LUTHERANS. 



LYNCH, PATRICK W. 



491 



The report of the Committee on Home Mis- 

 sions related what had been accomplished in 

 the missions in Germany, Canada, Michigan, 

 Texas, and in the State of New York, and 

 stated that nine laborers had been sent to six- 

 teen different fields during the past year, and 

 sixteen young men were securing aid in prep- 

 aration for mission work. Stress was laid, in 

 the discussion of the subject, on the division 

 of the missions in the United States between 

 the German and Scandinavian immigrants, and 

 on the importance of using the English lan- 

 guage as the language of the country. The 

 council approved a plan for the home-mission 

 work which contemplated the appointment of 

 three committees, one for the English, one for 

 the German, and one for the Swedish languages, 

 to be equally responsible to the General Coun- 

 cil and to have co-ordinate powers ; constituted 

 the (Swedish) Augustana Synod's Central 

 Committee on Missions, the Swedish Commit- 

 tee of the General Council, and provided that 

 the English and German committees should 

 consist of twelve persons each, ten of whom 

 should be elected by the General Council and 

 two by the committee. The object of the 

 committees was declared to be to plant and sus- 

 tain Lutheran churches, but it was forbidden 

 to establish or have control of missions within 

 the territory of a synod in regular connection 

 with the General Council, except in co-opera- 

 tion with and through the agency of the Exec- 

 utive Committee of Missions of such synod, or 

 with its consent. A report on the sources of 

 supply of men for German mission work showed 

 that most of the missionaries had received their 

 preparation for the ministry at German institu- 

 tions. Of these students, sixteen still remained 

 here under the care of the committee in prep- 

 aration for the ministry. The Rev. Mr. Paul- 

 son's Institution, in Kropp, Schleswig, was 

 recommended as a suitable institution, it being 

 in doctrinal position and in its aim most in ac- 

 cordance with the wants of the General Synod 

 to look to for students. The committee was, 

 however, authorized to select suitable men at 

 its discretion for immediate employment. The 

 committee was further instructed to consider 

 whether it is necessary to establish any addi- 

 tional institution or department in any existing 

 institution in the United States to meet the 

 special wants of the Church. A special com- 

 mittee was appointed to open correspondence 

 with the committee appointed by the General 

 Lutheran Conference in Germany for the pur- 

 pose of securing the transfer of the emigrants 

 who are members of Lutheran churches into 

 regular connection with the churches in Amer- 

 ica. A committee to secure sites for churches 

 and schools along the line of the Northern Pa- 

 cific Railroad was continued. 



The East Tennessee Synod, an independent 

 body, has been reorganized on a basis which 

 declares that the congregation alone has the 

 right to call or depose pastors ; refuses fellow- 

 ship with " the sects " ; prohibits membership 



in oath-bound secret societies ; and holds that 

 the Lutheran Church only teaches the pure 

 Word of God. 



LYNCH, PATRICK WILSON, born March 10, 

 1817, atCheraw, S. C. ; died February 26, 1882, 

 at Charleston, S. 0. Bishop Lynch studied 

 theology first at the Catholic Seminary at 

 Charleston, acquiring at the same time a 

 knowledge of the classics, science, and mathe- 

 matics. Subsequently he went to Rome and 

 diligently pursued his education in the historic 

 college of the Propaganda, having access also 

 to the library of the Vatican. In 1840 he was 

 ordained priest, and zealously devoted his time 

 and talents to the advancement of Catholicism 

 in Charleston. Soon he became Professor of 

 Theology and rector of the seminary of that 

 city, his great scholarship and ecclesiastical at- 

 tainments enabling him to fill the position with 

 distinguished ability. In 1850 he was made 

 Vicar-General of the diocese, much to the de- 

 light of his people, whose love and confidence 

 he had won. Eight years after, he was con- 

 secrated Bishop of Charleston. Immediately 

 after his consecration, he began the work of 

 acquiring funds for building a cathedral : his 

 plan of procedure was so perfect, and he in- 

 spired such enthusiasm in behalf of his work, 

 that in a very short time he collected a suffi- 

 cient sum to begin the building, which in time 

 was finished, and valued as one of the most 

 ornamental buildings of Charleston. His labors 

 for his church did not end with the completion 

 of the cathedral ; he founded an Ursuline Con- 

 vent, an orphan asylum, and several schools. 

 In the late war some of these buildings were 

 destroyed, among them the beautiful cathedral. 

 The Bishop identified himself very conspicu- 

 ously with the cause of the Confederacy ; he 

 made a special visit to Rome to try and induce 

 the Pope to recognize the Southern States, and 

 worked unceasingly with his associates in that 

 direction. Pardoned by the President at the 

 end of the war, he returned to Charleston and 

 began his work with renewed energy. The 

 best years of his life were devoted to the ardu- 

 ous task of liquidating an enormous debt con- 

 tracted by the diocese before he was made 

 bishop ; his efforts were so successful that at 

 the time of his death only a small sum com- 

 paratively remained of the indebtedness. Only 

 the people of his diocese know the hardships 

 and distresses through which he passed during 

 the accomplishment of this work. 



For the same object, he delivered a lecture, 

 in 1870, in New York city, on the " Vatican 

 Council," and again in 1873 on "Bismarck and 

 the Church." His fame as a learned and ac- 

 complished orator had preceded him, and vast 

 audiences crowded to hear him. These were 

 only two of the many lectures he delivered for 

 the same object, not alone in New York but 

 in most of the large cities of the United States. 

 As a controversialist Bishop Lynch was emi- 

 nent, as he proved on numerous occasions, in his 

 able arguments with opponents of his church. 



