Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Illinois
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Illinois, often referred to as the Illinois Synod, was created in June 1846 when the Evangelical Synod of the West divided due to growth. It held its first convention in Hillsboro, Illinois, on October 15, 1846. The Illinois Synod joined the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America in 1848. Disagreements within the General Synod as to the binding character of the Lutheran Confessions caused a split, with the Illinois Synod joining with several other Lutheran synods to form the new General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America in 1867. However, in a meeting in Mount Pulaski, Illinois, in August 1867, a minority of pastors and congregations of the Illinois Synod who wanted to remain in the General Synod withdrew from the synod and formed the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Central Illinois. In 1871, the Illinois Synod withdrew from the General Council due to the issue of the Four Points regarding the permissible forms of association with non-Lutheran churches and organizations. It then joined with other confessional Lutheran synods that either had withdrawn from the General Council or had declined to join it to establish the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical