Pastor Röhm, President of the First German Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Texas,
Frelsburg, Colorado County, Texas, 1867

Serbin, Bastrop County, TX, 3rd February, 1867

Honorable Pastor!

The congregation of St. Peter in Serbin, which had been a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas since 1858, has come to the conviction, that it lacks the evangelical Lutheran spirit, despite the fact that it represents itself in its “Constitution” as evangelical Lutheran.

1.The Synod of Texas is a branch of the “evangelical Lutheran General Synod,” which in its teachings is divided and basically “uniert.” If this Synod would only teach evangelical Lutheran doctrine, it would exclude the “Plattformisten” (platformists), who do not believe in the Augsburg Confessions. But she does not do that. To the contrary she excommunicates Lutherans, who have publicly spoken up against the church’s heresy, as we have seen with the old honorable Pennsylvania Synod. The General Synod gives her synods the freedom to teach the Lutheran way or the non Lutheran way. It does not allow the Lutherans the fundamental Christian freedom to give public witness against the disunity of teaching and the wrongful teaching of the platformists and other fickleness. It only wants harmony even if she has to sacrifice parts of truth.

The love to people is number one in the General Synod, the love to God is second.

In reality the Texas Synod is in harmony with the General Synod and as such united. The here mentioned document is proof: “Proceedings of the 19th convention of the General Synod of the evangelical Lutheran Church of the United States”, held in Pittsburg PA between May 19 and 26, 1859. Published by the Gettysburg, PA Printing House in the Lutheran Church Messenger.

2. The representative of the Texas Synod, the Honorable Ebinger, explains (as you can find on page 40): “As I have the honor to represent the first German evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas in the General Synod, I ask for permission to present some clarifications.

a) It has been 6 years since we joined with this body not out of formality, or as others have stated out of opposition, but from the sincerity of the heart and the desire that this union would last forever.”

b) The pastors whom we had called from the Texas Synod showed us that this Synod does not have the wisdom our evangelical Lutheran forefathers had, the doctrine which clearly mandates the pure Lutheran liturgy (Agenda) for the church service and the administration of the sacraments. These pastors introduced much which appears alien and new to us Lutherans, so that we had to teach pastors our Lutheran forefather’s doctrine. Even the hymnals which were given to us were not familiar to us. We found Lutheran hymns which had been changed or had been shortened.

c) Additionally, you find in the Constitution of the Synod of Texas, in Article XIII, 2nd paragraph one did not expressly keep oneself from the suspicion that the constitution could be changed with a 2/3rd majority vote of synodical members present; for example in the teaching of the doctrine, if there was disagreement about the passing out of holy communion, or in matters of the union in sacrament with the Calvinists.

It is for these reasons that we do not consider the Synod of Texas a pure Evangelical Lutheran Synod but only a so called evangelical Lutheran. We publicly distance ourselves from this Synod and wish not to be its member from here on. Please remove the name of the evangelical Lutheran congregation of St. Peter in Serbin from your roster.

In the name of and by the order of the congregation of The Evangelical Lutheran church St. Peter in Serbin.

[Note by translator: the writer distinguishes between writing Evangelisch Lutherisch and evangelisch lutherisch; I used that distinction. The word platformist (in German Plattformist) could not be found; however, represents a group of people who believe in the same principles. Translated by Margot Hendricks]