History of the Lutheran Church of Australia facts for kids

The history of the Lutheran Church of Australia tells the story of how Lutheran churches in Australia came together and sometimes split apart. It starts from when Lutheranism first arrived in Australia and goes up to 1966, when the two main Lutheran groups joined to form one church.

First Lutherans Arrive in Australia

The first large group of Lutherans came to Australia in 1838. They were German immigrants from a place called Prussia. At that time, the King of Prussia, Frederick Wilhelm III, was forcing different churches to join together. These Lutherans, known as Old Lutherans, refused to join this new church. They were treated badly for their beliefs, so they left their homes to find religious freedom in Australia.

Their Pastor was named August Kavel. In 1839, Pastor Kavel held a meeting with leaders from three German settlements: Klemzig, Hahndorf, and Glen Osmond. At this meeting, they created the rules for their new Lutheran church group, called a synod.

In 1841, more Prussian immigrants arrived with another pastor, Gotthard Fritzsche. His group settled in places like Lobethal and Bethanien.

A Big Split: Kavel and Fritzsche Disagree

At first, everyone got along well. But soon, disagreements started between Pastor Kavel and Pastor Fritzsche.

One problem was about where people should live. In 1842, Pastor Kavel wanted everyone to move to a new settlement called Langmeil. He thought this would make the community stronger. But many settlers from Klemzig and Hahndorf did not want to move. This caused some tension.

Another big disagreement was about a belief called millennialism. Pastor Kavel believed in it, but Pastor Fritzsche did not. Millennialism is a belief about a future 1,000-year period of peace on Earth. They talked about it at church meetings in 1844 and 1845, but they couldn't agree.

The biggest issue came in 1846. Pastor Kavel said that the rules they made for their church in 1838 were more important than the older, traditional Lutheran beliefs (called the Lutheran Confessions). Pastor Fritzsche strongly disagreed. He believed the traditional Lutheran Confessions were the most important.

Because of these disagreements, the Lutheran community split. At a meeting in Bethany on August 16 and 17, 1846, the discussion about millennialism became very heated. Pastor Kavel and his followers left the meeting. They went to Langmeil and started their own church group, which they called the Immanuel Synod. The remaining people, who followed Pastor Fritzsche, continued their meeting and formed the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of South Australia. This group later changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Australia (ELSA) in 1863.

After both Kavel (who died in 1860) and Fritzsche (who died in 1863) passed away, the Immanuel Synod and ELSA tried to fix some of their differences. They agreed on some beliefs, but they didn't officially merge into one organization.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia

The ELSA continued to exist on its own until 1966. In 1944, it changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia (ELCA). A small group did leave ELSA in 1904. They became part of a larger church group in America and called themselves the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Australia auf alter Grundlage (ELSA a.a. G), which means "on old basis."

Lutherans in Other Australian States

Lutheran churches also started in other parts of Australia:

• Victoria: In 1856, a new independent church group, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Victoria (ELSV), was formed for Lutherans in Victoria. Pastor Matthias Goethe was its first president.
• Queensland: In 1885, two Lutheran groups started in Queensland. One was the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Queensland (ELSQ), and the other was the United German-Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Queensland (UGSELSQ). The ELSQ later joined a larger group called the General Synod in 1889. The UGSELSQ merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Synod (ELIS) in 1910.

More Mergers and Splits

In 1860, a group broke away from the Immanuel Synod. This new group joined with the ELSV to form the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod (General Synod).

In 1874, the Immanuel Synod also started working with the ELSV. However, the ELSA did not like that the ELSV sometimes invited non-Lutheran pastors to lead services. Because of this, the agreement between ELSA and the Immanuel Synod ended. The Immanuel Synod then changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Synod (ELIS).

The ELIS itself broke ties with the General Synod in 1884 for the same reason: the practice of calling non-Lutheran pastors. A small group from ELIS did not want to break away, so they formed their own separate group called the Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Synod auf alter Grundlage (ELIS a.a. G).

Coming Together: The United Lutheran Church

After World War I, the Australian government took control of Papua New Guinea. This meant that many German missionaries there needed to be looked after by Australian churches. This situation helped push the different Lutheran groups in Australia to unite.

In 1921, most of the independent church groups that were part of the General Synod and ELIS officially joined together. This new, larger organization was called the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia (UELCA). The ELSA a.a. G, which had been independent since 1904, also joined the UELCA in 1926.

The Lutheran Church of Australia is Formed

Finally, on August 27, 1956, the UELCA and the ELCA both agreed to a plan to merge. The official merger happened in Tanunda, South Australia, at a joint meeting from October 29 to November 2, 1966. The new, combined church was named the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA).

In 1973, the Lutheran Church of Australia published its first songbook, called the 'Lutheran Hymnal'. It was updated in the 1980s and is now known as the Lutheran Hymnal with Supplement.