THE CHURCH IN PRUSSIA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume XII, Issue 1230, 16 May 1857, Page 4

THE CHURCH IN PRUSSIA.

tFrom the Times' correspondent.] Berlin, December 20. The prevailing religion in Prussia is staled in most of our daii-L vks at home to be Lutheran. This is not correct, for while, as stated above, 6,250,000 out of the 17,000,000 are Romanists, and 250,000 Jews, there remain only about 10,250,000 belonging to the Protestant faith at all, Of these, moreover, there ate 15,OOOMemnonites and 50,000 Ohl Lutherans, both of which denominations arc beyond the pale of the Evangelical Church —the name given to the established church of Prussia recognized by the Slate, and of which the Lutherans fonn only a pan. The Memntmitet: are n net whose characteristic is that they hold fiisi by the L-tter of the Holy taciiptuis. In const quince of this they eschew nfaut baptism, the taking of oaths, military ser.

vice, civil dominion, &c., and, in short, all the courses pointed out for avoidance in the Sermon on the Mount. The old Lutherans are such as hold strictly to the confession of faith and exposition of doctrine as originally laid down by Luther, and reject all the innovations of Calvin and all the forms of church government that have been introduced since Luther’s time ; like the Russian Starovertze, or old believers, they are separatists, and neither recognize the government of the church as vested in the State, nor the King as anything more than their secular magistrate. There remains, then, something over 10,000,000 attached to the established church — the Evangelische Landes Kirche— and this comprises within its pale five different confessions and professions, the nature of which will be best explained by a historical sketch of the development of the Church of Prussia.

Prussia may be said to have first seceded from the church if Rome when Albert, Dukecf Prussia, embraced the views of Luther in 1525, and Joachim IL, Elector of Brandenburg, followed bis example ten years later. The reason why 1 refer to both these monarchs is that a subsequent Elector of Brandenburg, on assuming the rank of King, chose to derive bis title from the small province that he possessed to the north-east of his Brandenburg territory, and which is still known by the name of Prussia Proper (Preussen). Under the influence of Joachim 11. of Brandenburg and of Albrcchet of Preussen the two populations soon became thoroughly converted to Lutheran doctrines. In 1613 Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, embraced the views of Calvin, without, however, bringing about any such thorough or even general secession from Lutheran doctrine as his predecesso t Joachim had caused horn the Church of Rome probably because his profession of Calvinism was suspected to have been influenced mainly by political and territorial interests,

The diverging doctrines of Luther and Calvin, together with the extreme tenets of Zuinglius, continued to distract the centre of Europe for nearly two centuries, the more so as the Roman Church, by her steady opposition to the entrance of the views of the Reformers, contributed to keep the flame of religious disunion alive. Io Prussia Lutheranism held its g.ound firmly, particularly in the northern and eastern provinces, but in the southern districts on the Rhine the propinquity of Prance and Switzerland favoured the introduction of the tenets of Calvin, and, in a less degree, those of Zuinglius ; and with some slight modifications Calvin’s doctrines eventually look firm root in those parts under lhe name o! the Reformed Church {ReformileKircheJ ; but

they never attained the same extension as those of Luther had already done. In 1817 the late King, Friedrich Wilhelm 111., a pious and wellmeaning man, and himself a favourer of the views of the Reformed Church, sought to reconcile the conflicting views of the Lutherans and Calvinists in his kingdom ; ho succeeded in finding for them suflicieut common ground for a united church to be founded on, and this has ever since been the State Church of Prussia, under the name of the “Union/* within the larger pale of the Evangelical Church of the country (Evangclische Landes KircheJ. The chief point of divergence between the views of Luther and Calvin had reference to the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper, Luther’s followers maintaining that a retd, though spiritual presence of Christ’s body and blood was inseparably connected with the consecrated elements, irrespective of the faith of the recipient, Calvin’s disciples, on the other hand, averred that Christ’s body and bioed were really received only by the believing recipient; to the unbelieving the elements remained mere bread and wine. In the hope of uniting the professors of those two diverging tenets in one Church and form of worship, the late King caused a form for the administration of the Lord’s Supper to be drawn up which it was thought might be acceptable to both, and admit of their worshipping and communicating in fellow-ship. In the order for administering the Lord’s Supper the Lutheran service in the various provinces had adopted different forms of words accompanying the delivery of the bread, although in different degrees laying stress on its being the true body of our Saviour. The Calvinists, on the other hand, had taken St. Paul’s words: —“ The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? The bread, which we

break, is it not the communion oi toe body cl Christ?’’ With a view of avoiding the doctrinal enueciation involved in both these forms, and either of which was unacceptable to the adherents of the other tenets, the King selected the historical form of words, derived rom the Gospels and used in our Prayer ol Consecration—viz ,—“Take, eat, saith our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; this is my body which is given you,’’ &c. “Drink ye all of this, saith our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ, for, this is my blood of the New Testament,” &c. This is the origin and development of the present State Church of Prussia, the “Union,” offering, as it does, a common centre of consentaneity for Lutherans and Calvinists within the wider pale! of the Evangelisclte Lande Kir die. It was in 1817 that the general idea was first promulgated in the country; in 1822 the form of Church service for the “Union” was first introduced at the I)om t or Cathedral here ; but it was net till 1 Rll4 nftnr Inner and niiovnnß rnntlirfH nnd

the introduction of n variety of modifications of the sirjrmde, or liturgy, to adapt it to the longcbcrislted local customs of the different provinces, that the “ Union” can be said to l ave obtained generally throughout the country. There is no official ctatis.ical statement showing the numbers ;it those who a here to the '‘Union,” or how many there uro who still keep aloof from i'. I : ■. :st, however, be by no means assumed that anything like the whole body of evangelical religionists have joined it, for there are Lu'herans and Calvinists, who, while outwardly joining in the “ Union” form of worship, retain their own special adherence to the doctrine of Luther and Calvin respectively ; and there tire, furthermore, Lutherans and Calvinists who hold tco strictly to the views of their peculiar denomination to admit of their joining in the compromise implied by the "Union” form of worship. These fotm the five categories in the Church of Prussia to which I alluded above—viz,, Unionists, Lutherans and Calvanisis recognizing the Union, and Lutherans and Calvanists who will not recognize it.

Taking the word “ church” in its wide sense of a Christian community, the Church in Prussia is both Romanist mid Evangelical, a perfect polity between them being recognized in the theory of the Slate polity ; in actual practice, however, the Catholics labour under some slight

political disabilities, owing to the fact of the Royal family, the Ministers, and the general geuius of the State being all Evangelical as a matter of usage rather than of constitutional necessity. Both the Romanists and Evangelical Church in Prussia stand equally under the control of the state in all temporal and external matters ; the common officer for the regulation of both is the Minister for Public Worship, Education, and Medical matters, who may be described as the first sanitary and salutary officer for the preservaticn of health in soul, mind, and body. In iwterna' and spiritual matters the King is the bead of the Evangelical Church as the Pope is of the Romanist.

The internal form of Church government in the Evangelical Church resembles the Presbyterian or synodal form, rather than the Episcopalian. The late King, it is true, introduced the title of bishop into the hierarchy at the time of his founding the Union, but as this was at variance with the antecedents of the Lutheran and Reformed Churches in Germany, the institution never gained strength and popularity, and it is now being suffered to fall into abeyance. The present King has nominated no fresh bishops, and there ere now only two left extant from those nominated in the last reign, and they have retired from active duty ; no special consecration was connected with the selection to this dignity, and its only outward sign was a golden crucifix worn on all occasions suspended round the neck and a black silk gown, when engaged in the offices of the Church. In the place of bishops there are general superintendents, one to each of the eight provinces. The general superintendent, while himself the minister of a church and parish, finds time to perforin bis visitations, deliver charges, and exercise discipline throughout his province or see. Under biin stand several superintendents, mote or less, according to the size of the province. Like cur archdeacons, they attend to the detail of external church discipline and the conservation of the edifices appointed fur public worship, and form a connecting link with the temporal power of the Government. The assembled superintendents of a province, presided over by the general superintendent, form the Provincial Consistory ('Provinzial Consistorium). The district over which a superintendent

exercises supervision is called a “ circle” (kreis), and consists of many parishes or livings, the incumbents of which come together periodically, under the presidency ol their superintendent, to confer on local matters of church discipline, This meeting is therefore styled a kreis synod: t or synod of the circle. The several pastors or parish priests also preside over meetings in their several parishes, consisting of the auxiliary clergy, the elders of the church, the deacons, and the sidesmen, or churchwardens. This assembly, which we should perhaps call a vestry, but from which the bulk of the parishioners is excluded, is here called a presbyterium, as being under the presidence of ths presbyter or pastor. In the eastern provinces, where the Luthern doctrine prevails, the consistorial polity obtains almost exclusively; in the western the Presbyterian and synodal is pre-eminent. This is the internal form of self-government which the church administers in spiritual matters; but side by side with this runs the secular government of the State, exercised by the Minister for Public Worship. Under his immediate control and in connexion with him there are certain conseillers de rdgence (regierungs raethe') attached to the local civil government of each province, whose special functions have reference to church and school

matters ; these gentlemen have seats and votes in the Provincial Consistory, and it is through them that the Minister regulates the external affairs of salaries, fees, maintenance of buildings, and the whole secular branch of church businessThe Minister for Public Worship, who is the head of the lay government of the Church, stands directly under the King, and fa responsible to him for his actions. In h'S other capacity ol spiritual head of the Church the King controls its doctrine, discipline, &c., by means of a Supreme Consistory (Ooer/czrc/ienrafA), to which as tbe adviser of the King in spiritual matters the general superintendents themselves are subordi oate. This Supreme Consistory, as becomes a body that is toadvise in matters of conscience, is irresponsible even to the King himself—that is to say, no member can be deprived of bis seat, or in any way prejudiced ou account of the votes or advice he gives. It consists of tbe clergy of the Cathedral, who are at the same time the King’s chaplains, the professors of theology at the Uni-

versity of Berlin, the Chaplain to the Forces, and certain men distinguished for their knov,-ledge of canonical and common law, &c. The general superintendents may Le summoned to it, but they do not belong to it ex ojjlcio. The duplex form of spiritual and temporal government of the Chinch, converging, as it does, in the King, as simultaneously its spiritual and temporal head, may be delineated as follows: — The King, as spiritual and temporal head of the Church, exercises his duplex attributes through the 1. Ober Kirchcnratli, or Su- ]. Minister for Public preme Consistory. Worship. 2. General Superintenden- 2. President of the Pro-

tuu u< mau-jp. hiichu Movernnit.il, 3. Snpcrintcmleuten, or 3. Counsellors attnclrcd Archdeacons. to Provincial Govern--1. Pfatter, or Parish Priests. meat. hi the Provincial Consislorium formed by tbe superintendent™, under the presidency of the general superintendent, the temporal power of the State is represented vt’s il-i'ts the clericals just mentioned, by the counsellors of the Provincial Governrne it, who are immediately subordinated to the Civil President of tbe province. Tn the Synodes of tbe circles formed by the pfarrer. mule: the presidency of their superintendent, tin. lay element is represented by an elder of each individua 1 church, chosen tn the yrresJyferrttm, to assist the pastors and watch over the pecuniary, and be then presents himself to the Provincial Consistorv. and convinces that body of his fim.-ss

for the ministry in the course of a colloquium. Whoever is the patron that inducts, the emigregaiinn has a veto on the nomination, and if, ns in some cases, more particularly on the Rhine, lire congregation elects, the Crown has a veto through the Mini her if the Consistorium. The form of ordination consists in the imposition of hinds by the superintendent or the general superintendent ol the province, accompanied by r prayer on Iris part, and an oath on the cure of souls by undergoing the ciamcn pro miliisterio before the Provincial Consistory. If be passes ibis examination, he looks out for a vacant living, announces himself as a candidate for it to the patron, whether the latter be an individual, tie congregation, a municipality, or the Crown, lie takes his turn with other candidates in delivering to the congregation a specimen of his preaching

(probe-predigt), and if successful in gaining the approbation of one of the parties to his induction other temporal interests of the parish. Tn the Supreme Synod, which stands above them all, tbe lay and the clerical elements of the Church, the common and the canon law, the civil and military population, the Lutheran, Reformed, and Union denominations are all represented. . A student of theology desirous of entering the Church must attend lectures on theology at one or more of the Universities during three years, ami among these lectures ate certain courses which are compulsory ; with the certificates of this attendance he presents himself for examination to the Provincial Consistory or to tbe Theological Faculty of one of tbe Universities; il found fitting, the licentia cortciottaW: is conferred on him, and the licentiate is now competent to take employment as a hlllfs-prediger, or auxiliary preacher. In the course of a few years it is open to him to qualify himself for part of the candidate for holy orders to the effect that he will preach and disseminate no other doctrine than that which is founded on God’s own clear wori ;—[he prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments, as the sole norm of faith, and succintly drawn up in tbe Apostolical, N'icene, and Athairasian creeds, together with the Augsburg, Confession, &c. If the pfarrer, as ihe now ordained and inducted minister is called, evidence seal, capacity, and piety, in a few years he will probably find that the Ouerkirchenratk and the Minister cf Public Worship I.live agreed together to propose his name to the King, who nominates him to the office of superintendent, bet even after this nomination by the civil and spiritual power of the Crown combined, the nominee to rhe office of superintendent must satisfy rhe Provincial Consistory of his fitness for the office in ths course of a colloquium pro ephoralu. The certificate of the Provincial Consistory is essential to the confirmation of tbs appointment. Having passed through so many examinations and trials, tbe promotion to the next step of general superintendent is allowed to take place on the joint proposal of the Oberkirchenrath and the Minister and the nomination by the King, without any further examen or colloquium. No higher order of ordination, no consecration is required on tbe pfurrer's advancing to a higher rank in the visible Church, tbe Lutheran doctrines holding an entire spiritual equality among all ordained clergy. Thus a simple pfarrer is competent not only to the administration of the highest Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, but also to confirm, to bury, and to marry. He may also by special commission be authorised to ordain.

What the emoluments of the clergy in Prussia may be, it is almost impossible to ascertain, in the absence of any special returns of income sent in by each minister. The State contributes but very little to their support individually, and only in the most flagrant cases of insufficient donation. In some cases the livings have glebe lands attached to them, in others the landed proprietors of the parish are bound, to make certain contributions in kind. Tithes appear to have been gradually commuter) everywhere. Tbe pfarrer generally receives, in addition to what thus comes to him from the soil, a fixed payment in money from ihe parochial o- municiprl funds, ami, in addition, all tbe fees for burials, marriages, christenings arid, confirmations, the fees for which latter include the special religious instruction given to the catechumen. It is also a peculiar custom here to make an oblation to tbe officiating minister c". occasion of receiving the Sacrament; this is forwarded to him privately, and not of-

fered in ike church. The position which the Church in Prussia occupies in the commonwealth is not nearly so high as in England ; although it is also the ally of the State, the Church is so thoroughly subordinated to the Monarch, who actually and not fictitiously rules it, that all the arrogant pretensions that one hears of elsewhere are unknown here. The establishment is anything but rich | as a whole, and, consequently, the individual ! clergy are far from overpaid ; the lower gradations in the Church are manifestly underpaid. There are livings that bring in little more than £45 a-year in money, while the most lucrative office of a general Superintendent will hardly bring in more than £750 to £BOO per annum. With such small pecuniary remuneration, and in the absence of any factitious prestige in society or high political rank for the bishops, it is almost superfluous io mention that the Prussian nobility never enter the Church ; there is no dunce for any other qualities than learning, piety, zeal, and capacity to get on in the ecclesiastical career.

This sketch will not he complete without a few wjtds as to the celebration of divine service. The longest service lasts about an hour and a half, and consists of a very short Liturgy (a quarter of an hour), a good deal of singing (.all an hour), and a lengthy sermon (full three-quar-ters of an hour.) The Liturgy consists almost entirely of the same prayers as are to he found in our Morning and Evening Prayer ; there exists also a Litany, the same as ours, but it is very seldom used, and no portion of the Communion Service is read at morning prayer, excent daring the administration of the Lord’s Supper. The singing consists of long-winded dreary can-

ticles (not the Psalms of David) sung very lou ily to tunes that resemble nothing hut asfip/;e, lor they would be absolutely monotonous it they did not sometimes nndulate a tone or two one way or the other, The preaching is, as far as I | have heard it, or heard of it, generally good, and delivered without book, the preacher ava’liog himself only of notes as a counsel pleads from his brief. The congregation stands during the whole of the short Liturgy, and sits all the time it sings and during the sermon, but rises when (he text is read from the Word of God. There is no kneeling, not even at the reception of the Sacraments, There is no clerk to profane the beautiful Liturgy with nasal twang or illiterate reading, and the numbers of the Psalms to bp sung are plainly marked on several black beads m conspicuous parts of the church. In all Lutheran and Unicnistic churches a large crucifix stands prominently on the altar, which is always placed in the transept, directly under the pulpit, and on the altar there are always two large candles burning during the service ; the minister, however, feels no compunction at keeping his back turned towards the altar during the whole period of the Liturgy, or even when the consecrated elements are on it. If the candles burning on the altar do not suffice to convict this old-fashioned ultra-Protestant Church of Pnseyism, perhaps this last final remark will, —it is usual for the minister at the close of certain prayers, more especially on pronouncing the blessing, to cross himself in view of the whole congregation.