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{{Short description|Major branch of Protestantism}}
{{Christianity}}
{{Redirect|Lutheran church|a list of church buildings|List of Lutheran churches}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Lutheranism}}
{{Protestantism |expanded=Major branches}}{{Redirect|Evangelical Lutheran|denominations known by this name|Evangelical Lutheran Church (disambiguation)}}
'''Lutheranism''' is a major branch of ] that identifies primarily with the theology of ], the ] German ] and ] whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the ] launched the ] in 1517.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Markkola |first1=P |year= 2015 |title=The Long History of Lutheranism in Scandinavia. From State Religion to the People's Church |journal= Perichoresis |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=3–15 |doi=10.1515/perc-2015-0007 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Lutheranism subsequently became the ] of many parts of ], starting with ] in 1525.


In 1521, the split between Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church was made public and clear with the ], in which the ] condemned Luther and officially banned subjects of the ] 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.<ref name=ENC3/>
'''Lutheranism''' is a movement within ] that began with the ] insights of ] in the 16th century. Luther's writings launched the ]. This attempt to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church led to the separation between a large number of Christians and the ] ].<ref><cite>MSN Encarta</cite>, s.v. "" by ]; <cite>Christian Cyclopedia</cite>, s.v. "" by Theore Hoyer.</ref> Today nearly seventy million Christians belong to Lutheran churches worldwide,<ref><span style="text-align: left;">Lutheran World Federation, , <cite>The Lutheran World Federation</cite>, http://www.lutheranworld.org/ (accessed May 18, 2006).</span></ref> with many of the four hundred million Protestant Christians<ref><span style="text-align: left;">" <cite>adherents.com</cite> http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity (accessed May 22, 2006).</span></ref> tracing their history back to Luther's reforming work.

The divide centered primarily on two points: the proper source of ], often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of ], the material principle of Lutheran theology.{{efn|Cf. ]}} Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by ] alone through ] on the basis of ] alone", the doctrine that ] is the final authority on all matters of faith. This contrasts with the belief of the Roman Catholic Church, defined at the ], which contends that final authority comes from both Scripture and ].<ref>''Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent'', Fourth Session, Decree on Sacred Scripture (Denzinger 783 ; Schaff 2:79–81). For a history of the discussion of various interpretations of the Tridentine decree, see Selby, Matthew L., ''The Relationship Between Scripture and Tradition according to the Council of Trent'', unpublished Master's thesis, University of St Thomas, July 2013.</ref>

Unlike ], Lutheranism retains many of the ] practices and ] teachings of the pre-Reformation Western Church, with a particular emphasis on the ], or Lord's Supper, although ] uses the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blc.edu/comm/gargy/gargy1/liturgical_church.html|title=Why is the Lutheran Church a Liturgical Church?|last=Webber|first=David Jay|year=1992|publisher=]|language=English|accessdate=18 September 2018|quote=In the Byzantine world, however, this pattern of worship would not be informed by the liturgical history of the Latin church, as with the Reformation-era church orders, but by the liturgical history of the Byzantine church. (This was in fact what occurred with the Ukrainian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, which published in its 1933 Ukrainian Evangelical Service Book the first ever Lutheran liturgical order derived from the historic Eastern Rite.)}}</ref> Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in ], divine ], the purpose of ], the concept of ], and ], amongst other matters.

==Etymology==
The name Lutheran originated as a derogatory term used against Luther by German ] theologian ] during the ] in July 1519.<ref name=OOE796>Espín, Orlando O. and Nickoloff, James B. ''An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies''. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, p. 796.</ref> Eck and other ] followed the traditional practice of naming a ] after its leader, thus ] all who identified with the ] as Lutherans.<ref name=ENC3>Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Bromiley, Geoffrey William, ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2003. p. 362.</ref>

Martin Luther always disliked the term ''Lutheran'', preferring the term ''evangelical'', which was derived from {{lang|grc|εὐαγγέλιον}} ''euangelion'', a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. "]".<ref name=OOE796/> The followers of ], ], and other theologians linked to the ] also used that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to 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 ] and ].

In 1597, theologians in ] defined the title ''Lutheran'' as referring to the true church.<ref name=ENC3/>


==History== ==History==
{{Main|History of Lutheranism}}
{{Further|Reformation}}
] by ]]]
Lutheranism has its roots in the work of ], who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bethanylutheranvv.org/lutherans_started.html|title=Bethany Lutheran Ministries – Home|work=Bethany Lutheran Ministries|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=18 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118164526/http://www.bethanylutheranvv.org/lutherans_started.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>, Biblehistory.com</ref> The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the '']'', divided ].<ref>MSN Encarta, s.v. " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131191959/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561935/Lutheranism.html|date=31 January 2009}}" by ]; ''Christian Cyclopedia'', s.v. "" by Lueker, E. et al. 2009-10-31. Lutherans believe that the Roman Catholic Church is ].</ref> During the Reformation, Lutheranism became the ] of numerous states of northern ], especially in ], ], and the then-]. Lutheran clergy became civil servants and the Lutheran churches became part of the state.<ref name=":0" />


===Spread to Northern Europe===
{{main|History of Lutheranism}} {{main|The 95 Theses}}
], translated by brothers ] and ] and ]|alt=]]
Lutheranism spread through all of ] during the 16th century as the monarchs of ] and ] adopted the faith. Through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into ] and ]. It also began spreading into ] with practically all members of the Lithuanian nobility converting to Lutheranism or ], but at the end of the 17th century Protestantism at large began losing support due to the ] and ]s.<ref></nowiki>''](in Lithuanian). Istorijai.lt. Original archived on 5 August 2018. Retrieved on 4 April 2023.</ref> In German-ruled ], however, Lutheranism remained the dominant branch of Christianity.<ref></nowiki>''] (in Lithuanian). Reformacijai – 500.</ref> Lutheranism played a crucial role in preserving the ].<ref>Vyšniauskienė, M. (31 October 2015) </nowiki>''] (in Lithuanian). ].</ref>


Since 1520, regular<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29k9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA195 |title=Historisk fremstilling af reformationens indførelse i Danmark|access-date=5 March 2015|last1=Rohmann|first1=J. L|year=1836}}</ref> Lutheran services have been held in ]. Under the reign of ] (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 ].<ref name="Gilbert-12"/>
Lutheranism as a movement traces its origin to the work of ], a German monk, priest, and theologian who sought to reform the practices of the Catholic Church in the 16th century. The symbolic beginning of the ] occurred on ], ] when Luther posted his ] on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. Luther's ideas are generally held to have been a major foundation of the ].


During Frederick's reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark. At an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by ] in 1536, the people shouted; "We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29k9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA195 |title=Historisk fremstilling af reformationens indførelse i Danmark|location=Kjobenhavn|year=1836|pages=195|access-date=5 March 2015|last1=Rohmann|first1=J. L}}</ref> 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 ] that followed, in 1536 he became ] and advanced the ].
==Doctrine==


The constitution upon which the Danish Norwegian Church, according to the ], should rest was "The pure word of God, which is the Law and the Gospel".<ref>{{cite book | author = J. L. Rohmann | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=29k9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA202 | title = Historisk fremstilling af reformationens indførelse i Danmark |location = Kjobenhavn | year = 1836 | pages=202|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> It does not mention the ].<ref name="books.google.com"/> The priests had to understand the Holy Scripture well enough to preach and explain the Gospel and the ] to their congregations.<ref name="books.google.com" />
===The Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions===


The youths were taught<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29k9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA195 |title=Historisk fremstilling af reformationens indførelse i Danmark|access-date=5 March 2015|last1=Rohmann|first1=J. L|year=1836}}</ref> from '']'', available in ] since 1532. They were taught to expect at the end of life:<ref name="books.google.com"/> "forgiving of their sins", "to be counted as just", and "the eternal life". Instruction is still similar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=72723|title=Danmarks og Norges Kirke-Ritual (Kirkeritualet) |date=25 July 1685 |publisher=retsinformation.dk|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
The ] of Lutheranism is the ]. Lutherans believe the Bible is ] and is the final authority for all matters of faith and doctrine. Lutherans also hold that Holy Scripture is explained and interpreted faithfully by Scripture itself. This teaching is expanded upon in the <cite>]</cite>, a series of Confessions of faith composed by Lutherans in the 16th Century. Traditionally, Lutheran pastors, congregations, and ] agree to teach in harmony with the <cite>]</cite>. Some Lutheran church bodies require this pledge to be unconditional, while others allow their congregations to do so "in so far as" the Confessions are in agreement with the Bible. Historically, Lutherans have regarded the Bible as ]. In contrast to this view, some Lutheran denominations see the Bible as an essentially human document and therefore capable of error, particularly in historical and scientific matters.


The first complete ] in ] was based on ] into ]. It was published in 1550 with 3,000 copies printed in the first edition; a second edition was published in 1589.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rxt3f6fbHGgC&pg=PA416 |title=A Dictionary of the Bible|access-date=5 March 2015|isbn=9781410217301|last1=Hastings|first1=James|date=October 2004|publisher=The Minerva Group }}</ref> Unlike Catholicism, Lutheranism does not believe that tradition is a carrier of the "Word of God", or that only the communion of the ] has been entrusted to interpret the "Word of God".<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html|title=Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
===Central doctrines===


The ]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-12-23|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Religion in Sweden#Lutheran Reformation|reason= The anchor (Lutheran Reformation) ].}} began with ] and ], brothers who took the Reformation to Sweden after studying in Germany. They led ], elected king in 1523, to Lutheranism. The pope's refusal to allow the replacement of an archbishop who had supported the invading forces opposing Gustav Vasa during the ] led to the severing of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy in 1523.<ref name="Gilbert-12">, ''Renaissance and Reformation'' by William Gilbert.</ref>
{{lutheranism}}
The ] of Lutheranism is the Lutheran doctrine of ]: salvation by God's grace alone (''Sola Gratia''), through faith alone (''Sola Fide'') for the sake of Christ's merit alone (''Solus Christus''). Lutherans believe that God made the world, including humanity, perfect, holy, and sinless. However, ] chose to disobey God, trusting in their own strength, knowledge, and wisdom. Because of this ''''']'''''—the sin from which all other sins come—all descendents of Adam and Eve (thus, all humans) are born in sin and are sinners. For Lutherans, original sin could be characterized as the "chief sin, a root and fountainhead of all actual sins" (Formula of Concord).


Four years later, at the {{interlanguage link|Diet of Västerås|sv|Västerås riksdag}}, 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 the clergy. While this effectively granted official sanction to Lutheran ideas,<ref name="Gilbert-12"/> Lutheranism did not become official until 1593. At that time the ] declared Holy Scripture the sole guideline for faith, with four documents accepted as faithful and authoritative explanations of it: the '']'', the '']'', the '']'', and the unaltered ''Augsburg Confession'' of 1530.<ref>N.F. ''Lutheran Cyclopedia'', article, "", New York: Schrivner, 1899. pp. 528–529.</ref> ]'s translation of the first '']'' was published in 1548.<ref>''Lutheran Cyclopedia'', article, "", New York: Schrivner, 1899. p. 5.</ref>
Lutherans teach that sinners cannot do anything (i.e. "good works") to satisfy God's justice. Every human thought and deed is colored by sin and sinful motives. God has intervened in this world because He loves sinners and does not want them to be eternally damned. By His ''''']''''', a person is forgiven, adopted as a child of God, and given eternal salvation.


===Counter-Reformation and controversies===
For this reason, Lutherans teach that salvation is possible only because of the eternal sacrifice made manifest in the birth, perfect life of obedience, suffering, death, and resurrection of ] Christ. In the person of Jesus Christ, Lutherans believe God and Man meet. Because He is God, He is sinless and so a worthy sacrifice, without spot or blemish. Because He is a man, He could die. In His death, death is destroyed (in an ultimate sense), our debt paid, and our sins forgiven.
]
After the death of ] in 1546, the ] 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 ], oppressing and exiling many German Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the ]. Religious freedom in some areas was secured for Lutherans through the ] in 1552, and under the legal principle of '']'' (the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled) and the ] (limited ]) clauses of the ] in 1555.<ref>Fuerbringer, L., '''' ]. 1927. p. 425</ref>


Religious disputes among the ], ], ], ], and ] raged within Lutheranism during the middle of the 16th century. These finally ended with the resolution of the issues in the '']''. 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 '']'' replaced earlier, incomplete ], unifying all German Lutherans with identical doctrine and beginning the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy.
Lutherans believe that individuals receive this gift of salvation through ''''']''''' alone—a full and complete trust in God's promises to forgive and to save. Even faith itself is seen as a gift of God, created in the hearts of Christians by the work of the Holy Spirit through the means of God's grace, the Word and the Sacraments. It is important to note the words - ''through'' faith, not ''by'' faith. Faith is seen as an instrument that receives the gift of salvation. Faith is not something that causes salvation, together the grace of God. Lutherans reject so-called ] which is common among ]s.


In lands where ] was the state religion, Lutheranism was officially illegal, although enforcement varied. Until the end of the ], some Lutherans worshipped secretly, such as at the Hundskirke (which translates as dog church or dog altar), a triangle-shaped ] in a ditch between crosses in ], Austria. The crowned serpent is possibly an allusion to ], while the dog possibly refers to ]. 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".<ref>This photograph is of a replica of the original Hundskirche stone. , (Google Books) by Theodor Vernaleken, 1896</ref>
Traditionally, Lutherans have rejected synergism, and the doctrine that man has a free will concerning spiritual matters. They have also believed that there is a predestination to salvation. Properly understood, the doctrine of predestination is merely another way of expressing the doctrine of salvation by grace alone. Here Lutherans have sided with Calvinism. Unlike some in Calvinism, however, Lutherans do not believe in a predestination to damnation.


===Lutheran orthodoxy===
Lutherans generally speak of only two sacraments: Holy Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord's Supper. They teach that Holy Baptism is a work of God, founded on the word and promise of Christ<ref>Martin Luther, <cite>Small Catechism</cite> </ref>. Thus it is administered to both infants and adults. Children born to practicing Lutheran families are usually baptized shortly after birth. This tradition of ] distinguishes Lutheranism culturally and doctrinally from some other forms of Christianity. In recent years, some small ] Lutheran Churches such the ] have come to recognize and celebrate all seven sacraments; and have adopted a sacramental theology virtually indistinguishable from that of the Roman Catholic Church.
{{Main|Lutheran orthodoxy}}
] in Germany, the center of ] activity leading up to the ], and a center of Lutheran orthodoxy]]
] expressed her ] sentiment in 1737 by founding a ].]]
The historical period of Lutheran Orthodoxy is divided into three sections: Early Orthodoxy (1580–1600), High Orthodoxy (1600–1685), and Late Orthodoxy (1685–1730). ] developed gradually, especially for the purpose of arguing with the ], and it was finally established by ]. ] represents the climax of the ] paradigm in orthodox Lutheranism. Other orthodox Lutheran theologians include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].


Near the end of the ], the compromising spirit seen in ] rose up again in the ] School and especially in theology of ], causing the ]. Another theological issue that arose was the Crypto-Kenotic controversy.<ref> article in ]</ref>
Lutherans believe in consubstantiation: that there is a Real Presence of the the true body and blood of Christ, "in, with and under" the bread and wine (1 Cor 10:16, 11:27).


Late orthodoxy was torn by influences from ], philosophy based on reason, and ], a revival movement in Lutheranism. After a century of vitality, the Pietist theologians ] and ] warned that orthodoxy had degenerated into meaningless intellectualism and ], while orthodox theologians found the emotional and subjective focuses of Pietism to be vulnerable to Rationalist propaganda.<ref name=CC426>Fuerbringer, L., '''' Concordia Publishing House. 1927. p. 426</ref> In 1688, the Finnish ] ] ran down the main aisle of ] naked while screaming that the disgrace of Finnish clergymen would be revealed like his current disgrace.
Lutherans believe that all who trust in Jesus alone can be sure of their salvation, for it is in Christ's work and his promises in which their surety lies. They teach that, at death, Christians are immediately taken into the presence of God in Heaven, where they await the resurrection of the body at the second coming of Christ. Lutherans do not believe in any sort of millennial kingdom of Christ either before, or after, his second coming on the last day.


The last famous orthodox Lutheran theologian before the rationalist ''Aufklärung'', or ''Enlightenment'', was ]. Late orthodox theologian ] took part in the controversy against ]. Medieval ] traditions continued in the works of ], ], and ]. Pietism became a rival of orthodoxy but adopted some devotional literature by orthodox theologians, including Arndt, ], and ].
Although Lutherans believe that good works do not satisfy God's justice, this is not to say that they hold good works to play no role in the Christian life. Good works are the fruit of saving faith, and always and in every instance spring spontaneously from true faith; and have their true origin in God, not in the fallen human heart or in human striving; their complete absence would demonstrate that faith, too, is absent.


===Rationalism===
===Ecumenism with other Christians===
Rationalist philosophers from France and England had an enormous impact during the 18th century, along with the German Rationalists ], ], and ]. Their work led to an increase in rationalist beliefs, "at the expense of faith in God and agreement with the Bible".<ref name=CC426/>
{{reformation}}
Historically, Lutherans have tended to remain apart from associations with other Churches in order to protect their unique doctrines. Liberal Lutherans believe in ], the idea that there is a ], and a single Christian faith.


In 1709, ] 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.<ref>Kleinig, Vernon P. "Confessional Lutheranism in Eighteenth-Century Germany." '''' Jan–April 1996: Part I, Valentin Ernst Loescher p. 102.</ref>
Although the Lutheran World Federation has been in ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church since shortly after Vatican II, it wasn't until 1999 that far-reaching ecumenical relations were established between the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church when they jointly issued a statement, the '']'', that declared commonality of the Roman Catholic and Lutheran doctrines on Justification.. While some Lutheran theologians from some Lutheran traditions saw this as a sign the Roman Catholic Church was essentially adopting the Lutheran position other Lutheran theologians disagreed.


] (1717–1786), pastor of ], wrote ] works against Rationalists, including a theological and historical defence against the ] of the Bible.<ref>Kleinig, Vernon P. "Confessional Lutheranism in Eighteenth-Century Germany." '''' Jan–April 1996: Part II, Melchior Goeze pp. 109–112.</ref>
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been actively involved in ecumenical dialogues with several denominations (the ELCA is one of the members of the LWF that signed the JDDJ). Recently, the ELCA has established "full communion" with several American Churches: the Moravian Church, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ.


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.<ref>Rietschel, William C. ''An Introduction to the Foundations of Lutheran Education''. St. Louis: Concordia, 2000. p. 25 (Although this reference specifically mentions Saxony, government promoted rationalism was a trend across Germany)</ref> As a result of the impact of a local form of rationalism, termed ], by the latter half of the 18th century, genuine piety was found almost solely in small Pietist conventicles.<ref name=CC426/> However, some of the laity preserved Lutheran orthodoxy from both Pietism and rationalism by reusing old catechisms, hymnbooks, ]s, and devotional writings, including those written by ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stolaf.edu/people/lund/Research.htm|title=Untitled Document|access-date=5 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110723/http://www.stolaf.edu/people/lund/Research.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
In another example, in 1944 the ] issued a document known as the "Doctrinal Affirmation," which adopted a definition of "prayer-fellowship" contrary to all its earlier pronouncements. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, another large controversy occurred with the participation of Rev. David Benke, President of the Atlantic District of the ] in the "Prayer for America" service held at Yankee Stadium where Sikhs and Hindus also participated.


===Revivals===
Among the ] Lutheran Churches, the ] has adopted the ecumenical goal of visible, organic union with the Roman Catholic Church.
] ]|alt=]]
]]]
], youth are confirmed at ]'s homestead in ], Finland.|alt=]]
Luther scholar ] (1730–1788), a layman, became famous for countering Rationalism and striving to advance a ] known as the ''Erweckung'', or ''Awakening''.<ref name=Gritsch180>Gritsch, Eric W. . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 180.</ref> In 1806, ] 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.<ref name="Armin Sierszyn p. 155">Armin Sierszyn: 2000 Jahre Kirchengeschichte, Book.4, Die Neuzeit, p. 155</ref><ref name="Suelflow, Roy A. 1967. p. 10">Suelflow, Roy A. ''Walking With Wise Men''. Milwaukee: ], 1967. p. 10</ref>


Small groups sprang up, often in universities, which devoted themselves to Bible study, reading devotional writings, and revival meetings. Although the beginning of this ''Awakening'' tended heavily toward Romanticism, ], and experience, the emphasis of the ''Awakening'' shifted around 1830 to restoring the traditional liturgy, doctrine, and confessions of Lutheranism in the ] movement.<ref name="Armin Sierszyn p. 155"/><ref name="Suelflow, Roy A. 1967. p. 10"/>
In the 1990's, influences from the ] of American evangelicalism (eg ] "Becoming a Contagious Christian" from ] and ] "Purpose Driven Life" from ]) have become common.


This Awakening swept through all of ] except ].<ref name="Latourette p.165">]. ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, Volume II, The Nineteenth Century in Europe''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 165.</ref> It developed from both German Neo-Lutheranism and Pietism. Danish pastor and philosopher ] reshaped church life throughout Denmark through a reform movement beginning in 1830. He also wrote about 1,500 hymns, including '']''.<ref name = Gritsch182>Gritsch, Eric W. . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 182.</ref>
While the blendings of distinctively Lutheran doctrines with those of many other creeds have occurred in Lutheran churches throughout history, conservative Lutheran theologians typically reject these blendings.


In ], ], a lay street preacher, emphasized spiritual discipline and sparked the ] movement,<ref name= Gritsch183>Gritsch, Eric W. . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 183.</ref> which was followed by the ''Johnsonian Awakening'' within the state-church as spearheaded by its namesake, ] and Pietist ].<ref> by Karina Hestad Skeie, p. 22</ref> The ''Awakening'' drove the growth of foreign missions in Norway to non-Christians to a new height, which has never been reached since.<ref name="Latourette p.165"/> In Sweden, ] began the ] that emphasized moral reform.<ref name=Gritsch183 /> In Finland, a farmer, ], began the ] when he took to preaching about repentance and prayer.<ref name=Gritsch183/>
Many confessional and conservative Lutherans reject the ecumenical movement. These Lutherans claim fellowship among Christians should be based on a doctrinal unity.


In 1817, ] ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming the ]. The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the ]. Many Lutherans, called "]", chose to leave the state churches despite imprisonment and military force.<ref name = Gritsch180 /> Some formed independent church bodies, or "]es", at home while ] for the United States, Canada and Australia. A similar legislated merger in ] prompted thousands to join the Old Lutheran movement. The dispute over ecumenism overshadowed other controversies within German Lutheranism.<ref>{{Cite book | year=1974 | contribution=Lutheran Churches | editor-last=Benton | editor-first=William | editor-link=William Benton (senator) | title=Encyclopædia Britannica | edition=15 | place=Chicago | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. | volume=11 | page=198 | isbn=978-0-85229-290-7 }}</ref>
===Ecumenism among Lutherans===
The largest organizations of Lutheran churches around the world are the ], the ], and the ]. These organizations together include the great majority of Lutheran denominations around the globe.


Despite political meddling in church life, local and national leaders sought to restore and renew Christianity. Neo-Lutheran ] and Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn<ref></ref> both sent young men overseas to serve as pastors to ]s, while the ] focused on renewing the situation home.<ref name=Gritsch184>Gritsch, Eric W. . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 184.</ref> ], ] 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.<ref name=Gritsch187>Gritsch, Eric W. . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 187.</ref>
The perspective, held by ] (LWF) aligned Lutherans, do not believe any one church to be singularly true in its teachings. This belief protrays Lutheranism as a reform movement rather than as a movement into doctrinal correctness. For that reason, a number of more doctrinally diverse Lutheran denominations, now largely separated from state control, are declaring fellowship and joint statements of agreement with other Lutheran or non-Lutheran Christian denominations.


], though raised Reformed, became convinced of the truth of historic Lutheranism as a young man.<ref name=KSL21>]. ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, Volume II, The Nineteenth Century in Europe.'' Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1959, p. 21.</ref> He led the Neo-Lutheran ''Repristination School'' of theology, which advocated a return to the orthodox theologians of the 17th century and opposed modern Bible scholarship.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Repristination Theology |encyclopedia=] |access-date=6 Apr 2010 |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/498536/Repristination-Theology}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2019}} As editor of the periodical '']'', 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.<ref name=KSL21/>
However ] and ] aligned Lutherans as well as members of non-body-affiliated churches such as the ] (CLC) maintain that that the orthodox confessional Lutherans are the only church with completely correct doctrine. They teach that while other Christian churches teach orthodox doctrine and have true Christians as members the doctrines of those churches contain errors. More conservative Lutherans strive to maintain historical distinctiveness while emphasizing doctrinal purity alongside Gospel motivated outreach. They state that the LWF Lutherans are practicing "false ecumenism" rather than true ecumenism by desiring church-fellowship outside of actual unity of teaching.


The theological faculty at the ] in ] became another force for reform.<ref name=KSL21/> There, professor ], though previously an adherent of rationalism and ], made Erlangen a magnet for revival oriented theologians.<ref name=KSL22>]. ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, Volume II, The Nineteenth Century in Europe.'' Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 22.</ref> Termed the ''Erlangen School'' of theology, they developed a new version of the ],<ref name=KSL22/> which they felt emphasized the humanity of ] better than the ecumenical creeds.<ref name=HJN175>Nichols, James Hastings. History of Christianity 1650–1950: Secularization of the West. New York, Ronald Press, 1956, p. 175.</ref> As theologians, they used both modern historical critical and Hegelian philosophical methods instead of attempting to revive the orthodoxy of the 17th century.<ref>Gassmann, Günther, et al. . Augsburg Fortress, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2001. p. 32.</ref>
==Religious practices==
Many Lutherans place great emphasis on a ] approach to worship services; although there have always been substantial non-liturgical minorities (Hauge Lutherans from Norway, contemporary-worship oriented Lutherans today—see paragraph below). ] forms a large part of a traditional Lutheran service. Lutheran ]s are sometimes known as ]s, and Luther himself composed hymns and hymn tunes, perhaps the most famous of which is "]" ''("Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott")''. Lutheran hymnody is reputed for its doctrinal, didactic, and musical riches. Many Lutheran churches are active musically with choirs, hand-bell choirs, children's choirs, and sometimes ] societies (to ring bells in a bell tower). ], a devout Lutheran, composed music for the Lutheran church.


] led the '']''. 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 ] Prussian political party, he campaigned for the ], the power of the ], and ] for the church. Along with ] and ], he promoted agreement with the Roman Catholic Church with regard to the ], ] effectiveness of the sacraments, and the divine authority of clergy. Unlike Catholics, however, they also urged complete agreement with the ''Book of Concord''.<ref name=HJN175/>
Many Lutherans also preserve a liturgical approach to the ], considering ] (or the ]) the central act of Christian worship. Lutherans believe that the bread and wine are actually Jesus' body and blood, not simply a symbol of His sacrifice. They confess in the ]:
::"...we do not abolish the ] but religiously keep and defend it. Among us the Mass is celebrated every Lord's Day and on other festivals, when the Sacrament is made available to those who wish to partake of it, after they have been examined and absolved. We also keep traditional liturgical forms, such as the order of readings, prayers, vestments, and other similar things." (Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV.1)


The Neo-Lutheran movement managed to slow secularism and counter atheistic ], but it did not fully succeed in Europe.<ref name=Gritsch184/> It partly succeeded in continuing 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 ] that did not connect with an increasingly ] and ] Europe.<ref name=Gritsch188>Gritsch, Eric W. . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 188.</ref> The work of local leaders resulted in specific areas of vibrant spiritual renewal, but people in Lutheran areas became increasingly distant from church life.<ref name=Gritsch184/> Additionally, the revival movements were divided by philosophical traditions. The Repristination school and Old Lutherans tended towards Kantianism, while the Erlangen school promoted a ]. By 1969, Manfried Kober complained that "unbelief is rampant" even within German Lutheran parishes.<ref>Detzler, Wayne A. ''The Changing Church in Europe.'' Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979. p. 17. Quotation from Manfred Kober, ''Theology in Germany'', from the Reformation Review, April 1969.</ref>
In the 1970's, many Lutheran churches began holding "contemporary" worship services for the purpose of evangelical outreach. These services were in a variety of styles, depending on the preferences of the congregation. Often they were held alongside a traditional service, to cater to those who were not comfortable with the more liturgical forms. As the Lutheran church enters the 21st century, more Lutheran congregations are holding "Contemporary Worship" services as their sole form of worship. Outreach is no longer given as the primary motivation, rather this form of worship is seen as more in keeping with the desires of individual congregations. Because Luther contemporized the worship service for his community, these congregations see their position as in keeping with "Confessional Lutheranism". Principle examples of this in the ELCA include , , and Those who hold to traditional, more liturgical, styles of worship often view typical contemporary styles as straying from Luther's embrace of Christ-centered worship. Where traditional hymns frequently have ''God'' as the subject in the lyrics and rich theological subject material, contemporary hymns more often have ''I'' as the subject in the lyrics with very little theological content. They also believe that the Cross, the Word, and the Sacraments no longer serve as the focus in contemporary worship services.


==Doctrine<!--'Lutheran theologian' and 'Lutheran theology' redirect here-->==
Catechism, especially children's, is considered fundamental in most Lutheran churches. Almost all maintain ]s, and many host or maintain private nursery-schools, primary schools, regional high schools and universities.
===Bible===
]]]
] and ] point the sinner looking for God's salvation to the cross to find it, a Lutheran ideal known as the ].]]
Traditionally, Lutherans hold the ] of the ] and ]s to be the only divinely inspired books, the only presently available sources of divinely revealed knowledge, and the only infallible source of Christian doctrine.<ref>For the traditional Lutheran view of the Bible, see {{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |pages=3ff |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}. For an overview of the doctrine of verbal inspiration in Lutheranism, see in the Christian Cyclopedia.</ref> ] is the ] of the faith, the ] for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy, and sufficiency.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |pages=7ff |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}, {{cite book|last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 }}</ref>


The authority of the Scriptures has been challenged during the history of Lutheranism. Martin Luther taught that 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.<ref>Braaten, Carl E. (1983). Principles of Lutheran Theology. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, p. 9</ref> These teachings were accepted during the ] of the 17th century.<ref>Preus, Robert. ''.'' London: Oliver and Boyd, 1957. p. 39.</ref> During the 18th century, Rationalism advocated reason rather than the authority of the Bible as the final source of knowledge, but most of the ] did not accept this Rationalist position.<ref>{{Cite book | year=1978 | contribution=Lutheran Churches | editor-last=Benton | editor-first=William | editor-link=William Benton (senator) | title=Encyclopædia Britannica | edition=15 | place=Chicago | publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. | volume=11 | pages=197–98 | isbn=978-0-85229-290-7 }}</ref> In the 19th century, a ] re-emphasized the authority of the Scriptures and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions.
Life-long catechesis, since Martin Luther's day, was intended for all ages so that the abuses of the Church of that day would not reoccur. Reference: prefaces to Luther's ] and ]. With the emphasis on proper life-long catechesis, the Lutheran Church has a heritage rich in theology and doctrine.


Today, Lutherans disagree about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Theological conservatives use the ] of Biblical interpretation, while ] use the ] method. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the ] 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 the Bible was written by men and not the Word of God. 7% did not know, were not sure, or had other positions.<ref>U.S. Religious Landscape Survey: Religious Beliefs and Practices, Diverse and Politically Relevant. Washington D.C.: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. June 2008. p. 127. Accessed online on 27 September 2009 at .</ref>
Pastors usually teach in the common language of the parish. In the U.S., some congregations and synods traditionally taught in ], ], or ], but this custom, which attracted unfavorable attention during ], has been in significant decline since the early/middle 20th century.


====Inspiration====
Pastors almost always have substantial theological educations, including ] and ] so that they can refer directly to the canonical Christian scriptures in the original language. Lutheran pastors may marry and have families.
Although many Lutherans today hold less specific views of ], 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934}}</ref> The '']'' identifies Holy Scripture with the Word of God<ref>"God's Word, or Holy Scripture" from the {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022004920/https://bookofconcord.org/defense_2_originalsin.php |date=22 October 2020 }}</ref> and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible.<ref>"the Scripture of the Holy Ghost." {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031090229/http://bookofconcord.org/defense_greeting.php |date=31 October 2020 }}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/sd-ruleandnorm.php|title=The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228130027/http://www.bookofconcord.org/sd-ruleandnorm.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures are confessed as authentic and written by the prophets and apostles. A correct translation of their writings is seen as God's Word because it has the same meaning as the original Hebrew and Greek.<ref name="Engelder 1934 27">{{cite book |last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 |location=Saint Louis, MO |page=}}</ref> A mistranslation is not God's word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority.<ref name="Engelder 1934 27"/>


====Clarity====
Some groups of Lutherans do not believe that members of the church should also be members of Freemasonry. In a 1958 Lutheran Church report it states that, "Masonry is guilty of idolatry. Its worship and prayers are idol worship. The Masons may not with their hands have made an idol out of gold, silver, wood or stone, but they created one with their own mind and reason out of purely human thoughts and ideas. The latter is an idol no less than the former."<ref>Report of the Lutheran Church, ''The Northwestern Lutheran'', page 281, August 31, 1988.</ref>
Historically, Lutherans understand the Bible to present all doctrines and commands of the Christian faith ].<ref>{{bibleverse||Psalm|19:8|50}}, {{bibleverse||Psalm|119:105|50}}, {{bibleverse||Psalm|119:130|50}}, {{bibleverse|2|Timothy|3:15|50}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|30:11|50}}, {{bibleverse|2|Peter|1:19|31}}, {{bibleverse||Ephesians|3:3–4|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|8:31–32|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|4:3–4|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|8:43–47|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Peter|3:15–16|31}}, {{cite book|last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 }}, {{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |pages=11–12 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In addition, Lutherans believe that God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer of ordinary intelligence, without requiring any special education.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=11 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}, {{cite book|last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 }}</ref> A Lutheran must understand the language that scriptures are presented in, and should not be so preoccupied by error so as to prevent understanding.<ref>{{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=11 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As a result of this, Lutherans do not believe there is a need to wait for any clergy, pope, scholar, or ] to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible.<ref>{{cite book |last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934}}
</ref>


====Efficacy====
Lutheran Churches in the United States use a number of hymnals as well as electronic projection media. The most widely used are: ''Christian Worship'' (WELS), ''The ]'' (] and ELCIC), ''The Lutheran Hymnal'' (], ] & CLC) and ''Lutheran Worship'' (LCMS). In 2006, The ] approved a new hymnal, ''Lutheran Service Book'', which is now available. The ] (ELCA) has also approved a new hymnal, '']'', which became available in October 2006. has .
Lutherans confess that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates the acceptance of its teaching.<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|1:16|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|2:13|50}}, {{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=11 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}, {{cite book|last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|1:16|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|1:5|50}}, {{bibleverse||Psalm|119:105|50}}, {{bibleverse|2|Peter|1:19|50}}, {{bibleverse|2|Timothy|1:16–17|31}},{{bibleverse||Ephesians|3:3–4|50}}, {{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |pages=11–12 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}, {{cite book|last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 }}</ref> Scripture does not compel a mere intellectual assent to its doctrine, resting on logical argumentation, but rather it creates the living agreement of faith.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|6:63|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|1:3|31}}, {{bibleverse||Ephesians|3:3–4|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|7:17|31}}, {{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=12 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712193848/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}, {{cite book|last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 }}</ref> As the ] 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 the preceding outward Word".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/smalcald.php#confession|title=Smalcald Articles – Book of Concord|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731111923/http://www.bookofconcord.org/smalcald.php#confession|url-status=dead}}</ref>


====Sufficiency====
==International bodies==
]; the left side shows humans' condemnation under God's law and the right side presents God's grace in Christ.|alt=]]
The three largest international Lutheran bodies are the ] (LWF), of which the ] and ] are members; the ] (ILC), of which the ] and the LCC are members; and the ] (CELC), of which the ] and ELS are members. The Lutheran World Federation supports the activities of Lutheran World Relief, a relief and development agency active in more than 50 countries.
Lutherans are confident that the Bible contains everything that one needs to know in order to obtain salvation and to live a Christian life.<ref>
{{bibleverse|2|Timothy|3:15–17|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:39|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|17:20|31}}, {{bibleverse||Psalm|19:7–8|31}}, {{cite book |last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934}}</ref> There are no deficiencies in Scripture that need to be filled with by tradition, ], new revelations, or present-day ].<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|8:20|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|16:29–31|50}}, {{bibleverse|2|Timothy|3:16–17|31}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=13 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807135035/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/bibliology.txt |archive-date=7 August 2007 |df=dmy-all }}, {{cite book |last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W. |url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 |title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934 }}</ref>


====Law and Gospel====
These three communions together consist of about 200 church bodies in about 80 nations. Other members of these church bodies can be found listed in their respective articles.
Lutherans understand the Bible as containing two distinct types of content, termed ] (or Law and Promises).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookofconcord.com/defense_4_justification.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118113812/http://www.bookofconcord.com/defense_4_justification.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2013|title=Defense of the Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> Properly distinguishing between Law and Gospel prevents the obscuring of the Gospel teaching of justification by grace through faith alone.<ref>Walther, C. F. W. . W. H. T. Dau, trans. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1929.</ref>


===Lutheran confessions===
Many Lutheran churches exist throughout the world which are not affiliated with the large LWF, ILC and CELC, such as those affiliated with or which are especially active in Africa and India; and those affiliated with the , which are especially active elsewhere in Asia.
]'', published in 1580]]
The '']'', published in 1580, contains 10 documents which some Lutherans believe are faithful and authoritative explanations of Holy Scripture. Besides the three ], which date to ], the ''Book of Concord'' contains seven ] documents articulating Lutheran theology in 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 ] in Scandinavia consider only the ''Augsburg Confession'' as a "summary of the faith" in addition to the three ecumenical creeds.<ref>F.E. Mayer, The Religious Bodies of America. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1954, p. 184. For further information, see {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707192443/http://www.wlsessays.net/node/491 |date=7 July 2010 }} by Seth Erlandsson</ref> Lutheran pastors, congregations, and church bodies in Germany and 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 ] of the Christian Church.<ref name="Olson1999">{{cite book|title=The Ecumenical Councils and Authority in and of the Church|date=10 July 1993|publisher=The Lutheran World Federation|url=https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/1993-Lutheran_Orthodox_Dialogue-EN.pdf|quote=The seven ecumenical councils of the early Church were assemblies of the bishops of the Church from all parts of the Roman Empire to clarify and express the apostolic faith. These councils are Nicaea (325 AD), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680/81), and Nicaea II (787)... As Lutherans and Orthodox we affirm that the teachings of the ecumenical councils are authoritative for our churches ... The Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which rejected iconoclasm and restored the veneration of icons in the churches, was not part of the tradition received by the Reformation. Lutherans, however, rejected the iconoclasm of the 16th century, and affirmed the distinction between adoration due to the Triune God alone and all other forms of veneration (CA 21). Through historical research this council has become better known. Nevertheless it does not have the same significance for Lutherans as it does for the Orthodox. Yet, Lutherans and Orthodox are in agreement that the Second Council of Nicaea confirms the christological teaching of the earlier councils and in setting forth the role of images (icons) in the lives of the faithful reaffirms the reality of the incarnation of the eternal Word of God, when it states: "The more frequently, Christ, Mary, the mother of God, and the saints are seen, the more are those who see them drawn to remember and long for those who serve as models, and to pay these icons the tribute of salutation and respectful veneration. Certainly this is not the full adoration in accordance with our faith, which is properly paid only to the divine nature, but it resembles that given to the figure of the honored and life-giving cross, and also to the holy books of the gospels and to other sacred objects" (Definition of the Second Council of Nicaea).}}</ref><ref name="Kelly2009">{{cite book|title=Ecumenical Council|publisher=Titi Tudorancea Encyclopedia|year=1991–2016|url=https://www.tititudorancea.net/z/ecumenical_council.htm|quote=The Lutheran World Federation, in ecumenical dialogues with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has affirmed all of the first seven councils as ecumenical and authoritative.}}</ref>

The Lutheran Church traditionally sees itself as the "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during the ], the ] fell away.<ref name="Remensnyder1893">{{cite book |author1=Junius Benjamin Remensnyder |title=The Lutheran Manual |date=1893 |publisher=Boschen & Wefer Company |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA12 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Frey1918">{{cite book|last=Frey|first=H.|title=Is One Church as Good as Another?|volume=37|year=1918|publisher=]|language=English|pages=82–83}}</ref> As such, the ''Augsburg Confession'' teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church".<ref name="Ludwig2016">{{cite magazine|title=Luther's Catholic Reformation|last=Ludwig|first=Alan|date=12 September 2016|magazine=]|language=en|quote=When the Lutherans presented the ''Augsburg Confession'' before Emperor Charles V in 1530, they carefully showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils and even the canon law of the Church of Rome. They boldly claim, "This is about the Sum of our Doctrine, in which, as can be seen, there is nothing that varies from the Scriptures, or from the Church Catholic, or from the Church of Rome as known from its writers" (AC XXI Conclusion 1). The underlying thesis of the ''Augsburg Confession'' is that the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church. In fact, it is actually the Church of Rome that has departed from the ancient faith and practice of the catholic church (see AC XXIII 13, XXVIII 72 and other places).}}</ref> When the Lutherans presented the ''Augsburg Confession'' to ], they explained "that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils".<ref name="Ludwig2016"/>

===Justification===
]
The key doctrine, or ], of Lutheranism is the doctrine of ]. Lutherans believe that humans are saved from their ] by God's grace alone ('']''), through faith alone (''Sola Fide''), on the basis of Scripture alone (''Sola Scriptura'').<ref name=solascriptura>{{cite web |url=https://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=39&cuItem_itemID=12132 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090927214527/https://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=39&cuItem_itemID=12132 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-09-27 |title=Sola Scriptura? |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=15 May 2006 |website=WELS Topical Q&A |publisher=Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod |access-date=26 May 2024 |quote=any passages...state sola scriptura, such as Revelation 22:18-19. If we cannot add anything to the words of Scripture and we cannot take anything away from them, that is Scripture alone.}}</ref> Orthodox Lutheran theology holds that God made the world, including humanity, perfect, holy and sinless. However, ] chose to disobey God, trusting in their own strength, knowledge, and wisdom.<ref>Paul R. Sponheim, "The Origin of Sin", in ''Christian Dogmatics'', Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson, eds. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 385–407.</ref><ref name="Pieper">], "Definition of Original Sin", in ''Christian Dogmatics'' (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953), 1:538.</ref> Consequently, people are saddled with ], born sinful and unable to avoid committing sinful acts.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Krauth|first1=Charles P. |url=https://archive.org/details/conservativeref00kraugoog|title=The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology: As Represented in the Augsburg Confession, and in the History and Literature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church|location=Philadelphia|publisher=J. B. Lippincott & Co. |year=1875|pages=335–455|chapter=Part IX The Specific Doctrines Of The Conservative Reformation: Original Sin}}</ref> For Lutherans, original sin is the "chief sin, a root and fountainhead of all actual sins".<ref>''Formula of Concord'', {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927035144/http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/originalsin.html |date=27 September 2007 }}.</ref>

Lutherans teach that sinners, while capable of doing works that are outwardly "good", are ] of doing works that satisfy God's justice.<ref>, , Martin Chemnitz, ]: Vol. I. Trans. Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, pp. 639–652, "The Third Question: Whether the Good Works of the Regenerate in This Life Are So Perfect that They Fully, Abundantly, and Perfectly Satisfy the Divine Law".</ref> Every human thought and deed is infected with sin and ].<ref>, , {{cite book|last1=Krauth|first1=Charles P. |url=https://archive.org/details/conservativeref00kraugoog|title=The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology: As Represented in the Augsburg Confession, and in the History and Literature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church|location=Philadelphia|publisher=J. B. Lippincott & Co.|year=1875|pages=388–390|chapter=Part IX The Specific Doctrines Of The Conservative Reformation: Original Sin}} Thesis VII The Results, Section ii Positive</ref> Because of this, all humanity deserves eternal damnation in ].<ref>,, , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 38–41, Part VIII. "Sin"</ref> God in eternity has turned His Fatherly heart to this world and planned for its redemption because he loves all people and does not want anyone to be eternally damned.<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 43–44, Part X. "Saving Grace", paragraph 55.</ref>

To this end, "God sent his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil, and to bring us to Himself, and to govern us as a King of righteousness, life, and salvation against sin, death, and an evil conscience", as ] explains.<ref>''Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church''. St. Louis: Concordia, 1921. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214115202/http://bookofconcord.org/lc-5-ourfather.php#para51 |date=14 February 2015 }}, The Lord's Prayer, The Second Petition, Par. 51.</ref> Because of this, Lutherans teach that salvation is possible only because of the grace of God made manifest in the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and continuing presence by the power of the ], of Jesus Christ.<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 43, Part X. "Saving Grace", paragraph 54.</ref> By God's grace, made known and effective in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a person is forgiven, adopted as a child and heir of God, and given eternal salvation.<ref>, , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 42, Part X. "Saving Grace", paragraph 52.</ref> Christ, because he was entirely obedient to the law with respect to both his human and divine natures, "is a perfect satisfaction and reconciliation of the human race", as the ''Formula of Concord'' asserts, and proceeds to summarize:<ref>. par. 57–58. trans. Kolb, R., Wengert, T., and Arand, C. Minneapolis: ], 2000.</ref>
<blockquote> submitted to the law for us, bore our sin, and in going to his Father performed complete and perfect obedience for us poor sinners, from his holy birth to his death. Thereby he covered all our disobedience, which is embedded in our nature and in its thoughts, words, and deeds, so that this disobedience is not reckoned to us as condemnation but is pardoned and forgiven by sheer grace, because of Christ alone.</blockquote>

Lutherans believe that individuals receive this gift of salvation through faith alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookofconcord.com/augsburgconfession.html#article4|title=Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=10 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210355/http://www.bookofconcord.com/augsburgconfession.html#article4|url-status=dead}}</ref> Saving faith is the knowledge of,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|17:3|31}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|1:77|31}},{{bibleverse||Galatians|4:9|31}}, {{bibleverse||Philippians|3:8|31}}, and {{bibleverse|1|Timothy|2:4|31}} refer to faith in terms of knowledge.</ref> acceptance of,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|5:46|31}} refers to acceptance of the truth of Christ's teaching, while {{bibleverse||John|3:36|31}} notes the rejection of his teaching.</ref> and trust<ref>{{bibleverse||John|3:16,36|50}}, {{bibleverse||Galatians|2:16|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|4:20–25|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Timothy|1:12|31}} speak of trust, confidence, and belief in Christ. {{bibleverse||John|3:18|31}} notes belief in the name of Christ, and {{bibleverse||Mark|1:15}} notes belief in the gospel.</ref> in the promise of the Gospel.<ref name = "Engelder">Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 54–55, Part XIV. "Sin"</ref> Even faith itself is seen as a gift of God, created in the hearts of Christians<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 57 Part XV. "Conversion", paragraph 78.</ref> by the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word<ref>, , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 101 Part XXV. "The Church", paragraph 141.</ref> and Baptism.<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 87 Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 118.</ref> Faith receives the gift of salvation rather than causes salvation.<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 57 Part XV. "Conversion", paragraph 78.</ref> Thus, Lutherans reject the "]" which is common among modern ].

The term "grace" has been defined differently by other Christian church bodies.<ref>, part 3, section 1, chapter 3, article 2, II, paragraphs 2000 and 2001; downloaded February 18, 2017; defines grace as something which brings about a change in us, such that we cooperate in justification and act without sin (i.e. sanctified).</ref> Lutheranism defines grace as entirely limited to God's gifts to us, which is bestowed as pure gift, not something we merit by behavior or acts. To Lutherans, grace is not about our response to God's gifts, but only His gifts.

===Trinity===
].]]
Lutherans believe in the ], rejecting the idea that the ] and ] are merely faces of the same person, stating that both the ] and the ] show them to be two distinct persons.<ref>, Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 158–160, section "The Doctrine of God", part 5. "The Holy Trinity Revealed in the Old Testament",, see Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 33–36, Part VI. "The Trinity".</ref> Lutherans believe the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son.<ref> by Rev. David Webber for more information</ref> In the words of the ]: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal."<ref>] – for an older Trinitarian Creed used by Lutherans, see the '']:'' the version in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is the 1988 ecumenical (ELLC) version. But the version in both "Lutheran Service Book" (2006) of the ] (LCMS) and the ] is that of the ] with modernized spelling of the words "catholic" and "apostolic", with changes in capitalization of these and other words, and with "Holy Spirit" in place of "Holy Ghost".{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}</ref>

===Two natures of Christ===
{{Main|Scholastic Lutheran Christology}}
Lutherans believe Jesus is the ], the savior promised in the Old Testament. They believe he is both by nature God and by nature man ], as they confess in Luther's '']'' that he is "true God begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man born of the Virgin Mary".<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128133418/http://www.bookofconcord.com/smallcatechism.html#creed |date=28 November 2006 }},
{{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/christology.txt |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |pages=100ff |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712194230/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/christology.txt |archive-date=12 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The ''Augsburg Confession'' explains:<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311215248/https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/#article3 |date=11 March 2021 }}. Retrieved 17 April 2010.</ref>
<blockquote>
he Son of God, did assume the human nature in the womb of the ], so that there are two natures, the divine and the human, inseparably enjoined in one Person, one Christ, true God and true man, who was born of the Virgin Mary, truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, that He might reconcile the Father unto us, and be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men.
</blockquote>

===Sacraments===
{{Main|Lutheran sacraments}}
]", of the ]<ref>"Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches, although in confession an enumeration of all sins is not necessary." </ref>]]
Lutherans hold that ]s are ] acts of divine institution.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|28:19|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:23–25|50}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|26:26–28|50}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|14:22–24|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|22:19–20|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> Whenever they are properly administered by the use of the physical component commanded by God<ref>{{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:27|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:23|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|10:16|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> along with the divine words of institution,<ref>{{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:26|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|10:16|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:24–25|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> God is, in a way specific to each sacrament, present with the Word and physical component.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|3:16–17|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:19|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> He earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|7:30|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|22:19–20|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> forgiveness of sins<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|21:16|50}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|2:38|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|3:3|50}}, {{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:26|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Peter|3:21|50}}, {{bibleverse||Galatians|3:26–27|50}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|26:28|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> and eternal salvation.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Peter|3:21|50}}, {{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> He also works in the recipients to get them to accept these blessings and to increase the assurance of their possession.<ref>{{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref>

Lutherans are not dogmatic about the number of the sacraments.<ref>The ] XIII, 2: "We believe we have the duty not to neglect any of the rites and ceremonies instituted in Scripture, whatever their number. We do not think it makes much difference if, for purposes of teaching, the enumeration varies, provided what is handed down in Scripture is preserved" (cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 211).</ref> In line with Luther's initial statement in his Large Catechism some speak of only two sacraments,<ref>Luther's ''Large Catechism'' IV, 1: "We have now finished the three chief parts of the common Christian doctrine. Besides these we have yet to speak of '''our two Sacraments''' instituted by Christ, of which also every Christian ought to have at least an ordinary, brief instruction, because without them there can be no Christian; although, alas! hitherto no instruction concerning them has been given" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 733).</ref> ] and Holy Communion, although later in the same work he calls Confession and ]<ref>, and Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 112–113, Part XXVI "The Ministry", paragraph 156.</ref> "the third sacrament".<ref>Luther's ''Large Catechism'' IV, 74–75: "And here you see that Baptism, both in its power and signification, comprehends also the '''third Sacrament, which has been called repentance''', as it is really nothing else than Baptism" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 751).</ref>

The definition of sacrament in the '']'' lists Absolution as one of them.<ref>The '']'' XIII, 3, 4: "If we define the sacraments as rites, which have the command of God and to which the promise of grace has been added, it is easy to determine what the sacraments are, properly speaking. For humanly instituted rites are not sacraments, properly speaking, because human beings do not have the authority to promise grace. Therefore signs instituted without the command of God are not sure signs of grace, even though they perhaps serve to teach or admonish the common folk. The sacraments, therefore, are actually baptism, the Lord's Supper, and absolution (the sacrament of repentance)" (cf. Tappert, 211). </ref> ] is expected before receiving the ].<ref>'']'', article 24, paragraph 1. Retrieved 16 April 2010.</ref><ref name="Wendel1997"/> Some churches also allow for individual absolution on Saturdays before the Eucharistic service.<ref name="Kolb2008">{{cite book|last=Kolb|first=Robert|title=Lutheran Ecclesiastical Culture: 1550 – 1675|url=https://archive.org/details/lutheranecclesia00robe|url-access=limited|year=2008|publisher=]|language=en|isbn=9789004166417|page=|quote=The North German church ordinances of the late 16th century all include a description of private confession and absolution, which normally took place at the conclusion of Saturday afternoon vespers, and was a requirement for all who desired to commune the following day.}}</ref> A ], known as the ], is proclaimed in the Eucharistic liturgy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Sacraments of the Lutheran Church |url=https://www.byfaithalone.org/learn-more |publisher=Christ The King Lutheran Church |access-date=14 May 2023 |language=English|quote=The Sacrament of Holy Absolution has two forms: the General Confession (known as the Penitential Rite or Order of Confession of Sins) that is done at the beginning of the Divine Service. In this case, the entire congregation says the confession, as the pastor says the absolution. Private Confession – done privately to a pastor, where the penitent confesses sins that trouble him/her and pleads to God for mercy, and the pastor announces God's forgiveness to the person, as the sign of the cross is made. Private confession is subject to total confidentiality by the pastor. In historic Lutheran practice, Holy Absolution is expected before partaking of Holy Communion. General confession, as well as Private Confession, are still contained in most Lutheran hymnals. Two works which are part of the Book of Concord lend support to the belief that Holy Absolution is for Lutherans the third sacrament. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession acknowledges outright that Holy Absolution is a sacrament, referring to it as the sacrament of penitence. In the Large Catechism, Luther calls Holy Absolution the third sacrament.}}</ref>

====Baptism====
].|alt=]]
Lutherans hold that ] is a saving work of God,<ref>, Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 491–496, section "The Doctrine of Baptism", part 4. "Baptism a True Means of Grace", and Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 87, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 118.</ref> mandated and instituted by Jesus Christ.<ref>Martin Luther, ''Small Catechism'' </ref> Baptism is a "]" through which God creates and strengthens "saving faith" as the "washing of regeneration"<ref>{{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|KJV}}</ref> in which infants and adults are reborn.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|3:3–7|KJV}}</ref> Since the creation of faith is exclusively God's work, it does not depend on the actions of the one baptized, whether infant or adult. Even though baptized infants cannot articulate that faith, Lutherans believe that it is present all the same.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2607 |title=Baptism and Its Purpose |publisher=] |access-date=24 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206220443/http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2607 |archive-date=6 February 2009 }}</ref>

It is faith alone that receives these divine gifts, so Lutherans confess that baptism "works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare".<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Luther |author-link=Martin Luther |chapter=The Sacrament of Holy Baptism |chapter-url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.html#baptism |title=Luther's Small Catechism |year=2009 |orig-year=1529 |isbn=978-0-89279-043-2 |title-link=Luther's Small Catechism |publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Synod |access-date=10 March 2009 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920070231/http://www.bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.html#baptism |url-status=dead }}</ref> Lutherans hold fast to the Scripture cited in 1 Peter 3:21, "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."<ref>1 Peter 3:21, ]</ref> Therefore, Lutherans administer Baptism to both infants<ref>, , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 90, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 122.</ref> and adults.<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 90, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 122.</ref> In the special section on ] in his ''Large Catechism'', Luther argues that infant baptism is God-pleasing because persons so baptized were reborn and ] by the Holy Spirit.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Luther |author-link=Martin Luther |chapter=Of Infant Baptism |chapter-url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/largecatechism/6_baptism.html |year=2009 |orig-year=1529 |title=Luther's Large Catechism |isbn=978-1-4264-3861-5 |title-link=Luther's Large Catechism |access-date=10 March 2009 |archive-date=13 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613061118/http://bookofconcord.org/largecatechism/6_baptism.html |url-status=dead }} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223161712/http://www.bookofconcord.org/lc-6-baptism.php#para6 |date=23 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php#article9.1|title=Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>

====Eucharist====
{{Main|Eucharist in the Lutheran Church}}
] communing ]]]
Lutherans hold that within the ], also referred to as the Sacrament of the Altar or the Lord's Supper, the true body and blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under the forms" of the ] and wine for all those who eat and drink it,<ref>, , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 95, Part XXIV. "The Lord's Supper", paragraph 131.</ref> a doctrine that the ''Formula of Concord'' calls the ].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |title=The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Article 8, The Holy Supper |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-date=21 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121030003/http://bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Confession====
{{Main|Confession (Lutheran Church)}}
Many Lutherans receive the sacrament of penance before receiving the Eucharist.<ref name="Richard1909">{{cite book|last=Richard|first=James William|title=The Confessional History of the Lutheran Church|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924084658248|year=1909|publisher=Lutheran Publication Society|language=en |page=|quote=In the Luthearn Church, private confession was at first ''voluntary''. Later, in portions of the Lutheran Church, it was made obligatory, as a test of orthodoxy, and as a preparation of the Lord's Supper.}}</ref><ref name="Kolb2008"/> Prior to going to Confessing and receiving Absolution, the faithful are expected to examine their lives in light of the ].<ref name="Wendel1997"/> An ] is contained in the Small Catechism, as well as in liturgical books.<ref name="Wendel1997"/> Lutherans typically kneel at the ]s to confess their sins, while the confessor listens and then offers absolution while laying their ] on the penitent's head.<ref name="Wendel1997">{{cite book|last=Wendel|first=David M. |title=Manual for the Recovery of a Parish Practice of Individual Confession and Absolution|url=http://www.societyholytrinity.org/oldsite/confession.pdf|year=1997|publisher=The Society of the Holy Trinity|pages=2, 7, 8, 11}}</ref> Clergy are prohibited from revealing anything said during private Confession and Absolution per the ], and face ] if it is violated. Apart from this, ]s have a practice of ].<ref name="Granquist2015">{{cite book|last=Granquist|first=Mark A.|title=Scandinavian Pietists: Spiritual Writings from 19th-Century Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland|year=2015|publisher=Paulist Press|language=en|isbn=9781587684982|page=34|quote=Initially, Laestadius exercised his ministry mainly among the indigenous Sami (Lapp) people, but his influence soon spread into areasa of northern Finland, and the Laestadian (or Apostolic Lutheran) movement became predominantly Finnish. Even though he was a university-trained pastor and scientist (he was a renowned botanist), his powerful preaching and spiritual example ignited a lay-awakening movement in the north, a movement that is known for its distinctive religious practices, including lay confession and absolution.}}</ref>

===Conversion===
In Lutheranism, conversion or ] in the strict sense of the term is the work of divine grace and power by which man, born of the flesh, and ] to think, to will, or to do any good thing, and dead in sin is, through the gospel and holy baptism, taken from a state of sin and ] under God's wrath into a state of spiritual life of faith and grace, rendered able to will and to do what is spiritually good and, especially, made to trust in the benefits of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.<ref>Augustus Lawrence Graebner, p. 136, "Conversion"</ref>

During conversion, one is moved from impenitence to repentance. The ''Augsburg Confession'' divides repentance into two parts: "One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php#article12|title=Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=11 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311215248/https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/#article12|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Predestination===
], "Of Free Will" Free Will]]Lutherans adhere to divine ], the teaching that salvation is by God's act alone, and therefore reject the idea that humans in their fallen state have a ] concerning spiritual matters.<ref>, , , Martin Chemnitz, ''Examination of the Council of Trent: Vol. I.'' Trans. Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, pp. 409–453, "Seventh Topic, Concerning Free Will: From the Decree of the Sixth Session of the Council of Trent".</ref> Lutherans believe that although humans have free will concerning civil righteousness, they cannot work spiritual righteousness in the heart without the presence and aid of the Holy Spirit.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915154222/http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.html#article18 |date=15 September 2008 }}.</ref><ref>, , {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210532/http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-ep.html#XI.%20Election. |date=10 October 2008 }}, Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 585–589, section "The Doctrine of Eternal Election: 1. The Definition of the Term", and Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 124–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 176.</ref> Lutherans believe Christians are "saved";<ref>, Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 589–93, section "The Doctrine of Eternal Election: 2. How Believers are to Consider Their Election, and Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 127–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 180.</ref> that all who trust in Christ alone and his promises can be certain of their salvation.<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 127–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 179., Engelder, T.E.W., . ''] 2''(6). English Evangelical Missouri Synod: Baltimore. 1891, pp. 41ff.</ref>

According to Lutheranism, the central final hope of the Christian is "the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting" as confessed in the '']'' rather than ]. Lutherans disagree with those who make predestination—rather than Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection—the source of salvation. Unlike some ], Lutherans do not believe in a predestination to damnation,<ref>, , {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210532/http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-ep.html#XI.%20Election. |date=10 October 2008 }}, and Engelder's , Part XXXI. The Election of Grace, pp. 124–128.</ref> usually referencing "God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth"<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Timothy|2:3–4|ESV}} ]</ref> as contrary evidence to such a claim. Instead, Lutherans teach eternal damnation is a result of the unbeliever's sins, rejection of the forgiveness of sins, and unbelief.<ref>, Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 637, section "The Doctrine of the Last Things (Eschatology), part 7. "Eternal Damnation", and Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 135–136, Part XXXIX. "Eternal Death", paragraph 196.</ref>

===Divine providence===
]
According to Lutherans, God preserves his creation, cooperates with everything that happens, and guides the universe.<ref>Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. Concordia Publishing House. 1934. pp. 189–195 and Fuerbringer, L., '''' Concordia Publishing House. 1927. p. 635 and article on Divine Providence. For further reading, see , p. 212, Wessel, Louis, published in Theological Quarterly, Vol. 11, 1909.</ref> While God cooperates with both good and evil deeds, with evil deeds he does so only inasmuch as they are deeds, but not with the evil in them. God concurs with an act's effect, but he does not cooperate in the corruption of an act or the evil of its effect.<ref>Mueller, Steven P.,''Called to Believe, Teach, and Confess''. Wipf and Stock. 2005. pp. 122–123.</ref> Lutherans believe everything exists for the sake of the Christian Church, and that God guides everything for its welfare and growth.<ref>Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. Concordia Publishing House: 1934. pp. 190 and Edward. W. A.,''A Short Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism''. Concordia Publishing House. 1946. p. 165. and {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707130929/http://www.wlsessays.net/node/1122 |date=7 July 2010 }} by Markus O. Koepsell</ref>

The explanation of the Apostles' Creed given in the ''Small Catechism'' declares that everything good that people have is given and preserved by God, either directly or through other people or things.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bookofconcord.com/smallcatechism.html#creed|title=The Small Catechism|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=10 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210410/http://www.bookofconcord.com/smallcatechism.html#creed|url-status=dead}}</ref> Of the services others provide us through family, government, and work, "we receive these blessings not from them, but, through them, from God".<ref name="bookofconcord1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/largecatechism/3_tencommandments.html |title=Luther's Large Catechism, First Commandment |access-date=9 March 2009 |archive-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517083644/http://bookofconcord.org/largecatechism/3_tencommandments.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Since God uses everyone's useful tasks for good, people should not look down upon some useful vocations as being less worthy than others. Instead people should honor others, no matter how lowly, as being the means God uses to work in the world.<ref name="bookofconcord1"/>

===Good works===
] concerning the meaning of the Resurrection.<ref>quoted in {{Cite journal |last=Scaer |first=David P. |date=July 1983 |title=Luther's Concept of the Resurrection in his Commentary on I Corinthians 15 |url=http://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/scaerlutherresurrection.pdf |access-date=2023-09-28|journal=] |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=219}}</ref>]]
Lutherans believe that ]'s "Article XX: Of Good Works" are the fruit of faith,<ref>, , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 62–63, Part XV. "Conversion", paragraph 88 The New Obedience Is The Fruit Of Conversion, The Product Of Faith.</ref> always and in every instance.<ref>, Krauth, C.P.,'' ''. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.. 1875. pp. 313–314, Part D Confession of the Conservative Reformation: II, Secondary Confessions: Book of Concord, Formula of Concord, Part IV The Doctrinal Result, 2, Section iv, Of Good Works.</ref> Good works have their origin in God,<ref>, Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 74, Part XIX. "Preservation in Faith", paragraph 102.</ref> not in the fallen human heart or in human striving;<ref> , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 39–40, Part VIII. "Sin", paragraph 46 "Original Sin".</ref> their absence would demonstrate that faith, too, is absent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mat.%207:15-16;&version=31;|title=Mat. 7:15–16; NIV – True and False Prophets|work=Bible Gateway|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> Lutherans do not believe that good works are a factor in obtaining salvation; they believe that we are saved by the grace of God—based on the merit of Christ in his suffering and death—and faith in the Triune God. Good works are the natural result of faith, not the cause of salvation. Although Christians are no longer compelled to keep God's law, they freely and willingly serve God and their neighbors.<ref>Albrecht Beutel, "Luther's Life", tr. Katharina Gustavs, in ''The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther'', ed. Donald K. McKim (New York: ], 2003), 11.</ref>

===Judgment and eternal life===
Lutherans do not believe in any sort of earthly ] kingdom of Christ either before or after his second coming on the last day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joh%2018:36;&version=47;|title=Joh 18:36; ESV – Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of...|work=Bible Gateway|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> Lutherans teach that, at death, the souls of Christians are immediately taken into the presence of Jesus,<ref>, , Engelder, T.E.W., ''''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 130, Part XXXIV. "The State of the Soul in the Interval Between Death and the Resurrection", paragraph 185.</ref> where they await the ] of Jesus on the last day.<ref>, Francis Pieper, ''Christian Dogmatics'', 505–515; Heinrich Schmid, ''The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', 624–32; John Mueller, ''Christian Dogmatics'', 616–619</ref> On the last day,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|6:40|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|6:54|31}}</ref> all the bodies of the dead will be resurrected.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|5:21|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:28–29|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:32|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|24:15|31}}</ref>

Their souls will then be reunited with the same bodies they had before dying.<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|8:11|31}}, {{bibleverse||Philippians|3:21|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||Job|19:26|9}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:44|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:53|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:28|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|20:12|31}}</ref> The bodies will then be changed, those of the wicked to a state of everlasting shame and torment,<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|12:2|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:41–46|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:29|31}}</ref> those of the ] to an everlasting state of celestial glory.<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|12:1–2|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:29|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:52|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:42–44|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:49–53|31}}, {{bibleverse||Philippians|3:21|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|13:43|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|7:16|31}}</ref> After the resurrection of all the dead,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|6:40|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|6:44|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|11:24|31}}</ref> and the change of those still living,<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:51–52|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|4:15–17|31}}</ref> all nations shall be gathered before Christ,<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:32|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|14:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:22|31}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|17:31|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|1:7|31}}</ref> and he will separate the righteous from the wicked.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:32|31}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|16:16|31}}</ref>

Christ will publicly judge<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|4:5|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|2:5|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|2:16|31}}</ref> all people by the ] of their deeds,<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|2:6|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:35–36|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:42–43|31}}</ref> the good works<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|43:25|31}}, {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|18:22|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|John|2:28|31}}</ref> of the righteous in evidence of their faith,<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:34–35|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:16–18|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:36|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|14:13|31}}, {{bibleverse||Galatians|5:6|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|13:35|31}}</ref> and the evil works of the wicked in evidence of their unbelief.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:42|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|7:17–18|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:18|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:36|31}}</ref> He will judge in righteousness<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|2:5|31}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|17:31|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|2:16|31}}</ref> in the presence of all people and ],<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|9:26|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:31–32|31}}</ref> and his final judgment will be just ] to everlasting punishment for the wicked and a gracious gift of life everlasting to the righteous.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:41|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:34|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:46|31}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/eschatology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |pages=233–8 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref>
{{Comparison among Protestants}}
{{Clear}}

==Practices==
]").]]
] at the St. Nicholas church in ], Germany]]

===Liturgy===
{{Further|Lutheran art|Lutheran hymn|Lutheran chorale|Hymnody of continental Europe#Reformation}}
Lutherans place great emphasis on a ] approach to worship services;<ref>McGrath, Alister, E. ''Christianity: An Introduction''. 2nd ed. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2006. p. 272.</ref> although there are substantial non-liturgical minorities, for example, the ] Lutherans from Norway. Martin Luther was a great proponent of music, and this is why music forms a central part of Lutheran services to this day. In particular, Luther admired the composers ] and ], and wanted singing in the church to move away from the ''ars perfecta'' (Catholic Sacred Music of the late Renaissance) and towards singing as a '']'' (community).<ref>Taruskin, Richard. ''The Oxford History of Western Music – Volume I (Music in the Earliest Notations to the sixteenth century)'', pp. 753–758 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)</ref> Lutheran ]s are sometimes known as ]s. Lutheran hymnody is well known for its doctrinal, ], and musical richness. Most Lutheran churches are active musically with choirs, handbell choirs, children's choirs, and occasionally ] groups that ring bells in a ]. ], a devout Lutheran, composed a huge body of sacred music for the Lutheran church.

Lutherans also preserve a liturgical approach to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist/Communion, emphasizing the Sacrament as the central act of Christian worship. Lutherans believe that the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ are present in, with and under the bread and the wine. This belief is called ] or ] and is different from ] and ]. Additionally Lutherans reject the idea that communion is a mere symbol or ]. They confess in the '']'':
<blockquote>e do not abolish the Mass but religiously keep and defend it. Among us the Mass is celebrated every Lord's Day and on other ], when the Sacrament is made available to those who wish to partake of it, after they have been examined and absolved. We also keep traditional liturgical forms, such as the order of readings, prayers, vestments, and other similar things.<ref>''Apology of the Augsburg Confession'', Article XXIV.1</ref></blockquote>In addition to the Holy Communion (Divine Service), congregations frequently also hold offices, which are worship services without communion. They may include ], ], ], or other observances of the ]. Private or family offices include the ] from Luther's ''Small Catechism''.<ref name=daily>See {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201231739/http://www.bookofconcord.com/smallcatechism.php#prayers |date=1 February 2010 }}</ref> Meals are blessed with the '']'', {{bibleverse||Psalm|145:15–16|31}}, or other prayers, and after eating the Lord is thanked, for example, with {{bibleverse||Psalm|136:1|9}}. Luther himself encouraged the use of Psalm verses, such as those already mentioned, along with the Lord's Prayer and another short prayer before and after each meal: ] from Luther's ''Small Catechism''.<ref name=daily/> In addition, Lutherans use devotional books, from small ]s, for example, '']'', to large ], including the '']'' and ''Treasury of Daily Prayer''.

The predominant rite used by Lutheran churches is a Western one based on the '']'' ("Form of the Mass"), although other Lutheran liturgies are also in use, such as those used in the ], such as the ] and ].<ref name="HämmerliMayer2016">{{cite book|last1=Hämmerli|first1=Maria|last2=Mayer|first2=Jean-François|title=Orthodox Identities in Western Europe: Migration, Settlement and Innovation|date=23 May 2016|publisher=Routledge|language=en|isbn=9781317084914|page=13}}</ref> Although Luther's ] was completely chanted except for the sermon, this is less common today.

In the 1970s, many Lutheran churches began holding ] services for the purpose of evangelistic outreach. These services were in a variety of styles, depending on the preferences of the congregation. Often they were held alongside a traditional service in order to cater to those who preferred ]. Today, a few Lutheran congregations have contemporary worship as their sole form of worship. Outreach is no longer given as the primary motivation; rather this form of worship is seen as more in keeping with the desires of individual congregations.<ref>Principle examples of this in the ELCA include {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716234118/http://www.familyofgod.us/ |date=16 July 2020 }}, , , and {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820204437/http://www.apostleschurch.org/home.php |date=20 August 2006 }}.</ref> In Finland, Lutherans have experimented with the {{interlanguage link|St Thomas Mass|fi|Tuomasmessu}} and ] in which traditional hymns are adapted to heavy metal. Some Laestadians enter a heavily emotional and ] state during worship. The ], in its Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture, recommended every effort be made to bring church services into a more sensitive position with regard to cultural context.<ref>"A given culture's values and patterns, insofar as they are consonant with the values of the Gospel, can be used to express the meaning and purpose of Christian worship. Contextualization is a necessary task for the Church's mission in the world, so that the Gospel can be ever more deeply rooted in diverse local cultures."
{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222182255/http://www.worship.ca/docs/lwf_ns.html |date=22 February 2007 }}</ref>

In 2006, both the ] (ELCA) and the ] (LCMS), in cooperation with certain international English speaking church bodies within their respective fellowships, released new hymnals: '']'' (ELCA) and '']'' (LCMS). Along with these, the most widely used among English speaking congregations include: '']'' (1996, ]), ''The ]'' (1978, ]), '']'' (1982, LCMS), '']'' (1993, ]), and '']'' (1941, ]). In the ], the official hymnal is the ''Lutheran Hymnal with Supplement'' of 1986, which includes a supplement to the ''Lutheran Hymnal'' of 1973, itself a replacement for the ''Australian Lutheran Hymn Book'' of 1921. Prior to this time, the two Lutheran church bodies in Australia (]) used a bewildering variety of hymnals, usually in the German language. Spanish-speaking ELCA churches frequently use ''Libro de Liturgia y Cántico'' (1998, Augsburg Fortress) for services and hymns. For a more complete list, see ].

===Missions===
] in ]]]
Sizable Lutheran ] arose for the first time during the 19th century. Early missionary attempts during the century after the Reformation did not succeed. However, European traders brought Lutheranism to ] beginning in the 17th century as they settled along the coasts. During the first half of the 19th century, missionary activity in Africa expanded, including preaching by missionaries, translation of the Bible, and education.<ref>Piepkorn, A.C. ''Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations''. San Francisco: ], 1978. p. 31.</ref>

Lutheranism came to ] beginning with the work of ], where a community totaling several thousand developed, complete with their own translation of the Bible, catechism, their own hymnal, and system of Lutheran schools. In the 1840s, this church experienced a revival through the work of the Leipzig Mission, including ].<ref>Piepkorn, A.C., ''Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations''. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 32.</ref> After German missionaries were expelled in 1914, Lutherans in India became entirely autonomous, yet preserved their Lutheran character. In recent years India has relaxed its anti-religious conversion laws, allowing a resurgence in missionary work.

In ], missions began to serve European immigrants of Lutheran background, both those who spoke German and those who no longer did. These churches in turn began to evangelize those in their areas who were not of European background, including indigenous peoples.<ref>Piepkorn, A.C., ''Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations''. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 35.</ref>

In 1892, the first Lutheran missionaries reached ]. Although work began slowly and a major setback occurred during the hardships of ].<ref>Piepkorn, A.C., ''Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations''. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 33.</ref> Lutheranism there has survived and become self-sustaining.<ref name=P34>Piepkorn, A.C., ''Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations''. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 34.</ref> After missionaries to China, including those of the ], were expelled, they began ministry in ] and ], the latter which became a center of Lutheranism in Asia.<ref name=P34/>

The ], though founded only in 1953, became the largest Lutheran mission in the world in only several decades. Through the work of native lay evangelists, many tribes of diverse languages were reached with the Gospel.<ref name=P34/>

Today the Lutheran World Federation operates ], a relief and development agency active in more than 50 countries.

===Education===
] (WELS) in ] and the fourth-largest private school system in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hunt|first1=T.|last2=Carper|first2=J.|title=The Praeger Handbook of Faith-Based Schools in the United States, K-12, Volume 1|year=2012|pages=177|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0313391392}}</ref>]]] is considered foundational in most Lutheran churches. Almost all maintain ]s, and some host or maintain ]s, at the preschool, elementary, middle, high school, ], or university level. Lifelong study of the catechism is intended for all ages so that the abuses of the pre-Reformation Church will not recur.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121011806/http://bookofconcord.com/largecatechism/2_preface.html |date=21 November 2008 }} to Luther's ] and {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128133418/http://www.bookofconcord.com/smallcatechism.html#preface |date=28 November 2006 }} to Luther's ''Small Catechism''.</ref> Lutheran schools have always been a core aspect of Lutheran mission work, starting with Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Putschasu, who began work in India in year 1706.<ref name=ENC3367>Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Bromiley, Geoffrey William, ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2003. p. 367.</ref> During the ] era in German speaking areas, backstreet Lutheran schools were the main Lutheran institution among ].<ref> (Google Books) by James van Horn Melton, Cambridge University Press, 1988.</ref>

Pastors almost always have substantial theological educations, including ] and ] so that they can refer to the Christian scriptures in the original language. Pastors usually teach in the common language of the local congregation. In the U.S., some congregations and synods historically taught in ], ], ], ], or ], but retention of immigrant languages has been in significant decline since the early and middle 20th century.

===Church fellowship===
] taught at the ] during the ].]]
] holding ] propaganda during church council elections on 23 July 1933 at ] in ] after which internal struggles, controversies, reorganization, and splits struck the ], resulting in the ]'s creation.]]
] during communion]]
]'s Lunder Church in ], Norway in 2012]]
] lay preacher in ], Norway in 1898]]
Lutherans were divided about the issue of church fellowship for the first 30 years after Luther's death. ] and his ] party felt that Christians of different beliefs should join in union with each other without completely agreeing on doctrine. Against them stood the ], led by ] and the faculty at the ]. They condemned the Philippist position for ], describing it as a "unionistic compromise" of precious Reformation theology. Instead, they held that genuine unity between Christians and real theological peace was only possible with an honest agreement about every subject of doctrinal controversy.<ref>Klug, Eugene F. and Stahlke, Otto F. ''Getting into the Formula of Concord''. St. Louis: Concordia, 1977. p. 16</ref>

Complete agreement finally came about in 1577, after the death of both Melanchthon and Flacius, when a new generation of theologians resolved the doctrinal controversies on the basis of Scripture in the '']'' of 1577.<ref>Klug, Eugene F. and Stahlke, Otto F. ''Getting into the Formula of Concord''. St. Louis: Concordia. p. 18</ref> Although they decried the visible division of Christians on earth, orthodox Lutherans avoided ] fellowship with other churches, believing that Christians should not, for example, join for the ] or exchange pastors if they do not completely agree about what the Bible teaches. In the 17th century, ] began a rebellion against this practice, sparking the ] with ] as his main opponent.<ref>See '' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415200455/http://www.blts.edu/essays/schmelingTR/Consensus%20Repetitus.pdf |date=15 April 2010 }}'' and '' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415200704/http://www.blts.edu/essays/schmelingTR/Calov.pdf |date=15 April 2010 }}'', both by Timothy R. Schmeling</ref>

In the 18th century, there was some ecumenical interest between the ] and the ]. ], Bishop of London, planned for a union of the English and Swedish churches in 1718. The plan failed because most Swedish bishops rejected the Calvinism of the Church of England, although ] and ], bishops of Skara, Sweden and Turku, Finland, were in favor.<ref>{{in lang|sv}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930215322/http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/ArticlePages/200508/16/20050816074719_svkhjs928/20050816074719_svkhjs928.dbp.asp |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> With the encouragement of Swedberg, church fellowship was established between Swedish Lutherans and Anglicans in the ]. Over the course of the 1700s and the early 1800s, Swedish Lutherans were absorbed into Anglican churches, with the last original Swedish congregation completing merger into the Episcopal Church in 1846.<ref>Bente, Friedrich, 1858–1930. : Lutheran Swedes in Delaware. St. Louis: Concordia, 1919, pp. 13–16.</ref>

In the 19th century, ] attempted to lead the ] toward unification with other American Protestants. His attempt to get the synod to reject the ''Augsburg Confession'' in favor of his compromising ''Definite Platform'' failed. Instead, it sparked a Neo-Lutheran revival, prompting many to form the ], including ]. Their alternative approach was "Lutheran pulpits for Lutheran ministers only and Lutheran altars...for Lutheran communicants only."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eklund |first1=Emmet E. |year=1988 |title=His Name Was Jonas: A Biography of Jonas Swenson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gE8rAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Lutheran+ministers+only,+and+Lutheran+altars%22+%22general+council%22 |location=Rock Island, Ill. |publisher=Augustana Historical Society |page=99 |isbn=978-0910184366 |access-date=21 September 2017 }}</ref>

Beginning in 1867, confessional and liberal minded Lutherans in Germany joined to form the ''Common Evangelical Lutheran Conference'' against the ever looming prospect of a state-mandated union with the Reformed.<ref name=Gritsch185>Gritsch, Eric W. . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 185.</ref> However, they failed to reach consensus on the degree of shared doctrine necessary for church union.<ref name=Gritsch184/> Eventually, the fascist ] movement pushed the final national merger of Lutheran, ], and Reformed church bodies into a single ] in 1933, doing away with the previous umbrella ] (DEK). As part of ] the Reich Church was formally done away with in 1945, and certain clergy were removed from their positions. However, the merger between the Lutheran, United, and Reformed state churches was retained under the name ] (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD). In 1948 the Lutheran church bodies within the EKD founded the ] (VELKD), but it has since been reduced from being an independent legal entity to an administrative unit within the EKD.

Lutherans are currently divided over how to interact with other Christian denominations. Some Lutherans assert that everyone must share the "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) in complete unity (1 Cor. 1:10)<ref>For a historical example, see Robert Preus, ''To Join or Not To Join''. ], 1968.</ref> before pastors can share each other's pulpits, and before communicants commune at each other's altars, a practice termed ]. On the other hand, other Lutherans practice varying degrees of ] and allow preachers from other Christian denominations in their pulpits.

While not an issue in the majority of Lutheran church bodies, some of them forbid membership in ]. Partly, this is because the lodge is viewed as spreading ], as the Brief Statement of the ] reads, "Hence we warn against Unitarianism, which in our country has to a great extent impenetrated the sects and is being spread particularly also through the influence of the lodges."<ref>See {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514030409/http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=564 |date=14 May 2008 }}</ref> A 1958 report from the publishing house of the ] states that, "Masonry is guilty of idolatry. Its worship and prayers are idol worship. The Masons may not with their hands have made an idol out of gold, silver, wood or stone, but they created one with their own mind and reason out of purely human thoughts and ideas. The latter is an idol no less than the former."<ref>Report of the Lutheran Church, ''The Northwestern Lutheran'', p. 281, 31 August 1988.</ref>

The largest organization of Lutheran churches around the world are the ] (LWF), the ], the ] (ILC), and the ] (CELC). These organizations together account for the great majority of Lutheran denominations. The ] and the ] are members of the ILC. The ] and ] are members of the CELC. Many Lutheran churches are not affiliated with the LWF, the ILC or the CELC: The congregations of the ] (CLC) are affiliated with their mission organizations in Canada, India, Nepal, Myanmar, and many African nations; and those affiliated with the ] are especially active doing mission work in Africa and East Asia.

The Lutheran World Federation-aligned churches do not believe that one church is singularly true in its teachings. According to this belief, Lutheranism is a reform movement rather than a movement into doctrinal correctness. As part of this, in 1999 the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church jointly issued a statement, the '']'', that stated that the LWF and the Catholics both agreed about certain basics of Justification and lifted certain Catholic ]s formerly applying to the LWF member churches.{{Citation needed span|The LCMS has participated in most of the ] since shortly after the ], though not the one which produced the ''Joint Declaration'' and to which they were not invited. While some Lutheran theologians saw the ''Joint Declaration'' as a sign that the Catholics were essentially adopting the Lutheran position, other Lutheran theologians disagreed, claiming that, considering the public documentation of the Catholic position, this assertion does not hold up.|date=May 2017}}

Besides their intra-Lutheran arrangements, some member churches of the LWF have also declared full communion with non-Lutheran Protestant churches. The ] is a communion of episcopally led Lutheran and Anglican churches in Europe. Beside its membership in the Porvoo Communion, {{Citation needed span|Church of Sweden also has declared full communion with the ] and the ].|date=May 2017}} The state Protestant churches in Germany many other European countries have signed the ''Leuenberg Agreement'' to form the ]. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been involved in ecumenical dialogues with several denominations. The ELCA has declared ] with multiple American Protestant churches.<ref>These include, but are not limited to the following: the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], and the ].</ref>

Although on paper the LWF churches have all declared have full communion with each other, in practice some churches within the LWF have renounced ties with specific other churches.<ref>For a similar phenomenon also currently developing, see ].</ref> One development in this ongoing schism is the ], which consists of churches and church related organizations tracing their heritage back to mainline American Lutheranism in North America, European state churches, as well as certain African churches. As of 2019, the Forum is not a full communion organization. Similar in this structure is the ], where issues of communion are left to the individual denominations. Not all ILC churches have declared church-fellowship with each other. In contrast, mutual church-fellowship is part of the CELC member churches, and unlike in the LWF, this is not contradicted by individual statements from any particular member church body.

] within certain European state churches maintain close ties to other Laestadians, often called Apostolic Lutherans. Altogether, Laestadians are found in 23 countries across five continents, but there is no single organization which represents them. Laestadians operate ] to coordinate their churchly efforts. Nearly all are located in Europe, although they there are 15 combined in North America, ], ], and Kenya.

By contrast, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference and International Lutheran Council as well as some unaffiliated denominations such as the Church of the Lutheran Confession and North American Laestadians maintain that the orthodox confessional Lutheran churches are the only churches with completely correct doctrine. They teach that while other Christian churches teach partially orthodox doctrine and have true Christians as members, the doctrines of those churches contain significant errors. More conservative Lutherans strive to maintain historical distinctiveness while emphasizing doctrinal purity alongside Gospel-motivated outreach. They claim that LWF Lutherans are practicing ''"fake ecumenism"'' by desiring church fellowship outside of actual unity of teaching.<ref>see by Kurt E. Marquart for a short explanation of the modern ecumenism movement from a Confessional Lutheran perspective</ref>

Although not an "ecumenical" movement in the formal sense, in the 1990s influences from the ]es of American evangelicalism have become somewhat common. Many of the largest Lutheran congregations in the United States have been heavily influenced by these "progressive Evangelicals". These influences are sharply criticized by some Lutherans as being foreign to orthodox Lutheran beliefs.<ref>See scholarly articles on the {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727234431/http://www.wlsessays.net/subject/C/Church+Growth+Movement |date=27 July 2011 }} from the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library and {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060314085030/http://www.ctsfw.edu/library/files/pb/818 |date=14 March 2006 }} by Harold L. Senkbeil as examples of criticism from confessional Lutherans</ref>

===Polity===
] illustrates a Lutheran pastor preaching Christ crucified. During the Reformation and afterwards, many churches did not have pews, so people would stand or sit on the floor. The elderly might be given a chair or stool.]]
Lutheran ] varies depending on influences. Although ] of the ''Augsburg Confession'' mandates that one must be "properly called" to preach or administer the Sacraments, some Lutherans have a broad view of on what constitutes this and thus allow lay preaching or students still studying to be pastors someday to consecrate the Lord's Supper.<ref>For some opinions and historical discussion from someone who takes a broader view, see {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412074557/https://essays.wls.wels.net/bitstream/handle/123456789/3205/MaaskeCall.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |date=12 April 2019 }} By Alfred H. Maaske</ref> Despite considerable diversity, Lutheran polity trends in a geographically predictable manner in Europe, with episcopal governance to the north and east but blended and consistorial-presbyterian type synodical governance in Germany.

====Scandinavia====
] is ordained as archbishop of the Church of Sweden in 1914. Although Swedish Lutherans boast of an unbroken line of ordinations going back prior to the Reformation, the ] do not recognize such ordinations as valid.]]
To the north in Scandinavia, the population was more insulated from the influence and politics of the Reformation and thus the Church of Sweden (which at the time included Finland) retained the ],<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SLlKBAAAQBAJ&q=%22Church+of+Iceland%22+%22Apostolic+Succession%22&pg=PA140 | title = Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism | last1 = Gassman | first1 = Günther | last2 = Larson | first2 = Duane H. | last3 = Olderburg | first3 = Mark W. | edition = 2nd | year = 2011 | publisher = The Scarecrow Press, Inc.| isbn = 9780810874824 }}</ref> although they did not consider it essential for valid sacraments as the ] did in the fourth and fifth centuries and the Roman Catholics do today. Recently, the Swedish succession was introduced into all of the ] churches, all of which have an episcopal polity. Although the Lutheran churches did not require this or change their doctrine, this was important in order for more strictly high church Anglican individuals to feel comfortable recognizing their sacraments as valid. The occasional ordination of a bishop by a priest was not necessarily considered an invalid ordination in the Middle Ages, so the alleged break in the line of succession in the other Nordic Churches would have been considered a violation of canon law rather than an invalid ordination at the time. Moreover, there are no consistent records detailing pre-Reformation ordinations prior to the 12th century.<ref>''Das kirchliche Amt in apostolischer Nachfolge''. In: Dorothea Sattler, Gunther Wenz: ''Das kirchliche Amt in apostolischer Nachfolge. Volume 3: Verständigungen und Differenzen''. Herder/ Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Freiburg and Göttingen 2008. {{ISBN|3-451-29943-7}}, p. 167–267, and p. 266.</ref>

In the far north of the Scandinavian peninsula are the ], some of which practice a form of Lutheranism called Apostolic Lutheranism, or ] due to the efforts of ]. However, others are ]. Some Apostolic Lutherans consider their movement as part of an ]. In areas where Apostolic Lutherans have their own bishops apart from other Lutheran church organizations, the bishops wield more practical authority than Lutheran clergy typically do. In Russia, Laestadians of Lutheran background cooperate with the ] church, but since Laestadianism is an interdenominational movement, some are Eastern Orthodox. Eastern Orthodox Laestadians are known as ] (article is in Russian).<ref></ref>

====Eastern Europe and Asian Russia====
] in ]]]
Although historically Pietism had a significant influence on the understanding of the ministry among Lutherans in the ],{{efn|See {{ill|Edward Wust|ru|Вюст, Эдуард|vertical-align=sup}} and {{ill|Wustism|ru|Вюстизм|vertical-align=sup}} in the Russian Misplaced Pages for more on this.}} today nearly all ]n and ] Lutherans are influenced by Eastern Orthodox polity. In their culture, giving a high degree of respect and authority to their bishops is necessary for their faith to be seen as legitimate and not sectarian.<ref> 18.09.2016 by Von Helmut Frank]</ref> In ], lines of succession between bishops and the canonical authority between their present-day hierarchy is also carefully maintained in order to legitimize the existing Lutheran churches as present day successors of the former Lutheran Church of the Russian Empire originally authorized by ]. This allows for the post-Soviet repatriation of Lutheran church buildings to local congregations on the basis of this historical connection.<ref> by Alexei Streltsov, in Logia, Epiphany 2006: Volume 15, Number 1</ref>

====Germany====
] Church Order in 1543]]
In ], several dynamics encouraged Lutherans to maintain a different form of polity. First, due to de facto practice during the ] the subsequent legal principal of ] in the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, German states were officially either Catholic or "Evangelical" (that is, Lutheran under the ''Augsburg Confession''). In some areas both Catholic and Lutheran churches were permitted to co-exist. Because German-speaking Catholic areas were nearby, Catholic-leaning Christians were able to emigrate and there was less of an issue with Catholics choosing to live as "]s" in Lutheran areas. Although Reformed-leaning Christians were not allowed to have churches, Melancthon wrote '']'' which some used to claim legal protection as "Evangelical" churches. Many chose to live as ] either with or without the protection offered by the ''Variata'', but this did not make their influence go away, and as a result the Protestant church in Germany as of 2017 was only about ≈40% Lutheran, with most of the rest being United Protestant, a combination of Lutheran and Reformed beliefs and practices.<ref name=EKD18> Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland</ref>

In terms of polity, over the 17th and 18th centuries the carefully negotiated and highly prescriptive ] of the Reformation era gave way to a joint cooperation between state control and a Reformed-style blend of consistorial and presbyterian type synodical governance. Just as negotiations over the details in the church orders involved the laity, so did the new synodical governance. Synodical governance had already been practiced in the Reformed Netherlands prior to its adoption by Lutherans. During the formation of the modern German state, ideas about the nature of authority and the best design for governments and organizations came from the philosophies of ] and ], further modifying the polity. When the monarchy and the sovereign governance of the church were ended in 1918, the synods took over the governance of the state churches.

====Western Hemisphere and Australia====
for the 1865 Pennsylvania Ministerium hymnal.</ref>]]
]]]
During the period of the emigration, Lutherans took their existing ideas about polity with them across the ocean,<ref>Abdel Ross Wentz (1954), ''A Basic History of Lutheranism in America'', Philadelphia, Pa., p. 41</ref><ref>Clifton E. Olmstead (1960), ''History of Religion in the United States'', Englewood Cliffs, N.J., pp. 6, 140</ref> though with the exception of the early Swedish Lutherans immigrants of the New Sweden colony who accepted the rule of the Anglican bishops and became part of the established church, they now had to fund churches on their own. This increased the congregationalist dynamic in the blended consistorial and presbyterian type synodical governance. The first organized church body of Lutherans in America was the ], which used Reformed style synodical governance over the 18th and 19th centuries. Their contribution to the development of polity was that smaller synods could in turn form a larger body, also with synodical governance, but without losing their lower level of governance. As a result, the smaller synods gained unprecedented flexibility to join, leave, merge, or stay separate, all without the hand of the state as had been the case in Europe.

During their 19th-century persecution, Old Lutheran, defined as scholastic and orthodox believers, were left in a conundrum. Resistance to authority was traditionally considered disobedience, but, under the circumstances, upholding orthodox doctrine and historical practice was considered by the government disobedience. However, the doctrine of the ] allowed clergy to legitimately resist the state and even leave. Illegal free churches were set up in Germany and mass emigration occurred. For decades the new churches were mostly dependent on the free churches to send them new ministerial candidates for ordination. These new church bodies also employed synodical governance, but tended to exclude Hegelianism in their constitutions, due to its incompatibility with the doctrine of the lesser magistrates. In contrast to Hegelianism where authority flows in from all levels, Kantianism presents authority proceeding only from the top down, hence the need for a lesser magistrate to become the new top magistrate.

Over the 20th and 21st centuries, some Lutheran bodies have adopted a more congregationalist approach, such as the ] and the ], or LCMC. The LCMC formed due to a church split after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America signed an ] with the Episcopal Church to start ordaining all of their new bishops into the Episcopalian apostolic succession. In other words, this meant that new ELCA bishops, at least at first, would be jointly ordained by Anglican bishops as well as Lutheran bishops so that the more strict Episcopalians (i.e., Anglo-Catholics) would recognize their sacraments as valid. This was offensive to some in the ELCA at the time because of the implications this practice would have on the teachings of the ] and the nature of ordination.

Some Lutheran churches permit dual-rostering.<ref>For example, the single Lutheran church on ] is a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ. See {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717115937/http://www.lutheranchurchofguam.org/blog/?page_id=890 |date=17 July 2020 }}</ref> Situations like this one where a church or church body belongs to multiple larger organizations that do not have ties are termed "triangular fellowship". Another variant is independent Lutheran churches, although for some independent churches the clergy are members of a larger denomination. In other cases, a congregation may belong to a synod, but the pastor may be unaffiliated. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church of Australia,<ref> by Grulke, David. 2 vols. (2007), thesis, ]</ref> the Wisconsin Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Church of the Lutheran Confession, and the Missouri Synod, teachers at parochial schools are considered to be ministers of religion, with the latter defending this before the ]. However, differences remain in the precise status of their teachers.<ref>One example of these differences are those ].</ref>


==Throughout the world== ==Throughout the world==
{{main|Lutheranism by region}} {{Further|Lutheranism by region|Protestantism by country}}
] in ] belonging to the ], which is a merged denomination that includes a Lutheran element]]
]]]
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Lutheran churches currently have millions of members, and are present on all populated continents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lutheran.org.nz/about-us/|title=About Us|work=Lutheran Church of New Zealand|access-date=5 March 2015}} However, some Lutherans disagree with the way the Lutheran World Federation arrives at this number, as millions of them actually come from bodies that are largely Reformed, but include some Lutherans. For more information on this, see: {{cite journal|last=Schumacher|first=William|url=http://www.csl.edu/CJApril05.pdf/|title=Theological Observer: How Many Lutherans?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610210044/http://www.csl.edu/CJApril05.pdf|archive-date=10 June 2007|journal=Concordia Journal|date=April 2005}}</ref> The ] estimates the total membership of its churches to be over 77&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lutheranworld.org/content/member-churches|title=Member Churches |date=19 May 2013 |publisher= The Lutheran World Federation|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref> This figure miscounts Lutherans worldwide, as not all Lutheran churches belong to this organization, and many members of merged LWF church bodies do not self-identify as Lutheran or attend congregations that self-identify as Lutheran.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/member-statistics-2011.html |access-date=2012-07-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715071837/http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/member-statistics-2011.html |archive-date=15 July 2012 |df=dmy-all|publisher=The Lutheran World Federation|title=Survey Shows 70.5 Million Members in LWF-Affiliated Churches|date=14 March 2012}}</ref> Lutheran churches in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean regions are experiencing decreases and no growth in membership, while those in Africa and Asia continue to grow. Lutheranism is the largest religious group in ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] and ] in the ].


Lutheranism is also the dominant form of Christianity in the ] and ]. In addition, Lutheranism is a main Protestant denomination in ] (behind ] (Lutheran & ]) churches; ] form about 24.3% of the country's total population),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ekd.de/ekd_de/ds_doc/Gezaehlt_zahlen_und_fakten_2021.pdf|publisher=ekd.de|access-date=2 January 2022|title=Gezählt 2021 – Zahlen und Fakten zum kirchlichen Leben}}</ref> ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425001243/http://media-2.web.britannica.com//eb-media/58/67358-004-1E77BA15.gif |date=25 April 2012 }}, 1995.</ref> Although some convents and monasteries voluntarily closed during the Reformation, and many of the remaining ] were shuttered by communist authorities following World War II, the Lüne abbeys are still open. Nearly all active Lutheran orders are located in Europe.
Lutheranism is present on all populated continents.


Although ] is the only country outside Europe to have a Lutheran majority, there are sizable Lutheran bodies in other African countries. In the following African countries, the total number of Lutherans exceeds 100,000: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], Tanzania, ], and ]. In addition, the following nations also have sizable Lutheran populations: ], ], the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], the ] (as a synod within the ] and two strictly Lutheran denominations), ], the ], and the ], especially in the heavily German and ] ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630182008/http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/lutheran.gif |date=30 June 2006 }} (Map by county). Also see comparable maps of other religions along with specific denominations of Lutheran at the main {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609091659/http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo200/religion.html |date=9 June 2007 }} site</ref><ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324042910/http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/LWF-Statistics-2011.pdf |date=24 March 2013 }}</ref>
==See also==


Lutheranism is also a ] in ] and ]. Lutheranism was also the state church in ], ] and ], but its status in Norway and Sweden was changed to that of a ] in 2017 and 2000 respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2017-02-03/norway-state-and-church-separate-after-500-years/|title=Norway: State and Church Separate After 500 Years|work=Library of Congress|date=3 February 2017|access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author-first1=Carol J.|author-last1=Williams|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-01-me-49706-story.html|title=Sweden Ends Designation of Lutheranism as Official Religion|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 2000|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>
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*], located in Geneva, Switzerland


==Print sources== ===Brazil===
The ] (Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil) is the largest Lutheran denomination in Brazil. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1952. It is a member of the ], the National Council of Christian Churches and the ]. The denomination has 1.02 million adherents and 643,693 registered members. The church ordains women as ministers. In 2011, the denomination released a pastoral letter supporting and accepting the ]'s decision to allow same-sex marriage.


The ] (Portuguese: Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil, IELB) is a Lutheran church founded in 1904 in ], a southern state in Brazil. The IELB is a conservative, confessional Lutheran synod which holds to the ]. It started as a mission of the ] and operated as the Brazilian District of that body. The IELB became an independent church body in 1980. It has about 243,093 members. The IELB is a member of the International Lutheran Council.
*'''ELCA Perspective:''' Braaten, Carl E., <cite>Principles of Lutheran Theology</cite> Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983.
*'''LCMS ''Historical'' Perspective:''' Pieper, Franz. <cite>Christian Dogmatics</cite>. 3 Volumes. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1950-1957.


The ] (WELS) started a Brazilian mission, the first for WELS in the ], in the early 1980s. Its first work was done in the state of ], in the south of Brazil, alongside some small independent Lutheran churches which had asked for help from WELS. Today, the Brazilian WELS Lutheran Churches are self-supporting and an independent mission partner of the Latin America WELS missions team.
==Footnotes==
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=== Distribution ===
==External links==
This map shows where countries with over 25,000 members of the Lutheran World Federation were located in 2019.<ref name="The Lutheran World Federation Membership Figures"></ref>{{efn|This map undercounts several countries, notably the United States. The LWF does not include the ] and several other Lutheran bodies which together have over 2.5&nbsp;million members}}
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{{wide image|Lutheran World Federation Membership Figures.svg|800 px|] membership by country in 2019.
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This map shows where members of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference were located in 2013:
{{wide image|World-Microstates.png|800px|Countries with a member of the ] as of 2013}}
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==See also==
* ]
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* ] (both loose social organizations and physical communities such as convents)

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ALC Historical Perspective: Nervig, Casper B. '''', Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1941.
* Arand, Charles P, and Robert Kolb, eds. ''The Lutheran Confessions: History and Theology of the Book of Concord'' (2012)
* Bodensieck, Julius, ed. ''The encyclopedia of the Lutheran Church'' (3 vol 1965)
* Brauer, James Leonard and Fred L. Precht, eds. ''Lutheran Worship: History and Practice'' (1993)
* CLC Perspective: {{cite book |url=http://clclutheran.org/library/ccf.html |title=Concerning Church Fellowship: A Statement of Principle |location=Eau Claire, WI |publisher=CLC Book House |year=1996}}
* Confessional & Historical Perspective: Günther Gassmann & Scott Hendrix. Fortress Introduction to the Lutheran Confessions. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999. {{ISBN|0-8006-3162-5}}.
* European Lutheran perspective: Elert, Werner. ''The Structure of Lutheranism: the Theology and Philosophy of Life of Lutheranism, Especially in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries'', trans. by Walter A. Hansen. Saint Louis, Mo.: Concordia Publishing House, 1962. ''N.B''.: Trans. of ''Morphologie des Luthertums'', vol. 1 of which was published in 1931 at Munich by C.H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1931, vol. 2 in German appearing in 1932; the t.p. of this English-language ed. states "Volume One", but there has been no publication, as part of this English ed., of vol. 2.
* Fellowship of Lutheran Congregations Perspective: ''What True Lutherans Teach''. Oak Parks, Ill.: E.L.C. Tract Center, . 11 p. ''N.B''.: There is no personal author or specific committee credited with this brochure.
* General Council Historical Perspective: {{cite book |last=Krauth |first=Charles Porterfield |url=https://archive.org/details/conservativeref00kraugoog |title= The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology: As Represented in the Augsburg Confession, and in the History and Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church |page= |edition=2nd|location=Philadelphia |publisher=J. B. Lippincott & Co. |year=1875 |isbn=978-0-7586-0994-6}}
* Granquist, Mark. ''Lutherans in America: A New History'' (2015)
* LCA Historical Perspective: {{cite book |last=Braaten |first=Carl E. |title=Principles of Lutheran Theology |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Fortress Press |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-8006-1689-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/principlesofluth0000braa }}
* LCA Historical Worship Perspective: Reed, Luther D. ''The Lutheran Liturgy: a Study of the Common Service of the Lutheran Church in America''. Philadelphia, Penn.: Muhlenberg Press, 1947. ''N.B''.: This study also includes some coverage of other Lutheran liturgical services, especially of Matins and Vespers.
* LCMS Perspective: {{cite book |author-link=Franz August Otto Pieper |last=Pieper |first=Franz |title= Christian Dogmatics |page=3 Volumes |location= Saint Louis, MO |publisher=] |year=1950–1957 |isbn=978-0-570-06714-6}}
* LCMS Perspective: {{cite book |last=Engelder |first=Theodore E.W.
|url=https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1|title=Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture |page= |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1934}}
* LCMS Perspective: ''Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod'' (1932). Saint Louis, Mo.: Concordia Publishing House.
* LCMS Perspective: {{cite book|last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/graebner.html |title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=250 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060709205945/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/graebner.html |archive-date=9 July 2006 |url-status=dead }}
* LCMS Perspective: Kretzschmar, Karl (198?). ''What Lutherans Teach''. St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia Tract Mission.
* LCMS Perspective: Neuhaus, Richard John (1969). ''The Lutherans'' (in "Ecumenical Series"). New York: Paulist Press. ''N.B''.: At the time of the publication of this document, Neuhaus was still a Lutheran pastor, of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
* LCR Perspective: {{cite book |last=McLaughlin |first=Wallace H. |url=http://lutherantheology.com/uploads/works/wabiotg/index.html |title=We All Believe in One True God: A Summary of Biblical Doctrine |location=Midland, Michigan |publisher=Cross of Christ Press |year=1963}}
* Meyer, Carl S. ''Moving Frontiers: Readings in the History of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod'' (1986)
* Neo-Lutheran Historical Perspective: {{cite book |last=Schmid |first=Heinrich Friedrich Ferdinand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK9ZAAAAMAAJ |title=The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Lutheran Publication Society |year=1876 |isbn=978-0-7905-8877-3}}
* Norwegian Synod Historical Perspective: {{cite book |last=Monson |first=Ingvar Grøthe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlJGAAAAYAAJ |title=The Difference: A Popular Guide to Denominational History and Doctrine |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1915}}
*Richard, James William (1909) ''The Confessional History of the Lutheran Church''. Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1909
* Roeber, A. G. ''Palatines, Liberty, and Property: German Lutherans in Colonial British America'' (1998)
* Slovak Synod Historical Perspective: {{cite book |last=Richter|first=V. W. |url=https://archive.org/details/whyshouldaluthe00richgoog |title=Why Should a Lutheran Not Join Any Sectarian Church? |location=Streator, Illinois |publisher=Svedok Publishing House |year=1913}}
* WELS Perspective: {{cite book |last=Lange |first=Lyle W. |title=God So Loved the World: A Study of Christian Doctrine |publisher=] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8100-1744-3}}
* Comparison of about 50 Lutheran church bodies in America: {{cite book |last=Brug, John F. |title=WELS & Other Lutherans|edition=2nd |publisher=Northwestern Publishing House |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8100-0543-3}}
* Comparison of Catholic, Lutheran, and Protestant doctrine: {{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Gregory L. |url=http://www.gljackson.com/795931.pdf |title=Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant: A Doctrinal Comparison of Three Christian Confessions |location=Glendale, Arizona |publisher=Martin Chemnitz Press |year=2007 }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Lutheranism}}
{{EB1911 poster|Lutherans}}
* Moldehnke, Edward F. "Was ist denn eigentlich ein Lutheraner?" ''Evangelish-Lutherisches Gemeinde-Blatt''. Vol. 1, nos. 8–10 (1866). Trans. Nathaniel J. Biebert. ''Studium Excitare''. Issue No. 12 (2010).
* {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Lutherans |year=1921 |short=x}}
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Latest revision as of 04:57, 23 December 2024

Major branch of Protestantism "Lutheran church" redirects here. For a list of church buildings, see List of Lutheran churches.

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    "Evangelical Lutheran" redirects here. For denominations known by this name, see Evangelical Lutheran Church (disambiguation).

    Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that identifies primarily with 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 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 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 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, the purpose of God's Law, the concept of perseverance of the saints, and predestination, amongst other matters.

    Etymology

    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 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 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.

    History

    Main article: History of Lutheranism Further information: Reformation
    Martin Luther, a 1529 portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder

    Lutheranism has its roots in 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 the then-Livonian Order. Lutheran clergy became civil servants and the Lutheran churches became part of the state.

    Spread to Northern Europe

    The title page of the Swedish Gustav Vasa Bible, translated by brothers Olaus Petri and Laurentius Petri and Laurentius Andreae

    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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 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 the first Finnish New Testament was published in 1548.

    Counter-Reformation and controversies

    A Hundskirche replica

    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 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 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 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 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".

    Lutheran orthodoxy

    Main article: Lutheran orthodoxy
    The University of Jena in Germany, the center of Gnesio-Lutheran activity leading up to the Formula of Concord, and a center of Lutheran orthodoxy
    Danish Queen Sophie Magdalene expressed her Pietist sentiment in 1737 by founding a Lutheran convent.

    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 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 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 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 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 a rival of orthodoxy but adopted some devotional literature by orthodox theologians, including Arndt, Christian Scriver, and Stephan Prätorius.

    Rationalism

    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 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 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 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.

    Revivals

    A 19th century Haugean conventicle
    The Olbers, one of the ships that carried Old Lutherans to the Western Hemisphere
    Representing a continuous tradition of the Finnish Awakening, youth are confirmed at Paavo Ruotsalainen's homestead in Nilsiä, Finland.

    Luther scholar Johann Georg Hamann (1730–1788), a layman, became famous for countering Rationalism and striving to advance 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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.

    Doctrine

    Bible

    Luther's 1534 translation of the Bible
    Moses and Elijah point the sinner looking for God's salvation to the cross to find it, a Lutheran ideal known as the Theology of the Cross.

    Traditionally, Lutherans hold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the only divinely inspired books, 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 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 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 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 the Bible was written by men and not the Word of God. 7% did not know, were not sure, or had other positions.

    Inspiration

    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 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 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.

    Clarity

    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 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.

    Efficacy

    Lutherans confess that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates 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 the preceding outward Word".

    Sufficiency

    Law and Grace, a portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder; the left side shows humans' condemnation under God's law and the right side presents God's grace in Christ.

    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.

    Law and Gospel

    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 the obscuring of the Gospel teaching of justification by grace through faith alone.

    Lutheran confessions

    The cover page of the Book of Concord, published in 1580

    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 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 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 the Christian Church.

    The Lutheran Church traditionally sees itself as the "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during the Reformation, the Church of Rome fell away. As such, the Augsburg Confession teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church". When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, they explained "that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils".

    Justification

    The Lutheran faith preaches that whoever has faith in Jesus alone will receive salvation from the grace of God and will enter heaven for eternity.

    The key doctrine, or material principle, of Lutheranism is the doctrine of justification. Lutherans believe that humans are saved from their sins by God's grace alone (Sola Gratia), through faith alone (Sola Fide), on the basis of Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura). Orthodox Lutheran theology holds that God made the world, including humanity, perfect, holy and sinless. However, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, trusting in their own strength, knowledge, and wisdom. Consequently, people are saddled with original sin, born sinful and unable to avoid committing sinful acts. For Lutherans, original sin is the "chief sin, a root and fountainhead of all actual sins".

    Lutherans teach that sinners, while capable of doing works that are outwardly "good", are not capable of doing works that satisfy God's justice. Every human thought and deed is infected with sin and sinful motives. Because of this, all humanity deserves eternal damnation in hell. God in eternity has turned His Fatherly heart to this world and planned for its redemption because he loves all people and does not want anyone to be eternally damned.

    To this end, "God sent his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil, and to bring us to Himself, and to govern us as a King of righteousness, life, and salvation against sin, death, and an evil conscience", as Luther's Large Catechism explains. Because of this, Lutherans teach that salvation is possible only because of the grace of God made manifest in the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and continuing presence by the power of the Holy Spirit, of Jesus Christ. By God's grace, made known and effective in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a person is forgiven, adopted as a child and heir of God, and given eternal salvation. Christ, because he was entirely obedient to the law with respect to both his human and divine natures, "is a perfect satisfaction and reconciliation of the human race", as the Formula of Concord asserts, and proceeds to summarize:

    submitted to the law for us, bore our sin, and in going to his Father performed complete and perfect obedience for us poor sinners, from his holy birth to his death. Thereby he covered all our disobedience, which is embedded in our nature and in its thoughts, words, and deeds, so that this disobedience is not reckoned to us as condemnation but is pardoned and forgiven by sheer grace, because of Christ alone.

    Lutherans believe that individuals receive this gift of salvation through faith alone. Saving faith is the knowledge of, acceptance of, and trust in the promise of the Gospel. Even faith itself is seen as a gift of God, created in the hearts of Christians by the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word and Baptism. Faith receives the gift of salvation rather than causes salvation. Thus, Lutherans reject the "decision theology" which is common among modern evangelicals.

    The term "grace" has been defined differently by other Christian church bodies. Lutheranism defines grace as entirely limited to God's gifts to us, which is bestowed as pure gift, not something we merit by behavior or acts. To Lutherans, grace is not about our response to God's gifts, but only His gifts.

    Trinity

    Lutherans believe in the Trinity.

    Lutherans believe in the Trinity, rejecting the idea that the Father and God the Son are merely faces of the same person, stating that both the Old Testament and the New Testament show them to be two distinct persons. Lutherans believe the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. In the words of the Athanasian Creed: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal."

    Two natures of Christ

    Main article: Scholastic Lutheran Christology

    Lutherans believe Jesus is the Christ, the savior promised in the Old Testament. They believe he is both by nature God and by nature man in one person, as they confess in Luther's Small Catechism that he is "true God begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man born of the Virgin Mary".

    The Augsburg Confession explains:

    he Son of God, did assume the human nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, so that there are two natures, the divine and the human, inseparably enjoined in one Person, one Christ, true God and true man, who was born of the Virgin Mary, truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, that He might reconcile the Father unto us, and be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men.

    Sacraments

    Main article: Lutheran sacraments
    Article IX, "Of Confession", of the Augsburg Confession

    Lutherans hold that sacraments are sacred acts of divine institution. Whenever they are properly administered by the use of the physical component commanded by God along with the divine words of institution, God is, in a way specific to each sacrament, present with the Word and physical component. He earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation. He also works in the recipients to get them to accept these blessings and to increase the assurance of their possession.

    Lutherans are not dogmatic about the number of the sacraments. In line with Luther's initial statement in his Large Catechism some speak of only two sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion, although later in the same work he calls Confession and Absolution "the third sacrament".

    The definition of sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession lists Absolution as one of them. Private Confession is expected before receiving the Eucharist for the first time. Some churches also allow for individual absolution on Saturdays before the Eucharistic service. A General Confession and Absolution, known as the Penitential Rite, is proclaimed in the Eucharistic liturgy.

    Baptism

    Lutherans practice infant baptism.

    Lutherans hold that Baptism is a saving work of God, mandated and instituted by Jesus Christ. Baptism is a "means of grace" through which God creates and strengthens "saving faith" as the "washing of regeneration" in which infants and adults are reborn. Since the creation of faith is exclusively God's work, it does not depend on the actions of the one baptized, whether infant or adult. Even though baptized infants cannot articulate that faith, Lutherans believe that it is present all the same.

    It is faith alone that receives these divine gifts, so Lutherans confess that baptism "works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare". Lutherans hold fast to the Scripture cited in 1 Peter 3:21, "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Therefore, Lutherans administer Baptism to both infants and adults. In the special section on infant baptism in his Large Catechism, Luther argues that infant baptism is God-pleasing because persons so baptized were reborn and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

    Eucharist

    Main article: Eucharist in the Lutheran Church
    Martin Luther communing John the Steadfast

    Lutherans hold that within the Eucharist, also referred to as the Sacrament of the Altar or the Lord's Supper, the true body and blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under the forms" of the consecrated bread and wine for all those who eat and drink it, a doctrine that the Formula of Concord calls the sacramental union.

    Confession

    Main article: Confession (Lutheran Church)

    Many Lutherans receive the sacrament of penance before receiving the Eucharist. Prior to going to Confessing and receiving Absolution, the faithful are expected to examine their lives in light of the Ten Commandments. An order of Confession and Absolution is contained in the Small Catechism, as well as in liturgical books. Lutherans typically kneel at the communion rails to confess their sins, while the confessor listens and then offers absolution while laying their stole on the penitent's head. Clergy are prohibited from revealing anything said during private Confession and Absolution per the Seal of the Confessional, and face excommunication if it is violated. Apart from this, Laestadian Lutherans have a practice of lay confession.

    Conversion

    In Lutheranism, conversion or regeneration in the strict sense of the term is the work of divine grace and power by which man, born of the flesh, and void of all power to think, to will, or to do any good thing, and dead in sin is, through the gospel and holy baptism, taken from a state of sin and spiritual death under God's wrath into a state of spiritual life of faith and grace, rendered able to will and to do what is spiritually good and, especially, made to trust in the benefits of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

    During conversion, one is moved from impenitence to repentance. The Augsburg Confession divides repentance into two parts: "One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors."

    Predestination

    Article XVIII of the Augsburg Confession, "Of Free Will" Free Will

    Lutherans adhere to divine monergism, the teaching that salvation is by God's act alone, and therefore reject the idea that humans in their fallen state have a free will concerning spiritual matters. Lutherans believe that although humans have free will concerning civil righteousness, they cannot work spiritual righteousness in the heart without the presence and aid of the Holy Spirit. Lutherans believe Christians are "saved"; that all who trust in Christ alone and his promises can be certain of their salvation.

    According to Lutheranism, the central final hope of the Christian is "the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting" as confessed in the Apostles' Creed rather than predestination. Lutherans disagree with those who make predestination—rather than Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection—the source of salvation. Unlike some Calvinists, Lutherans do not believe in a predestination to damnation, usually referencing "God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" as contrary evidence to such a claim. Instead, Lutherans teach eternal damnation is a result of the unbeliever's sins, rejection of the forgiveness of sins, and unbelief.

    Divine providence

    The Broad and the Narrow Way, a popular 1866 German Pietist portrait

    According to Lutherans, God preserves his creation, cooperates with everything that happens, and guides the universe. While God cooperates with both good and evil deeds, with evil deeds he does so only inasmuch as they are deeds, but not with the evil in them. God concurs with an act's effect, but he does not cooperate in the corruption of an act or the evil of its effect. Lutherans believe everything exists for the sake of the Christian Church, and that God guides everything for its welfare and growth.

    The explanation of the Apostles' Creed given in the Small Catechism declares that everything good that people have is given and preserved by God, either directly or through other people or things. Of the services others provide us through family, government, and work, "we receive these blessings not from them, but, through them, from God". Since God uses everyone's useful tasks for good, people should not look down upon some useful vocations as being less worthy than others. Instead people should honor others, no matter how lowly, as being the means God uses to work in the world.

    Good works

    "Even though I am a sinner and deserving of death and hell, this shall nonetheless be my consolation and my victory that my Lord Jesus lives and has risen so that He, in the end, might rescue me from sin, death, and hell", said Martin Luther concerning the meaning of the Resurrection.

    Lutherans believe that Augsburg Confession's "Article XX: Of Good Works" are the fruit of faith, always and in every instance. Good works have their origin in God, not in the fallen human heart or in human striving; their absence would demonstrate that faith, too, is absent. Lutherans do not believe that good works are a factor in obtaining salvation; they believe that we are saved by the grace of God—based on the merit of Christ in his suffering and death—and faith in the Triune God. Good works are the natural result of faith, not the cause of salvation. Although Christians are no longer compelled to keep God's law, they freely and willingly serve God and their neighbors.

    Judgment and eternal life

    Lutherans do not believe in any sort of earthly millennial kingdom of Christ either before or after his second coming on the last day. Lutherans teach that, at death, the souls of Christians are immediately taken into the presence of Jesus, where they await the second coming of Jesus on the last day. On the last day, all the bodies of the dead will be resurrected.

    Their souls will then be reunited with the same bodies they had before dying. The bodies will then be changed, those of the wicked to a state of everlasting shame and torment, those of the righteous to an everlasting state of celestial glory. After the resurrection of all the dead, and the change of those still living, all nations shall be gathered before Christ, and he will separate the righteous from the wicked.

    Christ will publicly judge all people by the testimony of their deeds, the good works of the righteous in evidence of their faith, and the evil works of the wicked in evidence of their unbelief. He will judge in righteousness in the presence of all people and angels, and his final judgment will be just damnation to everlasting punishment for the wicked and a gracious gift of life everlasting to the righteous.

    Protestant beliefs about salvation
    This table summarizes the classical views of three Protestant beliefs about salvation.
    Topic Calvinism Lutheranism Arminianism
    Human will Total depravity: Humanity possesses "free will", but it is in bondage to sin, until it is "transformed". Total depravity: Humanity possesses free will in regard to "goods and possessions", but is sinful by nature and unable to contribute to its own salvation. Total depravity: Humanity possesses freedom from necessity, but not "freedom from sin" unless enabled by "prevenient grace".
    Election Unconditional election. Unconditional election. Conditional election in view of foreseen faith or unbelief.
    Justification and atonement Justification by faith alone. Various views regarding the extent of the atonement. Justification for all men, completed at Christ's death and effective through faith alone. Justification made possible for all through Christ's death, but only completed upon choosing faith in Jesus.
    Conversion Monergistic, through the means of grace, irresistible. Monergistic, through the means of grace, resistible. Synergistic, resistible due to the common grace of free will.
    Perseverance and apostasy Perseverance of the saints: the eternally elect in Christ will certainly persevere in faith. Falling away is possible, but God gives gospel assurance. Preservation is conditional upon continued faith in Christ; with the possibility of a final apostasy.


    Practices

    Luther composed hymns and hymn tunes, including "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God").
    Divine Service at the St. Nicholas church in Luckau, Germany

    Liturgy

    Further information: Lutheran art, Lutheran hymn, Lutheran chorale, and Hymnody of continental Europe § Reformation

    Lutherans place great emphasis on a liturgical approach to worship services; although there are substantial non-liturgical minorities, for example, the Haugean Lutherans from Norway. Martin Luther was a great proponent of music, and this is why music forms a central part of Lutheran services to this day. In particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl, and wanted singing in the church to move away from the ars perfecta (Catholic Sacred Music of the late Renaissance) and towards singing as a Gemeinschaft (community). Lutheran hymns are sometimes known as chorales. Lutheran hymnody is well known for its doctrinal, didactic, and musical richness. Most Lutheran churches are active musically with choirs, handbell choirs, children's choirs, and occasionally change ringing groups that ring bells in a bell tower. Johann Sebastian Bach, a devout Lutheran, composed a huge body of sacred music for the Lutheran church.

    Lutherans also preserve a liturgical approach to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist/Communion, emphasizing the Sacrament as the central act of Christian worship. Lutherans believe that the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ are present in, with and under the bread and the wine. This belief is called Real Presence or sacramental union and is different from consubstantiation and transubstantiation. Additionally Lutherans reject the idea that communion is a mere symbol or memorial. They confess in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession:

    e do not abolish the Mass but religiously keep and defend it. Among us the Mass is celebrated every Lord's Day and on other festivals, when the Sacrament is made available to those who wish to partake of it, after they have been examined and absolved. We also keep traditional liturgical forms, such as the order of readings, prayers, vestments, and other similar things.

    In addition to the Holy Communion (Divine Service), congregations frequently also hold offices, which are worship services without communion. They may include Matins, Vespers, Compline, or other observances of the Daily Office. Private or family offices include the Morning and Evening Prayers from Luther's Small Catechism. Meals are blessed with the Common table prayer, Psalm 145:15–16, or other prayers, and after eating the Lord is thanked, for example, with Psalm 136:1. Luther himself encouraged the use of Psalm verses, such as those already mentioned, along with the Lord's Prayer and another short prayer before and after each meal: Blessing and Thanks at Meals from Luther's Small Catechism. In addition, Lutherans use devotional books, from small daily devotionals, for example, Portals of Prayer, to large breviaries, including the Breviarium Lipsiensae and Treasury of Daily Prayer.

    The predominant rite used by Lutheran churches is a Western one based on the Formula missae ("Form of the Mass"), although other Lutheran liturgies are also in use, such as those used in the Byzantine Rite Lutheran Churches, such as the Ukrainian Lutheran Church and Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia. Although Luther's Deutsche Messe was completely chanted except for the sermon, this is less common today.

    In the 1970s, many Lutheran churches began holding contemporary worship services for the purpose of evangelistic outreach. These services were in a variety of styles, depending on the preferences of the congregation. Often they were held alongside a traditional service in order to cater to those who preferred contemporary worship music. Today, a few Lutheran congregations have contemporary worship as their sole form of worship. Outreach is no longer given as the primary motivation; rather this form of worship is seen as more in keeping with the desires of individual congregations. In Finland, Lutherans have experimented with the St Thomas Mass [fi] and Metal Mass in which traditional hymns are adapted to heavy metal. Some Laestadians enter a heavily emotional and ecstatic state during worship. The Lutheran World Federation, in its Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture, recommended every effort be made to bring church services into a more sensitive position with regard to cultural context.

    In 2006, both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), in cooperation with certain international English speaking church bodies within their respective fellowships, released new hymnals: Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELCA) and Lutheran Service Book (LCMS). Along with these, the most widely used among English speaking congregations include: Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996, Evangelical Lutheran Synod), The Lutheran Book of Worship (1978, Lutheran Council in the United States of America), Lutheran Worship (1982, LCMS), Christian Worship (1993, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod), and The Lutheran Hymnal (1941, Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America). In the Lutheran Church of Australia, the official hymnal is the Lutheran Hymnal with Supplement of 1986, which includes a supplement to the Lutheran Hymnal of 1973, itself a replacement for the Australian Lutheran Hymn Book of 1921. Prior to this time, the two Lutheran church bodies in Australia (which merged in 1966) used a bewildering variety of hymnals, usually in the German language. Spanish-speaking ELCA churches frequently use Libro de Liturgia y Cántico (1998, Augsburg Fortress) for services and hymns. For a more complete list, see List of English language Lutheran hymnals.

    Missions

    Christ Lutheran Church in India

    Sizable Lutheran missions arose for the first time during the 19th century. Early missionary attempts during the century after the Reformation did not succeed. However, European traders brought Lutheranism to Africa beginning in the 17th century as they settled along the coasts. During the first half of the 19th century, missionary activity in Africa expanded, including preaching by missionaries, translation of the Bible, and education.

    Lutheranism came to India beginning with the work of Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, where a community totaling several thousand developed, complete with their own translation of the Bible, catechism, their own hymnal, and system of Lutheran schools. In the 1840s, this church experienced a revival through the work of the Leipzig Mission, including Karl Graul. After German missionaries were expelled in 1914, Lutherans in India became entirely autonomous, yet preserved their Lutheran character. In recent years India has relaxed its anti-religious conversion laws, allowing a resurgence in missionary work.

    In Latin America, missions began to serve European immigrants of Lutheran background, both those who spoke German and those who no longer did. These churches in turn began to evangelize those in their areas who were not of European background, including indigenous peoples.

    In 1892, the first Lutheran missionaries reached Japan. Although work began slowly and a major setback occurred during the hardships of WWII. Lutheranism there has survived and become self-sustaining. After missionaries to China, including those of the Lutheran Church of China, were expelled, they began ministry in Taiwan and Hong Kong, the latter which became a center of Lutheranism in Asia.

    The Lutheran Mission in New Guinea, though founded only in 1953, became the largest Lutheran mission in the world in only several decades. Through the work of native lay evangelists, many tribes of diverse languages were reached with the Gospel.

    Today the Lutheran World Federation operates Lutheran World Relief, a relief and development agency active in more than 50 countries.

    Education

    Resurrection Lutheran School is a parochial school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in Rochester, Minnesota and the fourth-largest private school system in the United States.

    Catechism instruction is considered foundational in most Lutheran churches. Almost all maintain Sunday Schools, and some host or maintain Lutheran schools, at the preschool, elementary, middle, high school, folk high school, or university level. Lifelong study of the catechism is intended for all ages so that the abuses of the pre-Reformation Church will not recur. Lutheran schools have always been a core aspect of Lutheran mission work, starting with Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Putschasu, who began work in India in year 1706. During the Counter-Reformation era in German speaking areas, backstreet Lutheran schools were the main Lutheran institution among crypto-Lutherans.

    Pastors almost always have substantial theological educations, including Koine Greek and Biblical Hebrew so that they can refer to the Christian scriptures in the original language. Pastors usually teach in the common language of the local congregation. In the U.S., some congregations and synods historically taught in German, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, or Swedish, but retention of immigrant languages has been in significant decline since the early and middle 20th century.

    Church fellowship

    Georg Calixtus taught at the University of Helmstedt during the Syncretistic controversy.
    Stormtroopers holding German Christian propaganda during church council elections on 23 July 1933 at St. Mary's Church in Berlin after which internal struggles, controversies, reorganization, and splits struck the German Evangelical Church, resulting in the Confessing Church's creation.
    A Lutheran pastor wearing a chasuble during communion
    Confirmation at the Church of Norway's Lunder Church in Ringerike, Norway in 2012
    A Læstadian lay preacher in Finnmark, Norway in 1898

    Lutherans were divided about the issue of church fellowship for the first 30 years after Luther's death. Philipp Melanchthon and his Philippist party felt that Christians of different beliefs should join in union with each other without completely agreeing on doctrine. Against them stood the Gnesio-Lutherans, led by Matthias Flacius and the faculty at the University of Jena. They condemned the Philippist position for indifferentism, describing it as a "unionistic compromise" of precious Reformation theology. Instead, they held that genuine unity between Christians and real theological peace was only possible with an honest agreement about every subject of doctrinal controversy.

    Complete agreement finally came about in 1577, after the death of both Melanchthon and Flacius, when a new generation of theologians resolved the doctrinal controversies on the basis of Scripture in the Formula of Concord of 1577. Although they decried the visible division of Christians on earth, orthodox Lutherans avoided ecumenical fellowship with other churches, believing that Christians should not, for example, join for the Lord's Supper or exchange pastors if they do not completely agree about what the Bible teaches. In the 17th century, Georgius Calixtus began a rebellion against this practice, sparking the Syncretistic Controversy with Abraham Calovius as his main opponent.

    In the 18th century, there was some ecumenical interest between the Church of Sweden and the Church of England. John Robinson, Bishop of London, planned for a union of the English and Swedish churches in 1718. The plan failed because most Swedish bishops rejected the Calvinism of the Church of England, although Jesper Swedberg and Johannes Gezelius the younger, bishops of Skara, Sweden and Turku, Finland, were in favor. With the encouragement of Swedberg, church fellowship was established between Swedish Lutherans and Anglicans in the Middle Colonies. Over the course of the 1700s and the early 1800s, Swedish Lutherans were absorbed into Anglican churches, with the last original Swedish congregation completing merger into the Episcopal Church in 1846.

    In the 19th century, Samuel Simon Schmucker attempted to lead the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States toward unification with other American Protestants. His attempt to get the synod to reject the Augsburg Confession in favor of his compromising Definite Platform failed. Instead, it sparked a Neo-Lutheran revival, prompting many to form the General Council, including Charles Porterfield Krauth. Their alternative approach was "Lutheran pulpits for Lutheran ministers only and Lutheran altars...for Lutheran communicants only."

    Beginning in 1867, confessional and liberal minded Lutherans in Germany joined to form the Common Evangelical Lutheran Conference against the ever looming prospect of a state-mandated union with the Reformed. However, they failed to reach consensus on the degree of shared doctrine necessary for church union. Eventually, the fascist German Christians movement pushed the final national merger of Lutheran, Union, and Reformed church bodies into a single Reich Church in 1933, doing away with the previous umbrella German Evangelical Church Confederation (DEK). As part of denazification the Reich Church was formally done away with in 1945, and certain clergy were removed from their positions. However, the merger between the Lutheran, United, and Reformed state churches was retained under the name Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD). In 1948 the Lutheran church bodies within the EKD founded the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), but it has since been reduced from being an independent legal entity to an administrative unit within the EKD.

    Lutherans are currently divided over how to interact with other Christian denominations. Some Lutherans assert that everyone must share the "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) in complete unity (1 Cor. 1:10) before pastors can share each other's pulpits, and before communicants commune at each other's altars, a practice termed closed (or close) communion. On the other hand, other Lutherans practice varying degrees of open communion and allow preachers from other Christian denominations in their pulpits.

    While not an issue in the majority of Lutheran church bodies, some of them forbid membership in Freemasonry. Partly, this is because the lodge is viewed as spreading Unitarianism, as the Brief Statement of the LCMS reads, "Hence we warn against Unitarianism, which in our country has to a great extent impenetrated the sects and is being spread particularly also through the influence of the lodges." A 1958 report from the publishing house of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod states that, "Masonry is guilty of idolatry. Its worship and prayers are idol worship. The Masons may not with their hands have made an idol out of gold, silver, wood or stone, but they created one with their own mind and reason out of purely human thoughts and ideas. The latter is an idol no less than the former."

    The largest organization of Lutheran churches around the world are the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum, the International Lutheran Council (ILC), and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC). These organizations together account for the great majority of Lutheran denominations. The LCMS and the Lutheran Church–Canada are members of the ILC. The WELS and ELS are members of the CELC. Many Lutheran churches are not affiliated with the LWF, the ILC or the CELC: The congregations of the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) are affiliated with their mission organizations in Canada, India, Nepal, Myanmar, and many African nations; and those affiliated with the Church of the Lutheran Brethren are especially active doing mission work in Africa and East Asia.

    The Lutheran World Federation-aligned churches do not believe that one church is singularly true in its teachings. According to this belief, Lutheranism is a reform movement rather than a movement into doctrinal correctness. As part of this, in 1999 the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church jointly issued a statement, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, that stated that the LWF and the Catholics both agreed about certain basics of Justification and lifted certain Catholic anathemas formerly applying to the LWF member churches.The LCMS has participated in most of the official dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church since shortly after the Second Vatican Council, though not the one which produced the Joint Declaration and to which they were not invited. While some Lutheran theologians saw the Joint Declaration as a sign that the Catholics were essentially adopting the Lutheran position, other Lutheran theologians disagreed, claiming that, considering the public documentation of the Catholic position, this assertion does not hold up.

    Besides their intra-Lutheran arrangements, some member churches of the LWF have also declared full communion with non-Lutheran Protestant churches. The Porvoo Communion is a communion of episcopally led Lutheran and Anglican churches in Europe. Beside its membership in the Porvoo Communion, Church of Sweden also has declared full communion with the Philippine Independent Church and the United Methodist Church. The state Protestant churches in Germany many other European countries have signed the Leuenberg Agreement to form the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been involved in ecumenical dialogues with several denominations. The ELCA has declared full communion with multiple American Protestant churches.

    Although on paper the LWF churches have all declared have full communion with each other, in practice some churches within the LWF have renounced ties with specific other churches. One development in this ongoing schism is the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum, which consists of churches and church related organizations tracing their heritage back to mainline American Lutheranism in North America, European state churches, as well as certain African churches. As of 2019, the Forum is not a full communion organization. Similar in this structure is the International Lutheran Council, where issues of communion are left to the individual denominations. Not all ILC churches have declared church-fellowship with each other. In contrast, mutual church-fellowship is part of the CELC member churches, and unlike in the LWF, this is not contradicted by individual statements from any particular member church body.

    Laestadians within certain European state churches maintain close ties to other Laestadians, often called Apostolic Lutherans. Altogether, Laestadians are found in 23 countries across five continents, but there is no single organization which represents them. Laestadians operate Peace Associations to coordinate their churchly efforts. Nearly all are located in Europe, although they there are 15 combined in North America, Ecuador, Togo, and Kenya.

    By contrast, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference and International Lutheran Council as well as some unaffiliated denominations such as the Church of the Lutheran Confession and North American Laestadians maintain that the orthodox confessional Lutheran churches are the only churches with completely correct doctrine. They teach that while other Christian churches teach partially orthodox doctrine and have true Christians as members, the doctrines of those churches contain significant errors. More conservative Lutherans strive to maintain historical distinctiveness while emphasizing doctrinal purity alongside Gospel-motivated outreach. They claim that LWF Lutherans are practicing "fake ecumenism" by desiring church fellowship outside of actual unity of teaching.

    Although not an "ecumenical" movement in the formal sense, in the 1990s influences from the megachurches of American evangelicalism have become somewhat common. Many of the largest Lutheran congregations in the United States have been heavily influenced by these "progressive Evangelicals". These influences are sharply criticized by some Lutherans as being foreign to orthodox Lutheran beliefs.

    Polity

    Hallowed be Thy Name by Lucas Cranach the Elder illustrates a Lutheran pastor preaching Christ crucified. During the Reformation and afterwards, many churches did not have pews, so people would stand or sit on the floor. The elderly might be given a chair or stool.

    Lutheran polity varies depending on influences. Although Article XIV of the Augsburg Confession mandates that one must be "properly called" to preach or administer the Sacraments, some Lutherans have a broad view of on what constitutes this and thus allow lay preaching or students still studying to be pastors someday to consecrate the Lord's Supper. Despite considerable diversity, Lutheran polity trends in a geographically predictable manner in Europe, with episcopal governance to the north and east but blended and consistorial-presbyterian type synodical governance in Germany.

    Scandinavia

    Nathan Söderblom is ordained as archbishop of the Church of Sweden in 1914. Although Swedish Lutherans boast of an unbroken line of ordinations going back prior to the Reformation, the bishops of Rome do not recognize such ordinations as valid.

    To the north in Scandinavia, the population was more insulated from the influence and politics of the Reformation and thus the Church of Sweden (which at the time included Finland) retained the Apostolic succession, although they did not consider it essential for valid sacraments as the Donatists did in the fourth and fifth centuries and the Roman Catholics do today. Recently, the Swedish succession was introduced into all of the Porvoo Communion churches, all of which have an episcopal polity. Although the Lutheran churches did not require this or change their doctrine, this was important in order for more strictly high church Anglican individuals to feel comfortable recognizing their sacraments as valid. The occasional ordination of a bishop by a priest was not necessarily considered an invalid ordination in the Middle Ages, so the alleged break in the line of succession in the other Nordic Churches would have been considered a violation of canon law rather than an invalid ordination at the time. Moreover, there are no consistent records detailing pre-Reformation ordinations prior to the 12th century.

    In the far north of the Scandinavian peninsula are the Sámi people, some of which practice a form of Lutheranism called Apostolic Lutheranism, or Laestadianism due to the efforts of Lars Levi Laestadius. However, others are Orthodox in religion. Some Apostolic Lutherans consider their movement as part of an unbroken line down from the Apostles. In areas where Apostolic Lutherans have their own bishops apart from other Lutheran church organizations, the bishops wield more practical authority than Lutheran clergy typically do. In Russia, Laestadians of Lutheran background cooperate with the Ingrian church, but since Laestadianism is an interdenominational movement, some are Eastern Orthodox. Eastern Orthodox Laestadians are known as Ushkovayzet (article is in Russian).

    Eastern Europe and Asian Russia

    Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Saint Petersburg

    Although historically Pietism had a significant influence on the understanding of the ministry among Lutherans in the Russian Empire, today nearly all Russian and Ukrainian Lutherans are influenced by Eastern Orthodox polity. In their culture, giving a high degree of respect and authority to their bishops is necessary for their faith to be seen as legitimate and not sectarian. In Russia, lines of succession between bishops and the canonical authority between their present-day hierarchy is also carefully maintained in order to legitimize the existing Lutheran churches as present day successors of the former Lutheran Church of the Russian Empire originally authorized by Catherine the Great. This allows for the post-Soviet repatriation of Lutheran church buildings to local congregations on the basis of this historical connection.

    Germany

    The Schwäbisch Hall Church Order in 1543

    In Germany, several dynamics encouraged Lutherans to maintain a different form of polity. First, due to de facto practice during the Nuremberg Religious Peace the subsequent legal principal of Cuius regio, eius religio in the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, German states were officially either Catholic or "Evangelical" (that is, Lutheran under the Augsburg Confession). In some areas both Catholic and Lutheran churches were permitted to co-exist. Because German-speaking Catholic areas were nearby, Catholic-leaning Christians were able to emigrate and there was less of an issue with Catholics choosing to live as "crypto-papists" in Lutheran areas. Although Reformed-leaning Christians were not allowed to have churches, Melancthon wrote Augsburg Confession Variata which some used to claim legal protection as "Evangelical" churches. Many chose to live as crypto-Calvinists either with or without the protection offered by the Variata, but this did not make their influence go away, and as a result the Protestant church in Germany as of 2017 was only about ≈40% Lutheran, with most of the rest being United Protestant, a combination of Lutheran and Reformed beliefs and practices.

    In terms of polity, over the 17th and 18th centuries the carefully negotiated and highly prescriptive church orders of the Reformation era gave way to a joint cooperation between state control and a Reformed-style blend of consistorial and presbyterian type synodical governance. Just as negotiations over the details in the church orders involved the laity, so did the new synodical governance. Synodical governance had already been practiced in the Reformed Netherlands prior to its adoption by Lutherans. During the formation of the modern German state, ideas about the nature of authority and the best design for governments and organizations came from the philosophies of Kant and Hegel, further modifying the polity. When the monarchy and the sovereign governance of the church were ended in 1918, the synods took over the governance of the state churches.

    Western Hemisphere and Australia

    The Pennsylvania Ministerium published this hymnal in 1803.
    Lighthouse Lutheran Church, an LCMC congregation in Freedom, Pennsylvania

    During the period of the emigration, Lutherans took their existing ideas about polity with them across the ocean, though with the exception of the early Swedish Lutherans immigrants of the New Sweden colony who accepted the rule of the Anglican bishops and became part of the established church, they now had to fund churches on their own. This increased the congregationalist dynamic in the blended consistorial and presbyterian type synodical governance. The first organized church body of Lutherans in America was the Pennsylvania Ministerium, which used Reformed style synodical governance over the 18th and 19th centuries. Their contribution to the development of polity was that smaller synods could in turn form a larger body, also with synodical governance, but without losing their lower level of governance. As a result, the smaller synods gained unprecedented flexibility to join, leave, merge, or stay separate, all without the hand of the state as had been the case in Europe.

    During their 19th-century persecution, Old Lutheran, defined as scholastic and orthodox believers, were left in a conundrum. Resistance to authority was traditionally considered disobedience, but, under the circumstances, upholding orthodox doctrine and historical practice was considered by the government disobedience. However, the doctrine of the lesser magistrate allowed clergy to legitimately resist the state and even leave. Illegal free churches were set up in Germany and mass emigration occurred. For decades the new churches were mostly dependent on the free churches to send them new ministerial candidates for ordination. These new church bodies also employed synodical governance, but tended to exclude Hegelianism in their constitutions, due to its incompatibility with the doctrine of the lesser magistrates. In contrast to Hegelianism where authority flows in from all levels, Kantianism presents authority proceeding only from the top down, hence the need for a lesser magistrate to become the new top magistrate.

    Over the 20th and 21st centuries, some Lutheran bodies have adopted a more congregationalist approach, such as the Protes'tant Conference and the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, or LCMC. The LCMC formed due to a church split after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America signed an agreement with the Episcopal Church to start ordaining all of their new bishops into the Episcopalian apostolic succession. In other words, this meant that new ELCA bishops, at least at first, would be jointly ordained by Anglican bishops as well as Lutheran bishops so that the more strict Episcopalians (i.e., Anglo-Catholics) would recognize their sacraments as valid. This was offensive to some in the ELCA at the time because of the implications this practice would have on the teachings of the priesthood of all believers and the nature of ordination.

    Some Lutheran churches permit dual-rostering. Situations like this one where a church or church body belongs to multiple larger organizations that do not have ties are termed "triangular fellowship". Another variant is independent Lutheran churches, although for some independent churches the clergy are members of a larger denomination. In other cases, a congregation may belong to a synod, but the pastor may be unaffiliated. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church of Australia, the Wisconsin Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Church of the Lutheran Confession, and the Missouri Synod, teachers at parochial schools are considered to be ministers of religion, with the latter defending this before the Supreme Court in 2012. However, differences remain in the precise status of their teachers.

    Throughout the world

    Further information: Lutheranism by region and Protestantism by country
    The building of a congregation in North Sumatra in Indonesia belonging to the Batak Christian Protestant Church, which is a merged denomination that includes a Lutheran element
    Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church [ar] in Ramallah, Palestine
    Faith Lutheran School in Hong Kong

    Lutheran churches currently have millions of members, and are present on all populated continents. The Lutheran World Federation estimates the total membership of its churches to be over 77 million. This figure miscounts Lutherans worldwide, as not all Lutheran churches belong to this organization, and many members of merged LWF church bodies do not self-identify as Lutheran or attend congregations that self-identify as Lutheran. Lutheran churches in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean regions are experiencing decreases and no growth in membership, while those in Africa and Asia continue to grow. Lutheranism is the largest religious group in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Namibia, Norway, Sweden, and North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States.

    Lutheranism is also the dominant form of Christianity in the White Mountain and San Carlos Apache nations. In addition, Lutheranism is a main Protestant denomination in Germany (behind United Protestant (Lutheran & Reformed) churches; EKD Protestants form about 24.3% of the country's total population), Estonia, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Papua New Guinea, and Tanzania. Although some convents and monasteries voluntarily closed during the Reformation, and many of the remaining damenstift were shuttered by communist authorities following World War II, the Lüne abbeys are still open. Nearly all active Lutheran orders are located in Europe.

    Although Namibia is the only country outside Europe to have a Lutheran majority, there are sizable Lutheran bodies in other African countries. In the following African countries, the total number of Lutherans exceeds 100,000: Nigeria, Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Malawi, Congo, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar. In addition, the following nations also have sizable Lutheran populations: Canada, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands (as a synod within the PKN and two strictly Lutheran denominations), South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, especially in the heavily German and Scandinavian Upper Midwest.

    Lutheranism is also a state religion in Denmark and Iceland. Lutheranism was also the state church in Finland, Norway and Sweden, but its status in Norway and Sweden was changed to that of a national church in 2017 and 2000 respectively.

    Brazil

    The Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil) is the largest Lutheran denomination in Brazil. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federation, which it joined in 1952. It is a member of the Latin American Council of Churches, the National Council of Christian Churches and the World Council of Churches. The denomination has 1.02 million adherents and 643,693 registered members. The church ordains women as ministers. In 2011, the denomination released a pastoral letter supporting and accepting the Supreme Court's decision to allow same-sex marriage.

    The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (Portuguese: Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil, IELB) is a Lutheran church founded in 1904 in Rio Grande do Sul, a southern state in Brazil. The IELB is a conservative, confessional Lutheran synod which holds to the Book of Concord. It started as a mission of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and operated as the Brazilian District of that body. The IELB became an independent church body in 1980. It has about 243,093 members. The IELB is a member of the International Lutheran Council.

    The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) started a Brazilian mission, the first for WELS in the Portuguese language, in the early 1980s. Its first work was done in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil, alongside some small independent Lutheran churches which had asked for help from WELS. Today, the Brazilian WELS Lutheran Churches are self-supporting and an independent mission partner of the Latin America WELS missions team.

    Distribution

    This map shows where countries with over 25,000 members of the Lutheran World Federation were located in 2019.

    Lutheran World Federation membership by country in 2019.

      More than 10 million   5 million to 10 million   1 million to 5 million   500 thousand to 1 million   100 thousand to 500 thousand   25 thousand to 100 thousand

    data for China is explicitly for the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong.
    Argentina's LWF member churches include member congregations in Paraguay and Uruguay.

    This map shows where members of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference were located in 2013:

    Countries with a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference as of 2013

    See also

    Notes

    1. Cf. material and formal principles in theology
    2. See Edward Wust and Wustism in the Russian Misplaced Pages for more on this.
    3. This map undercounts several countries, notably the United States. The LWF does not include the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and several other Lutheran bodies which together have over 2.5 million members

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    61. Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006.
    62. Engelder, Theodore E.W. (1934). Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 28.
    63. Romans 1:16, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006., Engelder, Theodore E.W. (1934). Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 27.
    64. Romans 1:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, Psalm 119:105, 2 Peter 1:19, 2 Timothy 1:16–17,Ephesians 3:3–4, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006., Engelder, Theodore E.W. (1934). Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 28.
    65. John 6:63, Revelation 1:3, Ephesians 3:3–4, John 7:17, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006., Engelder, Theodore E.W. (1934). Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 28.
    66. "Smalcald Articles – Book of Concord". Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    67. 2 Timothy 3:15–17, John 5:39, John 17:20, Psalm 19:7–8, Engelder, Theodore E.W. (1934). Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 28.
    68. Isaiah 8:20, Luke 16:29–31, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007., Engelder, Theodore E.W. (1934). Popular Symbolics: The Doctrines of the Churches of Christendom and Of Other Religious Bodies Examined in the Light of Scripture. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 28.
    69. "Defense of the Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord". Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    70. Walther, C. F. W. The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel. W. H. T. Dau, trans. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1929.
    71. F.E. Mayer, The Religious Bodies of America. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1954, p. 184. For further information, see The Formula of Concord in the History of Swedish Lutheranism Archived 7 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine by Seth Erlandsson
    72. The Ecumenical Councils and Authority in and of the Church (PDF). The Lutheran World Federation. 10 July 1993. The seven ecumenical councils of the early Church were assemblies of the bishops of the Church from all parts of the Roman Empire to clarify and express the apostolic faith. These councils are Nicaea (325 AD), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680/81), and Nicaea II (787)... As Lutherans and Orthodox we affirm that the teachings of the ecumenical councils are authoritative for our churches ... The Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which rejected iconoclasm and restored the veneration of icons in the churches, was not part of the tradition received by the Reformation. Lutherans, however, rejected the iconoclasm of the 16th century, and affirmed the distinction between adoration due to the Triune God alone and all other forms of veneration (CA 21). Through historical research this council has become better known. Nevertheless it does not have the same significance for Lutherans as it does for the Orthodox. Yet, Lutherans and Orthodox are in agreement that the Second Council of Nicaea confirms the christological teaching of the earlier councils and in setting forth the role of images (icons) in the lives of the faithful reaffirms the reality of the incarnation of the eternal Word of God, when it states: "The more frequently, Christ, Mary, the mother of God, and the saints are seen, the more are those who see them drawn to remember and long for those who serve as models, and to pay these icons the tribute of salutation and respectful veneration. Certainly this is not the full adoration in accordance with our faith, which is properly paid only to the divine nature, but it resembles that given to the figure of the honored and life-giving cross, and also to the holy books of the gospels and to other sacred objects" (Definition of the Second Council of Nicaea).
    73. Ecumenical Council. Titi Tudorancea Encyclopedia. 1991–2016. The Lutheran World Federation, in ecumenical dialogues with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has affirmed all of the first seven councils as ecumenical and authoritative.
    74. Junius Benjamin Remensnyder (1893). The Lutheran Manual. Boschen & Wefer Company. p. 12.
    75. Frey, H. (1918). Is One Church as Good as Another?. Vol. 37. The Lutheran Witness. pp. 82–83.
    76. ^ Ludwig, Alan (12 September 2016). "Luther's Catholic Reformation". The Lutheran Witness. When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession before Emperor Charles V in 1530, they carefully showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils and even the canon law of the Church of Rome. They boldly claim, "This is about the Sum of our Doctrine, in which, as can be seen, there is nothing that varies from the Scriptures, or from the Church Catholic, or from the Church of Rome as known from its writers" (AC XXI Conclusion 1). The underlying thesis of the Augsburg Confession is that the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church. In fact, it is actually the Church of Rome that has departed from the ancient faith and practice of the catholic church (see AC XXIII 13, XXVIII 72 and other places).
    77. "Sola Scriptura?". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. 15 May 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2024. any passages...state sola scriptura, such as Revelation 22:18-19. If we cannot add anything to the words of Scripture and we cannot take anything away from them, that is Scripture alone.
    78. Paul R. Sponheim, "The Origin of Sin", in Christian Dogmatics, Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson, eds. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 385–407.
    79. Francis Pieper, "Definition of Original Sin", in Christian Dogmatics (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1953), 1:538.
    80. Krauth, Charles P. (1875). "Part IX The Specific Doctrines Of The Conservative Reformation: Original Sin". The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology: As Represented in the Augsburg Confession, and in the History and Literature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. pp. 335–455.
    81. Formula of Concord, Original Sin Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
    82. Rom. 7:18, 8:7 1 Cor. 2:14, Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent: Vol. I. Trans. Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, pp. 639–652, "The Third Question: Whether the Good Works of the Regenerate in This Life Are So Perfect that They Fully, Abundantly, and Perfectly Satisfy the Divine Law".
    83. Gen. 6:5, 8:21, Mat. 7:17 Krauth, Charles P. (1875). "Part IX The Specific Doctrines Of The Conservative Reformation: Original Sin". The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology: As Represented in the Augsburg Confession, and in the History and Literature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. pp. 388–390. Thesis VII The Results, Section ii Positive
    84. Dt. 27:26,Rom. 5:12,2 Th. 1:9 Rom. 6:23, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 38–41, Part VIII. "Sin"
    85. 1 Tim. 2:4, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 43–44, Part X. "Saving Grace", paragraph 55.
    86. Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church. St. Louis: Concordia, 1921. Large Catechism Archived 14 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Lord's Prayer, The Second Petition, Par. 51.
    87. Gal. 3:13, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 43, Part X. "Saving Grace", paragraph 54.
    88. Rom. 10:4, Gal. 4:4–5, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 42, Part X. "Saving Grace", paragraph 52.
    89. Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Article III, "Concerning the Righteousness of Faith before God". par. 57–58. trans. Kolb, R., Wengert, T., and Arand, C. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2000.
    90. "Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord". Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    91. John 17:3, Luke 1:77,Galatians 4:9, Philippians 3:8, and 1 Timothy 2:4 refer to faith in terms of knowledge.
    92. John 5:46 refers to acceptance of the truth of Christ's teaching, while John 3:36 notes the rejection of his teaching.
    93. John 3:16,36, Galatians 2:16, Romans 4:20–25, 2 Timothy 1:12 speak of trust, confidence, and belief in Christ. John 3:18 notes belief in the name of Christ, and Mark 1:15 notes belief in the gospel.
    94. Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 54–55, Part XIV. "Sin"
    95. Ps. 51:10, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 57 Part XV. "Conversion", paragraph 78.
    96. John 17:20, Rom. 10:17, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 101 Part XXV. "The Church", paragraph 141.
    97. Titus 3:5, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 87 Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 118.
    98. Eph. 2:8, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 57 Part XV. "Conversion", paragraph 78.
    99. The Roman Catholic Catechism, part 3, section 1, chapter 3, article 2, II, paragraphs 2000 and 2001; downloaded February 18, 2017; defines grace as something which brings about a change in us, such that we cooperate in justification and act without sin (i.e. sanctified).
    100. Is. 63:8–9, Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 158–160, section "The Doctrine of God", part 5. "The Holy Trinity Revealed in the Old Testament",Heb. 1:5, see Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 33–36, Part VI. "The Trinity".
    101. The Nicene Creed and the Filioque: A Lutheran Approach by Rev. David Webber for more information
    102. Athanasian Creed – for an older Trinitarian Creed used by Lutherans, see the Nicene Creed: the version in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is the 1988 ecumenical (ELLC) version. But the version in both "Lutheran Service Book" (2006) of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Lutheran Church Canada (LCC) is that of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer with modernized spelling of the words "catholic" and "apostolic", with changes in capitalization of these and other words, and with "Holy Spirit" in place of "Holy Ghost".
    103. Luther's Small Catechism, The Apostles' Creed, Second Article Archived 28 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. pp. 100ff. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006.
    104. Augsburg confession, Article III Archived 11 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
    105. "Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches, although in confession an enumeration of all sins is not necessary." Article XI: Of Confession
    106. Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 11:23–25, Matthew 26:26–28, Mark 14:22–24, Luke 22:19–20, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    107. Ephesians 5:27, John 3:5, John 3:23, 1 Corinthians 10:16, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    108. Ephesians 5:26, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:24–25, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    109. Matthew 3:16–17, John 3:5, 1 Corinthians 11:19, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    110. Luke 7:30, Luke 22:19–20, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    111. Acts 21:16, Acts 2:38, Luke 3:3, Ephesians 5:26, 1 Peter 3:21, Galatians 3:26–27, Matthew 26:28, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    112. 1 Peter 3:21, Titus 3:5, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    113. Titus 3:5, John 3:5, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    114. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIII, 2: "We believe we have the duty not to neglect any of the rites and ceremonies instituted in Scripture, whatever their number. We do not think it makes much difference if, for purposes of teaching, the enumeration varies, provided what is handed down in Scripture is preserved" (cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 211).
    115. Luther's Large Catechism IV, 1: "We have now finished the three chief parts of the common Christian doctrine. Besides these we have yet to speak of our two Sacraments instituted by Christ, of which also every Christian ought to have at least an ordinary, brief instruction, because without them there can be no Christian; although, alas! hitherto no instruction concerning them has been given" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 733).
    116. John 20:23, and Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 112–113, Part XXVI "The Ministry", paragraph 156.
    117. Luther's Large Catechism IV, 74–75: "And here you see that Baptism, both in its power and signification, comprehends also the third Sacrament, which has been called repentance, as it is really nothing else than Baptism" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 751).
    118. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIII, 3, 4: "If we define the sacraments as rites, which have the command of God and to which the promise of grace has been added, it is easy to determine what the sacraments are, properly speaking. For humanly instituted rites are not sacraments, properly speaking, because human beings do not have the authority to promise grace. Therefore signs instituted without the command of God are not sure signs of grace, even though they perhaps serve to teach or admonish the common folk. The sacraments, therefore, are actually baptism, the Lord's Supper, and absolution (the sacrament of repentance)" (cf. Tappert, 211). Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 13, Of the Number and Use of the Sacraments
    119. Apology of the Augsburg Confession, article 24, paragraph 1. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
    120. ^ Wendel, David M. (1997). Manual for the Recovery of a Parish Practice of Individual Confession and Absolution (PDF). The Society of the Holy Trinity. pp. 2, 7, 8, 11.
    121. ^ Kolb, Robert (2008). Lutheran Ecclesiastical Culture: 1550 – 1675. Brill Publishers. p. 282. ISBN 9789004166417. The North German church ordinances of the late 16th century all include a description of private confession and absolution, which normally took place at the conclusion of Saturday afternoon vespers, and was a requirement for all who desired to commune the following day.
    122. "The Sacraments of the Lutheran Church". Christ The King Lutheran Church. Retrieved 14 May 2023. The Sacrament of Holy Absolution has two forms: the General Confession (known as the Penitential Rite or Order of Confession of Sins) that is done at the beginning of the Divine Service. In this case, the entire congregation says the confession, as the pastor says the absolution. Private Confession – done privately to a pastor, where the penitent confesses sins that trouble him/her and pleads to God for mercy, and the pastor announces God's forgiveness to the person, as the sign of the cross is made. Private confession is subject to total confidentiality by the pastor. In historic Lutheran practice, Holy Absolution is expected before partaking of Holy Communion. General confession, as well as Private Confession, are still contained in most Lutheran hymnals. Two works which are part of the Book of Concord lend support to the belief that Holy Absolution is for Lutherans the third sacrament. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession acknowledges outright that Holy Absolution is a sacrament, referring to it as the sacrament of penitence. In the Large Catechism, Luther calls Holy Absolution the third sacrament.
    123. 1 Pet. 3:21, Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 491–496, section "The Doctrine of Baptism", part 4. "Baptism a True Means of Grace", and Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 87, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 118.
    124. Martin Luther, Small Catechism 4
    125. Titus 3:5
    126. John 3:3–7
    127. "Baptism and Its Purpose". Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
    128. Luther, Martin (2009) . "The Sacrament of Holy Baptism". Luther's Small Catechism. Evangelical Lutheran Synod. ISBN 978-0-89279-043-2. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
    129. 1 Peter 3:21, ESV
    130. Mat. 19:14, Acts 2:38–39, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 90, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 122.
    131. 1 Cor. 1:14, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 90, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 122.
    132. Luther, Martin (2009) . "Of Infant Baptism". Luther's Large Catechism. ISBN 978-1-4264-3861-5. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2009.Luther's Large Catechism – Holy Baptism Archived 23 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine
    133. "Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord". Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    134. 1 Cor. 10:16, 11:20, 27, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 95, Part XXIV. "The Lord's Supper", paragraph 131.
    135. "The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Article 8, The Holy Supper". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
    136. Richard, James William (1909). The Confessional History of the Lutheran Church. Lutheran Publication Society. p. 113. In the Luthearn Church, private confession was at first voluntary. Later, in portions of the Lutheran Church, it was made obligatory, as a test of orthodoxy, and as a preparation of the Lord's Supper.
    137. Granquist, Mark A. (2015). Scandinavian Pietists: Spiritual Writings from 19th-Century Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Paulist Press. p. 34. ISBN 9781587684982. Initially, Laestadius exercised his ministry mainly among the indigenous Sami (Lapp) people, but his influence soon spread into areasa of northern Finland, and the Laestadian (or Apostolic Lutheran) movement became predominantly Finnish. Even though he was a university-trained pastor and scientist (he was a renowned botanist), his powerful preaching and spiritual example ignited a lay-awakening movement in the north, a movement that is known for its distinctive religious practices, including lay confession and absolution.
    138. Augustus Lawrence Graebner, Lutheran Cyclopedia p. 136, "Conversion"
    139. "Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord". Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    140. 1 Cor. 2:14, 12:3, Rom. 8:7, Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent: Vol. I. Trans. Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, pp. 409–453, "Seventh Topic, Concerning Free Will: From the Decree of the Sixth Session of the Council of Trent".
    141. Augsburg Confession, Article 18, Of Free Will Archived 15 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
    142. Acts 13:48, Eph. 1:4–11, Epitome of the Formula of Concord, Article 11, Election Archived 10 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 585–589, section "The Doctrine of Eternal Election: 1. The Definition of the Term", and Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 124–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 176.
    143. 2 Thess. 2:13, Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 589–93, section "The Doctrine of Eternal Election: 2. How Believers are to Consider Their Election, and Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 127–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 180.
    144. Rom. 8:33, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 127–128, Part XXXI. "The Election of Grace", paragraph 179., Engelder, T.E.W., The Certainty of Final Salvation. The Lutheran Witness 2(6). English Evangelical Missouri Synod: Baltimore. 1891, pp. 41ff.
    145. 1 Tim. 2:4, 2 Pet. 3:9, Epitome of the Formula of Concord, Article 11, Election Archived 10 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, and Engelder's Popular Symbolics, Part XXXI. The Election of Grace, pp. 124–128.
    146. 1 Timothy 2:3–4 ESV
    147. Hos. 13:9, Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 637, section "The Doctrine of the Last Things (Eschatology), part 7. "Eternal Damnation", and Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 135–136, Part XXXIX. "Eternal Death", paragraph 196.
    148. Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. Concordia Publishing House. 1934. pp. 189–195 and Fuerbringer, L., Concordia Cyclopedia Concordia Publishing House. 1927. p. 635 and Christian Cyclopedia article on Divine Providence. For further reading, see The Proof Texts of the Catechism with a Practical Commentary, section Divine Providence, p. 212, Wessel, Louis, published in Theological Quarterly, Vol. 11, 1909.
    149. Mueller, Steven P.,Called to Believe, Teach, and Confess. Wipf and Stock. 2005. pp. 122–123.
    150. Mueller, J.T., Christian Dogmatics. Concordia Publishing House: 1934. pp. 190 and Edward. W. A.,A Short Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism. Concordia Publishing House. 1946. p. 165. and Divine Providence and Human Adversity Archived 7 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine by Markus O. Koepsell
    151. "The Small Catechism". Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    152. ^ "Luther's Large Catechism, First Commandment". Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
    153. quoted in Scaer, David P. (July 1983). "Luther's Concept of the Resurrection in his Commentary on I Corinthians 15" (PDF). Concordia Theological Quarterly. 47 (3): 219. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
    154. John 15:5, Tit. 2:14, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 62–63, Part XV. "Conversion", paragraph 88 The New Obedience Is The Fruit Of Conversion, The Product Of Faith.
    155. 2 Cor. 9:8, Krauth, C.P.,The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology: As Represented in the Augsburg Confession, and in the History and Literature of the Evangelical Lutheran Church . Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.. 1875. pp. 313–314, Part D Confession of the Conservative Reformation: II, Secondary Confessions: Book of Concord, Formula of Concord, Part IV The Doctrinal Result, 2, Section iv, Of Good Works.
    156. Phil 2:13, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 74, Part XIX. "Preservation in Faith", paragraph 102.
    157. Rom. 7:18 Heb 11:6, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 39–40, Part VIII. "Sin", paragraph 46 "Original Sin".
    158. "Mat. 7:15–16; NIV – True and False Prophets". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    159. Albrecht Beutel, "Luther's Life", tr. Katharina Gustavs, in The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther, ed. Donald K. McKim (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 11.
    160. "Joh 18:36; ESV – Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of..." Bible Gateway. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    161. Luke 23:42–43, 2 Cor. 5:8, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 130, Part XXXIV. "The State of the Soul in the Interval Between Death and the Resurrection", paragraph 185.
    162. 1 Cor. 15:22–24, Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, 505–515; Heinrich Schmid, The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 624–32; John Mueller, Christian Dogmatics, 616–619
    163. John 6:40, John 6:54
    164. John 5:21, John 5:28–29, Matthew 25:32, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Acts 24:15
    165. Romans 8:11, Philippians 3:21, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Job 19:26, 1 Corinthians 15:44, 1 Corinthians 15:53, John 5:28, Revelation 20:12
    166. Daniel 12:2, Matthew 25:41–46, John 5:29
    167. Daniel 12:1–2, John 5:29, 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Corinthians 15:42–44, 1 Corinthians 15:49–53, Philippians 3:21, Matthew 13:43, Revelation 7:16
    168. John 6:40, John 6:44, John 11:24
    169. 1 Corinthians 15:51–52, 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17
    170. Matthew 25:32, Romans 14:10, John 5:22, Acts 17:31, Revelation 1:7
    171. Matthew 25:32, Mark 16:16
    172. 2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 4:5, Romans 2:5, Romans 2:16
    173. Romans 2:6, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 25:35–36, Matthew 25:42–43
    174. Isaiah 43:25, Ezekiel 18:22, 1 John 2:28
    175. Matthew 25:34–35, John 3:16–18, John 3:36, Revelation 14:13, Galatians 5:6, John 13:35
    176. Matthew 25:42, Matthew 7:17–18, John 3:18, John 3:36
    177. Romans 2:5, Acts 17:31, Romans 2:16
    178. Luke 9:26, Matthew 25:31–32
    179. Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:34, Matthew 25:46, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. pp. 233–8. ISBN 978-0-524-04891-7.
    180. Table drawn from, though not copied, from Lange, Lyle W. God So Loved the World: A Study of Christian Doctrine. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2006. p. 448.
    181. ^ "Calvinism and Lutheranism Compared". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2015. "Total Depravity – Lutherans and Calvinists agree." Yes this is correct. Both agree on the devastating nature of the fall and that man by nature has no power to aid in his conversions...and that election to salvation is by grace. In Lutheranism the German term for election is Gnadenwahl, election by grace--there is no other kind.
    182. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, III.23.2.
    183. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, II.3.5.
    184. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, III.3.6.
    185. Morris, J.W., The Historic Church: An Orthodox View of Christian History, p267, "The Book of Concord became the official statement of doctrine for most of the world's Lutherans. The Formula of Concord reaffirmed the traditional Lutheran doctrine of total depravity in very clear terms"
    186. Melton, J.G., Encyclopedia of Protestantism, p229, on Formula of Concord, "the 12 articles of the formula focused on a number of newer issues such as original sin (in which total depravity is affirmed)"
    187. "WELS vs Assembly of God". WELS Topical Q&A. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. eople by nature are dead in their transgressions and sin and therefore have no ability to decide of Christ (Ephesians 2:1, 5). We do not choose Christ, rather he chose us (John 15:16) We believe that human beings are purely passive in conversion.
    188. Augsburg Confessional, Article XVIII, Of Free Will, saying: "(M)an's will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work things subject to reason. But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness; since the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14); but this righteousness is wrought in the heart when the Holy Ghost is received through the Word."
    189. Henry Cole, trans., Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will (London, T. Bensley, 1823), 66. The controversial term liberum arbitrium was translated "free-will" by Cole. However Ernest Gordon Rupp and Philip Saville Watson, Luther and Erasmus: Free Will and Salvation (Westminster, 1969) chose "free choice" as their translation.
    190. Stanglin, Keith D.; McCall, Thomas H. (15 November 2012). Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace. New York: Oxford University Press USA. pp. 157–158.
    191. The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Lutheran Church, XI. Election. "Predestination" means "God's ordination to salvation".
    192. Olson, Roger E. (2009). Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. p. 63. Arminians accepts divine election, they believe it is conditional.
    193. The Westminster Confession, III:6, says that only the "elect" are "effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved." However in his Calvin and the Reformed Tradition (Baker, 2012), 45, Richard A. Muller observes that "a sizeable body of literature has interpreted Calvin as teaching "limited atonement", but "an equally sizeable body . . . Calvin as teaching "unlimited atonement".
    194. "Justification / Salvation". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2015. Romans 3:23-24, 5:9, 18 are other passages that lead us to say that it is most appropriate and accurate to say that universal justification is a finished fact. God has forgiven the sins of the whole world whether people believe it or not. He has done more than "made forgiveness possible." All this is for the sake of the perfect substitutionary work of Jesus Christ.
    195. "IV. Justification by Grace through Faith". This We Believe. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Retrieved 5 February 2015. We believe that God has justified all sinners, that is, he has declared them righteous for the sake of Christ. This is the central message of Scripture upon which the very existence of the church depends. It is a message relevant to people of all times and places, of all races and social levels, for "the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men" (Romans 5:18]). All need forgiveness of sins before God, and Scripture proclaims that all have been justified, for "the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men" (Romans 5:18). We believe that individuals receive this free gift of forgiveness not on the basis of their own works, but only through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). ... On the other hand, although Jesus died for all, Scripture says that "whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). Unbelievers forfeit the forgiveness won for them by Christ (John 8:24).
    196. Becker, Siegbert W. "Objective Justification" (PDF). Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. p. 1. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
    197. "Universal Justification". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2015. Christ paid for all our sins. God the Father has therefore forgiven them. But to benefit from this verdict we need to hear about it and trust in it. If I deposit money in the bank for you, to benefit from it you need to hear about it and use it. Christ has paid for your sins, but to benefit from it you need to hear about it and believe in it. We need to have faith but we should not think of faith as our contribution. It is a gift of God which the Holy Spirit works in us.
    198. Augsburg Confession, Article V, Of Justification. People "cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake. ..."
    199. Stanglin, Keith D.; McCall, Thomas H. (15 November 2012). Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace. New York: Oxford University Press USA. p. 136. Faith is a condition of justification
    200. Paul ChulHong Kang, Justification: The Imputation of Christ's Righteousness from Reformation Theology to the American Great Awakening and the Korean Revivals (Peter Lang, 2006), 70, note 171. Calvin generally defends Augustine's "monergistic view".
    201. Diehl, Walter A. "The Age of Accountability". Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Retrieved 10 February 2015. In full accord with Scripture the Lutheran Confessions teach monergism. "In this manner, too, the Holy Scriptures ascribe conversion, faith in Christ, regeneration, renewal and all the belongs to their efficacious beginning and completion, not to the human powers of the natural free will, neither entirely, nor half, nor in any, even the least or most inconsiderable part, but in solidum, that is, entirely, solely, to the divine working and the Holy Ghost" (Trigl. 891, F.C., Sol. Decl., II, 25).
    202. Monergism; thefreedictionary.com
    203. "Calvinism and Lutheranism Compared". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
    204. Olson, Roger E. (2009). Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. p. 18. Arminian synergism" refers to "evangelical synergism, which affirms the prevenience of grace.
    205. Olson, Roger E. (2009). Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. p. 165. ' evangelical synergism reserves all the power, ability and efficacy in salvation to grace, but allows humans the God-granted ability to resist or not resist it. The only "contribution" humans make is nonresistance to grace.
    206. The Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch XVII, "Of the Perseverance of the Saints".
    207. "Once saved always saved". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2015. People can fall from faith. The Bible warns, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). Some among the Galatians had believed for a while, but had fallen into soul-destroying error. Paul warned them, "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Galatians 5:4). In his explanation of the parable of the sower, Jesus says, "Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in time of testing they fall away" (Luke 8:13). According to Jesus a person can believe for a while and then fall away. While they believed they possessed eternal salvation, but when they fell from faith they lost God's gracious gift.
    208. "Perseverence of the Saints (Once Saved Always Saved)". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2015. We cannot contribute one speck to our salvation, but by our own arrogance or carelessness we can throw it away. Therefore, Scripture urges us repeatedly to fight the good fight of faith (Ephesians 6 and 2 Timothy 4 for example). My sins threaten and weaken my faith, but the Spirit through the gospel in word and sacraments strengthens and preserves my faith. That's why Lutherans typically speak of God's preservation of faith and not the perseverance of the saints. The key is not our perseverance but the Spirit's preservation.
    209. Demarest, Bruce A. (1997). The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation. Crossway Books. pp. 437–438.
    210. Demarest, Bruce A. (1997). The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation. Crossway Books. p. 35. Many Arminians deny the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
    211. McGrath, Alister, E. Christianity: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2006. p. 272.
    212. Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music – Volume I (Music in the Earliest Notations to the sixteenth century), pp. 753–758 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)
    213. Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV.1
    214. ^ See Luther's Small Catechism, Daily Prayers Archived 1 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
    215. Hämmerli, Maria; Mayer, Jean-François (23 May 2016). Orthodox Identities in Western Europe: Migration, Settlement and Innovation. Routledge. p. 13. ISBN 9781317084914.
    216. Principle examples of this in the ELCA include Family of God, Cape Coral FL. Archived 16 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Well, Charlotte NC, Hosanna! of Lakeville, Minnesota, and Church of the Apostles, Seattle WA. Archived 20 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
    217. "A given culture's values and patterns, insofar as they are consonant with the values of the Gospel, can be used to express the meaning and purpose of Christian worship. Contextualization is a necessary task for the Church's mission in the world, so that the Gospel can be ever more deeply rooted in diverse local cultures." NAIROBI STATEMENT ON WORSHIP AND CULTURE: Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities Archived 22 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
    218. Piepkorn, A.C. Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 31.
    219. Piepkorn, A.C., Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 32.
    220. Piepkorn, A.C., Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 35.
    221. Piepkorn, A.C., Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 33.
    222. ^ Piepkorn, A.C., Profiles in Belief: Volume II, Protestant Denominations. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978. p. 34.
    223. Hunt, T.; Carper, J. (2012). The Praeger Handbook of Faith-Based Schools in the United States, K-12, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 177. ISBN 978-0313391392.
    224. Preface Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine to Luther's Large and preface Archived 28 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine to Luther's Small Catechism.
    225. Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Bromiley, Geoffrey William, The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2003. p. 367.
    226. Absolutism and the Eighteenth-Century Origins of Compulsory Schooling in Prussia and Austria (Google Books) by James van Horn Melton, Cambridge University Press, 1988.
    227. Klug, Eugene F. and Stahlke, Otto F. Getting into the Formula of Concord. St. Louis: Concordia, 1977. p. 16
    228. Klug, Eugene F. and Stahlke, Otto F. Getting into the Formula of Concord. St. Louis: Concordia. p. 18
    229. See Lutheran Orthodoxy Under Fire: An Exploratory Study of the Syncretistic Controversy And The Consensus Repetitus Fidei Vere Lutheranae Archived 15 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine and Strenuus Christi Athleta Abraham Calov (1612–1686): Sainted Doctor And Defender of the Church Archived 15 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine, both by Timothy R. Schmeling
    230. (in Swedish)Svenskakyrkan.se Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
    231. Bente, Friedrich, 1858–1930. American Lutheranism Volume 1: Early History of American Lutheranism: Lutheran Swedes in Delaware. St. Louis: Concordia, 1919, pp. 13–16.
    232. Eklund, Emmet E. (1988). His Name Was Jonas: A Biography of Jonas Swenson. Rock Island, Ill.: Augustana Historical Society. p. 99. ISBN 978-0910184366. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
    233. Gritsch, Eric W. A History of Lutheranism. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 185.
    234. For a historical example, see Robert Preus, To Join or Not To Join. North Dakota District of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, 1968.
    235. See Brief Statement was adopted as LCMS doctrine in 1932, and from time to time has been adopted by other Lutherans Archived 14 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
    236. Report of the Lutheran Church, The Northwestern Lutheran, p. 281, 31 August 1988.
    237. These include, but are not limited to the following: the American Provinces of the Moravian Church, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Reformed Church in America, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ.
    238. For a similar phenomenon also currently developing, see Anglican realignment.
    239. see Ecumenism: Facts and Illusions by Kurt E. Marquart for a short explanation of the modern ecumenism movement from a Confessional Lutheran perspective
    240. See scholarly articles on the Church Growth Movement Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine from the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library and Implications of the Church Growth Movement for Lutherans: Possibilities and Concerns Archived 14 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine by Harold L. Senkbeil as examples of criticism from confessional Lutherans
    241. For some opinions and historical discussion from someone who takes a broader view, see What is a call?: or, When is a call a call, and who makes it such? Archived 12 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine By Alfred H. Maaske
    242. Gassman, Günther; Larson, Duane H.; Olderburg, Mark W. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism (2nd ed.). The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 9780810874824.
    243. Das kirchliche Amt in apostolischer Nachfolge. In: Dorothea Sattler, Gunther Wenz: Das kirchliche Amt in apostolischer Nachfolge. Volume 3: Verständigungen und Differenzen. Herder/ Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Freiburg and Göttingen 2008. ISBN 3-451-29943-7, p. 167–267, and p. 266.
    244. Karelian religious movement Uskhovayzet
    245. Kirche weltweit Ukraine: "Ihre Gemeinde ist annulliert" 18.09.2016 by Von Helmut Frank]
    246. A New "Old" Lutheran Church in Asian Russia by Alexei Streltsov, in Logia, Epiphany 2006: Volume 15, Number 1
    247. Zahlen und Fakte zum kirchlichen Leben 2019 Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland
    248. This website has text and midi files for the 1865 Pennsylvania Ministerium hymnal.
    249. Abdel Ross Wentz (1954), A Basic History of Lutheranism in America, Philadelphia, Pa., p. 41
    250. Clifton E. Olmstead (1960), History of Religion in the United States, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., pp. 6, 140
    251. For example, the single Lutheran church on Guam is a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ. See Lutheran Church of Guam History Archived 17 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
    252. Legitimacy, authority and transition in the public office of the ministry in the Lutheran Church of Australia by Grulke, David. 2 vols. (2007), thesis, Australian Catholic University
    253. One example of these differences are those between the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods.
    254. "About Us". Lutheran Church of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 March 2015. However, some Lutherans disagree with the way the Lutheran World Federation arrives at this number, as millions of them actually come from bodies that are largely Reformed, but include some Lutherans. For more information on this, see: Schumacher, William (April 2005). "Theological Observer: How Many Lutherans?" (PDF). Concordia Journal. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007.
    255. "Member Churches". The Lutheran World Federation. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    256. "Survey Shows 70.5 Million Members in LWF-Affiliated Churches". The Lutheran World Federation. 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
    257. "Gezählt 2021 – Zahlen und Fakten zum kirchlichen Leben" (PDF). ekd.de. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
    258. Encyclopædia Britannica, Dominant Protestant Denomination Per Country Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, 1995.
    259. Lutherans as a Percentage of All Residents, 2000 Archived 30 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine (Map by county). Also see comparable maps of other religions along with specific denominations of Lutheran at the main American Ethnic Geography Archived 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine site
    260. 2011 World Lutheran Membership Details Archived 24 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine
    261. "Norway: State and Church Separate After 500 Years". Library of Congress. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
    262. Williams, Carol J. (January 2000). "Sweden Ends Designation of Lutheranism as Official Religion". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
    263. The Lutheran World Federation 2019 Membership Figures

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