Church organizational records are located in the Lutheran Archives Center closed stacks and are available for research, with some files restricted to the public. Please consult our archivist for more information and access.

• Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States: 1748-1962

• Eastern Pennsylvania Synod, LCA: 1963-1968

• Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, LCA and ELCA: 1968-present

• Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, LCA and ELCA: 1968-present

• New Jersey Synod, ULCA, LCA & ELCA: 1950-present

• Upstate New York Synod, LCA & ELCA: 1966-present

• New England Synod, LCA & ELCA: 1963-present

• Augustana Lutheran Church, New York Conference:1870-1962

• Augustana Lutheran Church, New England Conference: 1912-1962

• The General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America: 1866-1918

• Metropolitan New York Synod, LCA and ELCA: 1966-present

Synodical Records

Synodical archives document the history of the church organizations and their varied ministries. They are most useful to historians and academic researchers in church history. 

Lutheranism in America, 1748–1988 

About the Collection

This record group documents the activities of the first Lutheran archives in America, which coincided with the creation of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania (MoP), up through the formation of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA). Included are various books and manuscripts concerned with the Lutheran synodical structures in America and their subsidiary boards/committees/organizations, congregational records, personal papers for prominent Lutheran figures, and printed materials.  This record group is the foundation of the Lutheran Archives Center’s holdings. It began alongside the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States in 1748. Items were added throughout the archives’ history until 1988, when the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was formed. 

Click here for more information and to view finding aids.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and Predecessor Bodies Collection

About the Collection

This collection houses records created by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod (SEPA) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from 1968 to 2002, as well as records of SEPA’s predecessors, the Eastern Pennsylvania Synod and the Ministerium of Pennsylvania. The records date from 1805 to 2002, although the bulk of the collection dates from the 1950s to the 1970s. 

Click here to view the finding aid.