Not so auspicious was the outlook at the close of the eighteenth century. On October 7, 1787, the patriarch and founder of the Lutheran Church in America de- parted this life, and the Church was bereft of its great stronghold. There had been slowly growing, ever since the establishment of American independence, a decided preference for the introduction of the English language into the exercises of public worship. The older and more conservative portion of the Church contended for the use of the language which the great reformer had so much embellished and invigorated, and of which he was really the second father. Some of the Germans even believed that their language might actually be made the language of the country, and thus the proposition of the younger and Americanized portion for the use of the English proved an occasion of discord and aliena- tion, "resulted in serious injury to the Chiu-ch, and al- most caused its total ruin. . . . Thousands abandoned their parental communion, and sought a home among other denominations, because their children did not un- derstand the German, while many who remained, be- cause of their limited acquaintance with the language, lost all interest in the services, and became careless in their attendance on the ministrations of the sanctuarj'." Dr. jNIiihlenberg had counselled due consideration of the wants of this yoimg and growing element, and frequent- ly himself preached in English ; but, his tongue once silent, the conservative element impolitically gloried in its wisdom (comp. here Dr. S. S. Schmncker's^4r«. Lvth. Ch. [5th edit. Philad. 18.V2. 1'imo], p. 27-29). The first Lutheran Church in which the English was exclusively used was not built until 1809, and it remained for many 3'ears the only one to represent the English-speaking element in the Lutheran Church. Efforts lor more com- plete and effectual organization were made in New York State in 1785 by the establishment of the New York Synod; hitherto the Pennsylvania Synod was the only ministerhin} (q.v.) in existence. In 180.3 a synod was organized in North Carolina; in 1819, in Ohio; in 1820, both in Maryland and Virginia. In 1816 the educa- tional advantages of the Church also received new strength by the founding of a theological seminary at Havtwick, N, Y. — tho first public training-school of the American Lutherans for young men prospecting the holy office of the ministry. An asylum for oqdians the Lu- theran Church had founded as early as 1749, in the midst of the thriving colonists at Ebenezer, in Georgia. It was widely known as the " Salzburger Waisenhaus," and is said to have received no little encouragement from Whitefield.
1 1. Oi-ganha1ion of the General Si/nod of A mei-ican Tjifherans. — The need of a central bond of union for the different synods extending over a territory so vast as
LUTHERANS IN AMERICA 581 LUTHERANS IN AMERICA
that of the United States gave rise in 1820 to the for- mation of a '• general synod" — " a starting-place and a central radiating point of improvement in the Church." There were at this time 170 ministers connected with the Lutherans, and 35,000 communicants in the Luther- an connection. Of these, 135 preachers and 33,000 com- municants were represented at the meeting which, Oct. 22, 1820, formed the General Synod. The constantly in- creasing intlux of European Lutherans frequently gave rise to the manifestation of the most diverse opinions on ecclesiastical matters, and, in consequence, to many con- troversies, first of a milder, and gradually of a more de- cided character, until a schism became inevitable. Even previous to the outbreak of our civil war there had been frequent secessions of several of the synods from the general body, but the strife of 1861-65 gave a more de- cided influence in favor of the establishment of rival bodies by the side of the " General Synod." The first to establish themselves independently were the Southern Lutherans, who instituted a " Southern General Synod," later known as the " General Synod of North America," and now (1872) embracing 5 synods, 92 ministers, 175 churches, and 13,457 communicants.
A more serious division was, however, preparing, on doctrinal grounds, in the Northern synods. The con- stitution of the General Synod did not make member- ship dependent upon an adhesion to the letter of the '■Augsburg Confession" of 1530, the great standard of faith of the early Lutheran Church. While heartily indorsing the Augsburg Confession as the most impor- tant historical document as regards the doctrines of the Church, the constitution aimed to secure to a'l Luther- ans the liberty of rejecting some utterances of that con- fession which had early been discarded by a considera- ble number of the followers of Luther as unevangeli- cal and semi-papal. This feature was obnoxious to the strict Lutheran party, which wished Lutheranism to re- main for all time to come as defined by the Augsburg Confession of 1530. and which desired to bring back the whole Lutheran Church of the United States to this point,
III. Organization of the "General Cotmcil." — The party differences, after creating frequent disturbances at the meetings of the General Synod, led to an open rup- ture in 18i)4, when the Franckeau Synod, a New York State body, which was regarded by the Confessional Lu- therans as positively unchurchly and heretical, was ad- mitted to the General Synod. In consequence of this act. the oldest synod, that of Pennsylvania, withdrew from the Convention. At the next meeting of the Gen- eral Synod, in 1866, the Pennsylvania Synod was con- sequently declared by the president and a majority of the delegates out of practical connection with the Gen- eral Synod. In reply to this decision, the Pennsylva- nians called on all Lutherans adhering to the letter of the Augsburg Confession of 1530 to organize upon this basis a new and genuine Lutheran Church. The call ivas responded to by a number of synods hitherto con- nected with the General Synod, and also by some inde- pendent synods, and a preliminary convention was held in December, 18G6, at Keading, Pa. This meeting drew up a constitution, and provided for the convention of the first " General Council" of the new organization as soon as the constitution should be adopted by ten syn- ods. The preliminaries having been complied with, the " General Council" met at Fort Wayne Nov. 20, 1867. Twelve synods, representing 140,000 communicants, a larger number than the combined membership of the two other organizations— the " General Synod" and the Southern "General Synod of North America"— togeth- er, were in attendance. A resolution was passed invit- ing those only "who are in the unity of the faith with us, as set forth in the fundamental articles of this Gen- eral Council," as "visiting brethren," making this body distinctively Confessional in the character of its Luther- anism. The last Convention of the " General Council," held at Rochester, New York, in November, 1871, was