# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1852 05 11_S146
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

146

met us at once with such heart-winning cordiality that it was easy for us to speak out to him without reserve. He too gave us to understand that the faith laid down in the public symbolical writings of our church is the faith of his heart, and after we had designated to him more exactly the standpoint occupied by the church fellowship whose delegates we had appeared here, he expressed his most hearty joy over it. He at once assured us not only of the application of his whole influence to the end that our request might be granted, but also did not withhold from us the conviction that he looks toward the development of the orthodox Lutheran church in America with hopes as great as the anxieties with which he looks out into the future of the Lutheran church of Germany, and that he therefore seized the more gladly the opportunity for forming a connection with the orthodox Lutheran church of North America. Whereas elsewhere in Germany we found in only too many pastors no eye for the fire, evidently still smouldering under the ashes, of a revolution which will surely return in its time, but then certainly more terrible, but rather an inexplicable confidence in the conditions regained, we found precisely here, with the Dean as with the Oberconsistorialrath, a clear view into the insecurity in which the political no less than the ecclesiastical conditions in Germany find themselves.

When we at last wished to take leave of the Oberconsistorialrath, he made us in confidence the disclosure that the Oberconsistorium, in which he had hitherto sought to represent Pastor Löhe as best he could, had unfortunately found itself obliged to issue a rescript upon the last declaration submitted by Pastor Löhe and several pastors of like mind with him, concerning mixed communion at the Lord's Supper (see about this the previous number), in which the alternative is put to the persons named, either to give up the special ecclesiastical position claimed, to rest satisfied with the assurance of the Oberconsistorium that it would remove in a practicable manner the abuses which had gradually crept in, and so to remain unconditionally in the complex of the State church — or to lay down their offices! This disclosure was to us, especially after the declarations of the Oberconsistorialrath about his own churchly standpoint, so unexpected and so crushing that we hastily took our leave, in order first to consider thoroughly before God what position we now had to take after this change of the state of affairs communicated to us. We saw in what danger we were of wounding our conscience. There was therefore no need here of long deliberations. Our resolution was soon taken, namely: to withdraw the petition for support which we had made. The greatest concern was caused us by the delivery of the petition addressed to the Queen by the Court Preacher in Chief, Dr. Harleß, to Dean Burger, which he had promised us to send off speedily with a recommendatory accompanying letter. We had to fear that the Dean might easily be compromised, not wholly without our fault, by such a kindness shown to us. We therefore sent him at once a short note, in which we first expressed the request that he would hold back from delivering the letter addressed to Her Majesty the Queen. To Oberconsistorialrath Boeckh, however, we thereupon declared ourselves further in writing: that the confidential disclosure made to us by him had thrown us into no small consternation and had convinced us that without violation of our conscience, especially of Christian sincerity, we could not present to a high Oberconsistorium the petition laid before him, since we were in complete agreement with Pastor Löhe in this, that the practice of admitting former Reformed and Unionists to our administration of the sacrament, without having expressly attested to them the actual transition to the Lutheran church thereby effected, is irreconcilable with the doctrine of our church, and that a Lutheran must therefore by all means renounce such a practice and take care not to take part in it in any way. But if we were now to turn in petition to a high Oberconsistorium, we should draw upon ourselves the appearance as though we also wished to take up an opposing position against the faithful Pastor Löhe and against his course of action resting on sound principles of Lutheran doctrine, etc. At the same time we declared ourselves willing and ready for any closer oral discussion.

Dean Burger thereupon reported to us in writing that immediately after our departure from his house a royal servant had come, by whom, in order not to delay it, he had already sent the letter brought by us at once to the high address. Oberconsistorialrath Boeckh, however, answered us with the friendly written request that we should visit him once more on the following day (that is, on Wednesday the 12th of November). Since we were thus obliged to spend a whole series of hours in Munich without being able to do anything concerning the purpose of our delegation, we used some of these free intervening hours to view the treasures of art of all kinds, heaped up in this city as hardly in a second in Germany, especially some of the splendid new churches there, the Pinakothek (picture gallery) and the Glyptothek (the museum of sculpture), to which artists there, who are closely related to me, procured us admission. I must confess, however, that my mind was too much occupied with what is mentioned above for me to be able to tell the reader anything of the unaccustomed splendors which my bodily eye saw.

In consequence of an invitation received we appeared on the following day at noon at the table of the Dean and heard here from him that the Queen had read the letter and had at once sent it back to him, the Dean, for his opinion. We rejoiced heartily that the matter had not yet progressed further, and begged the Dean now to omit the recommendation so kindly promised us, since our conscience did not permit us to give further course to our petition. We could here unfortunately indicate our standpoint only in general terms, since the disclosure made to us by Dr. Boeckh was at that time still a confidential one (made in confidence), of which it was not within our liberty to make use. After a friendly farewell from here we now paid our second visit to the Oberconsistorialrath Dr. Boeckh. He received us again with the same kindness, indeed with, if possible, still greater cordiality than the first time. He declared that precisely the openness and straightforwardness with which we had expressed ourselves concerning our standpoint had increased his confidence and his love toward us and his willingness to serve us; that he indeed agreed at bottom with us ourselves on the point concerning mixed communion at the Lord's Supper, and that the difference probably concerned only the manner and way in which such an abuse was to be remedied. When we now replied to this that, even if under other circumstances we should not shrink from accepting a support from him, the Oberconsistorialrath, after an open statement of our principles, we should nevertheless either have to conceal our sentiments from the other gentlemen contrary to Christian sincerity, or, if we wished to act with the same openness (as indeed we could not do otherwise), make the granting of our petition itself impossible: the dear man concluded at last by saying that he certainly saw how under the present circumstances it was the safest thing for our conscience to withdraw our petition until the matter should be settled; adding that, if God should bring about a happy issue, we could at any time renew our petition in writing, and he would then conduct our cause in our name as his own. So we took our leave with the feeling of the most heartfelt respect for the lovable man. At the same time we could not on both sides refrain from a deep sadness when we considered the difficult position which he occupies as a member of such a college as that of the Protestant Oberconsistorium in the Kingdom of Bavaria. It had come vividly before our soul, throughout all the negotiations that were carried on, in what hardly to be sustained struggle a man who is of Lutheran conviction must be engaged, if he would save his soul. *)

*) Even during the time of our stay in Germany, Pastor Löhe and his friends had, by the way, to the Either — Or of the Oberconsistorium with a