faculty, was generally viewed as the first actual
step toward a breach. According to Dr. Jacobs both the establishment of
the Philadelphia Seminary and the subsequent disruption of the General
Synod would probably have been avoided, "if the chair at Gettysburg,
vacated by the resignation of Dr. S.S. Schmucker, had been filled by his
[Charles Porterfield Krauth's instead of J.A. Brown's] election." (462.)
Howbeit, at its convention in Fort Wayne, May, 1866, President S.
Sprecher ruled that Synod could recognize the Pennsylvania delegation
only after receiving the report of an act on the part of the
Pennsylvania Synod reestablishing its relation to the General Synod. In
spite of vigorous protests on the part of the Pennsylvania and other
delegates, the chair in its ruling was supported by the majority of the
convention. After a good deal of parliamentary fencing and quibbling,
Synod adopted, with a vote of 77 to 32, as the "ultimate resolution":
"Resolved, That after hearing the response of the delegates of the
Pennsylvania Synod, we cannot conscientiously recede from the action
adopted by this body, believing, after full and careful deliberation,
said action to have been regular and constitutional; but that we
reaffirm our readiness to receive the delegates of said Synod as soon as
they present their credentials in due form." (_Proceedings_ 1866, 3. 5.
9. 12. 25 ff.) Of the alternatives, either practically applying for
readmission or withdrawing from the convention, the Pennsylvania
delegation chose the latter course. At the same time they stated "that
in retiring, as they now do, they distinctly declare that this their act
in no sense or degree affects the relations of the Pennsylvania Synod to
the General Synod." (28.) President A.J. Brown replied in behalf of the
General Synod: "This body has not decided at any time that the
Pennsylvania Synod was out of the General Synod. But having by its
delegation openly withdrawn from the sessions of the General Synod, at
York, Pa., the former President [Sprecher] ruled that the practical
relation of the Synod of Pennsylvania to the General Synod was such that
no report could be heard from that Synod until the General Synod was
organized.... The General Synod hereby extend to the delegation from the
Synod of Pennsylvania the assurance of its kindest regard." (28.) "The
die was cast," says E.J. Wolf. "The prospect of a general Evangelical
Lutheran organization in this country was di