The Lutheran Christian Tradition

The Lutheran Church is a confessing movement within the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus himself.

As a confessional church, Lutherans are defined by the Lutheran Confessions, a group of documents that contain the teaching of the Lutheran Church. The earliest of these confessions were written in the first centuries of the Christian Church, and the last were written in the 16th Century. These confessions were compiled in 1580 in the Book of Concord.

The teaching of the Lutheran Confessions is drawn directly from the Holy Scriptures. For this reason, Lutherans throughout history have accepted the Lutheran Confessions as a true and binding exposition of Holy Scripture, which serve as authoritative texts for all pastors and congregations and a norm for our doctrine and practice.

Among these confessions are:

• the Ecumenical Creeds, which are the ancient confessions of the Church

• the Small Catechism, which serves as the “confession of the laity”

• the Augsburg Confession, which is the universal, orthodox confession of the Christian faith

If you would like to read the Lutheran Confessions, click here.

Logos Lutheran is a congregation of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.