HISTORY.

In the early part of the nineteenth century an effort was made by King Frederick William III of Prussia to unite the Lutheran and Reformed churches. To him it seemed an easy matter to combine "the two slightly divergent confessions," but with the study of the sources of confessional divergence which naturally followed, and particularly in the attempt to furnish a uniform liturgy for both bodies, old convictions were intensified, and lines of demarcation which had been gradually fading out of sight were revived. Many of the Lutherans refused absolutely to recognize the union, formed separate congregations, and carried on an active controversy against what they believed to be a gross form of ecclesiastical tyranny.

During the following 20 years the situation grew more strained, and as Lutheran immigration to the United States began, several of these communities removed to this country. The first company, under the leadership of the Rev. F. C. D. Wyneken, landed in Baltimore in 1838, and settled in Fort Wayne, Ind. A second, under the leadership of the Rev. Martin Stephan, of Dresden, landed at New Orleans in 1839, and soon after established themselves in Missouri. A third, under the leadership of the Rev. J. A. A. Grabau, of Erfurt, settled at or near Buffalo, N. Y., in 1839.

One of the six clergymen who came over with the Missouri colony, the Rev. C. F. W. Walther, proved as effective a leader in the West as Muhlenberg had earlier proved in the East. Among the important questions that came up before the community were: Did the colonists constitute Christian congregations, with authority to call ministers; what was the relation of the clergy to the church, and did the ultimate authority rest with the ordained clergy or with the congregations; what was the relation of acceptance of the confessions to the personal piety and church standing of the individual? Walther held firmly to

the rights of the congregation, both in the ordination. of its clergy and in its authority over them. On account of the strong pietistic influences of his early life, he emphasized also the necessity of absolute accord to the confessions of the Lutheran Church. To meet the peculiar needs of the situation, one of his first steps was the establishment of Concordia Seminary in a log house at Altenburg, Mo., its teachers receiving as compensation only their board, and working with the people for the enlargement of the church. In 1844 he began to publish a religious periodical, the Lutheraner, which became the exponent of the stricter interpretation of Lutheran doctrine and ritual.

Meanwhile the Fort Wayne community had grown, and Wyneken, on a trip to Europe for his health, had secured the cordial interest and support of Pastor Löhe, of Neuendettelsau. On returning to America. he became acquainted with the Lutheraner, and the two communities entered into hearty mutual relations. Other congregations also manifested their sympathy, and in 1847, 12 congregations, 22 ministers, and 2 candidates for the ministry united in forming the "German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States." Under the constitution adopted, only those ministers whose congregations had entered into membership with the synod, and the lay delegates representing those congregations, were entitled to suffrage. All the symbolical books were regarded as "the pure and uncorrupted explanation and statement of the Divine Word." All mingling of churches and faiths was disapproved. Purely Lutheran books were to be used in churches and schools. A permanent, not a temporary or licensed, ministry was affirmed, and at the same time freedom of the individual church was recognized, the synod having no authority over it.

Soon, however, there grew up conflicts with other Lutheran bodies. The Buffalo Synod, which had been organized in 1845, had developed what seemed to the Missourians a very strong ecclesiasticism, emphasizing

Articles, and the Larger and Smaller Luther Catechisms. This unwavering confessionalism is the most treasured possession of the Conference, and to its faithful adherence to this policy it attributes its remarkable growth.

sion resulted in the formation of the independent

Iowa Synod.

Under the leadership of Walther the Missouri doctrine gained acceptance, and as one synod after another was formed on the same general basis, it seemed advantageous to effect some form of union. At the time of the organization of the General Council in 1866, several of these synods were invited to participate, but those who held the stricter doctrine could not accept the position taken by the new body. The next few years emphasized anew the advantage of union, and in 1872, in Milwaukee, Wis., the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of America was formed. Representatives of the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, the Synod of Ohio, the Synod of Wisconsin, the Synod of Minnesota, the Synod of Illinois, and the Norwegian Synod were present and effected the organization. The Synod of Illinois was later absorbed by the Missouri Synod; the Synod of Ohio and the Norwegian Synod withdrew in 1881, because of doctrinal differences; but other synods were added, so that at present the Synodical Conference comprises the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States-by far the largest and strongest of the conference-the synods of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska; and a new organization, the Slovak Synod of Pennsylvania, which has been recently admitted. Each one of these synods conducts its own synodical and church work independently of the others. Their basis of union is not so much a matter of a common ecclesias

tical organization as of a common church life, and particularly of doctrinal purity.

DOCTRINE.

In doctrine the Conference recognizes but one standard, to which there must be absolute accord, namely, the Holy Scriptures as interpreted by the Formula of Concord of 1580, including a text and commentary upon the three ecumenical creeds-the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian-and upon the five Lutheran Confessions-the Augsburg Confession, the

POLITY.

In polity the Synodical Conference is pronouncedly congregational, the central representative body not being intended primarily for purposes of government. Thus it happens that a few congregations, though fully acknowledged as members of the ecclesiastical denomination, are not members of the Conference, which concerns itself distinctively with the establishment and maintenance of colleges, normal schools, and charitable institutions and with the administration of missions. Its foremost duty is, however, the preservation of the Word of God in its purity.

In the Synodical Conference, the German language is used predominantly, although many congregations have services in English; and during the last decades, many English congregations and missions have been organized. It has always taken an antagonistic stand against the State Church of Germany.

WORK.

In general, the missionary work of the Synodical Conference is conducted by boards elected by the various synods composing the Conference. There is a Negro Mission, doing successful work in the Southern states, under the joint control of the various boards. In 1916 it had 37 organized congregations and 19 mission stations; 61 pastors and assistants; 34 Sunday schools, with 2,254 scholars; 2 colleges; and 31 parochial schools, with 2,493 scholars; and the amount expended for this work was $48,317.

The Missouri Synod carries on home mission work in the 23 districts composing the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. In 1916 it had 657 pastors and assistants engaged in this work in 1,733 mission stations, at an expense of $31,834. In addition, it maintains missions among the Esthonians, Finns, Letts, Poles, Lithuanians, and Italians, at a cost during the year 1916 of $7,413. Other missionary activities are a mission among the Jews of New York, a deaf and dumb mission, missions among the Indians in Wisconsin, and immigrant missions at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, and Galveston.

The synods of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska carry on home mission work in the states under their jurisdiction, and a mission among the Indians of Arizona.

A summary of the home mission work of the Synodical Conference as reported for 1916 shows 657 missionaries, 1,733 churches and missions cared for, and contributions to the amount of $87,564; for educational work, contributions amounting to $340,000; and for philanthropic work, $684,130.

The foreign missionary work is carried on by the Missouri Synod, mainly in India, and in Brazil and the Argentine Republic, South America. The report for 1916 shows, for these countries, a total of 123 stations and 50 preaching places; 18 missionaries and 50 native helpers; 50 schools, with 1,800 pupils; 1,378 baptized Christians; and contributions to the amount of $21,278. The synod has also a number of missions in China and Cuba, 1 in London, England, and 1 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It contributes also, annually, about $6,000 toward the support of the work of the Saxon Free Church in Germany, and also to the work of the Evangelical Synod of Australia, in New Zealand.

The educational interests of the Synodical Conference are represented by 23 schools. Of these, 2 theological seminaries, 10 colleges, 4 high schools, 2 teachers' seminaries, and 1 deaf-mute institute are under the control of the Missouri Synod, and 1 theological seminary, 1 college, 1 high school, and 1 women's seminary, belong to the synods of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska. The total number of students and pupils reported for these schools in 1916 was 3,110. In addition, there are a large number of parochial schools which are conducted directly by the congregations. The value of property devoted to educational purposes, not including the parochial schools, is estimated at $2,701,000.

The charitable institutions of the Conference include 15 hospitals, 13 orphanages, and 8 homes for the aged. There are also 11 children's Home-Finding Societies, and in 6 cities-Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Milwaukee, and New York-hospices are conducted by a young people's organization, called the Walther League. The report for 1916 shows a total of 12,048 patients treated in the hospitals and 1,518 inmates in the orphanages and homes for the aged; the value of their property was $1,923,926, with an endowment of about $60,000.

The Synodical Conference has 2 large publishing concerns, the Concordia Publishing House, at St. Louis, Mo., and the Northwestern Publishing House, at Milwaukee, Wis. There are 2 official publications. In addition, 10 papers and magazines are published by the Missouri Synod, and 5 by the synods of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska. There

1 Figures for 1906 include the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Synod of America, united since 1906 with this denomination.

From this table it appears that the denomination reported a considerable increase in every respect, The number of organizations reported in 1916 was 3,621 as against 3,360 in 1906, an increase of 7.8 per cent. The membership, including members reported by preaching stations which were not listed as separate organizations, rose from 660,670 to 777,701, or 17.7 per cent. The number of church edifices increased by 402, or 13.9 per cent; and the number of organizations reporting parsonages by 397, or 21.8 per cent. The value of church property advanced from $19,135,707 in 1906, to $25,973,538 in 1916, a gain of 35.7 per cent. Debt on church property, as reported by 1,078 organizations in 1916, amounted to $3,261,637 as against $2,239,441, reported by 865 organizations in 1906. The number of Sunday schools increased by 26, or 1.7 per cent, and the number of scholars increased from 94,594 in 1906 to 110,300 in 1916, a gain of 16.6 per cent. The contributions for missions and benevolences, as reported, advanced from $649,747 in 1906 to $1,138,972 in 1916, or 75.3 per cent, the chief advance in amount being for domestic work, though the larger percentage of increase was for foreign work.