Compare
LutheranismandAnglican Communion
At a glance
- Common groundIn full: Common ground
- Common inheritanceBoth stand in the Protestant tradition, which grew from the 16th-century Reformation of the Western church, either directly or through later revival and free-church movements.
Source
- Christianity: The First Three Thousand YearsIdentified, not independently read
Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.
- GodOne God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- Scripture and authorityScripture as the supreme authority for faith and life
- Sacraments and ordinancesInfants are baptised
- AgreementBoth are parties to Porvoo Communion (1996)
- Common inheritanceBoth stand in the Protestant tradition, which grew from the 16th-century Reformation of the Western church, either directly or through later revival and free-church movements.
- What distinguishes themIn full: What distinguishes them
No difference of doctrine is recorded between them; 6 topics are not yet comparable.
- How their histories connectIn full: How their histories connect
- Common ancestry, no direct separation · Both lines lead back to the Western church under Rome; they did not separate from each other.Lutheranism took shape in the Reformation of the Western church under Rome (1517–1530); Anglican Communion took shape in the Reformation of the Western church under Rome (1534–1559).
- Later · Communion · 1996The Porvoo CommunionRead the account in Anglican Communion
- Connected today?In full: their relationship today
Varies by church or regionas of October 2026
Communion between the Porvoo churches; other Anglican and Lutheran churches have their own, differing arrangements.
Source
- History of the Porvoo CommunionSource verified
Composed from each tradition’s sourced records. Where a topic is not yet recorded for one side, the Atlas says so rather than guess.
Structured comparison. Composed from each tradition’s sourced position records. No research has yet been written for this particular pair, so the Atlas shows only what those records establish.
Where they differ
Where teaching varies within a tradition (3)
Sacraments and ordinances
How the rites are understood and counted
- Lutheranism
- Lutheran confessions usually speak of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; some also count absolution. No fixed number is recorded here.
- Anglican Communion
- Two sacraments ordained by Christ: Baptism and the Lord's SupperThirty-nine Articles.
Christ's presence in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper
- Lutheranism
- Christ's body and blood are truly present
- Anglican Communion
- Article XXVIII speaks of receiving Christ 'after an heavenly and spiritual manner'; Anglo-Catholic and evangelical Anglicans interpret Christ's presence very differently.
Church and ministry
Church government
- Lutheranism
- Episcopal in some churches, synodical or congregational in others.
- Anglican Communion
- Bishops; autonomous member churches joined in a communion
Ministry
- Lutheranism
- Some Lutheran churches keep the historic episcopate; others do not regard it as necessary.
- Anglican Communion
- Bishops in historic apostolic succession
Mary and the saints
Asking the saints to pray
- Lutheranism
- The saints are remembered as examples but not invoked
- Anglican Communion
- Practice ranges from evangelical rejection to Anglo-Catholic invocation of the saints.
Not yet comparable (6)
No sourced position is recorded for one side, so the Atlas does not say whether they agree:
- Christ (christ's divinity): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Christ (how christ's divinity and humanity are expressed): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Creeds and councils (the filioque): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Creeds and councils (councils received): not recorded for Lutheranism
- Salvation and grace (characteristic emphasis): not recorded for Anglican Communion
- Sacraments and ordinances (how christ's presence is explained): not recorded for Anglican Communion
How their histories relate
Communion · 1996
Churches agree to share communion, often only in some regions or between some member churches.
The Porvoo Declaration, signed in 1996 at Trondheim, Tallinn and Westminster Abbey, brought Anglican churches of Britain and Ireland and Lutheran churches of the Nordic and Baltic countries into the Porvoo Communion.Read in Anglican Communion historySource
- History of the Porvoo CommunionSource verified
Their relationship today
Varies by church or regionas of October 2026
Source
- History of the Porvoo CommunionSource verified
Based on The Porvoo Communion
Developments towards reconciliation
1996
Anglican churches of Britain and Ireland and Lutheran churches of the Nordic and Baltic countries
The declaration was signed at Trondheim and Tallinn in September 1996 and at Westminster Abbey in November 1996, forming the Porvoo Communion.Source
- History of the Porvoo CommunionSource verified
A regional communion; it does not include all Anglican or all Lutheran churches.Source
- History of the Porvoo CommunionSource verified
31 October 1999Several communions
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
Lutheran World Federation and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, signed at Augsburg; later joined by the World Methodist Council (2006), the Anglican Consultative Council (2016) and the World Communion of Reformed Churches (2017)
The signatories state 'a consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification'; the remaining differences of language, theological elaboration and emphasis are said to be acceptable.Source
- Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, §40Source verified
Still open: The declaration lists open questions, including the relationship between the Word of God and church doctrine, ecclesiology, authority, church unity, ministry, the sacraments and social ethics.
Signed in 1999 and confirmed by an Official Common Statement; the Methodist, Anglican and Reformed world communions later associated themselves with it. The Atlas has not checked reception by each member church.3 sources
- Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ)Source verified
- Letter of Cardinal Kasper and Dr Noko on the fifth anniversary of the Joint DeclarationSource verified
- Official Common Statement and Annex to the Joint DeclarationIdentified, not independently read
Explore further
Lutheranism
All citations link to the Atlas’s single source register.