4. Ritual and Worship

Church, while discarding all unevan gelical doctrines and practises. Thus, in his Latin and German litanies, which were in use in 1529 at Wittenberg, he made certain corrections and additions. The Lutheran Church uses a liturgy. The first complete form, or Agenda, was that of the Duchy of Prussia, 1525 (see Agenda for a history of Lutheran liturgy). There is no authoritative form for the whole Church. A movement was set on foot in 1817 by Frederick William III. of Prussia to introduce a uniform Agenda; but it created intense excitement and caused the Old-Lutheran secession (see below, II.). The various states of Germany have their own forms, which differ, however, only in minor particulars. Luther introduped the use of the vernacular into the public services, restored preaching to its proper place, acid insisted upon the participation of the congregation in the services, declaring "common prayer exceedingly useful and healthful." He rejected auricular confession as practised and required in the Roman Catholic Church, but advocated private and voluntary confession. This practise has been mostly given up. The rite of exorcism, which the Reformed Churches abandoned, was retained and recommended by Luther and Melanchthon. Hesshusius, in 1583, was the first to propose its omission, and it has since fallen into disuse in the Lutheran Church. The popular use of hymns was introduced by Luther, who was himself an enthusiastic singer, and by his own hymns became the

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father of German hymnody (see Hymnology, VI., § 1; Luther, § 28). Congregational singing continues to form one of the principal features in the public services. The great festivals of the Church, such as Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, the Days of the Twelve Apostles, are observed with religious services, and the Reformation is commemorated on Oct. 31. Pictures are admitted into the churches.

5. Government

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.

Philip Schaff†.

[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.)