Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) has a similar background to that of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It has: 320 parishes, 540 congregations,: 71,397 baptized members, 52,463 communicant members and 450 active pastors. The President is the Reverend Mike Semmler.

History

see also Lutheran Church of Australia, synodical history

The first Lutherans to come to Australia in any significant number, were the immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in 1838 with Pastor August Kavel. This period in Prussia was marked by a persecution of “Old Lutherans” who refused to use join the Prussian Union, under King Frederick Wilhelm.

In 1841, a second wave of Prussian immigrants started, with the arrival of Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche. He settled with the migrants in his group, in Lobethal, and Bethany. The Lutheran church in this period, is referred to as the Kavel-Fritzsche Synod.

A split occurred in 1846, within the South Australian Lutheran community, and two

These two groups came eventually to be named the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia, which derived from the Bethany-Lobethal Synod, and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia which was of the Langmeil-Light Pass Synod, and a number of other synods that developed. These two denominations joined to form the Lutheran Church of Australia in 1966.

A significant influx occurred post World War II and migration also brought a number of Lutherans from other European countries.

Colleges and Seminaries

The Australian Lutheran College offers theological and teacher education.

Affiliations

• member of the National Council of Churches in Australia
• The LCA relates to world Lutheranism on a case by case basis
• There is altar and pulpit fellowship with the two churches in Papua New Guinea
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea
  • Gutnius Lutheran Church - Papua New Guinea
• Associate member of the
  • Lutheran World Federation
  • International Lutheran Council