| Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book | |||
| Commissioned by | Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved for | Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States | ||
| Released | 1912 | ||
| Publisher | Concordia Publishing House | ||
| Pages | 650 | ||
| No. of Hymns | 543 | ||
| Psalms | Yes | ||
| Service music | Yes | ||
| |||
TheEvangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book was the first officialEnglish-languagehymnal of theLutheran Church–Missouri Synod, then known as the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States. It was published in 1912 by the synod's publishing house,Concordia Publishing House, inSt. Louis, Missouri.
The adoption of theEvangelical Lutheran Hymn-book was part of the transition of the synod from the use of German to English. Since its founding in 1847, the synod had used theKirchengesangbuch für Evangelisch-Lutherische Gemeinden ungeänderter Augsburgischer Confession (Church Hymnal for Evangelical Lutheran Churches of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession), compiled and edited byC. F. W. Walther (the synod's first president) and a group of other pastors.[1]
By the late 1800s, the need for an English hymnal had become apparent. Walther himself recommended theHymn Book for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Schools and Congregations, which had been edited by Professor August Crull ofConcordia College inFort Wayne, Indiana, and published in 1879 by theNorwegian Lutherans inDecorah, Iowa. Other English hymnbooks that were used especially for outreach includedLutheran Hymns: For the Use of English Lutheran Missions (1882),Hymns of the Evangelical Lutheran Church: For the Use of English Lutheran Missions (1886), andHymns for Evangelical Lutheran Missions (1905).[1]
Professor Crull assembled and edited a new hymnal, theEvangelical Lutheran Hymn Book, and presented it to theEnglish Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri and Other States, who published it inBaltimore, Maryland, in 1889. The English Synod eventually merged into the Missouri Synod as its English District in 1911. A later edition of this collection of hymns with accompanying music and with the slightly altered name ofEvangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book was then published by Concordia Publishing House in 1912 as the first official English hymnal of the synod.[1]
The hymnal was later often referred to as the "old green hymnal" due to the color of its binding. Originally containing 543 hymns, it underwent significant expansion prior to the publishing ofThe Lutheran Hymnal in 1941.