Dear friends in Christ,
We continue our survey of Church History from the book of Professor E.A.W. Krauss from our St. Louis seminary of a century ago. With France being much in the news recently, this month’s article about the Protestant Church in France is quite timely. Normally Professor Krauss gives a broad historical overview, but this month he gives a historical event a human face as he shows what life was like for one French Protestant after the Edict of Nantes was revoked. With the Edict of Nantes on 13 April 1598 France’s King Henry IV granted toleration to his Protestant subjects. But as we heard last time, Louis XIV revoked it on 22 October 1685.
37.3 THE ACCOUNT OF AMBROISE BORELY
A clear picture of the suffering that the French Protestants faced at the time of the repeal of the Edict of Nantes is offered by the “Account of the Old Cevenol,” Ambroise Borely from the Cevenne. He died in London in 1754 at the age of 103. Jestermann wrote it in English; it was also published in French, Londres 1788.
Ambroise Borely, the oldest of seven children, was the son of a rather well off man in the Cevenne. The Protestant family had lived peacefully enjoying its modest prosperity until the disastrous hour came when the mayor of their community announced that the Edict of Nantes had been revoked. The young Borely was a witness of the debauchery that the dragoons committed in his father’s house.
When those terrible guests had consumed the provisions of the house, his mother who would soon give birth, had to leave the house with the children. A friend whose house was spared by the dragoons took her in. Her husband, who had accompanied her, returned to the house and was seized by the soldiers and was strung up in the fireplace. He died that same evening from the cruelties he suffered. The monsters tied young Ambroise to the bed. He cried and screamed terribly at the sight of this crime. At last, the soldiers again dispersed. After several days the widow returned with the poor orphans to the deserted house.
She lived meagerly with what the robbers had left and escaped their lustful looks. By Christian instruction she tried to instill on her children that they forget their misery. Nothing more terrible could have happened to her than if these children would be torn away from her. The salvation of these her dear ones meant everything to her.
At age 15 Ambroise could have supported his mother. He read and wrote skillfully as his mother had taught him, had an open mind, a pious heart and a very auspicious countenance that called forth confidence from everyone to whom he offered his service. But where should he turn? His grandfather was a lawyer so the young Borely thought he would make his fortune in this profession. He contacted a person who would train him and was kindly accepted, but he was immediately excluded because of the edict that from then forbade all Protestants from being lawyers. In fact, not only as a lawyer, but as a result of the royal decree he could not so much as even become an usher or janitor.
The young man was not at all deterred by this. He sought his fortune with a doctor. But was struck by a similar royal prohibition; it excluded all Huguenots from the medical profession. In vain Borely asked whether Asculapus, Hippocrates, and Galenus were Catholic—enough. There was no hope. The youth was not yet completely discouraged and thought “Well, if I cannot be a doctor. I will become a pharmacist,” and applied to a pharmacist. But even here an edict was held before him; it did not allow any Protestant to practice the vocation of pharmacist or surgeon; and when he still inquired further, he learned that he could not even become a servant since it was forbidden to have Protestant servants. He then got the idea to enter the army but his mother explained that even here he, as a Huguenot, could not expect any promotion; and she trembled at the thought that he would come into contact with the men whose cruelty she herself had so bitterly experienced. Ambroise did not want to inflict the sorrow that his becoming a soldier would cause his mother. He wanted to take up an honorable trade and spoke about it with a friend. But he pointed him to royal edicts that expressly forbade Huguenots from becoming printers, booksellers or goldsmiths. There were still enough other trades left but the prohibition that prevented the accepting of most Protestant apprentices put an end to all further musing.
The poor man of Cevenne was in the most painful difficulty; and then add to that the suffering of his mother and the remaining children. The Roman clergy had figured out the fact that the mother had raised these children in the religion of Calvin. They demanded that the children attend Catholic instruction and showed the royal decrees that levied fines against all who neglected Catholic instruction. The poor mother gladly paid the fine if, by it, she could redeem her children from spiritual destruction. Yet, because she often had to repeat it, this punishment also became very much of a hardship with her meager means. Finally the oppressors called upon an edict that disallowed the widows who stubbornly withdrew their children from Catholic instruction from administering their means themselves. Her small property was seized and she was given a paltry widow’s payment.
But it did not even stop there. The thing she had feared for so long as the worst possible thing that could happen to her happened. The children were actually taken away from her, locked away in monasteries in faraway cities and there they were forcibly made Catholics. Ambroise was the only visible comfort of the widow who was deeply weighed down in her misery. The youngest of the children, a seven year-old boy, Benjamin was likewise snatched from the mother’s bosom and stuck in a monastery. The child was exceedingly handsome and loveable. The spiritual fathers cajoled this child so long and enticed him by sweets and small gifts until he finally repeated a formula of renunciation in the presence of a number of believers. When she heard the news, the mother did not want to believe that the confession of a seven-year old child could be considered valid. She was well aware of an edict that declared a twelve year old child to be of age, but what was held before her was a later edict that declared children to be of age five years earlier than the previous edict.
Besides our Ambroise, an old uncle was the support of the family. They also tried every way to get him to convert. When he lay sick in his bed, four drummers who had been quartered with him, drummed before his bed. He endured this torture 84 hours. When this was still of no avail, a large kettle was put over his head and they hammered away on it. The poor man was finally moved in the end to sign, with trembling hand, a statement to recant his faith that was shoved before him. But from that hour on his joy was gone. He accused himself of committing treason against the truth. Yet behold! An ordinance even forbade the newly converted from punishment in the gallies, lest someone notice any regret over their conversion. Uncle Borely’s regret was sufficiently shown by the seclusion in which he then lived and by his melancholy mood. One day the family saw that the uncle was brought to prison and he had to go on the galley. Young Ambroise had to see all this suffering. The mother was practically in despair over this new blow. Meanwhile, the lawyer from whom the young Borely had once sought employment knew how to get the uncle released and to obtain a feudal property for him that would give him an income. But a declaration of the king forbade the Protestants the fief. The old uncle could have pointed to his recanting of the Protestant faith but he was ashamed of it. Then his nephew tried to devise a way by selling his own property to help his uncle. Even before the morning dawned, he went to the house of a notary and woke him up in order to discuss the matter with him. Ambroise had been of age for a long time, and so, he thought, there was nothing standing in the way of him voluntarily selling his property. But he did not know that an edict forbade Protestants to sell a property without the permission of the superintendent, and that a property valued as much as his required even more regulations. Then Ambroise made the generous decision to give the property to his uncle. But even this plan was thwarted by the edict that forbade every gift to the Protestants. These edicts were given to make it difficult for the Protestants to emigrate. Finally, under the pretext of debts that he had (although it was only the debt of love of his uncle) the nephew succeeded in selling his property for a greatly reduced price and so freed his uncle out of his bad situation.
On the way back, Ambroise encountered a commotion among the people. A corpse was being dragged around by a noose accompanied by the executioner, surrounded by the rabble that plastered the corpse with stones and mud crying out: “It is right! It is right! It must be done to the Huguenots. Hang them all on the gallows!” and the like. He saw that it was the body of a Protestant who in the hour of death had refused to receive the Catholic Extreme Unction, and who had been refused an honorable burial by a royal decree. He barely escaped into the hall of an open house after the crowd had recognized him as a Huguenot and chased him. While he was in this house and squeezed in a corner of a hallway, he heard a conversation in an adjoining room between a Jesuit and the owner of the house. The Jesuit was defending the brutality of the government while the other person mildly objected. Meanwhile the people dispersed and Ambroise returned to his home.
Oh, how soon he would have a new painful experience! One evening he came home and did not find his mother. His heart was filled with Unease and anxiety filled his heart. Only after midnight did his mother arrive, supported by a friend. She could hardly walk; her body was covered with blood; weak, she fell into his arms. When she again revived, he learned: for a long time his mother had longed to hold an “edification hour” with her fellow believers. This took place in a remote wooded area to which the Protestants would retreat in fear of their persecutors. His mother had also gone there. But the place had been found out. Soldiers surrounded the woods, invaded the assembly and fired their weapons at them. Borely’s mother was wounded in the side and the wound proved to be fatal. She was rushed to the surgeon who immediately recognized the danger. But he also informed the dying mother and the distressed son, above all, to go and bring him the priest there in order to give her Last Rites. The king had commanded a fine of 300 Livres [one livre was equal to a pound of silver] to the doctor or surgeon who failed to carry out this notice. In vain he asked Borely. The surgeon immediately hurried to the rectory. Now Borely had to choose between two evils: to have Last Rites administered to his mother or to surrender her to the fate of that miserable man who a few days before was led through the streets by the hangman’s noose. Motivated by despair, or better put, in devoted love Borely decided to do something that was risky. He wrapped up his dying mother as well as he could and carried her on his shoulders out of the house. But he could only carry her a few steps to the door of a friend. Certainly he would open it to him in his distress. But the iron bolt of the royal edict shut even this door to him. The “friend” made a thousand apologies and assured him of all sympathy; but a 500 Livre fine for anyone who, under the pretense of humaneness, would take in a Huguenot seemed to be too great a sacrifice. So the son then carried his precious load even further to a remote street corner where his mother, laying hidden under a straw roof, gave the final blessing to the dear one of her heart and died in his arms.
Borely now stood all alone in the world: orphaned, forsaken by his friends and surrounded by enemies and spies. He had hardly succeeded in burying his mother in silence when his persecutors discovered the body. He then decided to leave his homeland. But his siblings, who as we know, were stuck in cloisters, were still on his heart. How would he snatch them from the hands of their tormentors? After he had tried in vain to encourage them to flee, he decided to make his way to Switzerland and from there to travel down to Holland where he had relatives.
It was at the end of 1698, the year in which the royal law was renewed that required all parents to have their children baptized Roman Catholic within the first 24 hours. This lead many Protestants anew to emigrate, thus Borely was not at a loss for traveling companions. He joined a company of 12 people who decided to do their traveling only at night in order to avoid the spies who were watching and, in general, being seen by any Catholic who in their zeal aided those watching. During their trip these companions in misery had the opportunity to come to know the sad state of the empire because they truly experienced the dark side of that acclaimed century of Louis XIV. “While Louis the Great—so says Borely—admired in Paris the comedies of a Moliere and the tender dramas of a Quinault with their beautiful prologues, the little people (le petit peuple) of the small provincial towns experienced daily tragedies for real. Today a long line of galley slaves that were surrendered to the abuses of the rabble; tomorrow the public flogging of a male or female Huguenot; again the next time the execution of five or six people—and all for amusement.” Everywhere the refugees met the vestiges of the land’s desolation and devastation; houses open and desolate; smashed furniture or ruined food on the streets; everywhere was filled with soldiers, guards, beggars, and every sort of mob; among them wandering refugees.
After Ambroise with his companions successfully made their way through this whole labyrinth and sometimes had stilled their hunger in the woods with roots and herbs, they reached the shore of the Rhone below Lyon. They persuaded, with money, a man to ferry them across in a boat. But a village on the other side of the shore spotted these poor wretches. At once the alarm bell sounded and a mob of armed farmers hurried there to stop them just as they set their feet on the shore. A royal edict guaranteed a third of a refugee’s possessions to the person who captured one—thus the haste of the farmers. Ambroise and his companions wanted to defend themselves; they bravely charged the farmers who were attacking the ones fleeing. Soon they were overtaken by their pursuers who seized them at the border of the Dauphine. Then the whole company—among whom were men of standing, nobility, scholars, venerable old men—was put together with a transport of thieves to be led off to the galleys. All suffered the same brutal treatment. They were given bad and insufficient food and even more blows if they dropped from fatigue and could no longer drag the burden of iron around their necks.
They arrived in Valence. A report came from Marseille that all the galleys there were full. They were then temporarily placed into the town’s prison. Ambroise was thrown in a narrow cell with two of fellow companions in suffering. The chains were not removed which prevented them from sleeping. Then in the night they heard the sounds of lament and moaning from their fellow prisoners. Yet soon they also again heard, as greetings of faith and love, the godly singing of the psalms resonating over to them from various parts of the prison. But this singing was soon interrupted by terrible cries of pain of women’s voices above the prison in which Ambroise found himself. After investigating it, Ambroise later found out that two daughters of the lawyer, Ducros, from Languedoc were most dreadfully mistreated because they did not want to renounce their faith. Even Ambroise did not escape the flogging the next morning because he had joined in singing the psalms.
Then the march proceeded to Marseille. There Ambroise found out that “from a special grace” he and his companions would not go to the galleys but would be shipped over to America. Ambroise owed his rescue to a shameful attempt of the captain to get rid of the prisoners in the ship by a quick death in the waves. He and a prisoner from La Rochelle saved themselves on boards and, as death was swiftly approaching them, they were taken on board an English ship that crossed before Gibraltar. The companions in faith were greeted with rejoicing, had to tell their account and subsequently returned to London with their rescuers where Borely got employment in a French trading house and soon gained considerable wealth.
His further destiny in England does not belong here. But he again visited his homeland at the time of Voltaire’s enlightenment and, of course, found it different but not better. Yet the old laws of intolerance reached him even in the midst of this praised age. He married, but of course was not married as a Catholic. Thus this marriage was considered an unlawful (marriage du desert), and therefore illegal. His wife died in childbirth. The maternal inheritance was taken away from the son who was born to him. Ambroise was also disappointed here and returned to his new Protestant homeland sullen at the lost proceedings. There he, as already noted, died at a ripe old age.
We have only a little to add.
According to the testimony of the Catholic author, in Louis XIV’s persecution 100,000 Protestants died—cruelly executed—in the province of Languedoc alone. Just as many succeeded in fleeing across the carefully guarded borders at night and then found a friendly reception in Holland, in England, Germany and Switzerland and in return they brought benefit to their new homeland. For besides 15,000 noblemen who for the most part sought and found accommodation in the military, there were mostly industrious and capable craftsmen, and among them many who brought along yet unknown trades and arts, silk weaving, glove making and the like.
In all, the godlessness and treachery of Louis XIV drove out 800,000 Protestants from the country.
This was the attitude of this much celebrated Roman Catholic French king to his own church and to his Reformed subjects to whom he had sworn freedom of religion.
There are still today many thousands of Reformed in France. But the scepter has long been taken from the house of the oath breaking Louis XIV.
So far Professor Krauss
LWML NEWS
We had a nice meeting Sunday. We made out the new activity schedule for the year and made 2 big changes. We changed the date of the Church picnic to August 30th hoping more could make it and the weather would be warmer. The other big change is that the Craft and Bake Sale will be April 26th. The schedule should be out soon. Please let me know if you have any questions.
We continue to work on quilts for Lutheran World Relief after Thursday morning Bible Study. Usually we have four ladies and Tom. We would love to have more help if you can. So far this year we have made about 20 quilts.
At our Coffee hour this month will be Brian Schendel from Thrivent to tell us about the new ways we can get money for our congregation or groups and activities we support. It should be very interesting!
God bless and have a good month, Carol
Sunday School News: The classes are going along very well. Sometimes the children have homework which helps prepare them or Confirmation. The children are planning a spaghetti supper to help them raise money to buy farm animals for poor people in poor countries through the Heifer Project. We will talk with Brian from Thrivent about how Thrivent can help us gather the “seed money” to help us in our project.
BE SURE TO JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL COFFEE HOUR HOSTED BY THRIVENT FINANCIAL ON 22 FEBRUARY: Thrivent representative, Brian Schendel will give a 30 minute presentation on “What’s new with Thrivent Financial in 2015.” This presentation is open to all, whether you are a Thrivent member or not. Come and find out ways you, using Thrivent money, can help our congregation and activities and organization we support.
GET THE FULL FAITH LUTHERAN EXPERIENCE!
One of our members has set up a Facebook page for our congregation. It can be found at Facebook.com/Faith Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. If you are on Facebook be sure to check out our Facebook page and “Like” us. That way you will get timely updates from the church, Luther quotes to ponder and other worthwhile doctrinal teaching that will reinforce what you hear in church and help you form your thinking in a Biblical way.
Also be sure to visit our website [www.faithlutherancorning.org] and make full use of the rich doctrinal and instructional material we make available to you there.
Be sure to point others to our website and Facebook page as well.
CHURCH YEAR NOTES: On 01 February we begin the short three week period of Pre-Lent. These three weeks are the entry way to Lent and bridge the great joy of the Epiphany season with the penitence and self- examination of Lent. These Sundays have Latin names ending with –gesima. These Sundays are a “countdown” to Easter telling us about how many days there are until Easter. Septuagesima tells us there are about 70 days;
Sexagesima about 60 days and Quinquagesima about 50. By looking ahead to Easter, our faith is strengthened so that we can honestly examine our hearts and lives, recognize our sin and trust in the forgiveness of sin Jesus brought about for us on the cross. By looking ahead to Easter, the certainty of Jesus’ work and the assurance of the forgiveness we can rightly use Lent as a time of penitence and of pondering Jesus’ Passion.
WHY DOES THE PASTOR FACE THE ALTAR? WHY DOESN’T HE FACE US?
There is a twofold answer to that question. First, during the liturgy the pastor stands with the congregation as her representative before God. He speaks together with and on behalf of the congregation to God. This is known as the pastor’s “priestly” role. So, when the pastor does not face the congregation but has his back toward you, he is with you and is your representative. You will notice this during confession and prayers, for example. But, when the pastor faces the congregation, he is serving as God’s representative, His mouthpiece. Here the pastor faces the congregation, and as “God’s voice” announces the absolution, gives the congregation Jesus’ body and blood, etc.
But what about during the communion liturgy, for example during the words of institution, he still faces the altar?
Here it is important to remember the symbolism of the Church. Although, historically, churches were generally, when possible, built facing east, many—like ours are not. However, the altar is what is called “liturgical east”. When we face the altar, we are “facing east.” What’s the big deal about that? What’s the symbolism in the church for that? Jesus says [Mt. 24.47]: For as the lightening comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. The Lord says to the Old Testament people [Ml. 4.2]: But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. Where does the sun rise? In the east! Remember even the Wise Men asked Herod [Mt 2.2]: Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose in the east and have come to worship him. St. Peter writes [2 Peter 1.19]: And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart.
What do these verses have in common? They all talk about the east—and Christ’s coming. Jesus came the first time—the sun of righteousness, rising in the east; His star rising in the east. Jesus talks about His return coming from the east.
As the congregation faces the altar—liturgical east—the congregation is confessing her faith in the return of Christ. It is the congregation’s watching for His return—scanning the eastern sky, if you will.
Especially at Holy Communion, what is happening? Jesus is coming to us with His body and blood. Together people and pastor face east—the altar—expectantly watching not only for Jesus’ Second Coming, but confessing that in the Sacrament He comes. Together pastor and people symbolically face Christ on the altar and crucifix.
As the pastor faces the altar, he is in the ad orientem–facing east—position. So in reality, the pastor is not facing away from the people, he is with the congregation, among her, leading her, facing Christ and confessing and awaiting His return.
On 18 February we remember Luther’s death in 1546. We now look at:
LUTHER’S FINAL SERMONS
From 1512 on, Luther was active as a professor of theology in Wittenberg. Others, like Johann Bugenhagen, served as pastors of the city. Nevertheless Luther frequently took on preaching duties so that he gave hundreds of sermon.
Even Luther’s final trip was accompanied by sermons. On 17 January 1546 he preached in Wittenberg for the last time where he expounded on Romans 12.3: For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
From 25-28 January the traveling group sat tight in the city of Halle because the Saale River could not be crossed due to the ice floats. Luther used the time for a sermon. On the way to Eisleben he suffered faintness due to circulation problems, yet on 31 January we find him already in the pulpit in Eisleben. Also in the following days he preaches three more times, among others on the parable of the weeds among the wheat [Mt. 13. 24-30]. He pointed out that the Church in this world is always in battle. Until the end, false teachers and hypocrites make trouble until the end.
Finally, on 14 (or 15) February 1546 Luther stood in the pulpit in Eisleben. On the occasion of the ordination of two pastors he preached on Jesus great call to salvation, Mt. 11, 25-30: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The occasion for Luther’s final trip was disputes between the three counts of Mansfeld. Luther was asked to serve as mediator to his former rulers. The discussions dragged on and in the end did not bring lasting success. Luther felt the whole thing to be an “unpleasant affair.” He sought from the elector a quick order to return to Wittenberg.
In the discussions in his final days much revolved around the end of the world and death. Luther felt himself to be tired and was ready for death. Two days before his death he expressed in his coarse humor, “When I again come home to Wittenberg, I will then lay in the coffin and give the worms a plump doctor to eat.” He harshly warded off the anxious inquiries of his wife: “Leave me alone with your worry. I have one better who is than you and all angels are to worry about me. He lies in the manger and holds on to the Virgin’s breast, and yet sits at the right hand of God the almighty Father. So be content.”
[Gottfried Herrmann]
IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH: THE ROSA YOUNG STORY
Rosa J. Young was born in 1890 in rural Rosebud, Alabama, one of 10 children. From childhood, she wanted to be a teacher to help educate “her people.” After earning her education credentials, she taught in small rural Alabama schools, until opening her own Christian school in Rosebud in 1912.
In 1915, disaster struck when the boll weevil destroyed the cotton crop, the region’s economy. On the verge of closing her beloved school, Rosa wrote Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute for advice. He told her to write the Lutheran church, which supported schools and worked among blacks.
I began my school in 1912 with seven pupils in an old hall where cattle went for shelter…. Since then, I have built a four-room schoolhouse and have 45 seats, 5 heaters, 1 school bell, 1 sewing machine, 1 piano, a nice collection of useful books and 150 New Testaments.
Her letter to Missions Director C.F. Drewes, offering everything she had, was like “a voice crying out from Macedonia,” he later wrote. He sent Rev. Nils J. Bakke to Alabama to work alongside Miss Young, and together, they founded over 20 church-schools for rural children, who had nowhere else to go. In 1922, seeing a need for teachers and pastors, an academy was started in Selma, Alabama which became Concordia College in Selma.
Do something worthy for mankind. Serve others. Do all you can to uplift humanity. –Rosa Young, Light in a Dark Belt.
Faith Lutheran Voters’ Meeting- January 11, 2015
Meeting called to order @ 12:20pm after prayer by our congregational president with 15 members present.
EXPERT GUESTS, EXPANSIVE TOPICS, EXTOLLING CHRIST...Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken. This week's topics include: Jesus and the Little Children, Infant Communion, Repentance, The Supreme Court & Same-Sex Marriage and more. You can listen to what you want when you want at www.issuesetc.org.
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