The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1880-09-09
For the vIRGINIAN.
Rev L Bachnoan EaskeIl'S Case.

cal Lutheran Synod OF Virginia, during its recent
session at Mt jackson, IN undertaking to depOse
the Pastor of church from the functions OF the
ministry. The action OF the council of the Central
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the City OF staun-
ton, in connection with the matter, has been made
known to the public by the publication Of their
resolves, adopted the 9th day Of August, 1880.
The conclusion reached by the council Is that the
bull of deposition, pronounced by said Synod, IL
drttuD fhnee, so far as they and their pastor are
concerned; and that, declining to recognize said
unauthorized Edict, as of any binding force upon
him or them, they expect in tho language Of the
| celebrated Dr.. hurtz, not to be "unchurched or
prescribed but still left to pursue the even tenor
of their way, ''unmolested, long they do not
err from violate long established fundamental
principles OF Lutheranism.
| We hold, that the Evangelical Lutheran Church
Is based upon the idea, that the ultimate of
power is III the congregation that is in the pastor
and other officers and tile people Of the single
munion." See Krauth's 'Conservative Reforma-
tion, page 1888. That is, that our church is
! TALLY congregational and that paramount power
as TO discipline and home-rlle or self government,
is vested in the pastor ana congregation.
| We hold further, that associations of congrega
tions and OF pastors with Synods, are dependent
upon the pleasure of The parties: ana that they
unite with synod because they deem it best for
| the time being, they may Withdraw from Synod
for the same reason, that Is because they deem 1t
best for them to do and that one is justified
i'll gainSaying this clear right, iii pronouncing its
| exercise, act Of schlsm rebellion. Withdrawal
from the Synod of Virginia is not schism in the
| Evangelical Lutheran Church Neither is it rebel
lion against, but is in conformity with the fuuda
mental principles of Lutheranism. For authority
for these views the reader Is referred to the stand
|
of the work Of the first. entitled "Why are you
Lutheran, and on page 1913 of the second, entitled,
1.-THE Conservative Reformation.
Such being the cardinal and fundamental princi-
pies ofthe church, and the Synodof Virginia having,
in our Judgment, rendered an unjust, not to say IL
one-sided and biased decision i'll the matters CON
cerned with the cases of Rev Haskell Rev. Mil
! Ter and Rev. Miller VS.. Rev. HASKELL the congrega-
ton of the Central Evangelical Lutheran Church OF
the City of Saunon, with the concurrence of their
pastor, did the 9Th day of june $780, dissolve Its
connection, not by any with the Evangelical
| Lutheran. Governmental body called
| the Evangelical Lutheran synod of Virginia, and
their pastor. approving their action. and adherng
to them, followed then and due Eoticc of the action
| of the congregation and of the pastor promptly
| given to tho president of said Synod.
| It was supposed that the pastor and congregation
would without being ''unchurched proscribed,'
be left to 'pursue the tenor OF their way,
moiested' as DR. Kurtz expresses The idea, but not
so. The president of the Virginia Synod seemed to
| think, and as we are Informed, has since, at the
Synod recently held at Mt Jackson, openly declared
that Withdrawal from the Virginia Synod was
schsm; and that the act of the pastor in following
anu SHARING the fortunes o. ms people, was RANK
| treason and rebellion, Which brought him within
the category administers chargeabe with 'arocious
| crime such lewdness, drunkenness and the
like And thefeupon the president OF synod, SEEM
lngy impressed with the autocratic idea, expressed
| by Louis NV, when he declared 'I Etat c'est moi
Il am the State, the 10th day of June, 1880, did
pronounce against the Rev. J. B. Haskell, pas
tor. sentence of suspension from all the functions
of the ministry till the next meeting of SYNOD that
is from June 10Th to August 18th, $780, That is to
say that without any charge preferred by any
| body, without any suggestion Of 'atrocious
| crime" made against him, the president of the
| SyRod of virginia 'mero mou of his mere will,
| and without shad w of authority or law for so
doing, issued his arbitrary Edict commanding that
our pastor, for slXty-efght days, should neither
ma ry the living, bury the dead, bapJze or confirm
the repentant children of the church, who desired
to join her sweet communion, nay more, should not
administer the Holy SUPPER to living santor dying
sinner
| Now the Law of the Virginia Synod expressly de-
clares, that minister can be punished by suspen-
sion or otherwise, o,elg by twe-third vote of the
| Ininisterium of the Synod, except that where
charges have been lodged with the President to the
effect that minister has been guilty of ''lewdness,
| drunkenness or the circulation Of fundamental err
rors doctrine, or other atrocious crime' he may
| suspend such minister from the exercise Of the
functions OF tie ministry until the next meeting of
| Synod
| Now, there were no charges against Mr.. Haskell of
any sort much less any charges of the kind named
| in tae Constitution Of synod, which would justify
| the president in exercising the tremendous power
| Of suspension. Neither had the synod undertaken,
even il ii had such power, to authorize the suspen
sion of either Mr. Haskell or Mr. Miller, except
upon the report of all the members of the then
| sting council No such report had been made to
| the president, and the president stood forth,
without show of authority, and pronounced a SEN
tence, which any body, learned or unleaIned in the
law, knows, was null void and of no effect. And
che learned Judge of the Circuit Court of Augusta
County, has 50 ruled and held in the civil cast pend
| Ing in said court concerning the property of the
church.
This sentence was pronounced on the 10th of June
1880. OF course it being n mere nullity no one felt
| called upon to submit to it, Our pastor continued
| to minister to us in holy things; and the Judge OF
the court recognized his right do, and provided
him, be restored to the each alternate Sun
day, OF the Church building, from which they had
been illegally excluded.
AS been stated, Mr.. Haskell on the It'll of June
1880, informed the president that his congregation
| had withdrawn from the Synod, and that official
notice of its action would doubtless be given to him
by the same mail This notire was in fact given by
| the Secretary Of the Congregational meetings ana
in the same letter. Mr. Haskell SAYS GAS my church
has proper to take this step and is consequent
| ly no longer connected with the Virginia Synod, L
respectfully ask of you papers of disnission for
from I hoy
deeply regret this painful duty forced upon my
people and myself by the late action of the Virginia
| synod. full statement of the causes leading to
our action Will soon be forth coming
In response to this, the president said on June 10th
1880 ''In view of the erroneous and rebelous
duct on your part, as Indicated by the aforesaid
communications, which as wen as the Socretary's
letter, is copied by the president, a. president of
the Evangelical Lutheran Synod Of Virginia, by vir
tue of the Authority vested in me ca do hereby
pend you from the exercise &c AS before stated
this sentence not respected; and long before
the 18th day of July the Court had decided that
pastor was well justified in regarding it nulty,
and in acting as though 1t had not been pronounced
After this ruling and Judicial construction of the
law of the church, and the powers of the president
and without respect therefor nay almost in con,
tempt thereof, the same president, the Rev ]. F.
Campbell, In proper person, and as such president,
caused to be served on Mr.. Haskell, on or about
said 18th day Of July, 1880, copy of charges and
specifications which he again. ''rnero motu, pro
posed to present to the synod at Mt. Jackson the
18th of August 1880, the gravamen' of which is to
be found in two of the specifications, the first under
the charge l. is characterization and contumacious
grant rebellion in resisting the lawfully constituted
authority of said synod The specification refer
red to under charge I. is in these words: 'rhat you
have not acknowledged the lawful authority Of said
Synod as exercised by Its president in his order of
June 10Th 1850 suspending you from all the func-
lions and duties Of a minister Of the Gospel In con-
nection with said Synod from and after said 10th
day of june and until the meeting of said Synod in
August, 1885, as in duty bound by your most solemn
obligations a member of said body" The other
specification is but an intenscation of that just
quoted. in these words, ''that you have Who'll
ly ignored and treated with contempt the order of
suspension aforesaid and in defiant disregard of
the same, have publicly and frequently since said
10Th day of June, 1880 continued - offlcate as a
minister Of the Gospel &c Such the burden
of the charges without which it is hardly to be pre-
sumed although there are several specifications
under charge I. Of minor moment, that even the
president would have thought of prosecuting Mr.
Haskell to the verge of deposition from the sacred
ministry This the grave ofense, The burden
Of wrongdoing, too heavy to be borne by presi
dent Of the synod; and so he himself contelnptu-
ously Ignoring the construction OF his own powers
given by the learned Judge of the Circuit Court of
Augusta County, disregarding the lawful withdrawal
Of the congregation from the Synod, and of its pas
tor with it, and regarding the Synod of Virginia. not
as governmental body, organized by consenting
congregations and ministers, with power to with
draw their consent and to the ties of assoca
ton at their pleasure but absolutism to which
perpetual allegiance is due, and which cannot be
renowned without Its consent and to withdraw
from which is treason and rank rebellion. Presi
dent Campbell served his citation upon the pastor
of foreign congregation, and determined to go
through the forms and motions of trial of one who
was no longer amenabe to his authority, or to that
of his Synod. Before the president made his report
in the case, and before any action taken thereon
by the synod Mr. Haskell caused to be delivered to
the president of said Synod, letter in which, dis
claiming any submission to the authority of said
Synod he renewed and repeated the notification
contained in his letter OF the 7th of june $780, of the
fact of his withdrawal from all Synodical connec
ton with the Synod of Virginia, and protesting
against any action of said synod aimed at him or
his congregation sultra wires, and this notice of
absolute withdrawal since June It'll, $780, and this
solemn protest given out of abundant caution,
lest his silence might be construed into acquies-
cence in the proposed action-tn ''the foregone
cluson'' Of the president and those who should
with him.
The Synod found Mr.. Haskell guilty of each and |
every charge and specification, and inasmuch as |
they driven TO ii rather painful logical corner
by their situation in view of the order ofsuspenson,
which the Circuit Court of Augusta County had pro-
nounced, and people generally thought to be null |
and void; and of The charges and specifications |
against MI. Haskell for dsobeying void order the |
synod, appears from the report of their proceed
ings found in the Baltimore 'Sun of August 9th,
broke through the difficulty by proclaiming per- |
fecty declaration OF Lutheran law to the effect
that the right to suspend minister during the |
interim of Synod is lodged in the Prestdent'-a |
right greater than ever lodged in any Bishop, |
ana the declaration of which would seem to convert
the president, charged by the constitution with |
very limited, plain and Ineligible duties, into the