General Synod of the Lutheran Church in the United States
| Evangelical Lutheran General Synod | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Lutheran |
| Origin | 1820 Hagerstown, Maryland |
| Separations | |
| Merged into | United Lutheran Church in America (1918) |
| Congregations | 1,848 in 1916 |
| Members |
|
| Ministers | 1,451 in 1916 |
The Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America, commonly known as the General Synod, was a historical Lutheran denomination in the United States. Established in 1820, it was the first national Lutheran body to be formed in the U.S. and by 1918 had become the third largest Lutheran group in the nation. In 1918, the General Synod merged with other Lutheran denominations to create the United Lutheran Church in America. Both the General Synod and the United Lutheran Church are predecessor bodies to the contemporary Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The General Synod was organized in 1820 at Hagerstown, Maryland, as a union or federation of four regional synods: the Pennsylvania Ministerium, the North Carolina Synod, the New York Ministerium, and the Synod of Maryland and Virginia. The Pennsylvania Ministerium had suggested the creation of a general synod two years earlier and took the lead in organizing it. The Joint Synod of Ohio and the Tennessee Synod refused to join, citing concerns that the new body would be too hierarchical.
In 1823, the Pennsylvania Ministerium withdrew itself to pursue plans for a union with the Reformed churches in Pennsylvania based on the model of the Prussian Union of churches. The New York Ministerium, meanwhile, had ceased operations and would not become active again until 1837. Nevertheless, the second convention of the General Synod took place in 1823, with the newly established West Pennsylvania Synod becoming a member.
Like many Protestant denominations, the General Synod was split over the issue of slavery and the political and military conflict of the American Civil War. In 1863, the southern synods were offended over Civil War resolutions passed by the General Synod. In response, they withdrew and formed a General Synod for the Confederate States of America (later renamed the United Synod of the South). In 1866, the General Synod further split over theological issues when the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America was formed by dissatisfied members of the General Synod. Before these secessions, the General Synod claimed 164,000 communicants. This was about two-thirds of the entire Lutheran population in America. The resulting numerical losses totaled 76,000 communicants.
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