# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1849_S83
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 83 —

"Should, between synodical conventions, individual pastors — whether
voting or advisory members — give manifest offense in respect to
doctrine or conduct, and, upon being confronted by the president and
the other officers, fail to repentantly recognize and confess it and
promise improvement, the president is authorized provisionally to
suspend their membership in the synodical body until the next session,
and also to publish this his proceeding. In urgent cases of necessity the
president is authorized to make known publicly beforehand that the
member concerned is under investigation."

As likewise already reported in the convention address and in the
annual report, not only has the former pastor at Marion, Ohio, J. E.
Schneider, through his defection to the Roman church, but also the
former pastor in and near Pomeroy, Ohio, effectively withdrawn from
our synodical body, the latter having, through his resignation,
withdrawn himself from the investigation by the commission appointed
by the synod.

From the report which this commission now rendered to the synod, it
appears that of the eight complaint points brought forward by the town
congregation, only the following three were investigated: 1. that Mr.
Romanowsky had neglected the school; 2. that he had kept the
confirmation instruction too short and had nearly abandoned it entirely;
3. that he had let the previously established practice of confession
announcements [Beichtanmeldungen] lapse — complaints which proved
to be well founded. But since Mr. Romanowsky declined further
participation in the proceedings and repeatedly declared that he wished
to leave the congregation — and since the congregation had also given
its consent to his resigning — it was deemed unnecessary to investigate
the remaining complaint points further. The congregation, moreover,
expressly declared that it had been entirely satisfied with his preaching.
The commission also held an investigation the following day in the
country congregation and invited Mr. Romanowsky to it, but he
declined to appear, since the country congregation was likewise included
in his resignation.


Additions to the Constitution.

The additions to the synodical constitution drawn up by the synod in
the past year and the year before could again not be brought to
completion this year, since most congregations had once more
unfortunately neglected to send in their statement on the matter to the
synod — a fault that in part lay with their pastors, who had not
required such a statement from their congregations. Those among them
who were present did, however, promise to make up what had been
neglected as soon as possible, and the synod resolved that this must be
done by all delinquent congregations at least by next year's synodical
convention. So that this may happen the sooner and more completely,
we deliberately bring this matter to the fore here, and, for the sake of
completeness, append the particulars of the individual additions, as
follows:

From 1847: No. 1. "Since the synod, with regard to the
self-government of individual congregations," etc. — See the first
synodical report, p. 7.

No. 2. "If the synod, under Chap. IV, § 10 of its constitution, places
within its sphere of business," etc. — See the first synodical report,
page 9.

From 1848: No. 3. "Because we have come to the conviction," etc.
— See the second synodical report, p. 44.