What separates the ELCA from the Missouri Synod?
The desk
The ELCA and the LCMS are both Lutheran churches and both confess the Augsburg Confession (1530) and the Book of Concord (1580), but they differ sharply in how they read Scripture, handle ordination, and practice communion.
| Topic | ELCA | LCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Scripture | Uses historical-critical interpretation; Scripture is authoritative but read in a broader critical framework | Teaches biblical inerrancy and a stricter confessional approach |
| Ordination | Ordains women | Ordains only men |
| LGBTQ clergy | Allows partnered LGBTQ clergy | Does not allow partnered LGBTQ clergy |
| Communion practice | Open communion | Close/closed communion |
| Confessional authority | Affirms the Lutheran confessions, but with more flexibility in how binding later doctrinal formulations are | Treats the Lutheran confessions as binding doctrinal norms in a stricter sense |
| Church fellowship | Generally more open to ecumenical relations | More restrictive on altar and pulpit fellowship |
Historically, the ELCA was formed in 1988 and is now the largest U.S. Lutheran body; the LCMS was founded in 1847. The ELCA is usually seen as the more theologically and socially progressive of the two, while the LCMS is the more confessional and conservative, though those are outside shorthand terms rather than official self-descriptions.
If you want to compare them at the source level, the key texts are the Augsburg Confession, the Apology, and the LCMS/ELCA church statements on ordination, communion, and Scripture.