# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1852 06 08_S164
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

164

meeting have vanished again, all met us with a truly shaming love. Especially was it Professor Dr. Krabbe who met us with a heartiness and cordiality which, over the Christian, often made us forget the scholar, so that we poured out our heart unreservedly to him. From earlier essays published in the Meklenburgischen Kirchenblatt we saw that he had formerly represented, in the doctrine of Office and Church, a type of doctrine agreeing in every particular with that which we hold; now he seemed at least no longer to have remained fully true to himself; yet the testimony which we gave to Professor Krabbe of our conviction met with no decided resistance, whereas the same found decided response with Professor Dr. Baumgarten, who was just at work on a commentary on the Acts of the Apostles to be published. Professor Becker, who, though no theologian, (but a Lutheran with his whole heart), had until now stood at the head of the society for the Lutheran Church in America formed in Rostock, lamented that this society had in recent time been hindered in its first zeal by various things; but he took our appearance in Rostock at once as an occasion to rouse the members of the society to renewed zeal in the cause. In Professor Röper we became acquainted, in the house of the Land Councillor, with a most interesting personality; he is a Christian natural historian, devoted to the Lutheran Confession. An address which he had delivered at a certain public celebration and afterwards given to the press, in which he treats the theme: "Peace in Nature—No Peace in Christ," most attractively and in a Christian spirit, he gave us in several copies as a remembrance and testimony of his union with us as a brother in the faith. Mr. M. Serrius, finally, a hearty, dear man, asked me to preach for him on the third Sunday in Advent, which fell in the time of our presence in Rostock. I accepted the invitation and thus found opportunity, in the same church and upon the same pulpit where once the old godly Dr. Heinrich Müller, this (as Dr. Rudelbach calls him) "Lutheran Chrysostom," preached, to proclaim, as his least disciple, the sweet Gospel of Him that should come, before a great attentive congregation. Richly strengthened and refreshed in body and spirit, (Rostock had become to us truly what its name indicates,—a Rosenstock, a rose-bush,) we departed from Rostock again at last on Monday the 15th of December. —

On our journey through Germany we had often been made aware, after a presentation of our conditions here, how important it would be for our seminary here that there should be employed at it such a German theologian as is fully familiar with the latest products in the field of theology as well as of philosophy, and who especially has not only taken into himself the productions in the last-named field, but has also inwardly overcome them through clearness of Christian knowledge and power of Christian faith and made them serviceable to Christian science. At the same time we were then ever directed to a certain Dr. Franke, a young, vigorous theologian (a pastor's son from Saxe-Altenburg), who had recently become Licentiate at the University of Leipzig, but at present was working as teacher at the Gymnasium at Ratzeburg in Lauenburg. It was hoped that this man would certainly suit us before many others, since besides his other eminent knowledge and gifts he distinguishes himself especially by the most thorough knowledge of the old Lutheran dogmatic works and by a deep reverence for them. We therefore resolved at least to use the opportunity now given us for personal acquaintance. Since, however, our way to Ratzeburg led again through Schwerin, we stopped on this passage through the city again for a few hours. Only in Rostock had we, namely, been made aware that in Schwerin, besides the gentlemen visited by us there, we have yet another influential and zealous friend and promoter of the Church in North America in Privy Councillor von Schröder. We therefore paid him our respects and made here the rare experience that a high statesman can yet at the same time be a truly humble Christian and decided Lutheran, involuntarily reminded of a Veit Ludewig, Baron von Seckendorf.

In Ratzeburg, arriving at last on the evening of the 15th of December *), we found what had been testified to us of Dr. Franke that was favorable, so far as we were able to judge after a short acquaintance, thoroughly confirmed, and found him, in case of a call coming to him, at least not absolutely disinclined to accept it. — We could not, of course, refrain from using the opportunity now offered us for a visit to the venerable veteran of our Evangelical Lutheran Church, the local Superintendent Catenhusen. With astonishment we heard here from his eloquent mouth how the Duchy of Lauenburg, under the old Lauenburg Church Order from the time of the Reformation, still fully valid to this hour, had been laid waste by the unbelief and apostasy of this last time perhaps less than any Lutheran country of Germany, but in many respects has remained a green oasis in the German church-desert; in more recent time without doubt chiefly a fruit of the faithful service of the bishop, in the true sense of the word, who presides in a fatherly manner over this little territorial church, the venerable Superintendent Catenhusen. He is so versed in Luther's writings, which are a paradise to him, that he can recite whole longer passages from them on various important points word for word.

*) On our journey from Schwerin to Ratzeburg we had in the Mecklenburg village of Rosenberg an experience which we cannot pass over in silence. We stopped here at a small inn, whose landlord we heard was sitting in it on a lease. The conversation turned to the sad outcome of the political strivings for freedom made in Mecklenburg in recent years. We asked the landlord what he said to this outcome? The landlord declared that he was by no means troubled over it. In those days when the heroes of freedom had great power in their hands, a whole company of them, on the way to the Diet in Schwerin, had one day stopped at his house, had had served up everything that the inn could furnish of food and drink, but at last had packed up dishes, plates, bottles, glasses, etc., and taken them along on the wagon; but upon the demand for payment the fine company had driven quickly off and away, amid loud laughter and the cry: "Now is freedom, dear friend!" The landlord said that then he had come to know the intended freedom and its gods so well that the itch for freedom had gone from him forever. He gave his landlord a fair rent, ate his bread in quiet and peace, and desired therefore no change.

In consequence of a written arrangement made, we were expected on the 17th of December by a larger circle of believing Lutheran preachers in and about Stade, whither we therefore hastened already on the day before from Ratzeburg by way of Hamburg. In Stade we found in the house of Advocate Dr. Ernst Wyneken the most cordial reception. Besides this dear man himself, there were, however, still the following gentlemen of whose profitable fellowship we here partook, in part for several days: living in Stade itself, Consistorial Councillor Dr. von Hanffstengel *), the pastors Westphal and Leiding, the Teachers' Seminary Director Eickenrodt and Gymnasium Co-Rector Schmidt (the gifted editor of the political-religious people's paper appearing in Stade under the title "Sonntagsblatt"); from the surrounding country of Stade there were the pastors Gustav Wyneken of Pülkau (also a brother of our Wyneken), Harms, Pfannkuche, Wolff (brother of our Wolff in Perryville, Mo.), Wend, Roth and Zeidler, Candidate Harms, Burgomaster Neuburg of Stade.

*) The Consistorial Councillor had just received the theological Doctor's diploma from Göttingen.

Since all these dear brethren were old acquaintances and in part intimate, trusted friends of my dear companion, Pastor Wyneken, we saw ourselves the more called upon to speak out the more unreservedly among them. Not always, indeed, did we find ourselves there of entirely the same conviction; hence it came about that on many important points there were very lively discussions. But however unpleasant the first collision sometimes was in this, it nevertheless always showed itself in the end that, notwithstanding many differences hitherto existing in theory, the One love which indissolubly binds all true Christians, the love of the truth, had so intimately united us on both sides that not only no differences caused by the vehemence of the dispute