Lutheranism

===Church fellowship===
[[Image:Juleum Helmstedt Collegium.jpg|thumb|[[Georg Calixtus]] taught at the [[University of Helmstedt]] during the [[Syncretistic controversy]].]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1985-0109-502, Kirchenwahl.- Propaganda der "Deutschen Christen" in Berlin.jpg|thumb|[[Sturmabteilung|Stormtroopers]] holding [[German Christian (movement)|German Christian]] propaganda during church council elections on 23 July 1933 at [[St. Mary's Church, Berlin|St. Mary's Church]] in [[Berlin]] after which internal struggles, controversies, reorganization, and splits struck the [[German Evangelical Church]], resulting in the [[Confessing Church]]'s creation.]]
[[File:Communion3.jpg|thumb|A Lutheran pastor wearing a [[chasuble]] during communion]]
[[File:Confirmation_in_Lunder_Church,_Norway.JPG|thumb|Confirmation at the [[Church of Norway]]'s Lunder Church in [[Ringerike (municipality)|Ringerike]], Norway in 2012]]
[[File:Læstardianer.jpg|thumb|A [[Laestadianism|Læstadian]] lay preacher in [[Finnmark]], Norway in 1898]]
Lutherans were divided about the issue of church fellowship for the first 30 years after Luther's death. [[Philipp Melanchthon]] and his [[Philippists|Philippist]] party felt that Christians of different beliefs should join in union with each other without completely agreeing on doctrine. Against them stood the [[Gnesio-Lutherans]], led by [[Matthias Flacius]] and the faculty at the [[University of Jena]]. They condemned the Philippist position for [[indifferentism]], describing it as a "unionistic compromise" of precious Reformation theology. Instead, they held that genuine unity between Christians and real theological peace was only possible with an honest agreement about every subject of doctrinal controversy.<ref>Klug, Eugene F. and Stahlke, Otto F. ''Getting into the Formula of Concord''. St. Louis: Concordia, 1977. p. 16</ref>

Complete agreement finally came about in 1577, after the death of both Melanchthon and Flacius, when a new generation of theologians resolved the doctrinal controversies on the basis of Scripture in the ''[[Formula of Concord]]'' of 1577.<ref>Klug, Eugene F. and Stahlke, Otto F. ''Getting into the Formula of Concord''. St. Louis: Concordia. p. 18</ref> Although they decried the visible division of Christians on earth, orthodox Lutherans avoided [[ecumenism|ecumenical]] fellowship with other churches, believing that Christians should not, for example, join for the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] or exchange pastors if they do not completely agree about what the Bible teaches. In the 17th century, [[Georgius Calixtus]] began a rebellion against this practice, sparking the [[Syncretism#Syncretistic Controversy|Syncretistic Controversy]] with [[Abraham Calovius]] as his main opponent.<ref>See ''[http://www.blts.edu/essays/schmelingTR/Consensus%20Repetitus.pdf Lutheran Orthodoxy Under Fire: An Exploratory Study of the Syncretistic Controversy And The Consensus Repetitus Fidei Vere Lutheranae] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415200455/http://www.blts.edu/essays/schmelingTR/Consensus%20Repetitus.pdf |date=15 April 2010 }}'' and ''[http://www.blts.edu/essays/schmelingTR/Calov.pdf Strenuus Christi Athleta Abraham Calov (1612–1686): Sainted Doctor And Defender of the Church] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415200704/http://www.blts.edu/essays/schmelingTR/Calov.pdf |date=15 April 2010 }}'', both by Timothy R. Schmeling</ref>

In the 18th century, there was some ecumenical interest between the [[Church of Sweden]] and the [[Church of England]]. [[John Robinson (bishop of London)|John Robinson]], Bishop of London, planned for a union of the English and Swedish churches in 1718. The plan failed because most Swedish bishops rejected the Calvinism of the Church of England, although [[Jesper Swedberg]] and [[Johannes Gezelius the younger]], bishops of Skara, Sweden and Turku, Finland, were in favor.<ref>{{in lang|sv}}[http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/ArticlePages/200508/16/20050816074719_svkhjs928/20050816074719_svkhjs928.dbp.asp Svenskakyrkan.se] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930215322/http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/ArticlePages/200508/16/20050816074719_svkhjs928/20050816074719_svkhjs928.dbp.asp |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> With the encouragement of Swedberg, church fellowship was established between Swedish Lutherans and Anglicans in the [[Middle Colonies]]. Over the course of the 1700s and the early 1800s, Swedish Lutherans were absorbed into Anglican churches, with the last original Swedish congregation completing merger into the Episcopal Church in 1846.<ref>Bente, Friedrich, 1858–1930. [https://archive.org/details/americanluthera01bentgoog/page/n29 <!-- pg=13 --> American Lutheranism Volume 1: Early History of American Lutheranism]: Lutheran Swedes in Delaware. St. Louis: Concordia, 1919, pp. 13–16.</ref>

In the 19th century, [[Samuel Simon Schmucker]] attempted to lead the [[General Synod (Lutheran)|Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States]] toward unification with other American Protestants. His attempt to get the synod to reject the ''Augsburg Confession'' in favor of his compromising ''Definite Platform'' failed. Instead, it sparked a Neo-Lutheran revival, prompting many to form the [[General Council (Lutheran)|General Council]], including [[Charles Porterfield Krauth]]. Their alternative approach was "Lutheran pulpits for Lutheran ministers only and Lutheran altars...for Lutheran communicants only."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eklund |first1=Emmet E. |year=1988 |title=His Name Was Jonas: A Biography of Jonas Swenson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gE8rAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Lutheran+ministers+only,+and+Lutheran+altars%22+%22general+council%22 |location=Rock Island, Ill. |publisher=Augustana Historical Society |page=99 |isbn=978-0910184366 |access-date=21 September 2017 }}</ref>

Beginning in 1867, confessional and liberal minded Lutherans in Germany joined to form the ''Common Evangelical Lutheran Conference'' against the ever looming prospect of a state-mandated union with the Reformed.<ref name=Gritsch185>Gritsch, Eric W. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fIhb4-iBk6EC&pg=PA185 A History of Lutheranism]. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. p. 185.</ref> However, they failed to reach consensus on the degree of shared doctrine necessary for church union.<ref name=Gritsch184/> Eventually, the fascist [[German Christians (movement)|German Christians]] movement pushed the final national merger of Lutheran, [[United and uniting churches|Union]], and Reformed church bodies into a single [[Protestant Reich Church|Reich Church]] in 1933, doing away with the previous umbrella [[German Evangelical Church Confederation]] (DEK). As part of [[denazification]] the Reich Church was formally done away with in 1945, and certain clergy were removed from their positions. However, the merger between the Lutheran, United, and Reformed state churches was retained under the name [[Protestant Church in Germany]] (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD). In 1948 the Lutheran church bodies within the EKD founded the [[United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany]] (VELKD), but it has since been reduced from being an independent legal entity to an administrative unit within the EKD.

Lutherans are currently divided over how to interact with other Christian denominations. Some Lutherans assert that everyone must share the "whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) in complete unity (1 Cor. 1:10)<ref>For a historical example, see Robert Preus, ''To Join or Not To Join''. [[North Dakota District (LCMS)|North Dakota District of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]], 1968.</ref> before pastors can share each other's pulpits, and before communicants commune at each other's altars, a practice termed [[closed communion|closed (or close) communion]]. On the other hand, other Lutherans practice varying degrees of [[open communion]] and allow preachers from other Christian denominations in their pulpits.

While not an issue in the majority of Lutheran church bodies, some of them forbid membership in [[Freemasonry]]. Partly, this is because the lodge is viewed as spreading [[Unitarianism]], as the Brief Statement of the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod|LCMS]] reads, "Hence we warn against Unitarianism, which in our country has to a great extent impenetrated the sects and is being spread particularly also through the influence of the lodges."<ref>See [http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=564 Brief Statement was adopted as LCMS doctrine in 1932, and from time to time has been adopted by other Lutherans] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514030409/http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=564 |date=14 May 2008 }}</ref> A 1958 report from the publishing house of the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] states that, "Masonry is guilty of idolatry. Its worship and prayers are idol worship. The Masons may not with their hands have made an idol out of gold, silver, wood or stone, but they created one with their own mind and reason out of purely human thoughts and ideas. The latter is an idol no less than the former."<ref>Report of the Lutheran Church, ''The Northwestern Lutheran'', p. 281, 31 August 1988.</ref>

The largest organization of Lutheran churches around the world are the [[Lutheran World Federation]] (LWF), the [[Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum]], the [[International Lutheran Council]] (ILC), and the [[Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference]] (CELC). These organizations together account for the great majority of Lutheran denominations. The [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod|LCMS]] and the [[Lutheran Church–Canada]] are members of the ILC. The [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod|WELS]] and [[Evangelical Lutheran Synod|ELS]] are members of the CELC. Many Lutheran churches are not affiliated with the LWF, the ILC or the CELC: The congregations of the [[Church of the Lutheran Confession]] (CLC) are affiliated with their mission organizations in Canada, India, Nepal, Myanmar, and many African nations; and those affiliated with the [[Church of the Lutheran Brethren]] are especially active doing mission work in Africa and East Asia.

The Lutheran World Federation-aligned churches do not believe that one church is singularly true in its teachings. According to this belief, Lutheranism is a reform movement rather than a movement into doctrinal correctness. As part of this, in 1999 the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church jointly issued a statement, the ''[[Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification]]'', that stated that the LWF and the Catholics both agreed about certain basics of Justification and lifted certain Catholic [[anathema]]s formerly applying to the LWF member churches.{{Citation needed span|The LCMS has participated in most of the [[Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue|official dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church]] since shortly after the [[Second Vatican Council]], though not the one which produced the ''Joint Declaration'' and to which they were not invited. While some Lutheran theologians saw the ''Joint Declaration'' as a sign that the Catholics were essentially adopting the Lutheran position, other Lutheran theologians disagreed, claiming that, considering the public documentation of the Catholic position, this assertion does not hold up.|date=May 2017}}

Besides their intra-Lutheran arrangements, some member churches of the LWF have also declared full communion with non-Lutheran Protestant churches. The [[Porvoo Communion]] is a communion of episcopally led Lutheran and Anglican churches in Europe. Beside its membership in the Porvoo Communion, {{Citation needed span|Church of Sweden also has declared full communion with the [[Philippine Independent Church]] and the [[United Methodist Church]].|date=May 2017}} The state Protestant churches in Germany many other European countries have signed the ''Leuenberg Agreement'' to form the [[Community of Protestant Churches in Europe]]. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been involved in ecumenical dialogues with several denominations. The ELCA has declared [[full communion]] with multiple American Protestant churches.<ref>These include, but are not limited to the following: the [[American Provinces of the Moravian Church]], the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America]], the [[Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)]], the [[Reformed Church in America]], the [[United Methodist Church]], and the [[United Church of Christ]].</ref>

Although on paper the LWF churches have all declared have full communion with each other, in practice some churches within the LWF have renounced ties with specific other churches.<ref>For a similar phenomenon also currently developing, see [[Anglican realignment]].</ref> One development in this ongoing schism is the [[Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum]], which consists of churches and church related organizations tracing their heritage back to mainline American Lutheranism in North America, European state churches, as well as certain African churches. As of 2019, the Forum is not a full communion organization. Similar in this structure is the [[International Lutheran Council]], where issues of communion are left to the individual denominations. Not all ILC churches have declared church-fellowship with each other. In contrast, mutual church-fellowship is part of the CELC member churches, and unlike in the LWF, this is not contradicted by individual statements from any particular member church body.

[[Laestadianism|Laestadians]] within certain European state churches maintain close ties to other Laestadians, often called Apostolic Lutherans. Altogether, Laestadians are found in 23 countries across five continents, but there is no single organization which represents them. Laestadians operate [[Association of Peace|Peace Associations]] to coordinate their churchly efforts. Nearly all are located in Europe, although they there are 15 combined in North America, [[Ecuador]], [[Togo]], and Kenya.

By contrast, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference and International Lutheran Council as well as some unaffiliated denominations such as the Church of the Lutheran Confession and North American Laestadians maintain that the orthodox confessional Lutheran churches are the only churches with completely correct doctrine. They teach that while other Christian churches teach partially orthodox doctrine and have true Christians as members, the doctrines of those churches contain significant errors. More conservative Lutherans strive to maintain historical distinctiveness while emphasizing doctrinal purity alongside Gospel-motivated outreach. They claim that LWF Lutherans are practicing ''"fake ecumenism"'' by desiring church fellowship outside of actual unity of teaching.<ref>see [http://www.mtio.com/articles/aissar39.htm Ecumenism: Facts and Illusions] by Kurt E. Marquart for a short explanation of the modern ecumenism movement from a Confessional Lutheran perspective</ref>

Although not an "ecumenical" movement in the formal sense, in the 1990s influences from the [[megachurch]]es of American evangelicalism have become somewhat common. Many of the largest Lutheran congregations in the United States have been heavily influenced by these "progressive Evangelicals". These influences are sharply criticized by some Lutherans as being foreign to orthodox Lutheran beliefs.<ref>See scholarly articles on the [http://www.wlsessays.net/subject/C/Church+Growth+Movement Church Growth Movement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727234431/http://www.wlsessays.net/subject/C/Church+Growth+Movement |date=27 July 2011 }} from the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library and [http://www.ctsfw.edu/library/files/pb/818 Implications of the Church Growth Movement for Lutherans: Possibilities and Concerns] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060314085030/http://www.ctsfw.edu/library/files/pb/818 |date=14 March 2006 }} by Harold L. Senkbeil as examples of criticism from confessional Lutherans</ref>