# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1947_S651
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS 651

‘Saxony and the Breslau Synod. When Dr. J. W. Behnken and

, L. Meyer were in Berlin, President Petersen of the Freikirche
arranged for an interview with the leaders of the Breslau Church.
~ In the past two years this first meeting was developed into a
eries of doctrinal discussions which culminated in doctrinal theses
ccepted by the officials of both church bodies as a basis for pulpit

altar fellowship. These doctrinal statements are now being
submitted to the individual pastors and congregations of both
‘bodies, and as soon as they have been accepted by these, pulpit and
tar fellowship will be declared. This will also result in joint
»work in the field of ministerial education, Christian welfare, pub-
lication of Christian literature, and missions.

fi
: Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (Landeskirchen)

Eighty-five per cent of all Protestantism in Germany is nomi-
nally Lutheran. Before the war there were eighteen various Lu-
,eran bodies in Germany. Many of these do not use the name
‘Lutheran” in their official name but call themselves Evangelisch.
Before the war, these eighteen bodies were organized into a loose
ederation called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany.
During the war, there was organized a federation of both
-Reformed and Lutheran churches under the name “The Con-
_fessing Church.” The purpose of this federation was to resist
the encroachments of the State upon the Church. This organization
as not organized along confessional lines.

However, immediately after the war a strong movement to
make this war-born confessing church an organization which
:'would take in all Protestant church bodies was organized under
“the aegis of Bishop Wurm of Wurttemberg, backed by the World
Council of Churches, which, in turn, is fostered by the Federal
Council of America.

For the past two years, the struggle has developed between
- this now so-called EKID (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland)
‘and the Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirchen in Deutschland. The
eaders of the EKID contend that the life of the churches of Ger-
many is dependent upon the existence of a “church to which all
Lutherans and Reformed belong.” However, the leaders of the
Lutheran Church contend that Lutheranism must preserve its con-
_ fessionalism and have, therefore, organized an Evangelisch-Lu-
” therische Kirche in Deutschland in opposition to the EKID. Bishop
“Meiser of the Lutheran Church of Bavaria is the leader of
this group.

When our commissioners first came to Europe immediately
after the war and became cognizant of this struggle of the Prot~