Lutheran Quarterly

Traditio

Revised 07/2023

Lutheran Quarterly

Traditio

Notes for Contributors

Manuscript submissions are to be sent directly to the editor, Paul Rorem, Princeton Theological Seminary, paul.rorem@ptsem.edu.

Authors are welcome to address specific style questions to the managing editor: via USPS: Virgil Thompson, Lutheran Quarterly, 2752 N Nugent Road, Lummi Island, WA  98262 USA; by telephone: 509–953–4715; or via email: vftonlummi@gmail.com.

In general Lutheran Quarterly employs The Chicago Manuel of Style (CMS), 16th Edition, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2010 as the house style. Note especially:

Title

1) Lutheran Quarterly prefers succinct titles. Avoid the use of double titles containing a colon.

  1. Supplemental information about the intent of the article will catch the reader’s eye if it is incorporated into the first paragraph.
  2. Divide the article into subdivisions; entitle each division.

2) The main title should appear at the top of the first page of text in the following format:

Title of the Essay

by John T. Author

3) Avoid using the asterisk or endnote references in the title. Notices pertaining to prior publication and presentation should appear at the head of the endnotes as an unnumbered entry.

Text

  1. All contributions must be submitted electronically, double–spaced, 12–point, Times New Roman font, one–inch margins, aligned left. Endnotes in 10-point, Times New Roman font.
  • Avoid the suggestion of oral presentation. For example, avoid the use of first person and the use of contractions.

3) Capitalization.

  1. Do not use capitalization for the sake of emphasis.
  2. Use capitals for Reformation in reference to the sixteenth century movement and for Reformer in reference to Luther, but reformer(s) in reference to others.
  3. Use capitals for Bible and books of the Bible, but lower case for scripture and biblical. Use Gospel (upper case) for writings of the New Testament; use lower case, gospel, for the message of Christ.
  4. Use capitals for institutional church bodies. For example, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Roman Catholic Church. But use lower case in general reference to the church and denominational traditions. For example, Lutheran church; the church in Africa.
  5. Note the official titles of Lutheran church bodies in the USA: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA); Lutheran Church in America (LCA); United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA); but Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (NLCA).
  6. Miscellaneous considerations: Pope Leo, but the pope of Rome; Holy Roman Empire, but empire; Confession of Augsburg, but Lutheran confession.

4) Italics.

  1. The textual citation of published works should be in italics: for example, The Book of Concord. However, citation of confessional symbols should appear in Roman type: for example, The Small Catechism.
  2. Single words and short phrases in languages other than English will be italicized. Do not set them off in quotation marks.

5) Quotations.

  1. Under five typewritten lines may be set off in quotation marks; over five lines should appear as a block quotation, indented without quotation marks; continue to use the double–space format.
  2. Use quotation marks to identify titles of essays cited in the text.

6) Scholarly abbreviations.

  1. While the use of scholarly abbreviations is acceptable in parenthesis and end notes, they should not be used in the text. For example, in place of “i.e.” use “that is”; in place of “e.g.” use “for example”; in place of “etc.” use “and so forth.”

7) Diacritics.

            a)    In spelling German ä, ö, and ü diacritics should be used, not ae, oe, ue.

  • Diacritics should always be employed where appropriate, particularly in the citation of languages other than English.
  • Care should be taken in the citation of Greek and Hebrew.

8) Spelling.

  1. Use “-ize” endings when given as an alternative to “–ise.”
  2. Use American form, not British; for example, savior, not saviour.

9) Dates and Numbers.

  1. 1990s; not 1990’s.
  2. Sixteenth century; not 16th century.
  3. July 1994; not July, 1994.
  4. Sixty–seven; not 67; but use numerals for numbers over one hundred.

10) Acronyms.

  1. Avoid the use of acronyms. Cite the referent fully in the first usage. After that you may use the acronym. 

11) Evangelical–Lutheran.

  1. For historical reasons we encourage the use of the hyphenated expression, Evangelical–Lutheran, in reference to that tradition.

Endnotes (Not Footnotes)

1) Continue the use of double–space format, Times New Roman, but 10-point font in the endnotes.

2) In the text, references to endnotes should appear in superscript Arabic numerals.[1]

3) The first citation of a work in the endnotes should include the complete bibliographical data—Author, Title, (City of Publication: Publisher, date of publication), vol:pg.ln.  For example:

1. Luthers Werke, Kritische Gesamtausgabe, 57 vols., eds. J. F. K. Knaake et al. (Weimar: Böhlau, 1883ff.) 2:45.6-10. (Hereafter cited as WA.)

2. Luther’s Works, American Edition, 80 vols., eds. Jaroslav Pelikan, Helmut T. Lehmann, and Christopher Boyd Brown (St. Louis and Philadelphia: Concordia and Fortress Press, 1955ff.), 37:362-363 (hereafter cited as LW.)

3. Corpus Reformatorum, 28 vols., eds. C. G. Bretschneider et al. (Brunsvigae and Halis Saxorum: C.A. Schwetschke et Filium, 1834-60) 3:75-76.  (Hereafter cited as CR.)

Submissions

  1. Manuscripts may be submitted directly to our editor, Paul Rorem, Princeton Theological Seminary, paul.rorem@ptsem.edu.
  • All manuscripts are reviewed by two scholarly peers in their subject matter.

ADDENDUM

For European Authors

              The rules of style are stricter in America than in Europe. Lutheran Quarterly employs The Chicago Manuel of Style (CMS), 16th Edition (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2010) in the matter of establishing the rules which govern the preparation of essays for publication in the journal. Authors are encouraged to consult CMS whenever they are in doubt about some matter in the preparation of manuscripts.

              There are points at which European style differs from American style. Because the particular matters listed below occur frequently we bring them to your attention:

1.  Complete bibliographic information in the endnotes: We require that the following information appear in the endnote citations: Author (first and last name), title (city of publication: name of publisher, date of publication) vol:pg.ln. Consult the Traditio and/or CMS whenever in doubt about the acceptable style of endnote citations.

2.  Full name: We require the full-name citation of persons (first and last name). This rule covers citation of names in the text of the essay as well as in the endnotes. For example: NOT J.T. Person, BUT Janice T. Person.

3.  Translation: Of course, when your essay appears in translation, we strive for a smooth English version of the text. Especially, we seek to avoid idiosyncratic usage, peculiar to the original language of the essay.

4.  In other matters: Consult our Traditio or The Chicago Manual of Style whenever you have a question about acceptable style. Authors are welcome to address specific questions to the associate managing editor: Nicholas Hopman, email: nicholas.hopman@ptsem.edu.

General