MEINHOLD, KARL HEINRICH JOACHIM: German Lutheran; b. at Liepe (on the Island of Usedom in the Baltic) Aug. 21, 1813; d. in Kammm (120 m. n.n.e. of Berlin) July 20, 1888. His father was a pastor and a rationalist, like the clergy of his synod of that time, though his rationalism was not consistent. In 1827 he entered Mary's College at Stettin and in 1831 the University of Greifswald and later that of Halle. Under the influence of Tholuck and of Ullmann, and later of Schleiermacher in Berlin, he severed all relations with rationalism, drawing closer to the Bible. In 1838, he was appointed pastor at Kolzow, in the Island of Wollin, Pomerania, where he succeeded in maintaining Lutheran interests and soon became one of the acknowledged champions of the Lutheran Church. In the later part of the period of organization of Lutheranism within the Prussian state church Meinhold was a prominent worker and influenced the final settlement. The synod of Wollin, to which Kolzow belonged, resolved that their parishioners should take the name of Lutherans officially and that the sacraments should be administered according to the Lutheran rite. In 1846, a general synod petitioned the authorities to guarantee the Lutheran rights, but without success. After 1848, the authorities decided that the Union should become absolute. During the political struggles the Lutheran associations, with headquarters at Naugard, planned for self-defense. In 1851, Meinhold was appointed superintendent at Kammin, where he soon became the leader of the associations in their contest with the authorities. These associations had to contend with two tendencies, first that toward separation, secondly that toward absorption, with the latter of which the authorities sided, and in the contest Meinhold received blame from both parties. In 1869, Superintendent Meinhold was suspended, but he was reinstated in 1874 by order of the ministry. Then supervened the Falk era: the clergy, expecting greater freedom and led by Meinhold, outlined their position at a conference at Gnadau in 1874. However, disciplinary measures were taken against Meinhold. A synodal order was issued, looking to a union between the confessional group and the authorities. In 1875, a general synod assembled and determined upon harmony; the result was that the Lutheran Church gained a right of existence within the Prussian state church. In 1880, Meinhold was reappointed superintendent, then district school inspector, and in 1888 a jubilee was celebrated for his fifty years of active service.

(T. Meinhold.)

Bibliography: Allgemeine evangeliach-lutharieche Kirchenzeitung, 1888, pp. 1107 sqq.