The history of the Lutheran church goes back until the 16th century, to the religious movement known as the Lutheran Reformation. The leader of this movement was Martin Luther.

The Doubts
Martin Luther was born on the 10th of November 1483, in Eisleben, Germany. When he was young he decided, against his parents’ will, to become a monk. In the monastery, Luther experienced despair and anguish, because he never felt like he was doing enough good works to deserve forgiveness of his sins, as the church taught. As much as he worked hard making penance, more were his doubts and uncertainties. He did not have, for this reason, peace for his soul and always experienced an angry and severe God, ready to punish the sinners.

The Discovery
Luther became a Doctor in theology and started to lecture in the University of Wittenberg. He had the privilege to access the Bible and, guided by the Holy Spirit, he discovered the truth of the gospel and peace for his soul, as he read the words of Romans 1:17: “The righteous shall live by faith”. Then he understood that forgiveness and everlasting life are not acquired by us through good works, but are given to us freely through faith in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who died and was raised to forgive all humankind.

The Thesis
He would not stay quiet. So, on the 31st of October, 1517, he posted his 95 thesis on the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg, making public his protest against the abuses in the church, especially those related to the selling of indulgences.

The Excommunication
Luther, then, was challenged to attend many theological debates promoted by civil and ecclesiastical authorities, who tried to make him recant of his critics against the church and the Pope.
In 1520, Luther was excommunicated by the Pope and, in the same year, he burnt the papal bull, definitely separating himself from the Roman Catholic Church.

The Lutheran Church
In 1530, Luther and his faithful follower Melanchthon wrote the Augsburg confession, which summarizes the Lutheran teachings. The movement of reformation of the Catholic Church became overshadowed by those who had the power in their hands and Luther and his followers were obligated to create a separated group of Christians, joining together those who wanted to remain faithful to the biblical truth of the Gospel. And so was born the Lutheran Church.

The Confessions
Luther died on the 18th of February 1546, after he had translated the Bible to German and had wrote many books and theological treatises. After his death the Lutherans, which were already in great number, started to disagree in some matters related to their doctrine. As a solution, the Formula of Concord was written in 1577. In 1580, fifty years after the Augsburg Confessions was publicized, the Book of Concord was edited, joining all the Confessions of the Lutheran Church.