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The doctrinal development of the Lutheran Church was matured much earlier than its organization and polity. Luther was not an organizer. The necessity of organization, however, was deeply felt; and in 1529 a visitation of the churches of Saxony was prosecuted, and superin tendents were appointed for the over sight of the congregations and schools. The Order of Discipline of the Church in Saxony became the model for other books of discipline. The priesthood of all believers is a fundamental doctrine, and the parity of the clergy is recognized. In Sweden, when the whole country passed over to the Lutheran communion, the Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops retained their titles. The validity of the Swedish orders, from the standpoint of the Church of England, is s matter of dispute. The Danish Church likewise retsina the title "bishop," but no claim is made to apostolic succession. The first bishops under the new Danish regime were called superintendents (1538), and were consecrated by Bugenhagen. In Germany, church government is executed by conaistories (composed of ministers and laymen) and superintendents. These officers are appointed by the government, examine candidates for the ministry, appoint and remove pastors, fix salaries, and perform other duties. In Germany, as in Denmark and Sweden, the Lutheran Church is under the governmental patronage of the various states; the support of the congregations and the construction of church edifices are provided for out of the national revenues. The supreme consistory of Prussia since 1852 has been composed in part of Lutheran and in part of Reformed members.
[For further information regarding the Lutheran Church in Germany the reader is referred to the biographies .of the German Reformers, to the articles on the separate states of the German Empire (Anhalt, Baden, Bavaria, Brunswick, Alsace Lorraine, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Prussia, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-WeimarEisenach, Saxony, and Württemberg); see also Denmark; Germany; Norway; and Sweden. Such articles as Agenda; Augsburg Confession and Its Apology; Church Government; Formula of Concord; Philippists; Protestantism; and Union, Ecclesiastical will be found abounding in information in regard to origins, development, doctrine, polity, and the like.)
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