Ministerium of Pennsylvania records Bulk, 1748-1962 1657-1980

ArchivalResource

Ministerium of Pennsylvania records, Bulk, 1748-1962, 1657-1980

Ministerium of Pennsylvania records Bulk, 1748-1962 1657-1980

http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?id=PACSCL_LTSP_LTSPMOP001

The Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States (MOP) was founded in 1748, as the Ministerium of North America. Established under the guidance of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, it was the first centralized governing body of the Lutheran church formed in North America. Through MOP, a common liturgy was established as well as a means of educating American clergy. It also helped in forming numerous institutions and services in the Pennsylvania area, including The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1864. MOP remained an important governing body until the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in 1918, when it was absorbed by the newly formed United Lutheran Church in America, consisting of the Lutheran Church bodies in Eastern America, the General Synod, the United Synod of the South and the General Council (of which the Ministerium of Pennsylvania was a member church). Then, in 1962, the United Lutheran Church in America joined with the American Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Augustana Lutheran Church, and the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to form the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). The Ministerium of Pennsylvania records houses roughly 551 linear feet of records created by or pertaining to the activities and governance of the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s Ministerium of Pennsylvania and the Adjacent States (MOP), as well as that of individual churches and/or people affiliated with that governing body. The collection dates from 1657 to 2002; however the bulk of the papers fall between the years 1748 and 1980. The records include an assortment of meeting minutes; papers and printed materials regarding general administration of the Ministerium; papers and printed materials regarding the administration of particular churches and their histories; personal papers and biographical information for pastors and other individuals affiliated with the Lutheran Church or specific parishes; and baptism, marriage and death records; among others. Much of the collection is in English, but researchers should be aware that a significant amount of the records are in German.

551.0 Linear feet

Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia