World Event
1440.
Johannes Gutenberg invents the world’s first moveable type printing press upon which he prints the Bible and papal indulgences.

Lutheran Event
Oct. 31, 1517.
Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church at Wittenberg, Germany. The theses call for an intellectual debate about the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church.

Lutheran Event
January 1521.
Luther refuses to cease his teachings and is excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church. In May, Charles V signs the Edict of Worms, declaring Luther an outlaw.

World Event
1522.
Magellan’s fleet circumnavigates the globe.

Lutheran Event
1520s.
Students from across Europe travel to Wittenberg to be taught by Luther.

World Event
1527.
The Renaissance period of Michelangelo, Raphael and others ends with the sack of Rome.

Lutheran Event
1529.
Luther pens A Mighty Fortress is Our God.

Lutheran Event
1534.
Luther publishes his translation of the Bible. It is the first complete Bible translated from the original Hebrew and Greek into German.

Lutheran Event
Feb. 18, 1546.
Martin Luther dies in Eisleben, Germany. His body is laid to rest in the Castle Church in Wittenberg.

Lutheran Event
Sept. 25, 1555.
Lutheranism is officially recognized by the Holy Roman Empire when the Peace of Augsburg is signed, giving some citizens freedom to move throughout the empire with no fear of persecution.

World Event
1591.
William Shakespeare writes his first play.

World Event
1618.
The Thirty Years’ War begins in Germany as a religious struggle between Protestant and Catholics princes.

1620.
The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock.

Lutheran Event
1625.
Lutheran immigrants from Holland settle in New Amsterdam (later renamed New York).

World Event
1630.
An influx of Europeans begin moving to America as part of “The Great Migration.”

Lutheran Event
1718.
The first Lutheran church in South India is dedicated.

World Event
1721.
Bach completes the Brandenburg Concertos.

Lutheran Event
1748.
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg forms the Pennsylvania Ministerium, the first Lutheran church body in the American colonies.

World Event
1760.
The Industrial Revolution begins in England.

World Event
1783.
The Revolutionary War ends.

World Event
1789.
The French Revolution begins in Paris.

Lutheran Event
1797.
Hartwick Seminary, the first Lutheran seminary in America, is founded in New York as a training institute for missionaries.

World Event
1814.
“The Star Spangled Banner” is penned by Francis Scott Key.

Lutheran Event
1820.
The General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States is formed.

Lutheran Event
1838.
A large group of German Lutheran immigrants establishes Klemzig, the first Lutheran settlement in Southern Australia.

1840-1875.
Approximately 58 distinct Lutheran church bodies are formed in America.

Lutheran Event
1850.
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is formed.

World Event
1861-1865.
The American Civil War.

World Event
1879.
Thomas Edison invents electric light.

Lutheran Event
1902.
Aid Association for Lutherans forms to provide life insurance to Lutherans.

World Event
Dec. 17, 1903.
The Wright flyer makes its first successful flight.

World Event
1914.
World War I begins.

Lutheran Event
1917.
Lutheran Union (later Lutheran Brotherhood) is formed.

1918.
Germany declares an official separation between church and state.

World Event
1929.
The stock market crashes, beginning the Great Depression in America.

World Event
1939.
World War II begins.

Lutheran Event
1947.
The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States, takes its current name, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

1947.
The Lutheran World Federation is created as a fellowship and aid organization for Lutherans around the world.

World Event
1969.
Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.

World Event
1981.
The IBM personal computer is introduced.

Lutheran Event
1988.
The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America merge to become the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Lutheran Event
1999.
There are a reported 6.5 million Lutherans in Asia, an increase from 4.8 million the previous year.

Lutheran Event
2002.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans begins as a result of the merger between Aid Association for Lutherans and Lutheran Brotherhood.

Defining the Movement
It was never Luther’s intent to break from the Roman Catholic Church. He was “essentially trying to generate some conversation in the hope of strengthening the church,” says Dr. Lawrence Rast, academic dean at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Defining the Movement
With the translation of the Bible and preaching of sermons in the language of the people, “religion ceased to be something for the experts and became a part of common life,” says the Rev. Dr. H. George Anderson, former Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Defining the Movement
The church was plagued with division after Luther’s death. It wasn’t until 1580 that a sense of unity came with adoption of the Book of Concord, a series of confessions that “provided a road map for Lutherans in the years to come,” says Rast.

Defining the Movement
“[Lutheranism] really spoke to people’s questions, and it comforted them in their doubts,” says Rast. “[Luther] said that every single Christian person is an absolutely necessary member of the church and without everybody carrying out their responsibilities, their vocations God has given them, the body isn’t complete.”

Defining the Movement
When Lutheran immigrants arrived in the New World, they had to learn to function apart from the government. “They really had to come to grips with the freedom America offered,” says Rast. “It gave laypeople the opportunity to take an important role in providing leadership for the churches.”

Defining the Movement
German missionary societies prepared their missionaries well to go into the world and preach the Gospel, according to Arnold Koelpin, professor emeritus at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. “They were thoroughly grounded in their knowledge of the Bible and the Lutheran confession,” he says. “[Their aim] was not really to bring German culture, but to bring the Gospel, which is beyond individual culture.”

Defining the Movement
In these earliest church bodies, “the model was the pastors gathering together to represent or to meet together for mutual learning and discussion,” says Anderson. “Soon laypeople got involved as well.”

Defining the Movement
“Lutheranism was never monolithic in America,” says James F. Korthals, professor of church history at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. “The inspiration of Scripture, the role of the Lutheran Confessions, the desire to be more like other American denominations—these all played a role in the differences which developed or were accentuated in American Lutheranism.”

Defining the Movement
“The 20th century brought with it a desire to unite,” says Korthals. “Unfortunately union often times meant agreeing to disagree…Only when a fellowship based on God’s Word was established first was union a positive feature.”

The Spread of Lutheranism - 1600s.
Lutheranism moves rapidly from Germany, reaching the Baltics, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Scandinavia. But the spread stagnates toward the mid- to late-century.

The Spread of Lutheranism - 1700s.
Lutheran missionaries from Denmark reach out to India in the early part of the century. Immigration to America increases.

The Spread of Lutheranism - 1800s.
Lutherans begin to mobilize in America as thousands of immigrants pour into the country from Germany and Scandinavia, many settling in the Midwest.

The Spread of Lutheranism - 1900s.
Lutheran missionaries travel to South America, Australia, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia and the Pacific islands.