The Hauge Synod (formally Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod in America) was the name of a Norwegian Lutheran church body in the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century.[1]

Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod in America
AbbreviationHauge Synod
ClassificationLutheran
RegionUnited States
Origin1876
Separated fromEielsen Synod
Merged intoNorwegian Lutheran Church of America (1917)

Background edit

The Hauge Synod (Norwegian: Hauges norsk lutherske Synode i Amerika) was named after Norwegian revivalist lay preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge. The synod was low church, de-emphasizing formal worship and stressing personal faith in the Haugean tradition (haugianere).[2][3]

The Hauge Synod was formed in 1876 following a split with The Evangelical Lutheran Church of North America (Eielsen Synod). The Eielsen Synod was founded in 1846 by Rev. Elling Eielsen in Jefferson Prairie Settlement, Wisconsin. Eielsen was a lay preacher and evangelist from Norway who is considered the chief transplanter of the Haugean movement from Norway to America.[4]

Red Wing Seminary was the Hauge Synod educational center located in Red Wing, Minnesota. The Hauge Synod opened the seminary in 1879, and it continued in operation until 1917.[5]

The Hauge Synod merged in 1917 into the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. That group was later renamed the Evangelical Lutheran Church and then merged into the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in 1960. The ALC later merged into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.[6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ The Norwegian-Lutheran Churches In America by Prof. Georg Sverdrup, Sr., translation in Lars Lillehei, "Bestlandsposten", March 13th and 16th 1897.
  2. ^ Gjerde, S.S & Ljostveit, P. The Hauge Movement in America Chapter 4, Hauge Movement Transplanted. Published by the Hauge Inner Mission Federation, 1941.
  3. ^ Hallgeir Elstad. "haugianere". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  4. ^ Karen Christofferson History of Immanuel Lutheran Church Presentation to the Annandale History Club, 2001, archived September 28, 2007 from the original
  5. ^ Red Wing Seminary; fifty years of service. Published on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary, 1930. Editor-in-chief; Arthur Rholl.
  6. ^ Record Group 4: Hauge Synod Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine Luther Seminary archives

Other sources edit

  • Nelson, E. Clifford, and Fevold, Eugene L. The Lutheran Church among Norwegian-Americans: a history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House: 1960)
  • Satre, Lowell J The Hauge's Synod: education for awakening (editors: Fevold, Eugene L. - Frost, Gerhard E. - Quanbeck, Warren A. - Sonnack, Paul G.: Decorah, Iowa: 1977)

Further reading edit

  • Eielsen, Sigrid. A Haugean Woman in America : the Autobiography of Sigrid Eielsen (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Northfield, Minn., vol. 35. 2000),
  • Amundsen, Arne Bugge The Haugean Heritage – a Symbol of National History, (In Search of Symbols. An Explorative Study, Jens Braarvig/Thomas Krogh, editors. Department of Cultural Studies, University of Oslo, 1997, pp. 214–233)

External links edit