Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church
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The Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in the U.S.A (Slovensk-evanjelická augsburgského vyznania celocirkev v Spojenych státoch americkych) was an American Protestant Christian denomination that existed from 1902 to 1971. In 1971 it merged with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and it now operates as a non-geographic district of that body.
The denomination was founded by Slovak Lutheran immigrants in Connellsville, Pennsylvania on September 2, 1902. At its origin, the denomination had ten clergymen and 15 congregations. Most congregations were composed of recent immigrants, and liturgies were usually conducted in the Slovak language.
By 1959, the use of Slovak as a primary liturgical language had died out and the denomination was renamed the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.
Today, as part of the LCMS, the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church oversees 55 congregations in the United States and Canada and has nearly 18,000 baptized members and over 13,000 communicants. The synod is strongest in the Northeastern United States and the Midwest.
