-659: The revival movements were divided by philosophical traditions. The Repristination school and Old Lutherans tended towards Kantianism, while the Erlangen school promoted a conservative Hegelian perspective . By 1969, Manfried Kober complained that "unbelief is rampant" even within German Lutheran parishes. Traditionally, Lutherans hold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the only divinely inspired books,

8051-456: The senior Brandenburg Hohenzollern line, the ruling margraves and prince-electors of Brandenburg , who thereafter ruled Brandenburg (a fief of the Holy Roman Empire ), and Ducal Prussia (a Polish fief), in personal union . The legal contradiction made a cross-border real union impossible; however, in practice, Brandenburg and Ducal Prussia were more and more ruled as one and were colloquially referred to as Brandenburg-Prussia . In 1618,

8148-460: The territory passed under the full sovereignty of Brandenburg. Therefore, Duchy of Prussia then became the more adequate appellation for the state. Full sovereignty was a necessary prerequisite to upgrade Ducal Prussia to the sovereign Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 when Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg can become " king in Prussia " in 1701 without approvement of Emperor Leopold I . However,

8245-432: The then- Livonian Order . Lutheran clergy became civil servants and the Lutheran churches became part of the state. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century as the monarchs of Denmark–Norway and Sweden adopted the faith. Through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia . It also began spreading into Lithuania Proper with practically all members of

8342-480: The theology of Martin Luther , the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 1517. Lutheranism subsequently became the state religion of many parts of Northern Europe , starting with Prussia in 1525. In 1521, the split between Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church was made public and clear with

8439-559: The two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed . As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped. Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Anabaptists and Calvinists . In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church. Lutheranism has its roots in

8536-597: The university received a royal privilege from King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. It was granted the same rights and autonomy that were enjoyed by the Kraków University and so it became one of the leading universities in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . The use of the native languages in church services made Duke Albert appoint exiled Protestant Lithuanian pastors as professors, e.g. Stanislovas Rapolionis and Abraomas Kulvietis , making

8633-584: The work of Martin Luther , who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the Ninety-five Theses , divided Western Christianity . During the Reformation, Lutheranism became the state religion of numerous states of northern Europe , especially in northern Germany , Scandinavia , and

8730-435: Was found almost solely in small Pietist conventicles. However, some of the laity preserved Lutheran orthodoxy from both Pietism and rationalism by reusing old catechisms, hymnbooks, postils , and devotional writings, including those written by Johann Gerhard , Heinrich Müller and Christian Scriver . Luther scholar Johann Georg Hamann (1730–1788), a layman, became famous for countering Rationalism and striving to advance

8827-533: Was noted that the incorporation into the Polish Crown under the Treaty of Kraków was approved by the city of Königsberg, while the separation from Poland took place without the city's consent. Polish King John II Casimir was asked for help, and masses were held in Protestant churches for the king and the Polish Kingdom. But in 1662, Elector Frederick William entered the city with his troops and forced

8924-746: Was organized on September 6, 1918, in Chicago , Illinois. There were eight founding members of the NLC: The United Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the South (United Synod South) joined shortly thereafter. Each church body had one representative on the council for every 100,000 confirmed members or one-third fraction thereof, with the proviso that each church body would have at least one representative. The NLC originally had no formal constitution other than

9021-637: Was reorganized into the Province of East Prussia , while Pomerelia and the Malbork Land became the Province of West Prussia , with the exceptions of the two principal cities of Gdańsk and Toruń , annexed into West Prussia only in 1793 after the Second Partition of Poland . The Kingdom of Prussia, then consisting of East and West Prussia, being a sovereign state, and Brandenburg, being

9118-665: Was sealed by the Prussian Homage in Kraków in April 1525. The new duke established Lutheranism as the first Protestant state church . The capital remained in Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad ). The duchy was inherited by the Hohenzollern prince-electors of Brandenburg in 1618. This personal union is referred to as Brandenburg-Prussia . Frederick William , the "Great Elector" of Brandenburg, achieved full sovereignty over

9215-667: Was secured for Lutherans through the Peace of Passau in 1552, and under the legal principle of Cuius regio, eius religio (the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled) and the Declaratio Ferdinandei (limited religious tolerance ) clauses of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. Religious disputes among the Crypto-Calvinists , Philippists , Sacramentarians , Ubiquitarians , and Gnesio-Lutherans raged within Lutheranism during

9312-515: Was somewhat risky since Frederick William would definitely have to provide military support, and the reward could be provided only on victory. When the tide of the war turned against Charles X Gustav, he concluded the Treaty of Labiau (November 1656), making Frederick William I the full sovereign in Ducal Prussia and Warmia, which, however, was part of Poland. In response to the Swedish-Prussian alliance, King John II Casimir Vasa submitted

9409-631: Was thoroughly Christianised only starting with the Reformation in Prussia. A peasant rebellion broke out in Sambia in 1525. The combination of taxation by the nobility, the contentions of the Protestant Reformation , and the abrupt secularization of the Teutonic Order's remaining Prussian lands exacerbated peasant unrest. The relatively well-to-do rebel leaders, including a miller from Kaimen and an innkeeper from Schaaken in Prussia , were supported by sympathizers in Königsberg. The rebels demanded

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