Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther (1483-1546) — a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian.

Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Beginning with the Ninety-Five Theses, first published in 1517, Luther's writings were disseminated internationally, spreading the early ideas of the Reformation beyond the influence and control of the Roman Curia and the Holy Roman Emperor. The split between the Lutherans and the Catholics was made public and clear with the 1521 Edict of Worms: The edicts of the Diet condemned Luther and officially banned citizens of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating his ideas, subjecting advocates of Lutheranism to forfeiture of all property, half of the seized property to be forfeit to the imperial government and the remaining half forfeit to the party who brought the accusation. The divide centered primarily on two points: the proper source of authority in the church, often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of justification, often called the material principle.

Trinity Lutheran Church

Trinity Lutheran Church or Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church or variations thereof may refer to:

Church

Church may refer to:

Religion

Trinity

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (from Latin trinitas "triad", from trinus "threefold") defines God as three consubstantial persons, expressions, or hypostases: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit; "one God in three persons". The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature". In this context, a "nature" is what one is, while a "person" is who one is.

According to this central mystery of some Christian faiths, there is only one God in three persons: while distinct from one another in their relations of origin (as the Fourth Lateran Council declared, "it is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds") and in their relations with one another, they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, and "each is God, whole and entire". Accordingly, the whole work of creation and grace is seen as a single operation common to all three divine persons, in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, so that all things are "from the Father", "through the Son" and "in the Holy Spirit".

Historic Trinity Lutheran Church

The Historic Trinity Lutheran Church is a church located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It occupies the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church complex, located at 1345 Gratiot Avenue. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1981 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

History

The Trinity congregation was formed in 1850, when members of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, a German-speaking congregation, broke away from the main body following the excommunication of another member. Services were first held in the chapel of Christ Episcopal Church, located at the corner of Jefferson and Hastings. Soon, the congregation bought the chapel of the Western Seaman's Friend Society of Woodbridge Street, and moved it to Rivard and Larned. This building soon proved too small, the congregation built a new brick church at Gratiot and Rivard in 1866. This area, surrounding Eastern Market, was at the time home to a large German population and a natural fit for Trinity.