The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-28
CHURCH OF WILLIAM
EMPERORS RELIGIOUS INsTITU-
 TION CONsECRATED.
German Ruler Wants ft to be Altar of Woxld's Pretestaatism With Himself Protector of
 the Faith.

church for protestants, the Evangeli- cal Catholic. was consecrated today | in the presence of a brilliant assem- blaze. The nave. was filled with sev- eral hundred of well known personal ties of one of the most worldly courts in Europe. clad in scarlet and gold, blue and white, black and yellow and . maze of other color combinations. The ambassadors and their wives in- cluding Mir. and Mrs. Tower sat on the first bench below the chancel. Be- hind him were the diplomats of lesser | rank, members of the cabinet and for eign clergy. among them being the Bishop of Ripon with many orders on his stole. Scandinavian preachers with white ruffs around their necks; Swiss | ministers with lawn cravats falling over black cassocks; and of the Amer | ican Prof. Francis Brown of Union Theological seminary in a plain black | gown; the Rev. J. HH. Prugh, pastor of the Grace Reformed Church of Pitts burg Pr. and the Rev. Dr.. Dickey. pastor of the American Church in Ber- | lin. in black with crimson bands. Behind those were placed according | to precedence a great number of gen. erals, purple robed senators and acade- my oficials. The Emperor and Em- press having upon one side of them Prince Arthur of Connaught and Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark with thirty-two princes and princesses of German States. sat in the gallery op- posit the altar attended by heralds in parti-colored costumes with enormous plumed hats. The whole scene. with the sunlight pouring from the dome lon the white interior with gilded capi- | tals and mosaics, suggested a gala opera or a reception in the great white hall of the palace rather than I a religious service.
 | Somewhat in the shadows in the side aisles and corners on banks of benches were several hundreds of men and wo- | men of the parish, most of them poor and In definite contrast to the flower bed effect of the nave.
 l One quiet figure for whom the Em- peror had caused a special place to be Health Department, one of the last survivors of Martin Luther's race. The ringing of bells in all of the protestant churches of the city, the signal that the Emperor had arrived | and that the dedication was beginning g brought every one into decorous at- tentfon. The Emperor. standing in the wide vestibule. took a key from the chairman of the building committee and handed 1t to Dr. Dryander. the chief court preacher, who opened the principal door into the auditorium. The imperial party asoended to the reserved gallery to the music of Han. del's "TIallelujah" by the organ and band. A simple service then began the choir chanting the 95th Psalm and the congregation sang the hymn 'To God on High be Honor" Dr. Dryan- der whose precise enunciation could be heard in the farthest seat, 136 feet from the altar, made the dedicatory address alluding especially to the pres- ence of protestant delegates from oth- CT countries and to the message from the American clergy which testified to the spiritual unity of protestants throughout the world. Dr. Dryander in the development of this idea sug. sested that it was the Emperor's de- sire that this shall be the altar of the world of protestantism and that the German Emperor shall in d general sense be the protector of the faith. Dr. Organizers dedicatory prayer with thirty Luthern clergymen kneel-
 ing on each side of him in the chan eel was short and simple.
 The double choir then chanted Bach's
 Sing to the Lord Now Song" the congregation sang Luther's "A Firm
 Fortress is our God" and Dr. Krlt-
 ginger preached.
 The entire earvice lasted one and | three-Quarter hours.
 The Emperor received the American delegates at the palace during the af-
 ternoon. Ambassador Tower intro-
 duced them to the Emperor, who talked with each of them about their
 work in America. He said he was
 much gratffied that they had come
 and at the relations existing between
 Germany and the United States. The
 Rev J. J. Beischmann gave the Elm
 peror greetings of the young people
 of his church and the Emperor sent
 his in return. The Anne ericans also
 were also presented to the Empress
 The American delegates were guests
 of the Emperor at a large dinner al
 the palace tonight