# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Februar 1857_S63
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Church-Contemporary Matters.                    63

...united. No wonder, for with such orthodox consistency the summus finis
of the "Pope-Church" — the people's gold — is fished for most unhindered.

Theological Seminaries of the Roman Church for the training of the
priesthood number 33 in the United States, with approximately 514
seminarians. So reports the Catholic Kirchenzeitung of January 15 of this
year.

Methodist Modesty. So it is said in the Methodist "Apologete" of January
15 of this year: "The Apologete now takes the first rank among all the
German religious papers of this country, both in the richness of its
content and in its outward format, as well as in the number of its
subscribers."

American-Lutheran. In the "Luth. Observer" of January 16 of this year, a
formerly nominal Lutheran preacher declares that he had no hesitation in
becoming the preacher of a congregation belonging to another confession,
for: 1. Christ declared not the Lutheran Church but the world to be the
field of His servants' activity. 2. He had never bound himself to preach
a Lutheran gospel, but rather the gospel of Christ, only to Lutheran
hearers or to the Lutheran Church. 3. He was moved to do so by a
recognition of his duty and, through it, by intimations of divine
providence. 4. He regards the various Protestant churches as branches of
one family. 5. In his present position he finds a better living. — There
we have an American-Lutheran, alive and in the flesh!

The new "Missionary Institute," whose founding, as we have reported
before, Dr. Kurtz has proposed, is regarded by the editor of the "Olive
Branch," Dr. Harkey, as an institution set up in opposition to, and to
the disadvantage of, Gettysburg. If the man is right — and to him, as one
educated at Gettysburg, a knowledge of the state of affairs may well be
credited — then one might well suspect yet another stroke of genuine
"American" Lutheranism, which, sensing the sinking of its own ship, looks
out in time for another one.

Methodism. In the "Apologete" of January 22 of this year we read the
following complaint: "Our people want no so-called learned preachers;
they are not yet willing to pay money for our young men to learn Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew, but they do recognize the necessity of our young
people learning correct and fluent German, and our teachers correct
German and English." It is most gratifying that voices are now being
raised within the Methodist community complaining of such a disposition
still prevailing among them.

II. Abroad.

The Lutheran Congregations in the Danish West Indian Possessions.
On the island of St. Croix there are four Lutheran congregations: a
Danish and an English one in the town of Christiansted, and a Danish and
an English one in the town of Frederiksted; each town has one preacher,
who preaches in both languages. On the island of St. Thomas there are
likewise two congregations, a Danish and an English one, with a single
preacher for both. This preacher is at the same time preacher of the
English congregation on St. John, where he preaches once a month. During
his absence, many members of the St. Thomas congregations attend the
Moravians, the Reformed, and the Episcopal church. On the three named
islands there are thus 7 Lutheran congregations, and these ought to have
3 preachers; but at present (Nov. 1856) they have only one: Pastor
Brandt, who is stationed in Christiansted, and from there also cares
for, as well as he can, the remaining stations; otherwise the Moravians
help out. The members of the English congregations in St. Croix and
St. Thomas are, without exception, colored; there are many devout
Christians among them, but they are mostly poor. The Danish congregations
consist of whites and colored persons; likewise the English congregation
on St. John. The preachers are appointed by the Danish government. For
St. Thomas a preacher is expected. The number of Lutherans, according to
the census of 1850, amounts in St. Croix, out of a total population of
23,720,