Martin Stephan, several pastors, and 600 to 700 German Lutherans from Saxony embark on four ships in November to emigrate to the United States to establish a colony in which they can freely practice their religion.[1] Stephan is declared to be the group's bishop during the voyage.[2]
The Saxons purchase acreage in Perry County, Missouri, and Stephan and part of the group relocate to it.[4]
Stephan is accused of having sexual affairs with women of the colony and is deposed and exiled to the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.[5]
The loss of Stephan causes many to wonder if they are a legitimate church. The Altenburg debate between Carl Vehlse and C. F. W. Walther on these questions results in most members remaining and Walther eventually becoming the leader.[6]
December 9: Luther College/Altenburg Seminary holds its first classes in the "log cabin college" in Perry County.[7]
1840
F. C. D. Wyneken's Distress of the German Lutherans in North America, advocating for missionaries to be sent, is published in Germany.[8]
August 5: Löhe sends the first two of what will eventually be 80 missionaries. These missionaries establish congregations in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.[10]
1844
Der Lutheraner, with Walther as editor, is first published.[11]
May: Planning meeting for a new Lutheran denomination is held in St. Louis.[15]
July: Second planning meeting is held in Fort Wayne.[15]
1847
April 26 – May 6: Twelve pastors representing 14 congregations meet at German Evangelical Lutheran Church (First St. Paul's) in Chicago and form the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States (Die Deutsche Evangelisch-Lutherische Synode von Missouri, Ohio und andern Staaten) with C. F. W. Walther as the first president.[16][17]
Kirchen-Gesangbuch für Evangelish-Lutherische Gemeinden (Church Hymn Book for Evangelical Lutheran Congregations), is published by Walther's congregation, Trinity, in St. Louis. The synod assumed responsibility for publishing it in 1861.[18][19]
Löhe gives Concordia Theological Seminary to the synod despite differences on the doctrine of the ministry.[9]
December: The Altenburg Seminary relocates from Perry County to St. Louis.[20]
October 2–9: Fourth synodical convention meets at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis and elects Friedrich Conrad Dietrich Wyneken as the second president of the LCMS.[17]
The synod assumes control of the seminary as it moves into newly built quarters on South Jefferson Avenue and begins treating Concordia College and Concordia Seminary as separate institutions.[20]
Disagreements on the doctrines of church and ministry, as well the ownership of the teachers college his missionaries had established in Saginaw, Michigan, cause Löhe to break relations with the synod.[9]
1854
June 21 – July 1: Eighth synodical convention meets at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Louis and, due to rapid growth, splits the synod into four administrative district synods (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Western) and decides to hold synodical conventions every three years.[17][21]
1855
January: The congregations and pastors of St. Stephen's (Walker Point), Trinity, and St. John's open a teachers seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[22]
Lehre und Wehre, with Walther as editor, is first published.[11]
1857
October 14–24: Ninth synodical convention meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne.[17]
The synod assumes control of the Milwaukee teachers seminary and moves it to Fort Wayne.[24][25]
1859
Disagreements about ordination and the office of the ministry cause the Buffalo Synod to excommunicate the Missouri Synod.[26]
1860
October 10–20: Tenth synodical convention meets at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis.[17]
1861
Concordia Theological Seminary relocates from Fort Wayne to share the campus of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis so that its students would not be subject to the draft for military service in Indiana.[27] Concordia College relocates from St. Louis to Fort Wayne to use the facilities there.[28]
1863
June 1–11: 11th synodical convention meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne.[17]
1864
October 19–29: 12th synodical convention meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne and elects C. F. W. Walther as the third president of the LCMS.[17]
After being housed in several different locations in Fort Wayne, the teachers seminary relocates to Addison, Illinois, as the Addison Teachers Seminary.[29]
1866
October 31 – November 10: 13th synodical convention meets at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis.[17]
Schism within the Buffalo Synod leads to a majority of its pastors (12) joining the Missouri Synod.[26]
A free conference at Gravelton, Missouri, of representatives of the Missouri, Tennessee, Holston, and Norwegian synods leads to the formation of the English Evangelical Lutheran Conference of Missouri.[33]
The synod has 543 congregations and 415 pastors.[34]
1874
October 14–23: 16th synodical convention meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne.[17]
The Northwestern District is separated from the Northern District.[21]
1875
The Illinois District is separated from the Western District.[21][35]
Mission work among Black people in the U.S. is begun by the Synodical Conference with J. F. Doeschler as the first missionary.[30]
1878
May 15–25: 17th synodical conference meets as Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis and elects Heinrich Christian Schwan as the fourth president of the LCMS.[17]
Iowa District is separated from the Western District, and the Canada District from the Northern District.[21]
May: The Illinois Synod merges into the LCMS Illinois District.[38]
Concordia Publishing House begins publishing the 22-volume Dr. Martin Luthers Sämmtliche Schriften (Dr. Martin Luther's Complete Writings) in German. Known as the "St. Louis Edition", the final volume is issued in 1910.[39]
1881
May 11–21: 18th synodical convention meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne.[17]
The Ohio Synod withdraws from the Synodical Conference and from fellowship with the LCMS as a result of the Predestinarian Controversy.[40]
September: The Illinois, the Wisconsin, and the Minnesota and Dakota districts open Concordia College in Milwaukee to give pre-seminary training to prospective pastors.[41]
May 21: Pastor Charles Frank of Zanesville, Ohio, with the financial support of the Cleveland (Ohio) District Pastoral Conference, publishes the first issue of The Lutheran Witness.[43]
The Minnesota and Dakota District and the Wisconsin District are separated from the Northern District (which is then renamed as the Michigan District), and the Nebraska District and the Southern District are separated from the Western District.[21][35]
1883
The Norwegian Synod withdraws from the Synodical Conference as the Predestinarian Controversy threatens to split it internally.[40]
May 7–17: 19th synodical convention meets in the Concordia Seminary Aula in St. Louis.[17]
1886
The Evangelical Lutheran Concordia Synod of Pennsylvania and Other States, which had split from the Ohio Synod in the aftermath of the Predestinarian Controversy and joined the Synodical Conference in 1882, merges into the LCMS.[45][40]
1887
May 4–14: 20th synodical convention meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne.[17]
The Kansas District and the California and Oregon District are separated from the Western District.[21]
Concordia College in Milwaukee is transferred from the founding districts to the synod itself.[41]
April 25 – May 6: 22nd synodical convention meets at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in St. Louis.[17]
May 23: The Walther League is organized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Buffalo, New York, for young people in the Synodical Conference.[49]
September: St. John's College opens in Winfield, Kansas. Consisting of a high school academy and a junior college, it is operated by the English Synod.[50]
1894
June 2: The LCMS files incorporation papers as the result of financial embezzlement at Concordia Publishing House.[51]
November 18: The Evangelical Lutheran School Teachers Seminary (evangelische-lutherische Schullehrer-Seminar) is dedicated in Seward, Nebraska, becoming the synod's second such school.[52]
1896
April 29 – May 9: 23rd synodical convention meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne.[17]
St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Concordia, Missouri, gives St. John's College to the synod.[44]
The synod has 1,564 congregations, 1,986 pastors, and 687,334 members.[54]
1899
April 26 – May 6: 24th synodical convention meets at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in St. Louis and elects Franz August Otto Pieper as the fifth president of the LCMS.[17]
The California and Oregon District is split into the California and Nevada District and the Oregon and Washington District.[21]
The North Dakota and Montana District is separated from the Minnesota and Dakota District.[21]
1911
May 10–20: 28th synodical convention meets at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in St. Louis and elects Friedrich Pfotenhauer as the sixth president of the LCMS.[17]
The English Synod merges into the LCMS as the English District, bringing with it Concordia College in Conover and St. John's College in Winfield.[33]
The LCMS assumes responsibility for publishing The Lutheran Witness.[43]
1912
The Minnesota and Dakota District is renamed as the Minnesota District.[21]
June 20–29: 30th synodical convention meets at Plankinton Hall in Milwaukee.[17]
The synod drops the word German from its name to become the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States.[58]
Twelve laymen attending the convention form the Lutheran Laymen's League to raise funds to pay off the synod's $100,000 debt. The league later raise $2.7 million for a pension fund for pastors and teachers.[63]
The synod takes over the work of the China Mission Society.[58]
1918
Concordia Progymnasium in Bronxville changes its name to Concordia Collegiate Institute.[64]
California Concordia College adds junior college classes.[60]
1919
The Lutheran Deaconess Association is organized.[58]
1920
June 16–25: 31st synodical convention meets at Harmonie Hall in Detroit.[17]
1921
The Colorado District is separated from the Kansas District, and the Alberta and British Columbia District and the Manitoba and Saskatchewan District are separated from the Minnesota District.[21]
The California and Nevada District gives control of California Concordia College to the synod.[60]
1922
The Nebraska District is split into the Northern Nebraska and the Southern Nebraska districts.[21]
The Synodical Conference opens Alabama Luther College in Selma, Alabama.[65]
The synod has 3,073 pastors and 1,041,514 members.[66]
1923
June 20–29: 32nd synodical convention meets at the Concordia College chapel in Fort Wayne.[17]
September 13: Concordia College in St. Paul, Minnesota, opens with its first class of high school freshmen.[67]
1924
October 26: The synod's radio station, KFUO (AM), begins broadcasting from the campus of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.[58]
The Evangelical Lutheran School Teachers Seminary in Seward is renamed as Concordia Teachers College.[68]
September: The non-seminary track high school courses at Concordia College in Fort Wayne are split off and merged with that city's Luther Institute to form what is now Concordia Lutheran High School.[75]
The synod has 4,224 congregations, 3,605 pastors, and 1,230,705 members.[76]
June 18–27: 38th synodical convention meets in the Concordia College gymnasium in Fort Wayne with the theme 'Wyneken Memorial Convention".[17]
The Lutheran Hymnal is published by Concordia Publishing House under the authority of the Synodical Conference.[81]
1942
July 7–8: The Lutheran Women's Missionary League is established as an official auxiliary of the synod at a meeting at St. Stephan's Lutheran Church in Chicago. The formation of district and regional grouping of congregational women's societies starting in the 1920s had led the synod 1941 convention to urge its creation.[82]
The Walther League Building, paid for by the League itself, opens in Chicago.[49]
The Lutheran Education Association is organized.[71]
A Statement of the Forty-four is issued by 44 theologians and leaders criticizing the synod's approach toward other Lutheran church bodies, provoking immediate response for others in the synod.[83]
May 17: As directed by the 1947 convention, the Committee on Doctrinal Unity first meets with the Fellowship Commission of the ALC to develop a set of doctrinal theses.[86]
December 5–6: Common Confession, Part I, is unanimously approved by a joint meeting of the Committee on Doctrinal Unity and the ALC's Fellowship Commission, with work to continue on additional topics for Part II.[86]
June 21–30: 41st synodical convention meets at the Concordia College gymnasium in Milwaukee.[17]
Common Confession, Part I is accepted by both the LCMS and the ALC.[86]
Concordia College in Portland adds a junior college program for men.[59]
The synod has 4,430 congregations, 4,621 pastors, and 1,674,901 members.[76]
1951
The Orthodox Lutheran Conference is formed by a small number of congregations leaving the LCMS primarily because they see the breaking of an engagement (in the modern sense) as being the same as the breaking of a betrothal (historically) and therefore a sin.[88]
Lutheran Concordia College of Texas adds a junior college program.[70]
National Parent-Teacher League is organized as a Lutheran counterpart to the National Parent Teacher Association.[58]
1953
February 9: The joint meeting of the LCMS Committee on Doctrinal Unity and the ALC Fellowship Commission unanimously approves Part 2 of the Common Confession.[86]
The LCMS receives a construction permit from the FCC to build KFUO-TV (channel 30) in St. Louis, but surrenders the permit in February 1956 before beginning construction after deciding that a UHF station would not be viable.[90][91]
1954
The ALC accepts the Common Confession, Part 2.[86]
1955
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) breaks fellowship with the LCMS due to the latter's growing relationship to the ALC.[92]
Concordia Publishing House begins the publication of Volumes 1–30 of Luther's Works: The American Edition, finishing in 1976.[93]
Lutheran Concordia College of Texas changes its name to Concordia Lutheran College.[70]
LCMS convention recognizes Parts 1 and 2 together of the Common Confession as a single document that is in harmony with Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, but not as a basis for altar and pulpit fellowship with other churches.[86]
1957
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) publicly admonishes the LCMS regarding differences in the practice of church fellowship.[92]
June 12: Concordia College in Fort Wayne closes.[94]
The Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church changes its name to Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches as the use of the Slovak language is not longer prevalent in its congregations.[56]
The synod has 5,215 congregations, 5,506 pastors, and 2,391,195 members.[76]
June 30: Immanuel Lutheran College is closed by the Synodical Conference, with Black students going to LCMS institutions thereafter.[101]
1962
June 20–9: 45th synodical convention meets at the Cleveland Public Auditorium with the theme "Stand Fast, but Do Not Stand Still" and elects Oliver Raymond Harms as the eighth president of the LCMS.[17]
April 28–29: About a dozen congregations leave the LCMS due to lack of action taken by the 1962 convention against the changes being made in the synod's doctrine and form the Lutheran Churches of the Reformation.[88]
June 16–25: 46th synodical convention meets at Cobo Hall in Detroit with the theme "Even So I Send You".[17]
1966
The Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship is formed with the American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church in America to create a new hymnal for use by most Lutherans in North America.[81]
Mission work in Taiwan becomes the independent China Evangelical Lutheran Church in fellowship with the LCMS.[105]
July 7–14: 47th synodical convention meets at the New York Hilton Hotel in New York City with the theme "Justified by Grace".[17]
The Synodical Conference is officially dissolved.[40]
1968
Concordia High School, the high school department of Concordia College, St. Paul, separates from the college and merges with St. Paul Lutheran High School to form Concordia Academy.[67]
May: John Tietjen is chosen to be the next president of Concordia Seminary.[107]
July 11–18: 48th synodical convention meets at the Currigan Exhibition Hall in Denver, Colorado, with the theme "The Edifying Work" and elects J. A. O. Preus II as the ninth president of the LCMS.[17]
The convention establishes altar and pulpit fellowship with the second American Lutheran Church.[99]
Concordia Publishing House issues the Worship SupplementtoThe Lutheran Hymnal.[81]
Concordia Collegiate Institute closes its preparatory high school and changes its name to Concordia College.[64]
1970
The Wyoming District is separated from the Northern Nebraska District, and the Northern Nebraska and Southern Nebraska districts are merged to form a new Nebraska District.[21]
June 15: The Fact Finding Committee appointed by Preus in 1970 to examine the doctrine being taught at Concordia Seminary delivers its report to him. It is subsequently presented to the seminary's Board of Control.[110]
July 9–16: 49th synodical convention meets at the Milwaukee Arena in Milwaukee with the theme "Sent to Reconcile".[17]
November 1–2: Six congregations leave the LCMS due to dissatisfaction with the methods with which liberal theology is being handled, forming the Federation for Authentic Lutheranism.[88]
September: President Preus mails his report on the results of the Fact Finding Committee, known as the Blue Book, to all congregations and pastors in the synod.[115]
1973
January: The Concordia Seminary Board of Control rejects the conclusions of the Blue Book and instead, commends all the faculty members as faithful to Scripture and the Lutheran confessions.[116]
August: The Board of Control suspends Tietjen. The suspension is then vacated while efforts are made to resolve the issues, but is reissued on January 20, 1974.[120]
1974
February 19: Most of the faculty and students of Concordia Seminary stage a walkout to protest Tietjen's suspension, with classes for Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile) beginning the next day at facilities provided by Eden Seminary and Saint Louis University.[121]
The LCMS convention declares a state of protest in the fellowship agreement with the ALC as the ALC moves to establish closer ties to the LCA.[126]
Synod president Preus removes four LCMS district presidents from office because they allowed graduates of Seminex to be assigned as pastors in their districts in violation of the LCMS bylaws.[127]
The Lutheran Church-Hong Kong Synod becomes a partner church with altar and pulpit fellowship.[87]
1978
The Lutheran Book of Worship, developed by the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship, is published, but the LCMS declines to authorize it for use in its congregations.[81]
July 1: Alabama Lutheran Academy and College (formerly Alabama Luther College) changes its name to Concordia College Alabama.[65]
July 3–10: 54th synodical convention meets at the Alfonso J. Cervantes Convention Center in St. Louis with the theme "Forward in Remembrance" and elects Ralph Arthur Bohlmann as the tenth president of the LCMS.[17]
The LCMS convention breaks fellowship with the ALC.[126]
1982
Lutheran Worship, a revision of the Lutheran Book of Worship, is published by Concordia Publishing House.[81]
St. John's College in Winfield closes at the end of the spring semester.[111][137]
St. Paul's College in Concordia closes at the end of the spring semester, but the high school continues to operate as St. Paul Lutheran High School, the only residential high school owned by the LCMS.[137]
The Alberta and British Columbia, the Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and the Ontario districts become the independent Lutheran Church-Canada.[21] Concordia Lutheran Seminary and Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary are transferred to the new church body.
1989
July 7–14: 57th synodical convention meets at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas, with the theme "Tell Everyone What HE Has Done".[17]
The LCMS is given radio station KICX-AM in McCook, Nebraska, and changes its call sign to KNGN in April 1990. The station airs much of the KFUO programming, but the synod turns it over to local operators in 2001 due to the cost of running it.[141]
Concordia College in River Forest changes its name to Concordia University to reflect its advanced degree programs.[142]
The synod has 5,296 congregations, 8,301 pastors, and 2,602,849 members.[76]
1992
July 10–17: 58th synodical convention meets at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the theme "With Great Boldness...Tell Everyone What He Has Done!" and elects Alvin L. Barry as the 11th president of the LCMS.[17]
Christ College Irvine changes its name to Concordia University Irvine to reflect its advanced degree programs and its membership in the Concordia University System.[125]
The synod has 6,150 congregations, 8,257 pastors, and 2,554,088 members.[76]
2001
March 23: Robert T. Kuhn becomes the 12th president of the LCMS upon the death in office of Alvin Barry.[146]
July 14–20: 61st synodical convention meets at the America's Center Convention Complex in St. Louis with the theme "Tell the Good News about Jesus" and elects Gerald B. Kieschnick as the 13th president of the LCMS.[17]
April 25: Concordia College Alabama closes due to financial difficulties.[155]
2019
July 20–25: 67th synodical convention meets at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, with the theme "Joy:Fully Lutheran : Rejoice, Pray, Give Thanks".[17]
The synod has 5,976 congregations, 6,308 pastors, and 1,861,129 members.[159]
2023
February 6: the LCMS buys KXFN (1380 AM) in St. Louis for $570,000 from Catholic talk radio network Relevant Radio to use as a satellite for KFUO to broadcast its programming at night.[160][161]
July 29 – August 3: 68th synodical convention meets at the Baird Center in Milwaukee with the theme "We Preach Christ Crucified".[17] The convention was delayed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^Wolbrecht, Walter F. (1947). "The Period of Expansion 1864-1894". In Repp, Arthur C. (ed.). 100 Years of Christian Education. River Forest, Illinois: Lutheran Education Association. pp. 110–111.
^Blackmar, Frank W., ed. (1912). "\St. John's College". Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. p. 631. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
Forster, Walter O. (1953). Zion on the Mississippi: The Settlement of the Saxon Lutherans in Missouri 1839–1841. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
Kohut, Hannah (2014). Faithfully onward, Ever Upward: 150 Years of Concordia University Chicago. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company Publishers. ISBN978-1-57864-885-6.
