Hauge Synod. 1876-1917.

Hauge Synod emerged as the pietist, “low-church” wing of the Norwegian-American synods, in accordance with the practices of its namesake, the Norwegian revivalist Hans Nielsen Hauge. Hauge Synod traced its roots back to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Eielsen Synod), the first synod founded by Norwegians in America. Elling Eielsen, an itinerant, pietist preacher and associate of Hauge, founded that synod in 1846, and his force of personality set the future course for Hauge Synod. The ELCA officially became Hauge Synod in 1876 after a controversy over the church constitution. In 1917, Hauge Synod joined with the Synod and the United Church to form the Norwegian Lutheran Church in America.