revival of Lutheranism. It had been greatly strengthened at least by the
publication of the Ninety-five Theses of Claus Harms in 1817, on the
occasion of the tercentenary of the Reformation, and it in turn
stimulated the Lutheran consciousness of multitudes who had been carried
away by the rationalistic movement of the eighteenth century. The
publication of the royal Liturgy in 1822 and the forcible measures of
the king in ordering a union of the Lutheran and Reformed churches of
the kingdom called forth the staunch opposition of the Lutherans. This
ended in a widespread agitation which sent multitudes of families to a
land where one of the chief fruits of the Lutheran Reformation, that of
religious liberty, could be enjoyed.

The notable thing about the entrance of a few of these people into our
New York life was that it injected new ideas into the stagnant mentality
of the period. That the men who brought them were brusque and exclusive,
was of small account. When Stohlmann, who had recently been called to
St. Matthew's Church, visited Pastor Oertel in his attic room, his
Lutheranism, with a sly allusion perhaps to the stairs, was promptly
challenged by the remark: "You climbed up some other way."

Nor did it matter that on some points the new comers themselves were not
agreed? The Prussians, later known as "Buffalonians," led by Grabau, had
a hierarchical theory of the ministerial office. The Saxons, later known
as "Missourians," led by Walther, had the congregational theory of
church government. For a score of years a titanic conflict was waged
between these two parties. It ended in a decisive victory for
"Missouri." Today "Buffalo" numbers 49 congregations, "Missouri" 3,689.

The Houston Street party in 1839 held hierarchical views. Subsequently
they adopted the congregational theory of the church and established in