LUTHERANa 



471 



pare a plan for the union of the two synods. 

 The committees met at West Sand Lake, N. Y., 

 October 30th, and adopted a plan for union to 

 be submitted to the ensuing meetings of the 

 two synods for their approval. The name of 

 the Hartwick and Franckean Evangelical Lu- 

 theran Synod of the State of New York was 

 selected as the designation of the new synod. 



The llth Convention of the General Conten- 

 tion of the Evangelical Lutheran Church was 

 held at Philadelphia, Pa., beginning October 

 10th. The Rev. Charles P. Krauth, D. D., was 

 chosen president. The Treasurer of the For- 

 eign Mission Fund reported that he had a bal- 

 ance in hand of $1,529.73. The committee 

 had sent out $4,000 to India during the past 

 year, a sum which was declared sufficient to 

 meet the deficiency in the previous year's ac- 

 counts, and the current expenses of the year. 

 The sum of $1,000 would be sent in advance 

 to meet the current expenses of the first quar- 

 ter of the next year. The reports of the New 

 York Immigrant Mission and of the Emigrant 

 House Association of New York stated that a 

 debt of $19,000 still rested on the Emigrants' 

 House, the payment of which was very desira- 

 ble, as the saving in interest effected thereby 

 would enable many poor immigrants to con- 

 tinue their journey to the Western States and 

 Territories. The whole amount received from 

 October 1, 1876, to October 1, 1877, was, 

 for the Emigrants' House $4,434.55, and for 

 the Immigrant Mission $691.74. The whole 

 amount paid out amounted to $4,393.19, leav- 

 ing a small balance in the hands of the Treas- 

 urer of the Emigrants' House, while the treas- 

 ury of the Immigrant Mission was exhausted. 

 The Treasurer of the Board of Home Missions 

 reported that the Board was in debt to the 

 amount of $1,425.16. The consideration of the 

 proposed constitution for congregations was 

 taken up from the point at which the action 

 of the Council of 1876 ended. The first sec- 

 tion of article 5 was adopted, as follows : 



The deacons are primarily the executive aid of the 

 pastors in the work of Christ for and in the congre- 

 gation, and may have assigned them any duties in 

 keeping with this object, and with the divine and 

 unchangeable duties and rights of the peoole and of 

 pastors. They must be regular communicants, of 

 good and established repute for personal character, 

 wisdom, and energy. They may elect from their 

 number a treasurer and secretary, and, if needed, 

 assistants to both. 



The sections of the 4th article which had 

 been passed over by the previous General Coun- 

 cil were adopted. They declare that the per- 

 manent and ordinary offices of the congrega- 

 tion shall be the pastorate and the diaconate, 

 and that every pastor shall be or become a 

 member of the synod with which the congre- 

 gation is united. The attention of the Coun- 

 cil was principally given to the discussion of 

 the principles and meaning of the declarations 

 on pulpit and altar fellowships adopted by the 

 Council which met at Galesburg, 111., commonly 

 called "The Galesburg Rule." This declaration 



asserted that the rule on those points was that 

 Lutheran pulpits were for Lutheran ministers 

 and Lutheran altars for Lutheran communi- 

 cants only; that such a rule accorded with the 

 word of God and the confessions of the Church, 

 and that exceptions to it, when they should 

 arise, should be regarded as belonging to the 

 sphere of privilege, and not of right. The 

 Church being divided in opinion as to the scope 

 and meaning of the declaration, the Rev. Dr. 

 Krauth had been requested by the previousGen- 

 eral Council to prepare a series of views upon 

 it, to be laid before the present meeting of the 

 Council. The subject was also brought up in 

 the shape of an appeal of the New York Ministe- 

 rium, supported by the Synod of Michigan and 

 other States, against the practice in regard to 

 the rule within some synods connected with 

 the General Council, " and in particular against 

 the special violation of the rule, which took 

 place in several cases of pulpit fellowship at 

 the last meeting of the Classis of the Reformed 

 Church at Reading, Pa., between members of 

 the venerable Ministerium of Pennsylvania, and 

 members of the Reformed Classis." The Coun- 

 cil was requested to declare, in reference to the 

 specified instance, whether such practice was 

 approved. It adopted, by a vote of 29 to 23, 

 the following reply : 



Jfesolved, That while it is the duty of the Genend 

 Council " to guard the purity of the faith and right 

 administration of the sacraments " (and while it is 

 in accordance with its confessional principles, laid 

 down in the Gale&burg Declaration, to disapprove and 

 repudiate all practices endangering the purity of the 

 Lutheran Church doctrine and life), nevertheless the 

 Council " cannot pass its judgment upon any partic- 

 ular case that may be brought before it unless such 

 case is specifically defined in the appeal and clearly 

 comes within the compass of the Council's constitu- 

 tion, and that, as the appeal from the Ministerium 

 of New York is not so defined, the Council cannot 

 pass its judgment upon it in its present shape." 



The theses submitted by Dr. Krauth in pur- 

 suance of the instructions of the preceding 

 General Council were 105 in number, and gave 

 a minute and complete analysis of " The Gales- 

 burg Rule " and a discussion of all its bearings. 

 The discussion by the Council was opened upon 

 the first thesis, which is as follows: 



In the Galesburg Declaration the word "rule " is 

 not used in the sense of " prescriptive regulation." 

 but in the sense of " general principle" a principle 

 of intrinsic validity and right. The rule is meant to 

 assert, not legislatively what shall be done, but 

 morally what ought to be held as true. It appeals 

 to conscience, not to disciplinarian authority. The 

 whole affirmation, in common with all that preceded 

 it on the same themes, was meant to be educational, 

 not coercive, to prepare the mind of the Church for 

 right action by the nurture of right convictions. 



It was continued during several days' sit- 

 tings, after which the 2d thesis was taken np, 

 and the Council informally laid the subject 

 over till the next year. 



The Synodieal Conference met at Fort Wayne, 

 Ind., July 10th. Sixty-seven delegates were 

 present, representing the synods of Missouri, 



