Archive for May 2015
Above: The Flag of Vatican City
Image in the Public Domain
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HUGH O’FLAHERTY (FEBRUARY 28, 1898-OCTOBER 30, 1963)
The “Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican”
Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves one life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.
–Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:9
Sometimes acting in a merely decent manner proves to be dangerous, even potentially deadly for one. Doing the right thing remains important and becomes courageous in such circumstances. From the lives of heroes who acted merely decently we who look back upon their times can derive invaluable lessons about loving our neighbors as ourselves.
The saint and hero du jour is Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty. He, born at Cahersiveen, Ireland, on February 28, 1898, grew up toward the end of the struggle to establish the Republic of Ireland (founded in 1922). Political realities, including the killing of friends by pro-British partisans, caused our saint to have a negative opinion of the British for a long time. His mother was Margaret O’Flaherty, a homemaker. Our saint’s father was James O’Flaherty, steward at a golf club. Young Hugh, who grew up at Killarney, became a skilled golfer, but his vocation was with the Church. Thus he entered Mungret College, a Jesuit school, in 1918, to train and study to become a missionary priest.
O’Flaherty became a priest in 1925 and a monsignor nine years later, but never a missionary. No, diplomacy beckoned, given his doctorates and his fluency in languages. This change of direction proved vital to the great work he performed in the 1940s. Our saint served in diplomatic roles for the Roman Catholic Church in Egypt, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and Czechoslovakia before transferring to the Vatican in 1938. Thus it came to pass that, with the start of the European Theater of World War II in 1939 (the Second Sino-Japanese War, which became the Pacific Theater of World War II, had been in progress for years), the Vatican assigned him to serve as the translator for the Papal Nuncio to Italy. This work brought O’Flaherty into contact with Allied prisoners of war, including British ones. He had no difficulty siding with the Allies (even the British) against the Axis Powers, for, as he liked to say,
God has no country.
Our saint ensured that Allied prisoners of war received blankets, Red Cross packages, and proper clothing. He used Vatican Radio to send messages from these prisoners to their families back home. And O’Flaherty protested conditions in some POW facilities, prompting the Italian government to ask the Church to reassign him.
Thus O’Flaherty found himself in a position to lead a network of volunteers, safe houses, and church buildings for the purpose of saving thousands of lives. He was responsible for saving the lives of an estimated 6,500 people–prisoners of war, anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi dissidents, and Jews (about 1,700 of them), of course. Our saint risked his life to conduct this work. He had to travel in disguise, for Pietro Koch, the leader of the Italian Fascist police, and Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Kappler, the head of the Gestapo in Nazi-occupied Rome (September 1943-June 1944), sought to kill him or to have him killed on sight outside the safety of Vatican City, a sovereign state.
O’Flaherty, a humble man who disliked attention showered upon him, received postwar honors from foreign governments. The Italian government gave him a pension, which he declined. Canada and France honored him. O’Flaherty became a Commander of the British Empire and received the United States Medal of Freedom.
Kappler’s fate and the postwar relationship he and O’Flaherty spoke of the possibility of repentance and redemption. Allied forces arrested the former Gestapo leader in 1945. In 1947 a court sentenced him to life imprisonment. O’Flaherty visited him in prison and befriended him. The two men discussed topics such as literature and religion. And, in 1959, our saint converted Kappler to Roman Catholicism.
O’Flaherty, about to become the Papal Nuncio to Tanzania, suffered a stroke in 1960. Thus he left the Vatican for his native Ireland, moving into the home of one of his sisters at Cahersiveen. There our saint died on October 30, 1963. Fifty years later, at Killarney, the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial opened, complete with one of his quotes,
God has no country.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 24, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PENTECOST
THE FEAST OF IDA SCUDDER, REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA MEDICAL MISSIONARY IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF JACKSON KEMPER, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF WISCONSIN
THE FEAST OF MOTHER EDITH, FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE SACRED NAME
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Almighty God, whose prophets taught us righteousness in the care of your poor:
By the guidance of your Holy Spirit, grant that we may
do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in your sight,
through Jesus Christ, our Judge and Redeemer,
who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Isaiah 55:11-56:1
Psalm 2:1-2, 10-12
Acts 14:14-17, 21-23
Mark 4:21-29
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 736
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Above: Allendorf in 1655, by Matthaus Merian
Image in the Public Domain
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PETRUS NIGIDIUS (1501-1583)
German Lutheran Educator and Composer
perhaps the father of
GEORG NIGIDIUS, A.K.A. GEORG NIEGE (NOVEMBER 25, 1525-JULY 4, 1588)
German Lutheran Composer and Hymn Writer
The relationship (if any) between Petrus and George Nigidius is uncertain, but both men were from Allendorf, Hesse, and had connections to nearby Marburg.
Petrus Nigidius (1501-1583) was a professional educator. He studied at the University of Erfurt and served as rector at Eschwege, Allendorf, and Gottingen. Once he visited Wittenberg, where he heard Martin Luther (1483-1546) and Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) speak. Our saint served briefly as rector in Darmstadt and Luneburg before returning to Allendorf to teach. Then he taught at Cassel from 1539 to 1549. From 1549 to 1561 our saint worked as the superintendent at Marburg. There he remained, teaching history then physics starting in 1561. Nigidius retired in 1575.
Among his non-academic contributions were at least one melody and a German-Latin catechism. The catechism dated to 1554. The melody became the basis for a hymn tune, DIE NACHT IST KOMMEN.
Georg Nigidius, born on November 25, 1525, spent most of his life as a soldier and filling civil offices. At the age of nine years he became a pupil of cantor Georg Kern at Cassel. Thus his musical education began. Our saint graduated with his bachelor’s degree from the University of Marburg in 1546. Then he entered the military. Nigidius spent the rest of his life alternating between military and civil positions, settling down at Rintelin in 1587. There he died of a stroke on July 4, 1588.
His hobbies included composing poems and music. Nigidius had sent The Seven Penitential Psalms Together with All Manner of Christian Hymns of Praise and Thanksgiving, and Also Prayers and Passages of Scripture Composed and Compiled by Georg Niege of Allendorf, a Captain to Nicolaus Selnecker (1532-1592), theologian and hymn writer. Selnecker attempted unsuccessfully to find a publisher for it. Nevertheless, some of the texts in that volume appeared in hymnals during the 1500s. The great bulk of our saint’s compositions remained forgotten in the royal library in Berlin until Dr. P. Althaus rediscovered them.
Among the texts by Georg Nigidius in circulation since the 1500s was Aus meines Herzens Grunde. Stanzas #1, 2, 5, and 6 of the translation from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) follow:
My inmost heart now raises
In this fair morning hour
A song of thankful praises
To Thine almighty pow’r,
O God, upon Thy throne.
To honor and adore Thee,
I bring my praises before Thee
Thro’ Christ, Thine only Son.
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For Thou from me hast warded
All perils of the night;
From ev’ry harm hast guarded
My soul till morning light.
To Thee I humbly cry,
O Savior, have compassion
And pardon my transgression;
Have mercy, Thine only Son.
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God shall do my advising,
Whose might with wisdom blends;
May the bless rest and rising,
My efforts, means, and ends!
To God, forever blest,
Will I with mine confide me,
And willing let Him guide me
As seemeth to Him best.
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Amen I say, not fearing
That God rejects my prayer;
I doubt not He is hearing
And granting me His care.
Thus I go on my way
And do not look behind me,
But ply the task assigned me;
God’s help shall be my stay.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 23, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DESIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST
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Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses:
Grant that we, encouraged by the good examples of your servants
Petrus Nigidius and Georg Nigidius,
may persevere in running the race that is set before us,
until at last we may with them attain to your eternal joy;
through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Micah 6:6-8
Psalm 15
Hebrews 12:1-2
Matthew 25:31-40
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 724
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Above: The Fort, Coburg, Thuringia, Germany, 1890
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-01086
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CASPAR FRIEDRICH NACHTENHOFER (MARCH 5, 1621-NOVEMBER 23, 1685)
German Lutheran Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer, born at Halle on March 5, 1621, studied theology at the University of Leipzig (M.A., 1651), having worked as a tutor in the home of Chancellor August Carpzov (1612-1683) of Saxe-Coburg at Coburg. In 1651 our saint moved to Meeder, near Coburg. At Meeder Nachtenhofer served as deacon (1651-1655) and pastor (1655-1671). In 1671 he relocated to Coburg, becoming pastor of Holy Cross Church and deacon of St. Moritz Church. In 1685 our saint published a metrical history of the Passion of Jesus.
Nachtenhofer wrote hymns. I have added two of them to my GATHERED PRAYERS weblog.
Our saint died on November 23, 1685.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 23, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DESIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST
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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,
thank you for those (especially Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer)
who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.
May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Chronicles 25:1-8
Psalm 145
Revelation 15:1-4
John 4:19-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
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Above: The Flags of Minnesota and Wisconsin
Images in the Public Domain
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DITLEF GEORGSON RISTAD (NOVEMBER 22, 1863-SEPTEMBER 20, 1938)
Norwegian-American Lutheran Minister, Hymn Translator, Liturgist, and Educator
Ditlef Georgson Ristad entered the world at Overhallen, Norway, on November 22, 1863. His parents, George Ristad and Johanna Bergitte Ristad, were farmers. Our saint graduated from the Klabu Normal School, taught in a school, tutored privately for three years, and served in the army. Then, in 1887, he emigrated to the United States of Army.
Ristad’s destiny was the ordained ministry, but that was not obvious in 1887 and 1888. He worked in various industries for two years before matriculating at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, an institution of the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (SNELCA) (1853-1917), in 1889. He graduated three years later, became an ordained Lutheran minister, and served as the pastor of the church at East Koskonong, Wisconsin, from 1892 to 1900. During this time our saint traveled to Europe (in 1894), took courses at the University of Chicago (in 1896 and 1897), and edited the Lutheran Sunday-School Hymnal (1897).
Then academia beckoned. Ristad served as the President of Albion Academy, Albion, Wisconsin, from 1900 to 1905, traveling in Europe again in 1904. Our saint’s next position was President of Park Region Luther College, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, from 1905 to 1916. During this time he served on the commitees for The Lutheran Hymnary (1913) and the Lutheran Hymnary Junior (1916). A few years (1916-1919) as the President of the Lutheran Ladies’ Seminary at Red Wing, Minnesota, followed.
Ristad pursued other ventures from 1919 to 1922. He established a trade journal, the Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter, at Edgerton, Wisconsin, in 1919, and worked as a correspondent for other trade journals. Our saint also published a volume of Norwegian poetry in 1922.
From 1923 to the end of his life (in 1938) Ristad was active in parish ministry again. He served as the pastor of the First Lutheran Church, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, during that time. In 1930 the Norwegian government made him a Knight of St. Olaf in honor of his active role in Norwegian-American cultural organizations. Ristad received the LD.D. degree from St. Olaf’s College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1935, capping off a productive life.
Ristad, the family man, was the husband of Sara Moltzau (1869-1957) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the father of George Rolf Ristad (1905-1954) and Robert Nicholas Ristad.
Among our saint’s hymn translations was a rendering (from 1908) of a text by Hans Adolf Brorson (1694-1764) from 1734. “I walk in danger all the way,” it began. Stanzas #2, 3, and 6 follow:
I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God’s own sending;
Oft in adversity
I know not where to flee;
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.
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Death doth pursue me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely,
He comes by night, he comes by day,
And takes his prey most surely;
A failing breath–and I
In death’s strong grasp may lie
To face eternity for aye:
Death doth pursue me all the way.
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My walk is heavenward all the way,
Await, my soul, the morrow,
When thou shalt find release for aye
From all thy sin and sorrow;
All worldly pomp, begone,
To heaven I now press on;
For all the world I would not stay,
My walk is heavenward all the way.
Ristad died on September 20, 1938.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 23, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DESIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST
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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,
thank you for those (especially Ditlef Georgson Ristad)
who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.
May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Chronicles 25:1-8
Psalm 145
Revelation 15:1-4
John 4:19-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
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Above: The Flag of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Image in the Public Domain
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HENRY MARTYN DEXTER (AUGUST 13, 1821-NOVEMBER 13, 1890)
U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Historian
I, as a bookish person, like scholars, generally. Anti-intellectualism is among the most undesirable features of certain varieties of religion. Even Roman Catholicism, with its admirable tradition of Thomism, has also contained a strong strain of anti-intellectualism. The rational aspect of the Anglican Three-Legged Stool (really a tricycle) is one of the theological realities which keeps me an Episcopalian.
Henry Martyn Dexter (1821-1890) was an intellectual and a scholar par excellence. He was also a minister of the Gospel. That union of religiosity and intellectualism warrants my respect. That said, nobody should assume that I agree with all or many of Dexter’s opinions, especially when he quoted the Bible to criticize extending voting rights to women. He was godly yet mistaken about a great many topics.
Our saint entered the world at Plympton, Massachusetts. His parents were Elijah Dexter, a Congregationalist minister, and Mary Morton. Henry graduated from Yale College (B.A., 1840) and Andover Theological Seminary (B.D., 1844). He, ordained, served at Franklin Street Congregational Church, Manchester, New Hampshire (1844-1849), and at Berkeley Street Congregational Church, Boston, Massachusetts (1849-1867).
Dexter was an editor of publications. He edited The Congregationalist (1849-1866) from 1851 to 1866. From 1859 to 1875 he was one of the editors of The Congregational Quarterly (1859-1878): 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, and 1878. Our saint also edited the successors of The Congregationalist:
- The Congregationalist and Recorder (1867), and
- The Congregationalist and Boston Recorder (1867-1901), a.k.a. The Congregationalist.
Dexter was the foremost historian of American Congregationalism. He was a prolific author, as my research about him at archive .org revealed:
- Our National Condition, and Its Remedy: A Sermon, Preached in the Pine Street Church, Boston, on Sunday, June 22, 1856;
- Christian Pamphlets (1858), as one of the authors;
- Street Thoughts (1859);
- Twelve Discourses (1860);
- The History of King Philip’s War by Benjamin Church (1865), as editor;
- The Verdict of Reason Upon the Question of the Future Punishment of Those Who Die Impenitent (1865);
- Mourt’s Relation or Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth (1865), as editor;
- What Ought to Be Done with the Freedmen and with the Rebels? A Sermon Preached in the Berkeley-Street Church, Boston, on Sunday, April 23, 1865 (1865);
- The History of the Eastern Expeditions of 1689, 1690, 1692, 1696, and 1704 Against the Indians and French by Benjamin Church (1867), as editor;
- The Church Polity of the Pilgrims: The Polity of the New Testament (1870);
- Pilgrim Memoranda (1870);
- Memoranda, Historical, Chronological, Etc., Prepared with the Hope to Aid Those Whose Interest in Pilgrim Memorials, and History, is Freshened by This Jubilee Year, and Who May Not Have a Large Historical Library at Hand (1870);
- Congregationalism: What It Is, Whence It Is, How It Works; Why It is Better Than Any Other Form of Church Government; and Its Consequent Demands (1874);
- As to Roger Williams, and His “Banishment” from the Massachusetts Plantation; with a Few Further Words Concerning the Baptists, the Quakers, and Religious Liberty: A Monograph (1876);
- A Hand-Book of Congregationalism (1880);
- The Congregationalism of the Last Three Hundred Years, As Seen in Its Literature (1880);
- The True Story of John Smyth, the Se-Baptist, As Told by Himself and His Contemporaries (1881);
- Common Sense as to Women Suffrage (1885);
- Sketch of the Life of Increase Niles Tarbox (1890); and
- The England and Holland of the Pilgrims (1905), completed by his son, Morton Dexter.
Our saint specialized in prose. As his son, Morton Dexter (1846-1910), son of Emmeline Palmer, indicated, our saint
never regarded himself as a poet and never gave much attention to versifying.
Nevertheless, our saint wrote some ballads, at least one hymn, and at least one hymn translation (“Shepherd of Tender Youth”). “Shepherd of Tender Youth” debuted in the December 21, 1849 issue of The Congregationalist.
Dexter, who received the LL.D. degree from Yale in 1890, died at New Bedford, Massachusetts, on November 13 of that year. Yale received his library of Congregational Church history–1,850 volumes.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 23, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DESIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST
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O God, you have endowed us with memory, reason, and skill.
We thank you for the faithful legacy of [Henry Martyn Dexter and all others]
who have dedicated their lives to you and to the intellectual pursuits.
May we, like them, respect your gift of intelligence fully and to your glory.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Psalm 103
Philippians 4:8-9
Mark 12:28-34
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 6, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CHRODEGANG OF METZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF EDMUND KING, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN
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Above: The Flag of England
Image in the Public Domain
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ANNE STEELE (MAY 1716-NOVEMBER 11, 1778)
First Important English Female Hymn Writer
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A mother may forgetful be,
For human love is frail;
But thy Creator’s love to thee,
O Zion! cannot fail.
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No! thy dear name engraven stands,
In characters of love,
On thy almighty Father’s hands;
And never shall remove.
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Before His ever watchful eye
Thy mournful state appears,
And every groan, and every sigh,
Divine compassion hears.
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O Zion! learn to doubt no more,
Be every fear suppressed;
Unchanging truth, and love, and power,
Dwell in thy Saviour’s breast.
–Quoted in Henry Ward Beecher, Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes for the Use of Christian Congregations (1855), #915
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Anne Steele (1716-1778) was the first important female hymn writer in England. In 1808, when Trinity Episcopal Church, Boston, Massachusetts, published its hymnal, 59 of the 141 hymns came from the pen of our saint. Although Steele was a Baptist, I have found some of her texts most often in hymnbooks of non-Baptist origin. In fact, I found biographies of her in ten of the twenty-three hymnal companion volumes in my library. Their affiliations were, in descending order:
- Lutheran–3;
- Methodist–2;
- Seventh-day Adventist–1;
- Presbyterian–1;
- Evangelical and Reformed–1;
- Episcopalian–1;
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and American Baptist Convention–1.
(The Hymnbook for Christian Worship, 1970, was the official hymnal of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the American Baptist Convention/American Baptist Churches U.S.A.).
Her texts and biography are absent from the Southern Baptist hymnbooks of 1956, 1975, 1991, and 2008. Furthermore, the theologically more moderate and stylistically more traditional (compared to the Baptist Hymnal of 2008) Celebrating Grace Hymnal (2010) also lacks any texts by Anne Steele. On the other hand, the New Baptist Hymnal (1926), a joint project of the Northern and Southern Baptist Conventions, contained some Steele hymns, as did its immediate Northern Baptist successor, Christian Worship: A Hymnal (1941), a project with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I cannot make any claim as to the presence of Steele hymns in The Broadman Hymnal (1940), the first hymnal to bring some uniformity of hymnody to the Southern Baptist Convention, for the volume lacks an index of authors.
Anne Steele (1716-1778) spent her life in Broughton, Hampshire, England. Her great-uncle, Henry Steele, served the Baptist church there as a lay pastor. Her father, William Steele (died in 1769), was a lumber merchant with a considerable financial inheritance who served as a deacon and an occasional preacher in that congregation for thirty years before serving as the unpaid lay pastor there for three decades.
Anne spent most of her life as a frequently bedridden invalid in constant pain. A hip injury she suffered at age 19 created that reality. She was engaged to marry at one point, but her intended drowned the day before the scheduled wedding. Our saint, who never married, assisted her father in his ministry as she was able. She also devoted herself to literary pursuits, writing 144 hymns, 34 metrical psalms, and 30 poems. She disliked publicity, so she refused to submit any of her compositions for publication for a long time. When The Spectator published some of her texts under the name “Steele,” many readers assumed erroneously that the author must have been Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729), a politician, essayist, and playwright. Poems on Subjects, Chiefly Devotional (1760) rolled off the presses, identifying the author as “Theodosia.”
Our saint died on November 11, 1778. Her epitaph declared:
Silent the lyre, and dumb the tuneful tongue,
That sung on earth her great Redeemer’s praise;
But now in heaven she joins the angels’ songs,
In more harmonious, more exalted lays.
Posthumous collections of her verse and works about her appeared in 1780, 1808, and 1863.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 22, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD BIGGS, ACTOR
THE FEAST OF GEORG GOTTFRIED MULLER, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
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Dear God of beauty,
you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to
Anne Steele and others, who have composed hymn texts.
May we, as you guide us,
find worthy hymn texts to be icons,
through which we see you.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15
Psalm 147
Revelation 5:11-14
Luke 2:8-20
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
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Above: The Fort, Coburg, Thuringia, Germany, 1890
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-01086
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JOHANN(ES) MATTHAUS MEYFART (NOVEMBER 9, 1590-JANUARY 26, 1642)
German Lutheran Educator and Devotional Writer
I grew up in rural United Methodist congregations in southern Georgia, U.S.A., in the 1980s and early 1990s. The dominant form of piety in those churches was akin to that one found in neighboring Southern Baptist churches. It was like that old joke that Methodists are Baptists who can read. Then, in late 1991, I became an Episcopalian, for my inherent piety was closer to Roman Catholicism yet somewhat Protestant. Five years later, shortly before the presidential election, I watched a dual biography of President Bill Clinton and Senator Robert Dole on public television. The narrator described the nature of United Methodism in Kansas, prompting me to think that I preferred that to the character of United Methodism in rural southern Georgia. A few years ago I started exploring Lutheranism via books, such as the Book of Concord and various service books-hymnals. I have enjoyed this ongoing process, which has convinced me that German and Scandinavian hymnody is superior to the one inflicted upon me as a child. Unfortunately, that inferior hymnody has been pursuing me even into The Episcopal Church during the last few years, prompting me sometimes to resort to speaking in two languages within one conversation, using French strategically. On other occasions I have maintained a passive-aggressive silence instead. But I digress, as much as I remain an unrepentant European classicist.
Johann(es) Matthaus Meyfart (1590-1642) contributed to the treasures of Lutheran hymnody. His father was a Lutheran pastor at Wahlwinkel, near Gotha, in the Holy Roman Empire. Our saint’s mother was visiting her parents at Jena when she gave birth on November 9, 1590. Meyfart studied at the Universities of Wittenberg and Jena (M.A., 1611; D.D. 1624). His career was mainly an academic one. He taught philosophy at Jena for a few years before moving to Coburg in 1616. There he served as a professor at the gymnasium until becoming director in 1623. At that school, as The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal (1942) informs me,
he had great moral power.
–Page 546
To state that differently, in the words of The Hymnal 1940 Companion (1949),
he exerted a remarkable influence on all his pupils.
–Page 504
Our saint’s tenure at Coburg ended due to his dissertation on church discipline, De Disciplina Ecclesiastica (1633). Many of his colleagues complained to the government because they disagreed with the dissertation’s contents.
The future Duke Ernst I of Gotha came to Meyfart’s rescue, offering him a new position. Our saint became a professor of theology at the University of Erfurt. In 1634 he became the Rector of the University. And, starting in 1636, Meyfart served as the pastor of the Prediger Church in town. Controversy followed our saint, for another writing on the subject of church discipline caused problems for him at Erfurt. These controversies affected Meyfart adversely.
Meyfart seemed drawn to controversies. He wrote a text, Anti-Becanus, in the context of a debate with Martin Becanus (1563-1624), a Jesuit, regarding Socinianism. Becanus condemned not only Socinianism but all Protestant theology. He and Meyfart, therefore, had the denunciation of Socinianism in common. Our saint, however, was a Lutheran, therefore in a position to argue against Becanus.
Socinianism is multi-faceted; here is a partial explanation:
- The Roman Catholic Church condemns Socinianism as a heresy.
- Socinianism teaches that Jesus was purely human nature, that God adopted him as the Son of God, that Jesus embodied the Word or will of God, that Jesus is nevertheless worthy of adoration, and that God bestowed the government of the world on him after the Ascension.
- Therefore Socinianism denies the Holy Trinity. In fact, Socinianism influenced the development of Unitarian theology, especially with regard to the nature of Jesus.
Meyfart wrote devotional works, from which hymns came. These books indicated great literary skill and a firm grasp of theology. Eduard Emil Koch (1809-1871) wrote of Meyfart in 1871. Our saint was
a German Dante, full of learning and fantasy, an individual that one would seldom encounter anywhere.
The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal (1941) indicated that these devotional books were
noted for their vivid portrayals and their earnest calls to repentance and amendment of life.
–Page 546
One of Meyfart’s hymns, drawn from Tuba Novissima (1626), exists in English in various translations and altered forms thereof. Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878) published her translation in the second volume of her Lyra Germanica (1858). (Consult pages 237-239, O reader.) The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) contains an altered version of the Winkworth translation as “Jerusalem, Thou City Fair and High.” The Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) calls the hymn “Jerusalem, Whose Towers Touch the Skies.” Lutheran Worship (1982) and the Lutheran Service Book (2006) list the hymn as “Jerusalem, O City Fair and High.” William Rollinson Whittingham (1805-1879), Episcopal Bishop of Maryland from 1840 to 1879, prepared his own translation, which debuted in Hymns for Church and Home, Compiled by Members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as a Contribution to Any Addition That May Be Made to the Hymns Now Attached to the Prayer-Book (1860):
Jerusalem! high tower thy glorious walls,
Would God I were in thee!
Desire of thee my longing heart enthralls,
Desire at home to be;
Wide from the world outleaping,
O’er hill and vale and plain,
My soul’s strong wing is sweeping
Thy portals to attain.
+++++
O gladsome day and yet more gladsome hour!
When shall that hour have come
When my rejoicing soul its own free power
May use in going home,
Itself to Jesus giving
In trust to his own hand,
To dwell among the living
In that blest fatherland?
+++++
A moment’s time, the twinkling of an eye
Shall be enough, to soar
In buoyant exultation, through the sky
And reach the heavenly shore.
Elijah’s chariot bringing
The homeward traveller there;
Glad troops of angels winging
It onward through the air.
+++++
Great fastness thou of honor! thee I greet!
Throw wide thy gracious gate,
An entrance free to give these longing feet;
At last released, though late,
From wretchedness and sinning,
And life’s long weary way;
And now, of God’s gift, winning
Eternity’s bright day.
+++++
What throng is this, what noble troop, that pours,
Arrayed in beauteous guise,
Out through the glorious city’s open doors,
To greet my wondering eyes?
The host of Christ’s elected,
The jewels that he bears
In his own crown, selected
To wipe away my tears.
+++++
Of prophets great, and patriarchs high, a band
That once has borne the cross,
With all the company that won that land,
By counting gain for loss,
Now float in freedom’s lightness,
From tyrant’s chains set free;
And shine like suns in brightness,
Arrayed to welcome me.
+++++
Once more at last arrived they welcome there,
To beauteous Paradise;
Where sense can scarce its full fruition bear
Or tongue for praise suffice;
Glad hallelujahs ringing
With rapturous rebound,
And rich hosannahs singing
Eternity’s long round.
+++++
Unnumbered choirs before the Lamb’s high throne
There shout the jubilee,
With loud resounding peal and sweetest tone,
In blissful ecstasy:
A hundred thousand voices
Take up the wondrous song;
Eternity rejoices
God’s praises to prolong.
Meyfart died at Erfurt on January 26, 1642.
Reading about Meyfart reminds me of the fact that many gems of German Lutheran hymnody do not exist in any English-language translation. That fact makes me with that the opposite were true.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 22, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD BIGGS, ACTOR
THE FEAST OF GEORG GOTTFRIED MULLER, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
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Dear God of beauty,
you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to
Johann(es) Matthaus Meyfart and others, who have composed hymn texts.
May we, as you guide us,
find worthy hymn texts to be icons,
through which we see you.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15
Psalm 147
Revelation 5:11-14
Luke 2:8-20
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
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Above: Bewdley, England
Image in the Public Domain
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JOHN CAWOOD (MARCH 18, 1775-NOVEMBER 7, 1852)
Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
One might derive many lessons from the life of John Cawood (1775-1852). Among them are the value of education, the imperative of creating opportunities for it, and the importance of of making the most of them.
Cawood came from a poor farming family at Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Thomas and Ann Cawood could not provide certain opportunities for their son; strained finances limited our saint’s early education. When Cawood was 18 years old (in 1793) he began to perform menial labor for one Reverend Cursham of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Four years later, after the Reverend Edmund Spencer of Winksfield, Wiltshire, had guided our saint’s education for three years, Cawood matriculated at Edmund Hall, Oxford. The Vice Principal, Isaac Crouch, helped our saint to succeed. Crouch graduated in 1801 with his undergraduate degree. The M.A. degree followed in 1807.
Cawood was a priest of the Church of England for more than half a century. He, ordained a deacon in 1800 and a priest in 1801, served as the Curate of Ribbesford and Dowles before, in 1814, becoming the Curate of St. Ann’s Chapel of Ease, Bewdley, Worcestershire. He held that post for the rest of his life. Over time Cawood wrote seventeen hymns, nine of which appeared in the eighth edition (1819) of Thomas Cotterill’s Selection of Psalms and Hymns. Some of our saint’s texts also filled pages 127-132 of Lyra Britannica: A Collection of British Hymns (1867).
Cawood died at Bewdley on November 7, 1852.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 17, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHAL BAYLON, FRANCISCAN
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear God of beauty,
you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to
John Cawood and others, who have composed hymn texts.
May we, as you guide us,
find worthy hymn texts to be icons,
through which we see you.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15
Psalm 147
Revelation 5:11-14
Luke 2:8-20
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
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Above: Christ Church (Old North Church), Boston, Massachusetts
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZC4-402
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WILLIAM CROSWELL (NOVEMBER 7, 1804-NOVEMBER 9, 1851)
Episcopal Priest and Hymn Writer
William Croswell was the third son of Harry Croswell (1778-1858) and Susan Sherman Croswell (1779-1855). Harry was a Federalist newspaper editor twice convicted of criminal libel. The standard for criminal libel was political then. The Sedition Act of 1798, a Federalist measure, targeted Jeffersonian Republicans, shutting down newspapers, imprisoning Jeffersonian Republican critics (but not High Federalist ones) of the John Adams Administration, and racking up a 100% conviction rate. Then came the Jefferson Administration in 1801. Jefferson, hardly the paragon of free speech some imagine him to have been, condoned and encouraged libel suits against Federalist journalists, such as Harry Croswell, one half of People v. Croswell (1804). The journalist had accused Jefferson of paying James Callender to publish stories critical of the President’s opponents. New York Attorney General Ambrose Spencer, one target of Croswell’s criticisms, took the editor to court on grounds of libel and sedition. The jury convicted Croswell. In 1805, however, the New York legislature passed a law providing for the defense of truthfulness in libel suits.
Harry Croswell was working as the editor of a newspaper in Hudson, New York, when William debuted on November 7, 1804. The family moved to Albany, New York, in 1809. There the father edited another newspaper and had to contend with more harassment in the form of libel suits. Finally he changed careers and became an Episcopal priest in 1814. Harry served briefly at Christ Church, Hudson, New York, before become the Rector of Trinity-on-the-Green Episcopal Church, New Haven, Connecticut, where he served from 1815 to 1858 (his death). While at Trinity Church he grew the parish, helped to increase the number of Episcopal congregations from one to eight, wrote books (mostly religious), and founded a night school for African Americans.
William Croswell graduated from Yale College in 1822. He took a few years to settle on a career. He considered becoming an attorney. The private school he and brother Sherman Croswell operated at New Haven from 1822 to 1824 proved not to be his calling either. Our saint even tried editing a political newspaper, the Albany Argus, with his cousin, Edwin Croswell, for two years. (The politics of the Argus favored the nascent Democratic Party.) Finally, in 1826, William decided to study theology. He matriculated at the General Theological Seminary, New York, New York, that year, but health forced him to leave. Thus, in the following year, he resumed theological studies at Hartford College. In the meantime he worked as an editor of the Episcopal Watchman, which published some of his poetry. Ordination in the Episcopal Church came in 1828.
Our saint’s first parish was Christ Church, Boston, Massachusetts, or Old North Church, as in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow‘s verse,
One if by land, and two if by sea,
in reference to the famous midnight ride of Paul Revere. Croswell served there from 1828 to 1839. During that time he married Amanda Tarbell (1808-1880).
Our saint’s second parish was St. Peter’s Church, Auburn, New York, of which he was the Rector from 1839 to 1844. He left there to become the founding Rector of the Church of the Advent, Boston, Massachusetts, which he served until he died at the end of the morning service on November 9, 1851. Between his departure from Auburn and his departure from this life Croswell received a D.D. degree from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, in 1846.
William Croswell was a respected man who contributed to his communities. Manton Eastburn, Bishop of Massachusetts from 1843 to 1872, censured our saint for taking certain liberties with the rites of the Church, but Croswell was an excellent pastor and public citizen. Arthur Cleveland Coxe (1818-1896), Bishop of Western New York from 1865 to 1896, who edited and published our saint’s Poems, Sacred and Secular (1859), wrote of him:
As a pastor, few have been more exemplary and devoted than Dr. Croswell. He delighted to find Christ in his poor; and yet he was always beloved and admired by many among the most refined and affluent. As a preacher, he was chaste and fervent in his style, felicitous in his illustrations and expositions of Holy Scripture, and clear and evangelical in his statements of doctrine.
Charles Dexter Cleveland (1802-1869) included some of Croswell’s hymns on pages 83-86 of Lyra Sacra Americana: or, Gems from American Sacred Poetry (1868). Harry Croswell had published the Memoir (1851) of his son in 1851. That volume contained many poetic works.
Our saint’s literary legacy is secure, fortunately.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 17, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHAL BAYLON, FRANCISCAN
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear God of beauty,
you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to
William Croswell and others, who have composed hymn texts.
May we, as you guide us,
find worthy hymn texts to be icons,
through which we see you.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15
Psalm 147
Revelation 5:11-14
Luke 2:8-20
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
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Above: A Clipping from the Mason City Globe-Gazette, Mason City, Iowa, June 18, 1945, Page 5
Accessed via newspapers.com
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JOHN CASPAR MATTES (NOVEMBER 8, 1876-JANUARY 27, 1948)
U.S. Lutheran Minister and Liturgist
My research for adding some one to the Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days often entails consulting hymnal companion volumes. These, I find, are of mixed value, due to frequently incomplete and occasionally inaccurate information. I am, nevertheless, not overly critical of such books, for, via the wonders of technology, I can conduct research at home easily much of the time. Much of this research would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the editors and authors of hymnal companion volumes decades ago. (The oldest such volume in my library dates to 1935, although I have electronic copies of older hymnal companions.) For example, in preparation for this post, I consulted newspapers via newspapers.com and old journals which Google has digitized. I did this at my desk at home in Athens, Georgia. I write these statements to explain the existence of information which contradicts certain information I read in Lutheran hymnal companions dating as far back as 1942.
This post is my attempt to write an accurate and concise account of the life of John Caspar Mattes (1876-1948), a man who was to my theological right. (And yes, many people are to my theological left.) He was a Confessional Lutheran. I am, however, a collegial Episcopalian, so I acknowledge the difference in opinions while dismissing their importance. He was a giant for Christ. Our saint’s liturgical work and hymn translations have survived him. Some of his translations of hymns have enriched my spiritual life. Such a man deserves recognition.
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Above: A Clipping from the Trenton Evening Times, Trenton, New Jersey, November 13, 1908, Page 1
Accessed via newspapers.com
John Caspar Mattes entered the world at Easton, Pennyslvania, on November 8, 1876. His parents were Henry Louis Mattes (1825-1908) and Adelaide Havemann Mattes, who died, aged 91 years, in March 1927. (She had lived with her son and his family for a long time by then.) The Mattes family was staunchly Lutheran. Henry Louis Mattes, a church organist, had helped to found the General Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America (1867-1918), which broke away from the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the U.S.A. (1820-1918). (I like to refer to Taylor’s Law of Denominational Schisms, which is that most of them occur to the theological right, usually out of a quest for doctrinal purity. The result, more often than not, is the propagation of Donatism. The study of religious history confirms this conclusion.) Our saint graduated from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, with his B.A. degree in 1898. His next stop was the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Mount Airy (near Philadelphia), Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1901. Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, granted him an honorary D.D. degree in 1925.
Above: An Article from The Scranton Republican, Scranton, New Jersey, July 26, 1915, Page 4
Accessed via newspapers.com
Stability characterized our saint’s ministerial career. Mattes, ordained in the old Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States (1748-1918), served as the pastor of St. Michael’s Church, Allentown, Pennsylvania, briefly (1901) before accepting a call to the Church of the Savior, Trenton, New Jersey. He remained there until 1915. During his tenure the congregation grew substantially. During that time Mattes made a name for himself as a translator of hymns, especially German ones. In April 1915 our saint joined the committee for the Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917), which became the official service book-hymnal of the United Lutheran Church in America, or ULCA (1918-1962). Mattes created a new arrangement of the History of the Passion (for use during Holy Week) and contributed six hymn translations.
Above: A Clipping from The Scranton Republican, May 28, 1927, Page 28
Accessed via newspaper.com
Mattes served in Scranton, Pennsylvania, from 1915 to 1938. At first he was the pastor of Holy Trinity Church. 1927 proved to be an eventful year for our saint. First, in March, his mother, Adelaide, died at the age of 91. Four months later a son, John, died by drowning in a lake. Between those two deaths Holy Trinity Church merged with Zion Lutheran Church (also in town) to form St. John’s Lutheran Church. Mattes became the assistant pastor of St. John’s Church. In time the word “assistant” dropped from his title.
Above: A Clipping from the Pittston Gazette, Pittston, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1938, Page 3
Accessed via newspapers.com
Mattes resigned his pastorate in late 1938 to become a professor of systematic theology at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, an institution of the more conservative American Lutheran Church (1930-1960).
Above: A Clipping from the Pittston Gazette, Pittston, Pennsylvania, December 30, 1938, Page 3
Accessed via newspapers.com
Mattes, a product of a leading family of the old General Council (1867-1918), complained–frequently in writing–about the United Lutheran Church in America, or ULCA (1918-1962). He was a Confessional Lutheran, and one of the bases of the merger had been flexibility in theology. (This helps to explain why most denominational mergers occur to the theological left.) The ULCA permitted more theological flexibility than our saint liked. Thus Mattes, who had served as the President of the Wilkes-Barre Conference of the ULCA and helped to create the Common Service Book, left for the American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) in 1939.
The American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) was the result of the merger of three denominations:
- The Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States (1818-193o), which refused to join the General Synod (1820-1918);
- The Synod of Iowa and Other States (1854-1930), which separated from the Missouri Synod (1847-present); and
- the Buffalo Synod (1845-1930), which was of Prussian immigrant origin and strict doctrinal standards, out of reaction against the forced merger of the Lutheran and Reformed churches back home.
One consequence of the mergers which produced the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (1917-1960), which renamed itself The Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1946, and the United Lutheran Church in America (1918-1962) was to inspire the three-way union which created the American Lutheran Church (1930-1960), whose ecclesiastical relations with the Missouri Synod irritated both the right wing of the Missouri Synod and the Missouri Synod’s more conservative ecumenical partners. (I have been spending much time studying U.S. Lutheran denominations.)
Mattes taught at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1939 to 1948. He died in that city on January 27, 1948. Caroline Niedt Mattes, his wife, survived him, as did six of their children: Henry, Alfred, Dorothea, Olga, Emma, and Charles. Other legacies survive. I think of his contributions to the Common Service Book (1917), the imprints he left in lives during nearly four decades of parish ministry, the influences which have passed down through his family, and the effects he had on students, and therefore on those whose lives they affected.
Mattes is a fine addition to my calendar of saints.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,
thank you for those (especially John Caspar Mattes)
who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.
May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Chronicles 25:1-8
Psalm 145
Revelation 15:1-4
John 4:19-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
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SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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