LUTHERANS. 



489 



to the Confessions of the Evangelican Lutheran 

 Church, namely : the Apostles', the Nicene, and Ath- 

 anasian Creeds, the Augsburg Confession, the Apol- 

 ogy, the Smalcald Articles, the Catechisms of Lu- 

 ther, and Form of Concord, and solemnly promise to 

 perform the duties of his office in conformity with 

 the same, as a pure and correct presentation of the 

 doctrine of Holy Scripture. 



The committee charged with the preparation 

 of an edition of Luther's u Smaller Catechism " 

 reported progress, but stated that their work 

 was not completed. They were directed to go 

 on, and also to prepare an edition of Luther's 

 "German Catechism," with the proof para- 

 graphs given in full, adding to it Luther's 

 " Questions and Answers to those who Pro- 

 pose to receive the Lord's Supper," and to 

 submit it to the next convention. 



The Immigrant Mission at Castle Garden, N". 

 Y., was represented as in excellent condition. 

 The council declined to engage, in its capacity 

 as the General Council, in the establishment 

 or administration of the proposed emigranten- 

 Jiaus in New York, or to assume any responsi- 

 bility as regards its finances, economy, or man- 

 agement, but recommended the object of that 

 institution to the sympathy and support of the 

 people. It advised the Board of Managers of 

 the institution to secure the reversion of its 

 property, in case it should cease to fulfil its ob- 

 ject or to exist, to the General Council ; and 

 requested it to give to the General Council's 

 Committee of Home Missions the power of con- 

 firming the appointment of missionaries in the 

 institution. 



Some questions were asked by the Synod of 

 Iowa concerning the interpretation of the rules 

 of the General Council respecting the ex- 

 change of pulpits and- the admission of mem- 

 bers of other churches to the communion ; to 

 which the General Council returned the fol- 

 lowing answer : 



1. The rule is : Lutheran pulpits are for Lutheran 

 ministers only ; Lutheran altars for Lutheran com- 

 municants only. 



2. The exceptions to the rule belong to the sphere 

 of privilege, not of riglit. 



8. The determination of the exceptions is to be 

 made in consonance with these principles, by the 

 conscientious judgment of pastors, as the cases arise. 



A constitution was adopted for a theological 

 seminary at Chicago, and a Board of Directors 

 and one professor were chosen. Four acres 

 of ground in Chicago have been given to the 

 General Council as a site for this institution. 



A report on home missions was presented, 

 and fully discussed ; and a resolution was 

 adopted, urging the district synods to pay in 

 promptly to the Executive Committee one-fifth 

 of their contributions to the home-mission 

 cause, according to a rule previously agreed 

 upon. 



The receipts for foreign missions, exclusive 

 of the outstanding balance from the previous 

 year, and of moneys paid for the support of 

 schools, were $4,047.11 ; the expenses, to the 

 close of 1872, would be about $2,800. The 

 mission among the Teloogoos, in India, was 



represented as in a prosperous condition. The 

 schools had been actively in operation, and had 

 increased in number. Forty-four inquirers had 

 been baptized, and at the preceding Christmas 

 seventy-four persons had partaken of the 

 Lord's Supper. The Executive Committee was 

 authorized to increase the salaries of the mis- 

 sionaries to $1,000 a year, and to send addi- 

 tional laborers to India. 



The Home Missionary and Church Extension 

 Society had received $9,190.06, for rebuilding 

 the Church of Mercy in Chicago. This society 

 was commended to the churches. 



The General Synod of the South met at 

 Charleston, S. C., May 9th. The Synods of 

 South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, 

 Georgia, and Mississippi, were represented by 

 fifteen clerical and eight lay delegates. The 

 last-named synod (Mississippi) came with an 

 application for admission, which was granted. 

 The removal of the theological seminary from 

 Columbia, S. C., to Salem, Va., was deter- 

 mined upon. The district synods were advised 

 to address themselves more energetically to 

 the work of missions within their boundaries, 

 and to cooperate fully with the General Syn- 

 od's committee on home missions. The fol- 

 lowing declaration was passed unanimously : 



To remove all misapprehension of the motives 

 and animus of this body, we hereby again, as on a 

 former occasion^ disavow any sectional, political, or 

 ecclesiastical animosity in maintaining our existence 

 as a separate and distinctive general organization of 

 our Evangelical Lutheran Church, being moved 

 thereto solely by the firm belief that the glory of 

 God and the prosperity of our Church can be best 

 subserved thereby. We furthermore declare our 

 unanimous conviction that the same pressing wants 

 which prompted its original formation, and the same 

 considerations which rendered its reorganization 

 proper and necessary in 1866, still exist, and most 

 imperatively demand its continuance. 



It was designed as a bond of union between the 

 synods and congregations, which should be em- 

 braced in its organization. As such, it binds us to- 

 gether to-day more firmly than at any former period 

 of our history. Peace and harmony have character- 

 ized our present convention, and will be hence dif- 

 fused throughout our bounds. 



It was designed to nurture and secure unity in 

 " the one true faith." To promote this end, it has 

 placed itself unequivocally upon the (Ecumenical 

 Creeds and the Augsburg Confession " in its native 

 and original sense." As a consequence, the entire 

 Church within its limits has become more fully iden- 

 tified in sympathy and opinion with the doctrines 

 of the Keformation by Luther and his coworkers. 



It was designed to promote uniformity of worship. 

 For this purpose it compiled and published a Book 

 of Worship, which has been introduced among our 

 congregations generally, and is daily growing in fa- 

 vor with the majority of our people, and is used by a 

 steadily-increasing number. And we are persuaded 

 that this book has accomplished an amount of good 

 which no one can fully estimate. 



It was designed also to secure cooperation in the 

 general enterprises of the Church. We, therefore, 

 have kept prominently in view the work of home 

 missions, and the permanent establishment of a 

 theological seminary. And though we have not yet 

 succeeded in accomplishing our purposes in these 

 particulars, and may have adopted some plans 

 therefor which proved to be impracticable, we do 

 not find In that fact any reason for abandoning the 



