Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther (October 25, 1811 – May 7, 1887) was a German-American Lutheran minister. He was the first president of 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 ...

(LCMS) and its most influential theologian. He is commemorated by that church on its Calendar of Saints on May 7. He has been described as a man who gave up his homeland for the freedom to

speak freely Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, to

believe freely Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...

, and to live freely, by emigrating from Germany to the United States.

Life

C. F. W. Walther was born a pastor's son in Langenchursdorf in the Kingdom of Saxony (part of modern-day Germany). Out of a strong religious commitment, he immigrated to the United States in 1838, initially as a follower of

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 ...

. On September 21, 1841, he married Emilie Buenger. They had six children. He started two important publications, and was author of many books and periodical articles. He was also the head pastor of the four Saxon Lutheran congregations (called the ''Gesammtgemeinde'') in St. Louis ( Trinity, Holy Cross, Immanuel, and Zion). In August 1855, Walther turned down an honorary doctorate from the University of Göttingen, but in 1877 he accepted a Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) degree from

Capital University Capital University (Capital, Cap, or CU) is a private university in Bexley, Ohio. Capital was founded as the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio in 1830, and later was associated with that synod's successor, the Ame ...

in Columbus, Ohio. He died in St. Louis on May 7, 1887, and was buried at Concordia Cemetery, where a mausoleum was later built in his honor."C.F.W. (Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm) Walther (1811-1887) Papers, c.1828-1887"
> Accessed March 14, 2013

Early

Ferdinand, as he was called by his family, was first educated by his father. At the age of eight, he attended school in Hohenstein for two years. He then entered ''"Latein Schule"'' ("Latin school", a college preparatory school) in Schneeberg, from which he graduated in September 1829. One month later he enrolled in the University of Leipzig to begin his study of theology and joined his older brother Otto Hermann, who was enrolled in the same university. During his college years in Leipzig he contracted a near-fatal lung disease and had to interrupt his studies for six months. While ill and recuperating, he assiduously read the works of Martin Luther and became convinced that Luther's theology clearly taught the doctrines of Holy Scripture. He also began believing in the importance of a firm confessional position. In 1833, Walther took his first exam at the university. This examination allowed him to accept a position as a private tutor for a family in the town of Kahla. The experience of two years' tutoring qualified him to take his second examination in Leipzig and graduate. On January 15, 1837, he was ordained to the Lutheran clergy and became a pastor in the town of Bräunsdorf in Saxony. As part of his pastoral duties, he taught religion classes in the local school. He soon, however, found himself at odds with the rationalistic government of the Kingdom of Saxony because he believed that it had departed from the faith and practice of historic Lutheranism and promoted false doctrine. The lack of orthodoxy also caused many other conservative Lutherans to oppose the Saxon government's liberal religious policies.

Exodus from Saxony

Walther and several hundred of the other dissenters came together under the leadership of a pastor holding similar views—

from Dresden. In November 1838, under Stephan's direction, 800 Saxon immigrants ("Stephanites") left on five ships for

America 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 ...

in what is known as the Saxon Lutheran Migration, hoping for the

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

to practice their religious beliefs. The settlers arrived in New Orleans on January 5, 1839. The group settled both in

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, ...

, and to the south along the Mississippi River in Perry County, Missouri.

Controversy over "Bishop" Stephan

Soon after the immigrants were settled in the new homeland, their leader and self-proclaimed "bishop of the new settlement", Martin Stephan, was accused of financial and sexual misconduct (charges he had also faced in Saxony) and was expelled from the settlement. His departure left Walther as one of leading clergymen remaining.

The Altenburg Debate

After the fall of Stephan, the group of immigrants was deeply disturbed and unsure whether they were still a Lutheran congregation after having left the authorities and church hierarchy in Germany behind. Walther, who was originally called to be the pastor of a dual parish in the Perry County settlements of Dresden and Johannisberg, struggled over the questions that the laity and other pastors were also asking. In April 1841, soon after his brother Otto Herman, who was pastor of the congregation in St. Louis, had died, a public debate was held between Walther and attorney Marbach, one of the lay leaders of the settlers, in what is known as the "Altenburg Debate". Walther convinced Marbach and most of the other colonists that they could validly consider themselves to be a church. He then accepted the call to his brother's congregation in St. Louis, Trinity Lutheran Church, and served that congregation from May 1841 until his death.

Walther's ministry

During his forty years of work in the LCMS, Walther held several key positions. A log cabin college, which Walther helped to found, opened in December 1839 in Altenburg and eventually developed into Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Walther became its first president and held that position for the remainder of his life. On April 26, 1847, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod was founded. Walther served as its first president, a position he held from 1847 to 1850 and again from 1864 to 1878. In 1861, he also became president of the synod's "practical" seminary (today's Concordia Theological Seminary) while it was co-located with Concordia Seminary for several years. He also founded and edited several Lutheran periodicals, including ''Der Lutheraner'' and ''Lehre und Wehre''. He wrote a number of theological books. Perhaps his best known work is ''The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel'', which is a transcription of a series of evening lectures he gave at the seminary. He is also the author of the text and tune of the hymn "He's Risen, He's Risen" (german: Erstanden, erstanden ist Jesus Christ) found in the hymnals of the LCMS and other Lutheran bodies. Walther cfw old

Walther vigorously opposed the theologies of non-Lutheran denominations in America and the influence of the major secular philosophies and movements on Lutheran thought and practice, and defended the doctrinal and cultural heritage of the Lutheran Church.

Works

Bibliography

During Walther's lifetime, the LCMS was a German-speaking denomination. Not all of Walther's writings have been translated into English, but those that have include the following: * Walther, C. F. W. (1939).
False Arguments for the Modern Theory of Open Questions
. ''Concordia Theological Monthly'' 10 Nos. 4-11:254–262, 351–357, 415–420, 507–513, 587–595, 656–666, 752–759, 827–834. * Walther, C. F. W., Alexander W. C. Guebert, trans. and ed. (1947)
Why Should Our Pastors, Teachers and Professors Subscribe Unconditionally to the Symbolical Writings of our Church? Essay Delivered at the Western District Convention in 1858
''Concordia Theological Monthly'' No. 4:241–253. *Walther, C. F. W. (1986). ''The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel''. W. H. T. Dau, trans. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. *Walther, C. F. W. (1987). ''Church and Ministry''. J. T. Mueller, trans. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. * Walther, C. F. W. (1987)
Our Duty as Priests
''

The Lutheran Witness Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly magaz ...

'' No. 10:11. * Walther, C. F. W. (2006)
Works of Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther, 1811–1887
Fort Wayne: Project Wittenberg. * Walther, C. F. W. (2010). ''Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible.'' C. C. Tiews, transl. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. * Walther, C. F. W. (2017). ''Pastoral Theology.'' C. C. Tiews, transl. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. * Walther, C. F. W.

Sermons

Several of C. F. W. Walther's sermons have been preserved and translated into English by E. Myers and are available online. Home of C

Walther film

In 2011, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Walther's birth, Concordia Seminary,

, produced a video series ("Walther") which followed the life of Dr. Walther, including the history of the

.Concordia Seminary distributed the videos to LCMS congregations in October 2011. A study guide and Bible study materials also accompanied each segment of the video.

Notes

References

External links

at Concordia Historical Institute, Saint Louis, Missouri
Studium Excitare: Biography of C. F. W. Walther
by Daniel W. Waldschmidt
''Walther''
2011 film by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
The Death of Dr. C. F. W. Walther
by Martin Günther, trans. Nathaniel J. Biebert
The Burial of Dr. C. F. W. Walther
by Martin Günther, trans. Nathaniel J. Biebert * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, C.F.W. 1811 births 1887 deaths People from Zwickau (district) People from the Kingdom of Saxony People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Presidents of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod American Lutheran hymnwriters American Lutheran theologians German emigrants to the United States Leipzig University alumni Seminary presidents 19th-century American clergy 19th-century Lutheran theologians