What is Lutheran Legacy?

Lutheran Legacy is a non-profit organization that supports an evolving online digital database of public-domain Lutheran and evangelical catholic documents. Currently we provide scanned images with index and bibliographic support. We are developing new features to provide full text, translated text, and interactive community web features.

What is the purpose of Lutheran Legacy?

We provide access to rare Lutheran and evangelical documents which are often inaccessible to the church, academic community, and general public. We are seeking to provide both digital images and a transcribed text for each book in our collection.

What type of documents does Lutheran Legacy provide?

We provide documents of all types from the classical Lutheran heritage (dogmatic works, commentaries, hymnals, etc.). We are also seeking to provide documents from the Early and Medieval Church, and resources related to the early Reformation. All texts provided in this database are believed to be public domain.

Where are the physical volumes located?

The books contained in the digital database are located in the physical holdings of Seminaries and Universities participating in this digitization project. We are currently photographing the Walther Library collection located at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne

How many documents will the database contain?

Since this is an evolving project, there is no limiting factor in terms of how many books the database might contain. The actual number of available documents will primarily depend on the amount of financial assistance received and applied to the actual scanning process.

How can I help?

One of the best ways to help is by offering a small yearly donation. These funds are used to provide web access, purchase new computer and photographic equipment, promote translation, and help with the scanning process. In the future, we will also need volunteers to help retype each scanned image in the database in order to provide full text capabilities.

What other services does Lutheran Legacy offer?

Lutheran Legacy also maintains a publishing arm that provides in-print access to the most important classical resources. We offer titles in their original languages as well as modern translations. We also publish new contemporary books which relate to the historic Lutheran faith and the theological needs of the church today.