Old Lutherans were originally German
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
in the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
, notably in the
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...
, who refused to join the
Prussian Union of churches
The Prussian Union of Churches (known under Prussian Union of churches#Status and official names, multiple other names) was a major Protestant Landeskirche, church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of P ...
in the 1830s and 1840s. Prussia's king
Frederick William III
Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...
was determined to unify the Protestant churches, to homogenize their liturgy, organization and even their architecture. In a series of proclamations over several years the ''Church of the Prussian Union'' was formed, bringing together the majority group of Lutherans, the minority of Reformed. The main effect was that the government of Prussia had full control over church affairs, with the king recognized as the leading bishop.
Attempted suppression of the Old Lutherans led many to emigrate to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, resulting in the creation of significant Lutheran
denominations in those countries.
The legacy of Old Lutherans also survives in the
Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (german: Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, abbreviated SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body of Germany. It is a member of the European Lutheran Conference and of the International L ...
in modern Germany.
The Prussian Union
![Friedrich Wilhelm III](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Friedrich_Wilhelm_III.%2C_K%C3%B6nig_von_Preu%C3%9Fen_%28unbekannter_Maler%29.jpg)
In 1799 King
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...
issued a decree for a new common
liturgical Agenda (service book) to be published, for use in both the Lutheran and
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
congregations. To accomplish this, a commission to prepare a common agenda was formed.
After more than 20 years of effort, a common liturgical agenda was finally published in 1821. The agenda was not well received by many Lutherans, as it was seen to compromise in the wording of the
Words of Institution
The Words of Institution (also called the Words of Consecration) are words echoing those of Jesus himself at his Last Supper that, when consecrating bread and wine, Christian Eucharistic liturgies include in a narrative of that event. Eucharistic ...
, to the point where the
Real Presence
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way.
There are a number of Christian denominati ...
of
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
in the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
was not proclaimed.
The
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
congregations were directed in 1822 to use only the newly formulated agenda for worship. This met with strong objections and non-compliance from Lutheran pastors around Prussia.
The liturgical agenda was subsequently modified to appease many of the objections of the dissenting Lutherans, and in 1830 Frederick William ordered all Protestant congregations in Prussia to celebrate the
Lord's Supper
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
using the new agenda.
Rather than having the unifying effect that Frederick William desired, the decree created a great deal of dissent among Lutheran congregations.
In a compromise with dissenters, who had now earned the name "Old Lutherans", in 1834 Frederick William issued a decree which stated that Union would only be in the areas of governance and liturgy, but the respective congregations could retain their confessional identities. In addition to this, dissenters were forbidden from organizing
sectarian
Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...
groups.
In defiance of this decree, a number of Lutheran pastors and congregations continued to use the old liturgical agenda and
sacramental rites of the Lutheran church.
Becoming aware of this defiance, officials sought out those who acted against the decree. Pastors who were caught were suspended from their ministry. If suspended pastors were caught acting in a pastoral role, they were imprisoned.
Among the leaders of the Old Lutherans was
Johann Gottfried Scheibel
Johann Gottfried Scheibel (16 September 1783 – 21 March 1843) was a German theologian and a leader of the Old Lutherans.
Education and Ministry
Johann Scheibel was born in Breslau, Silesia, and studied at the University of Halle from 180 ...
(1783-1843). Scheibel was a professor of
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
in
Breslau from 1818 until 1830 when he was suspended from his post for his dissenting views.
Scheibel came to prominence as a leader of the Old Lutherans in the dissent against the Prussian Union. He spoke, preached and wrote against the Union, which consequently resulted in suspension from his post as theological professor.
Undaunted, Scheibel continued in his dissent as he moved to new cities. He was at
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
in 1832 where he was ordered to leave that same year. He moved to
Hermsdorf, where likewise he was asked to leave in 1836, then on to
Glauchau
Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...
and
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
.
He died at Nuremberg about the time that he was being restored to his post as professor at Breslau.
[
]
After Scheibel, Eduard Huschke
Georg Philipp Eduard Huschke (26 June 18017 February 1886) was a German jurist and authority on church government.
He was born at Hannoversch Münden, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 1817 Huschke went to Göttingen to study law. He was enco ...
became the leader of Old Lutherans. Other famous Old Lutherans included Henrik Steffens
Henrik Steffens (2 May 1773 – 13 February 1845), was a Norwegian philosopher, scientist, and poet.
Early life, education, and lectures
He was born at Stavanger. At the age of fourteen he went with his parents to Copenhagen, where he studied ...
, H. E. F. Guericke, Kahnis and Rudolf Rocholl.
Union also caused a confessional Lutheran
Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the ''Book of Concord'' of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfulne ...
counter-reaction called Neo-Lutheranism
Neo-Lutheranism was a 19th-century revival movement within Lutheranism which began with the Pietist-driven '' Erweckung,'' or ''Awakening'', and developed in reaction against theological rationalism and pietism. This movement followed the Old L ...
.
Upon Frederick William's death in 1840, persecution of the Old Lutherans eased substantially. However, Old Lutherans continued to find themselves marginalized, especially the clergy who did not have many of the same rights and support accorded to clergy of the Union church.
Old Lutherans formed several synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
s (e.g. in 1841 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Prussia, seated in Breslau, officially recognised on 23 July 1845), which through various mergers eventually resulted in the present-day Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church
The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (german: Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, abbreviated SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body of Germany. It is a member of the European Lutheran Conference and of the International ...
(SELK).
Immigration to Australia, New Zealand and America
By 1835 many dissenting Old Lutheran groups were looking to emigration as a means to finding religious freedom. Some groups emigrated to Australia and the United States in the years leading up to 1841.
Australian and New Zealand migration
The first Lutherans to come to Australia in any significant number were immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in South Australia in 1838 with Pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
August Kavel
August Ludwig Christian Kavel (3 September 1798 – 12 February 1860) was a founder of Lutheranism in Australia.
Training and early ministry
Kavel was born in Berlin, where he attended the '' Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster'' school and went on to ...
. These immigrants created three settlements at Klemzig, Hahndorf
Hahndorf is a small town in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. Currently an important tourism spot, it has previously been a centre for farming and services.
Geography
It is accessible from Adelaide, the South Australian capital, ...
, and Glen Osmond
Glen Osmond is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Burnside which is in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. It is well known for the road intersection on the western side of the suburb, where the South Eastern Freeway (National ...
. In 1841, a second wave of Prussian immigrants arrived, led by Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche
Gotthard Daniel Fritzsche (20 July 1797 – 26 October 1863)The gravestone has birthdate as 20 June 1797, not July ("''Geboren'' 20. Juni 1797"). was a Prussian-Australian pastor who became instrumental in furthering that religion in South Aust ...
. His group settled in Lobethal
Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It was once the centr ...
and Bethanien.[Martin O. Westerhaus, "The Confessional Lutheran Emigrations From Prussia And Saxony Around 1839", 1989](_blank)
/ref>
The Lutherans in South Australia established the Killalpaninna Mission (Bethesda) Station at Cooper's Creek. Johann Flierl
Johann Flierl (16 April 1858 – 30 September 1947) was a pioneer Lutheran missionary in New Guinea. He established mission schools and organised the construction of roads and communication between otherwise remote interior locations. Under his l ...
, the pioneer missionary of German New Guinea
German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...
, served there for seven years (1878-1885). When he left for Kaiser-Wilhelmsland in 1885, his cousin, also named Johann Flierl, replaced him at the mission.
There have been five waves of migration into the Lutheran Church in New Zealand:
*In the 1840s people came from Germany.
*In the 1860s a second wave of migrants from Germany settled in Marton in the Rangitikei. Some had first settled in Australia.
*In the 1870s significant numbers arrived from Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia.
*In the years after World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
many came from Europe.
*In the early part of the 21st century there has been an influx of people from Africa, Asia and other parts of the world.
Lutheran missionaries first arrived in New Zealand in 1843, just three years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...
.
The first Lutheran Missionaries arrived in Otago in January 1843. They found that the Wesleyan
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
and Anglican Mission Societies were already well established in New Zealand. They therefore took up the suggestion that they move to the Chatham Islands where they arrived on 20 February of that year. As someone said, they had "...faith in their souls and next to nothing in their pockets."
In June of the same year, 1843, a shipload of German migrants arrived in Nelson. They settled in what is now Upper Moutere and built a church. There is still a thriving Lutheran congregation worshipping on this site.
In the 1860s a number of German people arrived in the Rangitikei. They convinced others from German speaking communities in South Australia to join them. Most initially settled along Pukepapa Road in Marton, which is still the location of the St Martin's Lutheran Church.
In the 1870s other Lutheran migrants arrived in New Zealand including large numbers from Scandinavia who settled in the Wairarapa, Manawatu and Hawkes Bay regions. Norsewood and Dannevirke owe their origins to these settlers.
North American migrations
Numerous waves of Old Lutherans immigrated to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
as well during this time period. Among them was a group from Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
of about 1000 Old Lutherans. They were from Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
and the surrounding area, led by J. A. A. Grabau. They emigrated to the United States in summer 1839. Grabau and his friends founded the "Synod of Lutherans immigrated from Prussia", afterward known as the Buffalo Synod."Lutherans", ''The New Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia'', 1909, p. 89
/ref>
Thousands of other Old Lutherans settled in the Midwest and Upper Midwest of the United States during this period. In addition to Old Lutherans there were also Neo-Lutheran
Neo-Lutheranism was a 19th-century revival movement within Lutheranism which began with the Pietist-driven '' Erweckung,'' or ''Awakening'', and developed in reaction against theological rationalism and pietism. This movement followed the Old Lu ...
immigrants from the German Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...
, where there was no evangelical union. Lutheran pastor Martin Stephan
Martin Stephan (1777–1846) was pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Dresden, Germany during the early 19th century. He organized the Saxon Lutheran Immigration 1838-1839, Saxon emigration to the United States in the early 19th century.
Biogr ...
and nearly 1100 other Saxon Lutherans left for the United States in November 1838, eventually settling in and around St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
in the Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39
The Saxon Lutheran immigration of 1838–39 was a migration of Confessional German Lutherans seeking religious freedom in the United States in the early 19th century. The migrants were among the original founders of the Lutheran Church–Missouri ...
. These were the predecessors to the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
.
See also
* German Australian
German Australians (german: link=no, Deutsch-Australier) are Australians with German ancestry. German Australians constitute one of the largest ancestry groups in Australia, and German is the fifth most identified European ancestry in Australia ...
* Klemzig, South Australia
Klemzig is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It was the first settlement of German immigrants in Australia and was named after the village of Klemzig in what was then German Prussia and is now Klępsk in western Poland ...
, a major colony
* Kulturkampf
(, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...
* Persecution of Christians
The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of b ...
* Wends of Texas
The Texas Wends or Wends of Texas are a group of people descended from a congregation of approximately 558 Sorbian/ Wendish people under the leadership and pastoral care of John Kilian ( wen, Jan Kilian, german: Johann Killian) who emigrated fr ...
References
Further reading
* Clark, Christopher. "Confessional policy and the limits of state action: Frederick William III and the Prussian Church Union 1817–40." ''Historical Journal'' 39.04 (1996) pp: 985–1004
in JSTOR
* Gerber, David A. "The pathos of exile: Old Lutheran refugees in the United States and South Australia." ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 26.03 (1984) pp: 498–522
online
* Henke, Manfred. "Toleration and Repression: German States, the Law and the ‘Sects’ in the Long Nineteenth Century." ''Studies in Church History'' 56 (2020): 338-361.
* Iwan, William, ''Because of their beliefs: emigration from Prussia to Australia'' niform title: Um des Glaubens willen nach Australien (Engl.), 1931 David Schubert (trl. and ed.), Highgate, South Australia: H. Schubert, 1995. .
* Meyer, Charles. "'What a terrible thing it is to entrust one's children to such heathen teachers': State and Church Relations Illustrated in the Early Lutheran Schools of Victoria, Australia." ''History of Education Quarterly'' 40.3 (2000): 302-319
online
* Smith, Clifford Neal. ''Nineteenth-century Emigration of" Old Lutherans" from Eastern Germany (mainly Pomerania and Lower Silesia) to Australia, Canada, and the United States'' (Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009)
* Van Abbe, Derek. "The Germans in South Australia." ''Australian Quarterly'' (1956): 69–79
in JSTOR
External links
Germany, Lutheran Free Churches in
from Christian Cyclopedia
''Christian Cyclopedia'' (originally ''Lutheran Cyclopedia'') is a one-volume compendium of theological data, ranging from ancient figures to contemporary events. It is published by Concordia Publishing House as an update to the Concordia Cycloped ...
Lutherans. II Separate Lutherans. 1. In Prussia
from Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
{{Lutheran History
History of Lutheranism in Germany
Christianity in Prussia
History of Silesia
Christian denominations founded in Germany
19th-century Lutheranism