# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Dezember 1856_S379
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Miscellaneous Church News. 379

Synod are dissatisfied; this body also gives counsel on church discipline and doctrine that are in dispute; and any preacher or congregation may ask for such counsel when that given by the District Synod is not satisfactory; in this respect the court is regarded as a legislative body, whose decision every District Synod, preacher, and congregation binds itself to submit to; in urgent and important cases the president of this court, who must be a fully trained theologian, has power to convene an extraordinary session at the expense of the party desiring it; the court shall be formed as soon as circumstances permit; it stands in correspondence with similar courts among true Lutherans; it admits, when it sees fit, the members of other similar bodies to seat and vote with it, and if a general court of this kind should be formed among other true Lutheran synods, it shall be free to unite with it; at its first session it shall draft a constitution, to be submitted to the United Synod for approval. This matter gave rise to a lengthy and heated debate; some brethren spoke vigorously in favor of it, while others spoke just as vigorously against it; at last it was agreed to submit it as an amendment to the Constitution, in order to give the various District Synods opportunity to discuss it thoroughly, several brethren who voted for this being decidedly opposed to its content. The "yeas" were 13, the "nays" 7.

The East Pennsylvania Synod, which met on October 2, declared it "inexpedient" to make any change with respect to the licensing system. Likewise the Maryland Synod, which met on October 18, held discussions on this subject and resolved not to abolish licensing. The latter adopted a proposal made by Dr. B. Kurtz to establish a preachers' seminary, in which older persons as well, who can no longer complete the full theological course, are to be practically prepared for the preaching office.

The Synod of the Eastern District of Ohio met on September 11–17 at Allegheny. The report of it contains, among other things, a new synodical constitution, on which a decision is to be made at next year's meeting. The Constitution appears to us, upon a cursory review, quite excellent; we meet in it again almost all the positive and negative provisions of our own — even the institution of a visiting president. May the Lord grant the dear brethren grace for a conscientious and blessed execution of it. In the report we further read the following: "Since this Synod recognizes the licensing of candidates as unbiblical and uncanonical, therefore resolved: that from now on we grant no license to any candidate, but that in adopting the new ministerial order we will take care how a genuinely biblical catechumenate may be established." Further: "We ask the Venerable Synod of Missouri, most kindly and fraternally, not to take up the cause of this congregation (at Pittsburgh) until its church council makes amends to its faithful pastor, B. Zeumer, for the sin of having driven him out contrary to God's Word." (We remark here that we cannot comprehend how a faithful preacher could abandon an entire congregation merely on account of its church council. We hear, moreover, that the church council has already made amends. Nonetheless our Synod will of course act in this matter toward the Venerable Ohio Synod as toward its sister synod.) "With regard to the position of the Missouri and Buffalo Synods, the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, that this Synod, as a part of the Lutheran Church of this land, appealing to God's Word, and with the sincere and honest purpose of becoming ever more, with God's help, what a true Lutheran synod according to God's Word and the confessional writings should and must be, does fraternally and most heartily exhort the Venerable Synod of Missouri and Buffalo that they would seek peace among themselves with all their strength. 2. That we make this request in the conviction that, if peace should come about between the two synods, the welfare of our Lutheran Church would jointly be furthered in many respects, and that