Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America

For the national Lutheran church of Finland, see Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Old Main at the FELC's Suomi College in Hancock, Michigan
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheran
Region	Michigan and other states
Headquarters	Calumet, Michigan
Origin	March 25, 1890 Calumet, Michigan
Branched from	Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
Merged into	Lutheran Church in America (1962)
Congregations	153 (1961)
Members	36,274 (1961)
Ministers	105 (1961)
Tertiary institutions	Suomi College and Theological Seminary
Other name(s)	Suomi Synod

The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (commonly known as the Suomi Synod, Finnish : Amerikan suomalainen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko) was a Lutheran church body which existed in the United States from 1890 until 1962. ^[1]

History

Finnish Evangelical Church in Hancock, Michigan

The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (FELC) was organized at Calumet, Michigan in 1890. ^[2] FELC was defined more by its Finnish ethnic origin than by any specific theological strain. In 1896, the church established Suomi College and Theological Seminary (now called Finlandia University) in Hancock, Michigan. At the time of its closure in 2023, Finlandia was the only private institution of higher learning in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the only remaining university in North America founded by Finnish immigrants. ^[3]

FELC was one of the Lutheran church bodies that merged into the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1962. At that time, FELC had 36,274 members and 105 ministers in 153 congregations, and was the smallest of LCA's founding church bodies. ^[4] The LCA was subsequently party to the merger that created the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1988. ^[5]

Presidents

• Juho K. Nikander (1890–1898) ^[6]
• Kaarle Leonard Tolonen (1898–1902) ^[7]
• Juho K. Nikander (1902–1919)
• John Wargelin (1919–1919)
• Alvar Albert Rautalahti (1919–1922)
• Alfred Haapanen (1922–1950)
• John Wargelin (1950–1955) ^[8]
• Raymond Waldemar Wargelin (1955–1962) ^[9]

See also

• National Evangelical Lutheran Church
• Apostolic Lutheran Church of America

References

1. Marianne Wargelin. "Finnish Americans". Advameg, Inc. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
2. Grandquist, Mark (2015). Lutherans in America: A New History. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. p. 208. ISBN   978-1-4514-7228-8.
3. "Suomi College Finnish Heritage". Finlandia University. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
4. "Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church (Suomi Synod)". American Denomination Profiles. Association of Religion Data Archives . Retrieved August 27, 2016.
5. "Finnish Lutherans in America". Concordia Publishing House. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
6. "Nikander, Juho Kustaa". Concordia Publishing House. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
7. Holmio, Armas Kustaa Ensio (2001) History of the Finns in Michigan (Wayne State University , page 188) ISBN   9780814329740
8. "Wargelin, John (1881 - 1970)". Biografiakeskus. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
9. "Wargelin, Raymond Waldemar, Papers". College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota. Retrieved April 15, 2016.

Other sources

• Wolf, Edmund Jacob (1889) The Lutherans in America; a story of struggle, progress, influence and marvelous growth (New York: J.A. Hill)
• Bente, F. (1919) American Lutheranism Volume II (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House)
• Nichol, Todd W. (1986) All These Lutherans (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishers)

External links

• Haapanen, Alfred (1949) Our Church. Suomi Synod. The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine (Hancock, Michigan: Finnish Lutheran Book Concern)