Herbert W. Chilstrom (October 18, 1931 – January 19, 2020) was an

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religious leader, who served as the first Presiding Bishop of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

(ELCA). He was re-elected to a four-year term at the 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in

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. He served as bishop of the

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Synod of the

Lutheran Church in America The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was an American and Canadian Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. It was headquartered in New York City and its publishing house was Fortress Press. The LCA's immigrant heritage came mostly fr ...

, one of the three church bodies which merged to form the ELCA on Jan. 1, 1988.

Education and career

Chilstrom graduated in 1954 from

Augsburg College Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminariu ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. He went on to receive a bachelor of divinity from Augustana Theological Seminary (later merged with other seminaries to form the

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries ...

) in 1958. In 1966, he graduated from

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

with a master of theology. He earned a Doctor of Education from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and received honorary doctorates from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary,

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, in 1979 and

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavu ...

, St. Peter, Minnesota, in 1987. Chilstrom served as pastor of the Faith Lutheran Church in

Pelican Rapids, Minnesota Pelican Rapids is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,577 at the 2020 census. History Pelican Rapids was platted in 1872, and named for the rapids on the Pelican River. A post office has been in oper ...

, and Augustana Lutheran Church in

Elizabeth, Minnesota Elizabeth is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Elizabeth was platted in 1872, and named for Elizabeth Niggler, the ...

. In 1962 he became a professor of religion and academic dean at Luther College,

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. He held that position for eight years before accepting a call to be senior pastor of First Lutheran Church, St. Peter, Minnesota, in 1970. In 1976, Chilstrom became bishop of the Minnesota Synod. Chilstrom was the first ELCA presiding bishop, elected to his post at the church's constituting convention in April 1987. He was re-elected to a four-year term at the 1991 ELCA Churchwide Assembly in

. Chilstrom was the church's chief ecumenical officer and represented the ELCA in several national and international organizations. He served as a vice president of the

Lutheran World Federation The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; ) is a global Communion (religion), communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish city of L ...

based in Geneva. He headed a committee for the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is a left-wing progressive activist group and the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partners ...

who explored special relationships between the

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s and evangelicals.

Personal

He was born in

Litchfield, Minnesota Litchfield is a city in and the county seat of Meeker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,624 at the 2020 census. History Immigration to the county was slow until the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad, later cal ...

on October 18, 1931. He was married to Corinne Hanson, a retired pastor. He died at his home in

Green Valley, Arizona Green Valley is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 22,616 at the 2020 census. Geography Green Valley i ...

on January 19, 2020.

Publications

With Lowell O. Erdahl, he is the author of ''Sexual Fulfillment: For Single and Married, Straight and Gay, Young and Old.'' His other works include the book ''Hebrews -- A New and Better Way''. He has been a contributor to Faith and Ferment, Augsburg Sermons, and Lutheran Book of Worship Occasional Service Book.

References

*Gross, Ernie. ''This Day In Religion.'' New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc, 1990. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Chilstrom, Herbert W. 1931 births 2020 deaths People from Litchfield, Minnesota Presiding Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 20th-century American Lutheran clergy Augsburg University alumni Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago alumni Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni People from St. Peter, Minnesota People from Pelican Rapids, Minnesota People from Green Valley, Arizona Writers from Minnesota