CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY 1811-1887 SESQUICENTENNIAL NUMBER iVOL. XXXII October 1961 No.IO Walther and the Lutheran Symbols By ARTHUR CARL PIEPKORN ot the least precious part of the heri­ products of the confessional movement, or N tage that Carl Ferdinand William they with him, but in spite of their very Walther bequeathed to The Lutheran real and often hotly debated differences the Church - Missouri Synod is the latter's broader and fundamental areas of agree­ unqualified formal commitment to the Lu­ ment can be neither denied nor neglected. theran Symbols.1 Church historians trace the confessional To appreciate and understand this as­ revival with justice back to the work of pect of his contribution to subsequent gen­ Claus Harms (1778-1855), provost and erations of Lutherans in the church body high consistorial counselor at Kiel, best that he organized, we need to see him known for his Ninety-Five Theses of 1817, against the background of the European in which he called for a return to the primi­ and American Lutheran community of his tive Lutheranism of the 16th century.2 own day. It does no disservice to him to Among the other names associated with point out that he was not the wholly unique this revival is that of John Godfrey Schei­ figure that a jealous filial piety has some­ bel (1783-1843) of Breslau, deposed in times felt itself compelled to depict. On 1832 from his offices as professor and the contrary, he was in his theological preacher because he refused to celebrate or origins and development part of a wide­ receive the Sacrament of the Altar accord­ spread confessional movement that affected ing to the Union service book of the King the whole Lutheran Church in the 19th of Prussia.3 Another is the name of the century and that is not unrelated to more Konigsberg Generalsuperintendent Ernest or less simultaneous parallel phenomena in other Western Christian communions. 2 Holsten Fagerberg, Bekenntnis, Kirche und Amt in der deutschen konfessionellen Theologie This does not imply that Walther was in des 19. Jahrhunderts (Uppsala: Almqvist och full accord with other protagonists and Wiksells Boktryckeri, 1952), pp. 5, 6; William F. Arndt, "Some Notes on Claus Harms," CON­ 1 Constitution of The Lutheran Church­ CORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY, XXVI (July Missouri Synod, Article II, 2; Articles of Incor­ 1955), 540-542. In 1955 Peter Meinhold poration of The Lutheran Church - Missouri edited an excellent two-volume selection of Synod, Article II, a; "The Order for the Ordina­ Harms' works. tion of a Minister," "The Order for the Instal­ 3 Georg Froboss, Drei Lutheraner an der lation of a Professor," and "The Order for the Universitat Breslau: Die Professoren Scheibel, Ordination and Commissioning of a Missionary," Steffens, Huschke (Breslau: Gerhard Kauffmann, in The Lutheran Agenda (St. Louis: Concordia 1911), pp. 7-34. See also Martin Kiunke's Publishing House [1941J), pp. 106, 107, 123, work of two decades ago, Johann Gottfried 124, 127, 128; "A Brief Statement of the Doc­ Scheibel und sein Ringen um die Kirche der trinal Position of the Evangelical Lutheran lutherischen Reformation. Scheibel and Martin Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States," Stephan, the first leader of the Saxon emigra­ concluding section, "Of the Symbols of the Lu­ tion, were briefly but not congenially associated theran Church," in Doctrinal Declarations in Dresden; see Walter O. Forster, Zion on the (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1957), Mississippi (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing p. 57, pars. 260-264. House, 1953), p. 65. 606 WALTHER AND THE LUTHERAN SYMBOLS 607 William Christian Sartorius (1797- These are not the only ones. In the same 1859), the "St. John of the Lutheran tradition is William Frederick Hofiing Church," who wrote a memorable tract on (1802-53), professor at Erlangen and the necessity and obligatory character of high consistorial counselor at Munich, the denominational confessions of faith.4 Still amiable and charitable defender of the Lu­ others are the Danish-born Superintendent theran position against Roman Catholi­ of Glauchau in Saxony, Andrew Gottlob cism, the Reformed Church, and the Prus­ Rudelbach (1792-1862), later provost in sian Union.7 So is Godfrey Thomasius Copenhagen,5 regarded by his contempor­ (1802-75), the Erlangen professor who aries as the most learned theologian of his played so prominent a role in leading the age next to Ferdinand Christian Baur; and Lutheran Church of Bavaria back to a con­ Henry Ernest Ferdinand Guericke (1803- fessional position and who defended the 1878), deposed from his Halle professor­ thesis that "in what is properly called Lu­ ship in 1838 for his opposition to the Prus­ theran we possess that which is truly Catho­ sian Union and with Rudelbach the foun­ lic and which forms the true mean between der in 1840 of the Leipzig Zeitschrift fur the confessional extremes" of Roman Ca­ die gesammte lutherische Theologie und tholicism and the Reformed tradition.s The Kirche. 6 roster must also include August Frederick Christian Vilmar ( 1800-68), Superin­ 4 Ernst Wilhelm Christian Sartorius, Obet" tendent at Kassel and professor at Marburg, die Nothwendigkeit und Verbindlichkeit der leader of the confessional revival in Hesse;9 kirchlichen Glaubensbekenntnisse (Stuttgart: S. G. Liesching, 1845; 2d ed. by Adolph von Otto Karsten Krabbe (1805-73) of Ro­ Harless [Gotha: Gustav Schloessmann}, 1873), stock; Gottlieb Christopher Adolph von translated into English by Joseph A. Seiss (1823-1904) and published as "The Necessity Harless ( 1806-79), distinguished alike and Obligation of Confessions of Faith," in as a theologian, preacher, and administra- Evangelical Review, IV, No. xiii (July 1852), pp.1-34. 7 Wilhelm Friedrich Hofling, De symbo­ 5 Andreas Gottlob Rudelbach, Reformation, lorum natura, necessitate, auctoritate atque usu Luthet'tum und Union: Eine historisch-dogma­ (Erlangen: Theodorus Blasing, 1835; 2d ed., tische Apologie der lutherischen Kirche und 1841) and Gmndsatze evangelisch-ltrtherischer ihres Lehrbegriffs (Leipzig: Bernhard Tauch­ Kirchenverfassung, 2d ed. (Erlangen: Theodore nitz, Jun., 1839) and Historisch-kritische Bin­ Bliising, 1851; 1st ed., 1850; 3d ed., 1853). leitung in die Augsburgische Confession nebst See Fagerberg, pp. 80, 105, 106, 225-239, emeuerter Untersuchung der Verbindlichkeit der 273-285. Symbole und det' Verpfiichtung auf dieselben 8 Gottfried Thomasius, Das Bekenntnis der (Dresden: Justus Naumann, 1841). The former lutherischen Kirche in det' Kansequenz seines work was dedicated to Nicolai Frederik Severin Prinzips (Nuremberg: August Recknagel, 1848). Grundrvig (1783-1875). See also C. R. Kaiser, See Fagerberg, pp. 80, 81. Andreas Gottlob Rudelbach: Bin Zeuge der Lu­ 9 See Edward Frederick Peters, The Sacra­ therischen Kirche im 19. Jahrhundert (Leipzig: ments and Sacramental Actions in the Works Justus Naumann, 1892), especially ch. 6. of August Friedrich Christian Vilmar (St. Louis: 6 Not to be confused with the periodical Concordia Seminary School for Graduate Studies, founded by Gottlieb Christopher Adolph von unpublished S. T. M. dissertation, 1958); Wil­ Harless and others in 1838 at Erlangen, the helm Maurer, Aufklamng, idealismus und Zeitschrijt fiir Protestantismus und Kirche, Restauration (Giessen: A. Tiipelmann, 1930), which became one of the most significant Lu­ II; Friedrich Wilhelm Hopf, AugftSt Vilmar: theran journals of the period (Fagerberg, pp. Ein Lebens- und Zeitbild (Marburg: N. G. EI­ 79-82). wert, 1913), 2 vols.; Fagerberg, pp. 95-97. 608 WALTHER AND THE LUTHERAN SYMBOLS tor; John Conrad William Lohe (1808- plain teachings of the Holy Scriptures and 1872) of Neuendettelsau; 10 Frederick our Symbolical Books_" 13 From its found­ Adolf Philippi (1809-82), convert from ing in 1773 down to 1794 the New York Judaism and professor at Dorpat and Ro­ Ministerium had required that "in doctrine stock; the liturgiologist Theodore Kliefoth and life every minister conform to the (1810-95) of Mecklenburg; 11 Carl Paul Word of God and our Symbolical Books." Caspari (1814-92) of Oslo, Norway; the Even after the elimination of a symbol­ Luther scholar Theodosius Harnack (1817 ical pledge from its constitution it required to 1889), professor at Erlangen and Dor­ candidates for membership to declare that pat; August William Dieckhoff (1823- they would remain in the body only as 1896) of Rostock; and Gerhard von Zez­ long as their colleagues found their "conduct schwitz (1825-86) and Francis Herman and teaching in harmony with the 'v'Vord Reinhold von Frank (1827-94) of Erlan­ of God and the Symbolical Books of our gen. This list could be considerably ex­ Church." 14 While confessionalism went tended. The era was, in William Sihler's into eclipse in many parts of the Lutheran words, "a period of spiritual springtime." 12 Church in the United States under the in­ In the United States the first constitu­ fluence of leaders like Frederick Henry tion of the Pennsylvania Ministerium Ql1itm:1.n (1760-1832), the eclipse was (1778) had required every minister to never total, and a general return to con­ profess "that he holds the Word of God fessionalism gradually set in at midcentury; and our Symbolical Books" and provided a great domestic impetus came from indi­ that a minister was to be disciplined if he viduals like William Julius Mann (1819 taught "positive errors opposed to the to 1892), whose Plea for the Augsburg C01zfession was published in 1856, and 10 Lohe's collected works have been in Charles Porterfield Krauth (1823-83), process of publication since 1951 under the one of the prime movers behind the crea­ editorship of Klaus Ganzert (Neuendettelsau: Freimund-Verlag). See Johann Deinzer, ed., tion of the General Council in 1866. Wilhelm Lohes Leben aus seinem schriftlichen Concrete evidence of this widespread Nachlass zusammengestellt (Nuremberg: Gott­ fried Lohe, 1873-77; Gutersloh: C. Bertels­ and growing interest in the Lutheran Sym­ mann, 1892), 3 vols., and Siegfried Hebart, bols is provided by the number of new Wilhelm Lohes Leh1"e von det' Kirche, ihrem editions of the Book of C o1Zcord.