istian faith, and all good
discipline shall in like manner be duly exercised and received." The
earliest mention Acrelius makes of congregational officers, is in the
time of Fabritius in 1684, when Church Wardens made an appeal to the
members with reference to the pastor's salary. In Sandel's time, 1702,
new Church Wardens and Church Councilmen were installed, which suggests
that these two offices were found in the time of Fabritius, so short a
time previous. If this be a correct conclusion, the question would
arise, whether this arrangement was introduced by Fabritius, or was in
existence from the beginning? Fabritius was sent out from Amsterdam as
the first settled pastor of the Dutch Lutheran congregations in New
York. If those congregations were not fully organized before he came,
they were certainly organized by him, and in either case after the type
of that at Amsterdam. Fabritius founded the Swedish congregation at
Philadelphia, and it is very possible that he may have given it a
constitution like that of New York and Amsterdam. I do not know whether
the congregations in Sweden have any such arrangement as is found in the
churches on the Delaware. I find the office of Church Wardens mentioned
in the Kirchen-Ordnung of Charles XI. in 1686, but am not sure of the
extent to which the office agrees with that in the Wicaco Church.
Acrelius describes the organization of this last-named congregation in
Sandel's time, p. 216. "Pastor Sandel held a parish meeting, installed
new Church Wardens (Kyrkowaerdar) and Church Councilmen (Kyrkoraeder),
and at the same time explained to each of these their duties. Thus, 1.)
The Councilmen were to have the oversight of the preservation and
improvement of the church and parsonage. 2.) That each in his turn
should look after the life of the people, and if any one should conduct
himself improperly, give timely notice of it to the pastor, so that with
his concurrence and advice, and according to the circumstances of the
persons and their deeds, they might be brought before the Church Council
(Kyrkoraedet), and either admonished, placed on trial, or excluded from
the congregation. The office of the Church Wardens was: 1.) To collect
and pay over the Priests' salary twice a year; 2.) To take up the
collections in the church, and the other church dues, as for marriages,
churching of women, burials, etc.; 3.) To take care of the poor of the
congregation; 4.) To keep the accounts of the church