The Eielsen Synod (originally named the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) was a
Lutheran church body. It was founded in 1846 at
Jefferson Prairie Settlement,
Wisconsin, by a group of
Haugean Lutherans led by
Elling Eielsen, the first Norwegian Lutheran minister in the United States.
Background
There were church splits in 1848 and 1856. In 1876, the synod numbered 24 pastors, 59 congregations, and 7,500 members. That year a major split occurred and many of the clergymen and congregations left the Eielsen Synod and organized the
Hauge Synod. Elling Eielsen and his supporters continued the synod under the 1846 church constitution in
Jackson,
Minnesota.
The Eielsen Synod emphasized the importance of repentance, conversion, and lay preaching. It opposed ritualism, formal worship, clerical vestments, and clerical authority. The Eielsen Synod had 1,500 members in ten churches in 1953. By 1971, it had declined to 75 members scattered among churches in
French Lake and
Jackson, Minnesota;
Centerville, South Dakota
Centerville is a city in Turner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 918 at the 2020 census. Centerville is part of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota metropolitan area.
History
Centerville was platted in 1883. It was named due t ...
; and
Taylor and
Lodi, Wisconsin.
In 1985, there were approximately 50 members at just three churches: Stall Norwegian Church in
Jackson, Minnesota; Bethania Lutheran in
Lodi/
Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and Immanuel in
French Lake, Minnesota
French Lake is an unincorporated community in French Lake Township, Wright County, Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most po ...
. Immanuel is now an independent Lutheran church and Stall Norwegian has closed.
''A Synod Of One: The Story Of Immanuel Lutheran Church'' (Karen Christofferson. "In The Midst Of" December 1999. V. 19 No. 4)
/ref> A minister was ordained on May 10, 2008 by the presiding president of Bethania ELCA-Eielson Church. Martin Leroy Bystol was the active president of such ministry of the Eielsen Synod until his death. Rev Orvin L. Bystol is an ordained minister and resides in Eau Claire, where the church is located.
See also
*The Norwegian Lutheran Church in the United States
The Norwegian Lutheran Church in the United States is a general term to describe the Lutheran church tradition developed within the United States by immigrants from Norway.
Background
Most Norwegian immigrants to the United States, particularly ...
References
{{reflist
Other sources
*Preus Jr., J. A. O. ''Protesting Norwegians'' (America's Lutherans. Ed. Omar Bonderud and Charles Lutz Columbus OH: Wartburg Press 1958)
External links
Eielsen Synod Membership numbers
History of Christianity in the United States
Lutheran denominations in North America
Lutheranism in Wisconsin
Norwegian migration to North America