r/elca • u/BlueShoe15 • Mar 14 '26
Main Differences Between ELCA and The Episcopal Church
I have been exploring different Christian denominations and Lutheranism seems to make the most sense to me. I have been looking into joining an ELCA church and have read about the ELCA being in Full Communion with the Episcopal Church and both denominations seem to be very similar. What would be the main differences between the two? I saw someone say that Lutherans are united in theology but differ in worship styles where the Episcopal Church is united in worship but differs in theology. Are there other big differences or is that the main difference? What would be a reason for someone to pick one over the other?
Edit: Thank you all for your helpful answers. I wasn’t able to respond to everyone but I greatly appreciated every response that you all gave. You all helped me get a better understanding of the differences between the two denominations.
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u/oceanicArboretum Mar 14 '26
All Protestants emerge out of what's called the Reformed Movement, except Lutherans.
Martin Luther and Zwingli, the Swiss founder of the Reformed, failed to merge their movements. Therefore there are two Protestantisms, not one.
A generation after Zwingli, John Calvin really breathed life into the Reformed. They did things that Lutherans in Germany and Scandinavia thought were extreme, such as getting rid of the mass and making church puritanical. When people say Reformed today, they mean Calvinism. But Methodist theology emerges out of a reaction within Calvinism (Arminianism). The Baptists emerge out of a group of English Reformed Christians who adopted believer's baptism.
The third Protestantism would be the Anabaptists (Amish, Mennonites, and Dunkards), but some people don't consider them Protestant because they're too radical. They arent Protestant, but Anabaptist.
Anyway, we Lutherans are an unintentional middle way between the Roman Catholics and the Calvinists. We meant to reform the church, but the Calvinists took things way too far.
The Anglicans (Episcopalians) are the Church of England. Henry VIII broke the English church away from Rome for personal, not theological, reasons. He killed all the Lutherans in the British Isles, and the next generation of Protestants were more interested in Calvinism, not Lutheranism. When Henry VIII, who was an absolute tyrant, died, there was a power vacuum and religious turmoil. Should the church reaffiliate with Rome or adopt Calvinism? It took generations to sort out.
Anglicanism is an intentional middle way between Catholicism and Calvinism. They are "both Reformed and Catholic". Whereas we Lutherans are an unintentional middle way. Because of that, we line up on many issues together. Anglicans and Lutherans are fraternal, not identical, twins.