USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Ephrata > Chronicon ephratense : a history of the community of Seventh Day Baptists at Ephrata, Lancaster County, Penn'a. > Part 16
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But the Superintendent recovered, and, although very weak, appeared again publicly at the meetings, at which many rejoiced. But the Prior did not know how to conduct himself, for he had already instilled too much of his own will into the work, and did not know how again to disen- tangle himself. Only two ways were open for him, either to lay down his office voluntarily, or to try to bring the Superin- tendent under his feet; the first would surely have been the safest, provided he could have endured all the judgment and shame connected with it without running away from school; then he would again have been an ordinary Brother, as others who had fallen under the same tribulations, tried after him with good success. But he was too great a man for this, there- fore he followed the second way as the nearest, and thereby brought about his fall. The Superintendent foresaw all
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this, for everybody could see that the Brethren's household in Zion was not founded on the rock Jesus Christ, since you heard there no other talk but about buying, selling, taking in or lending out money, dissolving marriages, acquiring land, keeping servants, wagons, horses, oxen, cows, etc. The Governors even were induced to notice this new institu- tion, and yet all this was put to God's account. Therefore he prophesied several times that the Brotherhood in Zion would yet have a great fall. And of the Prior in particular, he said, he resembled one, who climbed too high, and the ladder was taken away from under him. This the poor Breth- ren did not believe, because they were already so heavily laden that nothing heavier could befall then except martyr- domn. But it was as little his part to advise, as it had been God's part to prevent the fall of the angel of envy. For if the Superintendent had held back anything from him, lie might have been accused of not having dealt honestly with him. On the contrary, he afterwards accused the Superintendent of being the cause of his fall, because he had loaded him with more good than he was able to carry, which even now is the accusation of the fallen angels against God. Thus you see that everything has to be brought to an end by the good- ness of God. The Prior himself was not without experience in these dangerous ways. He was several times heard to say: " If a vessel on a potter's wheel turns out badly, he can work it over again and make something else out of it, but when it cracks in the fire it cannot anymore be made use of ;" by which he meant himself. Again he said at times: "God be gracious to me, that I may not run away from school, for if I once run off I shall not return as long as I live." And he was his own prophet.
All these things were hidden for a while in the breasts of the Superintendent and Prior, without the public noticing anything of it, for the Superintendent treated him at the time with all the honor due to his office. An especial dress was made for him, which he put on when officiating at a baptismn, which no one wore either before or after him. The Sisters had to stitch a clever breast-plate on it, which he, like the high priest of the old covenant, wore on the breast, as a sign
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that he had to bear the sins of his people on his breast, to which fancy, it is reported, he clung to his death. He also bestowed upon him a title of honor, so that the whole Settle- mient had to call him par excellence "The Brother," and he consigned his own house to him as residence. But because the same stood too near the Sisters' convent, he hindered them; for they soon perceived that his intention was to bring their house under his man-power. Although their Mother visited hin at least once a week in her virginal pomp, as already mentioned, their intercourse contributed much to his misfortune. Whilst the Brethren's Prior and the Sisters' Abbess made such an ecclesiastical show together, the Super- intendent sat in his house forsaken by God, men and angels, wherefore no judgment could be passed against him, since he did not lay claim to any good for himself, while on the contrary the Prior and the Mother had to pay dearly for this ecclesiastical show. The greatest wonder of the whole play was that the Prior always imagined himself obedient to the Superintendent, though after the case was carefully inquired into, it was found that the Superintendent in everything he did stood under the Prior's influence. I will not deny that this was the severest school through which the Superill- tendent went in all his life, and that he was greatly humbled during the domestic administration of the Eckerlins. As for the Community, most of the members were ignorant of these things, and therefore pleased when the Superintendent charged the Prior with keeping the ineetings in the Commu- nity. Thus he conducted the divine service for nine months in Peniel, the chapel of the Community, during which time the Superintendent remained quietly in his retirement, and thus proved that he had learned, if necessary, to dispos- sess himself of everything. The meetings lasted mostly four hours, and were a medley of useless repetitions without any connection or order; they aimed at sternly trying the patience of the listeners. It was a wonder that so many gray heads were able to bear all this in patience, but respect for the office and esteem of the Superintendent's person restrained them, though some publicly called him a babbler, for which, how- ever, they were very sorry. The Superintendent, besides all
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this, surrendered also the love-feasts to his charge, and allowed him to break the bread for him, as for an ordinary Brother; so that everything was now in his hands, and nothing in those of the Superintendent. But all this did not satisfy him, for he was still in his exaltation and not yet humbled; he wanted to liave all this absolutely in his possession, but that could not be. His domineer- ing was so easily detected, that once he and another Solitary Brother, G. A. Martin, had a violent alterca- tion on their journey, and the Prior told him: "You will have a wife within three years;" he was answered, "And you will not be in Ephrata after three years," which was easy for him to prophecy, knowing the Prior's affairs, and this was exactly fulfilled to both of them. All this is not mentioned in order to derogate from the Prior's personality, for there are thousands who have been converted and do not get into such a dangerous position as he occupied at the time; even the Superintendent acknowledged that God stood in debt to the Prior, for he was dragged as by the liair to his office.
All these things were very sad to the Prior, and had to be bewailed, especially when he considered how tenderly he had loved his spiritual Father when still an ordinary Brother, so that he would have given his life for him at any time, and how happy he had been while he was still a hiermit and sought to win the grace of God by watching, fasting and prayer. But now it had turned out through the guile of the tempter that the Superintendent and he had mutually come into each other's way. He, therefore, determined to go out of the way for some time, hoping that meanwhile his place might be filled by another Brother. This he made known to the Superintendent, who gave his consent to it, and gave him as travelling companions his most faithful Brethren, Jephune (he was his oldest brother after the flesh), Timotheus and Jabez. The Superintendent meanwhile himself attended to the meetings which the Prior had conducted for nine months, and also installed another Brother as steward of the domestic household in Zion.
Now it will be necessary to drop the main subject for some
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time, and to give a circumstantial account of this visit. These four brethren commenced their journey September 22d, 1744, and having in Jersey visited the Baptists at Amwell, they turned towards East Jersey to a place named Barnegat, situated by the sea. There some Baptists lived, who had come from New England, and had paid several visits to the Settlement; the name of this family was Colvert. The founder of these people was John Rogers, on which account they were called Rogerians. He was the proprietor of a large tract of land in the Connecticut province, but because he differed in his religious belief from that of the country, he had been persecuted, (some say condemned to death, but par- doned under the gallows). His followers still are very trouble- somne to the government on account of their untimely zeal; and thus far no way could be found to satisfy them. These dear peo- ple of Barnegat received their German Brethren with special love, arranged several meetings in their honor, to which they brought their sick, in hopes that they might be cured. They also spoke a great deal to their visitors of their Brethren in New England, and said at last it might prove edifying if the Bretlı- ren would pay a visit there. This was a desirable opportunity for the Prior to execute his plan, and therefore they under- took the journey to New England. Having taken leave of these good people, they journeyed through Crosswick, where they visited an old Pythagorean, John Lovell by name, to Brunswick, where they took passage on a ship which was just ready to sail to Rhode Island, where they landed seven miles from New London, at a place called Black Point. Now they were in a strange country, 300 miles from their Settlement, without friends, and so despised on account of their dress, that whoever saw them, ran off. They at last gained their object, and came to a respectable family, Boles by name, who were members of the Rogerian congregation. These received them very affectionately, after the Brethren had delivered the greetings of their Brethren at Barnegat. Meanwhile the rumor about these strange people reached New London, and because England was at the time involved in a war with Spain, it was suspected that they might be Jesuits of New Spain; therefore they sent messengers to
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them and inquired into their circumstances, and hearing that they were Protestants by birth, they permitted thein to pass. Now they had the opportunity to visit the above men- tioned Rogerians, who were distinguished from other people by their quiet life; among whom the Brethren found so much favor that wherever they went they liad a train of more than fifty persons, white and black, about them. In this very region the pernicious custom of disputation was at that time carried to its highest point; whenever they came together they placed two chairs in the middle of the space, on which . the disputants sat, the listeners sitting around them in a circle, when they often gave vent to violent passion. At that time they mostly disputed "about the Perseverance of the Saints."
After their country visit came to a happy end, they were brought into the town of New London, and lodgings were pre- pared for them with a merchant, Ebenezer Boles, who was a meinber of their Community and a blessed, virtuous man. He, at that time, lived single; but married afterwards. His death was brought about by poisonous wood, against which the principles of the Rogerians did not allow him the use of medicine. May God give him a blessed resurrection !
The town of New London resembled at the time a fruitful garden of God, and everybody was anxious to prove his good will to the newly arrived strangers, for there were inany con- verted souls among them who were commonly called "New- lights." May God remember them graciously on the day of judgment! When the time for their departure approached, their friends hunted up a ship for them, paid for their pas- sage, and gave them so much for on the way, that they returned home richer than when they left. When they went 011 board, the town accompanied them to the harbor with many blessings.
They would have been imprisoned in New York, under suspicion of being Jesuits from New Spain, had not a justice of the peace, who was acquainted with their circumstances, gone bail for them. After having arrived at the Settlement, they landed in a journal of their doings, and everyone returned to his work. But the Prior was greatly deceived in
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his calculations, for his office called him again, and his former burdens rested once more on his shoulders. Since he saw that he could not get rid of his office, and far less could inaster the same, because the Superintendent stood in his way, he at last came to the determination to act as the tempter had insinuated, and make himself independent of the Superintendent. This he disclosed to one of his mnost confidential Brethren, adding that he had determined to leave it in the hands of God. The Brother counselled against it, and represented to him that he had to do with an old warrior, who had learnt many a stratagem; he might . easily lose. But he insisted upon it, and to prove it he tore up, before the eyes of the Brother, a letter which thie Superintendent had written to him; and thus the dark magia took hold of him, finally breaking out into a mighty storni, by which the household of the Brotherhood in Zion at last found its end.
The Superintendent, who felt all this very keenly, knew that henceforth he would have to battle again with the Prince of Wrath. But he found consolation in this, that lie had been compelled by God to build up the Community, and was not conscious of any transgression, except that he had given into the hands of the Prior, while yet a novice, too in- timate a fellowship, by the power of which the Prior was enabled to put his foot upon him, of which the Superintend- ent had deeply to repent. The Superintendent, soon after the return of the Prior, assembled the Fathers, and they deliberated who should be appointed over the new domestic household of the Fathers, when some of the household and somne Solitary were proposed. The Prior, perceiving this, said: That he was greatly surprised, that in regard to such an important position the rule of the covenant was not taken; which in plain German meant that they should appoint him. This induced the Superintendent, in the Prior's pres- ence, to entreat the Fathers in the name of God to relieve him of his office, else death would overtake him; which they did, and thus it came about that the Prior was his successor in office, of which he jocundly remarked: That the Superin- tendent had made him dance with an old woman.
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All these happenings occasioned great disorder in the Community, which is always the consequence of a change in the priesthood. For now it became evident that a spiritual separation had taken place between the Superintendent and the Prior; many were anxious to see the end of it, knowing that the Superintendent stood under a high Guide, and God had always been his God in all his troubles. Some of the Community held back and did not want to desert the man who, for their sake, had poured out his soul, and to follow a novice instead. Some said: The thing could not last, for nobody ever heard that an Apostle had revolted against Christ, or a disciple of the Apostles against the Apostles. Many, however, of the Community accepted him as their priest, and permitted him to break bread in their houses; but I suppose there was little blessing connected with it, because these were thievish burnt-offerings, which cannot be pleasing to God. All the Brethren stood at the time, at least to outward appearance, obedient to the Prior, and bore their yoke willingly, because they had no hope of regaining their liberty again. But in the Sisterhood there lay a heavy stone for the Prior to lift, and although he strenuously tried to force himself upon them, they opposed him so vigorously that he at last had to give it up.
But there was still another task which gave the Prior much trouble; for the Superintendent still stood in his way, and he could not think of any means by which he might render him submissive. He at last seized his person, and obliged him to change his dwelling five times within one half year;1 and if he should not effectually gain his object
1Of this fight he wrote the following to Euphrosina, a Sister in Sharon: Regarding iny journey and wanderings, in the midst of which I am still engaged, it will, without doubt, be known that it happened during very cold days of winter, when an agreeable and fine day was hardly to be expected, which proved to be the case. The rough and severe weather con- tinued almost to the present time; for surely, should I tell by letter all that happened from the beginning, when I was obliged to wander forth out of my little house, and endure hard procedures, I would hardly be able to do so. For there was nothing but a continuous martyrdom, during day and night, and this from within and without, so that nothing else was left to ine but incessant prayers and supplications, by day and by night, that God might not let me be quite ruined, and fall a prey to my enemies. And
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so, he had determined to make him live in one of the rooms of the Brethren, and thus to degrade him to the state of an ordinary Brother. But before he put this in practice he was himself overthrown. To give a correct report of this, it happened that as the Prior, with his most faithful Brother, Jabez by name, worked at the composing cases, God sud- denly revealed to that Brother that the founder of that Community was being persecuted; wherefore he said to the Prior: "Why did you cashier the Superintendent?" The Prior answered, "That is none of your business; you attend to your work." Hardly was this said, when the Superinten- dent knocked at the door of the printing office (for the reader must know that at that time the language of the spirit, which requires no words, was still spoken in the Set- tlement, and therefore the Superintendent was able to understand the inatter at once). He called the Brother out, and spoke with him about different matters, and then went his way. But when the same Brother entered the room again, he found the Prior sad and dejected. The Superin- tendent, after he saw that God himself had sown the seed of discord between these two Brethren, took advantage of the occasion. He consulted with the Prior's youngest brother after the flesh, called Jotham, how this Brother, who formerly had occupied a high office in the great church, had come to this Community by divine will, and had without canse become entangled in the quarrels of the Brethren; that he wished to tell him this as a word of truth from the Lord, that, if he should iniscarry in this institution, it would never gain any prosperity. He at last persuaded him in conjunction with this Brother to take up the work of God, which was at its last extremity. After having obtained his consent, he cominanded the house-fathers to be called together, and hav- ing spoken a great deal with them about how the testimony of God had fared thus far, he said: "Two Brethren of Zion have ventured their lives for the general good, whom I hereby recommend to your prayers." For he said it might
although I remained well preserved, still I could not be relieved of the bitter draught ; for the bloody wine press had to be trodden, and I shall remember such wretchedness all my life long, etc.
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likely cost them their temporal lives. And he was not inistaken in this; for dark powers had taken possession of the Prior, which tried to destroy the work, and therefore the task of these two Brethren was considered highly dangerous. Afterwards he put a warrant2 into the hands of these two Brethren, by virtue of which they should fearlessly under- take the work of God. They, therefore, went to their Prior, and declared to him that their consciences did not permit them to be any longer subject to him, because he had re- belled against his spiritual Father, and, therefore, they re- nounced all obedience to him. There were at the time two Brethren with him who considered these proceedings very bold; but the Prior himself frustrated their doings, and tried to get over it all as well as he could. It is remarkable that whenever the power of God has manifested itself in a people, the powers of darkness also stood forth to obstruct the good, as happened to Moses through Jannes and Jambres, and to the Apostle through Simon the sorcerer. . And the same happened here; but it is a pity that the Prior permitted such dark powers to take possession of him. He knew well how to bring God's wrath into the soul of others, as if by magic, and on this he relied. But he knew little of that magic of the light by which the fiery darts of the wicked are quenched, through holy humility.
This conflict continued for three weeks, without anybody knowing what would be the outcome of it, during which time the Prior, whenever he found a door open for his dark magic, went there, and like a prophet pronounced judgment in the name of God, which, however, had no other effect on them than to make trouble; for they knew that he had trampled under foot a man to whom God stood as debtor, because he had hazarded his own dearly gained life for the salvation of others. But the Superintendent had no inter- course with these two Brethren during this time, for he had
2The warrant was in these words: "To Brother Jabez and Brother Jotham : Be valiant, and do what you have to do, and leave nothing undone which might prove a hindrance to bringing the matter to its proper end. I, for my part, am strongly engaged in my mind before God, that this is the right way. May God give to all of us life, and the enjoyment of him in the world to come. FRIEDSAM, a Nonentity."
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to await the result from God. The Prior at this time worked at the saw-inill, for all the Brethren had their hands full with the convent, which was about to be built. But he had been mortified to such a degree, that he outdid all the Brethren, and by these means often saved himself from severe judg- ment, wherefore he hoped, although in vain, that he would now also succeed. The Superintendent once visited the supper-table of the Brethren, and when he saw him stagger- ing towards the table as if he were going to fall, he said to him: "Do not mar it, there is something good in it." For he well knew that the Prior intended to get rid of his life in an honest way. How he intist have felt to see his darling child, whom he had so tenderly loved, in such a sorrowful state, can easily be conceived.
Meanwhile the Brethren began to awaken and to compre- hend that the day of their liberation was at hand. They entered into fellowship with those two Brethren; all of which came from God, for in a short time they had the whole Brotherhood on their side. 'When it was rumored that the Prior had rebelled against the Superintendent, the Brethren began to revile everything he had done when in office. It has already been mentioned that a writing had been published in the English language in the Settlement; this was burnt, because it had been printed by his order without general consent. There were also condemned to the flaines a title and preface which he had written for the Superintendent's printed Theosophic Epistles; for both were offensive, because he had extolled the Superintendent with- out measure in the title, and had rashly said in the preface that inost mystical books were not worth more than to be burnt afterwards; however, another title and preface were substituted. The Sisters followed this example and burnt all hymns and writings they had which were composed by him, among which two writings especially are to be named, one, "The Life of a Solitary," and the other, "Rules and Precepts of a Soldier of Jesus Christ." The Brethren likewise collected everything that originated with him, and delivered it to a Brother to have it burnt.
This was a heart-thrust to the Prior, and now it became
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evident that he had his greatness only through the fellow- ship of the Brethren, so that when he lost this, he felt so forsaken that he was seized with sickness. It is strange that at that time he was kept prisoner in the same place where the Superintendent shortly before had undergone the the greatest temptations he had met with in his life; though he never was really in prison, it was only a common saying. But when it was noticed that some Brethren wanted to carry water on both shoulders, and always betrayed to him the secrets of the Brethren, it was ordered that whoever should visit the Prior without company, such a one should not be considered a Brother any longer. Some did not mind this, and these afterwards escaped with him into the desert. Thereafter two Brethren were ordered to attend him in his sickness, and then the whole Brotherhood clung again to the Superintendent as the man who under God was the cause of their conversion. They also arranged a night- school in their hall, at which they always had him with them, which the Prior in his spiritual prison could hear to his great grief. At last, when the Prior became aware that the loss of his office and his priestly dignity was in store for him, deep repentance took hold of him and he wept Esau's tears for a thing which he had once possessed in his own person, and which to all eternity could not be his again. Nevertheless, he took forty pounds out of the Breth- ren's treasury, and with it tried to bribe the Mother of the Sisters to intercede for him with the Superintendent. But the Sisters did not agree about this money. The most of them declared it would bring some misfortune, and should not be accepted. But the Mother took it. Her intercession, however, was of no avail. A Brother of Zion did the same; but everything was in vain. The good Prior would have done, better had he laid down his office forever, because he only administered it in selfishness; it could only aggra- vate his fate. When he saw that the Superintendent was fırın against entreaties, he made an attempt with the Breth- ren. He appeared before them, reduced by deep grief to be more like an incorporeal spirit than a human being. They were just assembled in writing-school. He said: "I beg of
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