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List of Lutheran denominations

Lutheran denominations are Protestant church bodies that identify, to a greater or lesser extent, with the theology of Martin Luther and with the writings contained in the Book of Concord. Most Lutheran denominations are affiliated with one or more regional, national, or international associations, the largest of which—the Lutheran World Federation—has over 74 million members worldwide.[1] There are also two smaller and more conservative international associations—the International Lutheran Council, with 7.15 million members,[2] and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, with approximately 500,000 members. Finally, the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum (Global Forum) is a global gathering of Confessional Lutheran bodies who wish to emphasize missional discipleship as the focal point of ministry in the world.

This list is grouped by affiliation with the four major international Lutheran associations mentioned above. This list does not include groups that have been merged into other groups (e.g. Hauge Synod) nor groups that have become defunct (e.g. Eielsen Synod). Some of the denominations belong to more than one of the four associations.

  1. ^ "About the LWF". Lutheran World Federation. 19 May 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Block, Matthew (26 September 2018). "ILC welcomes 17 new member churches representing 4,15 million Lutherans worldwide". International Lutheran Council. Retrieved November 11, 2018.