# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1877_S6
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 6 —

Doctrinal Proceedings.

The main subject of the doctrinal discussions in three morning sessions was the

Theses on Church Fellowship,

which had already been dealt with in succession for four years.

Last year the Conference had got as far as the 11th thesis of this paper [*Vorlage*], held it sufficiently discussed, and therefore took up Thesis 12 and 13 for thorough discussion this year.

For the sake of continuity, the eleven theses already adopted follow here first.

Preliminary Remark on the Following Theses.

The word "church fellowship" [*Kirchengemeinſchaft*] is not treated here in the wider sense. For in that sense, on the ground of the confession of Holy Scripture as the Word of God, a certain church fellowship already exists among all congregations standing in this confession, over against heathens, Jews and Muslims.

Rather, this word is taken here in the narrower sense, as the fellowship of the Evangelical Lutheran congregations over against the more or less corrupted churchly communions that hold false doctrine.

Thesis 1.

The only inward bond of fellowship between the individual Lutheran congregations among the many peoples and languages is the true faith, which makes righteous and saves, in the LORD Jesus Christ, which together with him and in him also grasps and holds fast his most holy and perfect merit.

Thesis 2.

The only outward bond of fellowship between the individual Lutheran congregations among the many peoples and languages is the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.

Note: The acceptance of the other Lutheran confessional writings is not absolutely required for Lutheran church fellowship, provided it is not denied that these stand in orthodox agreement with the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.

Thesis 3.

Because the Unaltered Augsburg Confession (which in its origin is as historically particular as it is ecumenical in its doctrinal content) is, in all its articles of faith, the pure and unfalsified explanation