# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1848 03 01_S117
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

...village in Dithmarschen), and was asked by other pious Christians there to proclaim to them the Word of God and to tear them out of the jaws of the Antichrist, who ruled there with great power. Heinricus recognized this call as a divine one and accepted it. Thereupon he had six Christian citizens of his congregation come to him and declared to them: "that he had been called to Dithmarschen. It was his duty — not to them alone, but to everyone who desired it — to proclaim the Word of God. He therefore intended to go to Dithmarschen and see what God would accomplish through him. They should now give him good advice as to how he might most conveniently get there; for if the whole congregation learned of it, they would prevent his journey."

Thereupon the pious Christians begged him: "that he would remain with them, and consider how weak the Gospel still was among the people, especially in the surrounding towns, and how great the persecution still was. Moreover, he had first been called by them to preach the Word of God; they could therefore not let him go without the consent of the whole congregation. But if the people of Dithmarschen wanted a preacher, he might send another one there." This they said because they knew what sort of people the people of Dithmarschen were.

To this the good Heinricus answered: "Although I confess that I was first called by you, yet you have enough other pious and learned men who can preach the Word of God to you. Moreover, the papists have already in part been overcome, so that even women and children now see and judge their folly. For two years I have preached to you, but the people of Dithmarschen have as yet no preacher; therefore I cannot in good conscience refuse their request. As for your objection that I may not go without the knowledge and consent of the whole congregation, that cannot hold me back, since I do not intend to leave you forever. Only for a short time, perhaps a month or two, do I intend to preach in Dithmarschen. As soon as I have laid a good foundation there by word of mouth, I will, God willing, return again to you. Therefore I ask you: once I have departed, make my calling — which I cannot resist — known to the congregation, and excuse my secret departure to them. For I must travel in secret because of my enemies, who watch day and night to kill me, as you yourselves well know. Tell them at the same time that I hope soon to be with them again." With these words he satisfied them, so that they granted him leave to go, hoping that the people of Dithmarschen, too, would come to a right knowledge of the Word of God, since they lay especially deep sunk in papist idolatry.

*) The coastal strip from the mouth of the Elbe to the Eider is called the land of Dithmarschen, an extremely fertile region without towns, but with many prosperous villages. Lunden, Meldorf, and Brunsbüttel are the chief places. It belongs to the Duchy of Holstein.

So Heinricus set out in the first week of Advent, traveling through the middle of the diocese of Bremen, and came to Meldorf, where he had been called. There he was received with great joy by the pastor and other pious Christians. But even before he had preached, the devil, together with his members, was already enraged — especially Augustinus Torneborch, prior of the Black Cloister, which belonged to the Jacobins or Preaching Friars, who at once hastened to Master Johann Snicken, the vicar of the official of Hamburg, and took counsel with him what should be done, so that their kingdom would not perish. At last they resolved that above all things Heinricus must be prevented from preaching, for if the common man heard him, their wickedness would come to light. Thereupon the prior set out early in the morning and arrived, on the Saturday before the second Sunday of Advent, at Heide, before the forty-eight Regents of the land. Before these he bitterly complained that a monk had come to ruin the whole land of Dithmarschen, just as he had already done in Bremen. With the help of Master Günther, the chancellor, and of Peter Hannen, both of whom were great enemies of the Word of God, he represented to the other forty-six simple and unlearned men that they would earn great praise throughout the whole Netherlands, and especially great thanks from the Bishop of Bremen, if they put this heretical monk to death. When the poor, unlearned men heard this, they resolved to kill the man whom they had neither seen nor heard, much less found guilty of anything. Accordingly, an order was issued to the pastor of Meldorf that he should drive out the monk, before he had even preached, under pain of the severest punishment. With this the prior hurried as fast as possible to Meldorf, and delivered this order that same night to the pious pastor. Thus he hoped to achieve what mattered most to him: that Heinricus should not preach at all.

When the pastor read this order, he was greatly astonished; for it was unheard of that the forty-eight Regents of the land should meddle in spiritual matters, since, according to the old custom of the land, church government belonged to the congregation alone. For it had been resolved by the whole land that every congregation should have the right to install and remove its preachers, and this practice had already existed for a long time. This letter the pastor shared with Heinricus, remarking at the same time what the law and custom of the land were. Heinricus answered, with a foretaste of his martyrdom: "Since I have been called by the whole congregation to preach the Word of God, I will follow this calling as long as it pleases them; for one must obey God more than men. Acts 5:29. If God wills that I should die in Dithmarschen: heaven is as near here as anywhere else. I must, after all, one day shed my blood for the sake of the Word of God." With such courage he stepped forward on Sunday and delivered his first sermon on the saying of the apostle Paul, Romans 1:9: "God is my witness..." and on the Gospel of the day.

After the service had ended, the prior Torneborch handed to the assembled congregation a letter from the forty-eight Regents of the land, stating that, under penalty of a thousand Rhenish guilders, they were not to let the monk preach, and were at the same time to send authorized deputies to Heide, for there the whole land would assemble. When they heard this letter read aloud, all became very angry that such a thing should be commanded them contrary to all custom of the land, since every congregation had the right to choose whomever it wished as its preacher. Accordingly it was unanimously resolved that they would keep the pious Heinricus as their preacher and defend him, for they were altogether fired up by the first sermon they had heard from him. In the afternoon Heinricus preached on Romans 15:1: "We then that are strong, etc."

On the following Monday the congregation of Meldorf sent its deputies to Heide, who offered to answer before everyone in the whole land, and reported what a Christian sermon they had heard from Heinricus. At the same time the pastor wrote to the forty-eight Regents of the land: "that neither he nor Heinricus intended to stir up rebellion, but wished only to teach the pure, unadulterated Word of God, and that he was prepared to answer for himself and for Brother Heinricus before everyone; he therefore asked them not to give ear to the monks, who out of hatred and greed alone sought to suppress the truth, nor to condemn the Word of God. They should rather first thoroughly investigate the truth and condemn no one unheard. If they were found guilty, they were prepared to accept their punishment." But both the declaration of the deputies and the letter of the pastor were disregarded, one man saying this and another that.

At last Peter Dethlenes, one of the elders, answered: "Since in all lands there is great discord over matters of faith, and we, as the most unlearned and least understanding, cannot judge in it, it is our earnest opinion that this matter be deferred until a future council, which, as we are informed by our land-scribe Günther, is to be held shortly. Whatever our good neighbors then decide, that we intend to accept as well. But if the Word of God is, as is said, not taught clearly enough, and if someone can teach it more purely, we do not forbid it, for we wish to suffer no rebellion in the land. Therefore let everyone be calm and let the matter rest until next Easter; in the meantime it will surely become clear what is right or wrong." With this everyone was satisfied; the deputies from Meldorf went home and joyfully reported this answer to the whole congregation, which hoped that the matter would come to a good end.

Meanwhile Heinricus continued to proclaim the Word of God.