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Eielsen Synod, 1846-1997

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The Eielsen Synod was founded at the Jefferson Prairie settlement, Wisconsin, in 1846 by Elling Eielsen – a Haugean Lutheran. Eielsen is considered the first Norwegian Lutheran minister in the United States. From 1832-1839, he was a lay preacher who toured around Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, where he was often met with opposition. Elling Eielsen emigrated in 1839 from Voss, Norway, first settling in the Fox River Settlement, LaSalle County, Illinois. 

Eielsen, and eventually the Synod, emphasized the importance of repentance, conversion, and lay preaching (a preacher who is not ordained and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology). The Eielsen Synod developed strong feelings against the aristocratic ministers in the Church of Norway – they opposed ritualism, formal worship, clerical vestments, and clerical authority. 

Factions started occurring in the Eielsen Synod starting as early as 1853 – which formed the Norwegian Synod. A later and major split came in 1876 when some pastors and congregations left to join the Hauge Synod. 

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