Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther (October 25, 1811 – May 7, 1887) was a German-American

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister. He was the first president of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) and its most influential

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He is commemorated by that church on its

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on May 7. He has been described as a man who gave up his homeland for the freedom to speak freely, to believe freely, and to live freely, by emigrating from

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to the

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Early life and education

C. F. W. Walther was born a pastor's son in Langenchursdorf in the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

(part of modern-day Germany). Out of a strong religious commitment, he immigrated to the United States in 1838, initially as a follower of Martin Stephan. On September 21, 1841, he married Emilie Buenger. They had six children. He started two important publications, and was author of many books and periodical articles. He was also the head pastor of the four Saxon Lutheran congregations (called the ''Gesammtgemeinde'') in St. Louis (

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, Holy Cross, Immanuel, and Zion). In August 1855, Walther turned down an honorary doctorate from the

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, but in 1877 he accepted a Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He died in St. Louis on May 7, 1887, and was buried at Concordia Cemetery, where a mausoleum was later built in his honor."C.F.W. (Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm) Walther (1811-1887) Papers, c.1828-1887"
> Accessed March 14, 2013 Ferdinand, as he was called by his family, was first educated by his father. At the age of eight, he attended school in Hohenstein for two years. He then entered ''"Latein Schule"'' ("Latin school", a college preparatory school) in Schneeberg, from which he graduated in September 1829. One month later he enrolled in the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

to begin his study of theology and joined his older brother Otto Hermann, who was enrolled in the same university. During his college years in Leipzig he contracted a near-fatal lung disease and had to interrupt his studies for six months. While ill and recuperating, he assiduously read the works of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and became convinced that Luther's theology clearly taught the doctrines of Holy Scripture. He also began believing in the importance of a firm confessional position. In 1833, Walther took his first exam at the university. This examination allowed him to accept a position as a private tutor for a family in the town of Kahla. The experience of two years' tutoring qualified him to take his second examination in Leipzig and graduate. On January 15, 1837, he was ordained to the Lutheran clergy and became a pastor in the town of Bräunsdorf in Saxony. As part of his pastoral duties, he taught religion classes in the local school. He soon, however, found himself at odds with the rationalistic government of the Kingdom of Saxony because he believed that it had departed from the faith and practice of historic

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and promoted false doctrine. The lack of orthodoxy also caused many other conservative Lutherans to oppose the Saxon government's liberal religious policies.

Career

Exodus from Saxony

Walther and several hundred of the other dissenters came together under the leadership of a pastor holding similar views— Martin Stephan from

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In November 1838, under Stephan's direction, 800 Saxon immigrants ("Stephanites") left on five ships for

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in what is known as the Saxon Lutheran Migration, hoping for the

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

to practice their religious beliefs. The settlers arrived in

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on January 5, 1839. The group settled both in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and to the south along the

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in Perry County, Missouri.

Controversy over Bishop Stephan

Soon after the immigrants were settled in the new homeland, their leader and self-proclaimed "bishop of the new settlement", Martin Stephan, was accused of financial and sexual misconduct (charges he had also faced in Saxony) and was expelled from the settlement. His departure left Walther as one of leading clergymen remaining.

The Altenburg Debate

After the fall of Stephan, the group of immigrants was deeply disturbed and unsure whether they were still a Lutheran congregation after having left the authorities and church hierarchy in Germany behind. Walther, who was originally called to be the pastor of a dual parish in the Perry County settlements of

and Johannisberg, struggled over the questions that the laity and other pastors were also asking. In April 1841, soon after his brother Otto Herman, who was pastor of the congregation in St. Louis, had died, a public debate was held between Walther and attorney Marbach, one of the lay leaders of the settlers, in what is known as the "Altenburg Debate". Walther convinced Marbach and most of the other colonists that they could validly consider themselves to be a church. He then accepted the call to his brother's congregation in St. Louis, Trinity Lutheran Church, and served that congregation from May 1841 until his death.

Walther's ministry

During his forty years of work in the LCMS, Walther held several key positions. A log cabin college, which Walther helped to found, opened in December 1839 in Altenburg and eventually developed into Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Walther became its first president and held that position for the remainder of his life. On April 26, 1847, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod was founded. Walther served as its first president, a position he held from 1847 to 1850 and again from 1864 to 1878. In 1861, he also became president of the synod's "practical" seminary (today's Concordia Theological Seminary) while it was co-located with Concordia Seminary for several years. He also founded and edited several Lutheran periodicals, including ''Der Lutheraner'' and ''Lehre und Wehre''. He wrote a number of theological books. Perhaps his best known work is ''The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel'', which is a transcription of a series of evening lectures he gave at the seminary. He is also the author of the text and tune of the hymn "He's Risen, He's Risen" () found in the hymnals of the LCMS and other Lutheran bodies. Walther cfw old

Walther vigorously opposed the theologies of non-Lutheran denominations in America and the influence of the major

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

philosophies and movements on Lutheran thought and practice, and defended the doctrinal and cultural heritage of the Lutheran Church.

Works

Bibliography

During Walther's lifetime, the LCMS was a German-speaking denomination. Not all of Walther's writings have been translated into English, but those that have include the following: * Walther, C. F. W. (1939).
False Arguments for the Modern Theory of Open Questions
. ''Concordia Theological Monthly'' 10 Nos. 4-11:254–262, 351–357, 415–420, 507–513, 587–595, 656–666, 752–759, 827–834. * Walther, C. F. W., Alexander W. C. Guebert, trans. and ed. (1947)
Why Should Our Pastors, Teachers and Professors Subscribe Unconditionally to the Symbolical Writings of our Church? Essay Delivered at the Western District Convention in 1858
''Concordia Theological Monthly'' No. 4:241–253. *Walther, C. F. W. (1986). ''The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel''. W. H. T. Dau, trans. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. *Walther, C. F. W. (1987). ''Church and Ministry''. J. T. Mueller, trans. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. * Walther, C. F. W. (1987)
Our Duty as Priests
''

The Lutheran Witness Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue (St. Louis), Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the ...

'' No. 10:11. * Walther, C. F. W. (2006)
Works of Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther, 1811–1887
Fort Wayne: Project Wittenberg. * Walther, C. F. W. (2010). ''Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible.'' C. C. Tiews, transl. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. * Walther, C. F. W. (2017). ''Pastoral Theology.'' C. C. Tiews, transl. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. * Walther, C. F. W.

Sermons

Several of C. F. W. Walther's sermons have been preserved and translated into English by E. Myers and are available online.

Walther film

In 2011, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Walther's birth, Concordia Seminary,

, produced a video series ("Walther") which followed the life of Dr. Walther, including the history of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Concordia Seminary distributed the videos to LCMS congregations in October 2011. A study guide and Bible study materials also accompanied each segment of the video.

Notes

References

External links

at Concordia Historical Institute, Saint Louis, Missouri
Studium Excitare: Biography of C. F. W. Walther
by Daniel W. Waldschmidt
''Walther''
2011 film by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
The Death of Dr. C. F. W. Walther
by Martin Günther, trans. Nathaniel J. Biebert
The Burial of Dr. C. F. W. Walther
by Martin Günther, trans. Nathaniel J. Biebert * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, C.F.W. 1811 births 1887 deaths People from Zwickau (district) People from the Kingdom of Saxony People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Presidents of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod American Lutheran hymnwriters American Lutheran theologians German emigrants to the United States Leipzig University alumni Seminary presidents 19th-century American clergy 19th-century Lutheran theologians Lutheran saints