Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was formed on January 1, 1988, creating the largest Lutheran church body in the United States. The Church is a result of a merger between the Lutheran Church in America, The American Lutheran Church and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.The three churches that formed the ELCA were results of previous mergers and splits in Lutheran synods.
- The American Lutheran Church
- Lutheran Church in America
- Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
The ELCA has around five million members and is the fourth largest Christian body in America. The ELCA is in full communion with The Lutheran World Federation (which includes most Lutheran churches in Europe), The Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA), the Moravian Church in America, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ.
As a Christian church body holding to the teachings of Protestant reformer Martin Luther, the ELCA's teachings and practices are similar to many other denominations in the United States. The ELCA considers itself a moderate-to-liberal church body. The ELCA's doctrine and requirements for entry are less strict than those of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) or Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), the second and third largest Lutheran bodies in the United States.
Like other Lutheran church bodies, the ELCA practices two sacraments, communion and baptism, and practices infant baptism.
Unlike the LCMS or WELS, the ELCA ordains women as pastors, and generally speaking, ELCA members and clergy are less likely to take the Bible literally than those in the LCMS or WELS. In addition, the ELCA generally takes a more liberal stance on social issues such as abortion and homosexuality.
Worship style ranges from traditional, using a liturgy and centuries-old hymns accompanied by a pipe organ, to contemporary, using less order and praise songs written within the last two decades and modern instruments.
Pastors are trained at one of eight seminaries located throughout the United States, and generally hold a Bachelors of Arts degree or equivalent, as well as a Masters degree in Divinity, and are required to learn Biblical Hebrew and Greek.
On October 31, 1999 in Augsburg, Germany, the ELCA signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church. The statement attempted to bridge the longstanding theological divide between the two faiths. The declaration was not accepted by all Lutheran church bodies worldwide, however.Beliefs and Practice
