High Church Lutheranism

High Church Lutheranism is a movement which began in 20th-century Europe that emphasizes worship practices and doctrines that are similar to those found within both Roman Catholicism and the Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism. In the more general usage of the term it describes the general High Church characteristics of Lutheranism in the Nordic countries such as Sweden, Finland and the Baltics. The mentioned countries, once a part of the Swedish Empire, have more markedly preserved Catholic traditions and introduced far less Reformed (that is, Calvinistic or Zwinglian) theology.

The terms High Church and Low Church do not originally belong to the Lutheran tradition; historically, these have been applied to particular liturgical and theological groups within Anglicanism. The theological differences within Lutheranism have not been nearly so marked as those within the Anglican Communion; Lutherans have historically been unified in the doctrine expressed in the Book of Concord. However, quite early in Lutheranism, polarities began to develop owing to the influence of the Reformed tradition, leading to so-called "Crypto-Calvinism". The Pietist movement in the 17th century also moved the Lutheran church further in a direction that would be considered "low church" by Anglican standards. Pietism and rationalism led not only to the simplification or even elimination of certain ceremonial elements, such as the use of vestments, but also to less frequent celebration of the Eucharist, by the end of the era of Lutheran Orthodoxy. There has been very little iconoclasm in Lutheran churches and church buildings have often remained richly furnished. Also some monasteries continued as Lutheran after Reformation. Loccum Abbey and Amelungsborn Abbey in Germany have the longest traditions as Lutheran monasteries.

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