Lutheran Church of Australia
| Lutheran Church of Australia | |
|---|---|
Logo of the LCA
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| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Confessional Lutheran |
| Theology | Lutheran |
| Structure | Interdependent local, and national expressions with modified congregational polity |
| Associations | NCCA, LWF (Associate Member), ILC (Associate Member) |
| Region | Australia, New Zealand |
| Headquarters | North Adelaide |
| Origin | 1966 |
| Merger of | Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia, United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia |
| Congregations | 540 |
| Members | 70,000 (incl. New Zealand) |
| Ministers | 450 |
| Nursing homes | 44 |
| Aid organization | Australian Lutheran World Service |
| Official website | lca.org.au |
The Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) is the major Lutheran denomination in Australia and New Zealand. It counts 450 congregations and 70,000 members according to official statistics as of 2013.
The first Lutherans to come to Australia in any significant number were the immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in 1838 with Pastor August Kavel. This period in Prussia was marked by a persecution of "Old Lutherans" who refused to join the Prussian Union, under King Frederick Wilhelm.
In 1841, a second wave of Prussian immigrants started, with the arrival of Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche. He settled with the migrants in his group in Lobethal and Bethanien (now Bethany) in South Australia. The Lutheran church of this period is referred to as the Kavel-Fritzsche Synod.
A split occurred within the South Australian Lutheran community in 1846, and two separate synods were established. The followers of Kavel founded the Langmeil-Light Pass Synod, and those of Fritzsche the Bethany-Lobethal Synod.
These two groups came eventually to be named the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia, which derived from the Bethany-Lobethal Synod, and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia which was of the Langmeil-Light Pass Synod, and a number of other synods that had developed. These two denominations joined to form the Lutheran Church of Australia in 1966.
A significant influx occurred after World War II and migration also brought a number of Lutherans from other European countries.
Lutherans set up missions in Aboriginal communities. Noel Pearson, for instance, was raised in such an environment.
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