CHI Awards for Canadian Lutherans

USA – Concordia Historical Institute (CHI) has announced its awards for works published in 2022, and two books by Canadian Lutherans are among the recipients. 

Rev. Dr. John Stephenson has received an award for his 2022 translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s Aphorisms on Church and Office Old and New. The book includes Löhe’s 1849 volume Aphorisms on the New Testament Ministry and their Relationship to the Congregation (of which a translation by Dr. Stephenson was previously published in 2008), as well as Löhe’s second 1851 volume Church and Office: New Aphorisms (which is newly translated in this book for the first time). 

“Dr. Stephenson has provided an attractive English translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s 1849 and 1851 publications on the doctrine of the Office of the Holy Ministry,” CHI notes. “These writings provide important background to the 19th century debates about this doctrine among confessional Lutherans and to the relationship between Löhe and American Lutherans, including the Missouri Synod and C.F.W. Walther.” 

“Dr. Stephenson has provided an attractive English translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s 1849 and 1851 publications on the doctrine of the Office of the Holy Ministry,”

Dr. Stephenson’s book is published by Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary and is available for purchase through Lulu.com. 

CHI has also recognized the publication of Missouri North: The History of Lutheran Church–Canada with an honorable mention. The first half of the book sees noted historian Rev. Dr. Norman J. Threinen chart the development of Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) from its earliest days until autonomy. Dr. Threinen’s work has received multiple awards from CHI over the years. 

The second half of Missouri North sees LCC’s first three presidents—Rev. Drs. Edwin Lehman, Ralph Mayan, and Robert Bugbee—continue the story, recounting the development of the church during their tenures. An additional chapter by Rev. Dr. David H. Somers examines the story of LCC’s French-language ministry. 

Missouri North is published by Lutheran Church–Canada, and is available for purchase through Amazon. 

In addition to the above two books, CHI also recognized a third work with a Canadian author and focus. An honorable mention has been awarded to Dr. Benjamin Bryce’s book, The Boundaries of Ethnicity: German Immigration and the Language of Belonging in Ontario (McGill-Queen’s University Press). The book explores “what it meant to be in German in Ontario between 1880 and 1930,” including the impact of Lutheranism during this period. 

Concordia Historical Institute is the historical institute and archives of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. CHI’s awards program serves to recognize “significant contributions to literature and research in the field of Lutheran archives and history in North America.” The full list of this year’s winners is available at CHI’s website at concordiahistoricalinstitute.org. 

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