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On the Ministry

Charles Porterfield Krauth on the Ministry SOME EXCERPTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF ON THE PRIESTHOOD OF BELIEVERS, THE MINISTRY, THE DIACONATE, AND THE PRESBYTERATE / EPISCOPATE C. F. W. Walther described Charles Porterfield Krauth as “the most eminent man in the English Lutheran Church of this country, a man of rare learning, at home no less in the old than in modern theology, and, what is of greatest import, whole-heartedly devoted to the pure doctrine of our Church, as he had learned to understand it, a noble man and without guile.” Krauth was firmly committed to the theology of Confessional Lutheranism, but he was, at the same time, a fresh and original thinker. During his life he dealt with many important issues, including one that is of great interest to many Lutherans at the present time: the Doctrine of the Ministry. What follows is an anthology of excerpts from Krauth’s writings on this subject, which demonstrate how he addressed several of the questions that are once again under discussion in the Lutheran Church. The influence of Luther, and especially of Chemnitz, is easily discernible, but we are also able to see many examples of Krauth’s own exegetical, theological, and historical insight. We are likewise able to see many examples of his literary ability, in the felicitous expressions that he often uses to make important points and convey important thoughts. Krauth can perhaps be especially helpful to those who, like him, think and write primarily in English. His theological works are directly accessible to the average American Lutheran pastor, without the need to be translated. In some respects they may therefore be more beneficial than other nineteenth-century sources, which originally appeared in other languages, as we grapple with how certain Lutheran theological concepts can best be understood and expressed in native English, and in the contemporary American context.

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