Lutheranism arrived early in the Kingdom of Hungary, but was repressed by the Roman Catholic Habsburg dynasty.

During the "Mourning Decade" (1671–1681) Hungarian Lutherans, along with the Reformed Church in Hungary, were severely persecuted.

There was a renewal with Pietism, and the Deed of Tolerance issued by King Joseph II in 1781 granted religious freedom.

The highest decision making body is the Synod, which consists of all the bishops, plus representatives (both lay and ordained) from each diocese.

This includes seminary training for its ordination candidates, lay training programmes for its local and regional lay leaders, a network of 46 schools covering age ranges from nursery education to secondary school, and three higher education institutions (colleges and universities).