Lutheran Church in Canada

Canada Canada Church Records

The questions raised about church practice by Martin Luther in Germany began the Reformation which resulted in the many Protestant denominations. The followers of Luther became known as Lutherans, and this became the predominant denomination, or even the national religion, of some of the German states (usually in the north and west of Germany), Scandinavia and Finland.

Lutherans came to Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries, with sizable numbers of them in Nova Scotia and Waterloo County, Ontario. Missionaries were sent from the United States and pastors emigrated from Germany. There were a great many divisions, not necessarily antipathetic to one another; in 1900 there were about 64 synods or church bodies in Canada and the United States. The bodies often had affiliates in both countries. Various amalgamations have now reduced the number to four major bodies, of which two are significant in Canada: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Lutheran Church—Canada (Missouri Synod).

Lutheran record-keeping is of the highest standard, taking the characteristics practiced in Germany, where the church records had civil importance. The German practice of allotting one page in the register to a family, and thus allowing genealogists to discover a great many family names and dates at one glance, was not continued here. The records are chronological. Lutheran liturgy is a recognizable descendant of the Catholic mass in form and the various sacraments are similar.

For the genealogical researcher, it is useful to know that there are baptisms(Taufen), marriages (Copulationen), burials (Todten), confirmations(Confirmanden), membership and communicants lists, as well as minutes and subsidiary documents. Early records are kept in German, perhaps up to World War I, when public opinion forced many Lutheran churches to change to English for services, records and publications.

German-language record-keeping also includes writing in the Gothic script which is difficult for modern researchers, since it involves a different alphabet, including letters and accents which are completely different from English, such as the double S (b). Teaching and reading in Gothic continued in Germany up to World War II, but was abandoned later and few Germans now can read it. It can be difficult to find people who can interpret it.

Non-German speakers should not be defeated by Lutheran records, however. First, there are texts which provide examples of Gothic and common church register words in Gothic. Serious researchers with a great deal of Gothic work ahead of them might find it useful to learn to read it in the form of print, in old German books or newspapers. They will then be prepared for attempting Gothic handwriting.

Success in interpreting Gothic handwriting depends on the quality of the handwriting itself (many pastors wrote dreadfully) and experience. Practice, however excruciating, does improve the ability to interpret Gothic handwriting. The benefits of learning some Gothic will be considerable. Lutheran and other German records are so informative, often including information available in no other kind of church records, that the work required to read them is amply repaid.

As time passed and the effects of the surrounding English-speaking culture was felt, the German records may be written partly in German, partly in English, or partly in Gothic, partly in English lettering. There are two Evangelical Lutheran seminaries in Canada:

Laurier Archives
Laurier Archives Wilfrid Laurier University 75 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 Telephone: (519) 884-0710 Ext.3825 E-mail: libarch@wlu.ca
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Lutheran Seminary Libraries
Lutheran Theological Seminary Saskatoon 114 Seminary Crescent Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X3 Telephone: (306) 966-7850
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Concordia Lutheran Seminary 470 Glenridge Avenue St. Catharines, Ontario L2T 4C3 Telephone: (905) 688-2362
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Concordia Lutheran Seminary 7040 Ada Boulevard Edmonton, Alberta T5B 4E3 Telephone: (780) 474-1468