Apostolic succession
The ECC accepted the Apostles', Nicene (minus the "filioque"), and Athanasian Creeds, as well as all the writings contained within the Book of Concord of 1580. Unlike most American Lutheran churches, the ECC taught the necessity of Apostolic succession and episcopal polity, and rejected the forms of congregational polity practiced by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.