Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church

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The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod) was a Lutheran church body in the United States that was one of the churches that merged into the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) in 1962. It had its roots among the Swedish immigrants in the 19th century.

The Augustana Synod was parent to several liberal arts colleges in the United States: Augustana College in Rock Island, IL; Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN; Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS; California Lutheran Universityin Thousand Oaks, CA; Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, NE; and Upsala College in East Orange, NJ. While Upsala College is now closed, the others continue as important Lutheran liberal arts colleges. Augustana and Gustavus Adolphus consistently rank among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in the U.S., while the other schools are recognized as strong regional colleges.

Originally somewhat conservative, the church turned gradually more liberal after historical criticism had been introduced at its seminary. The Augustana Theological Seminary was located on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island. It was merged into the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago at the time of the formation of the LCA.

While the Augustana Synod only had about 500,000 members when the LCA was formed, its influence on its successor bodies has been significant, incorporating many of Augustana's emphases on mission, ecumenism, and social service. Herbert Chilstrom, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's first national bishop, is a graduate of the Augustana Theological Seminary and was ordained to Augustana's ministry in 1958. Included among the Augustana-founded congregations is Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN the largest Lutheran congregation in the world with over 13,000 members.