November 2, 2009 in News
Oldest Synod minutes restored
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After each page was carefully removed and individually de-acidified, in a tedious, expensive, and time-consuming process the Minutes of the Lutheran Ministerium of North America can again be read beginning with 1781. They are the oldest synod minutes in this country.
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The minutes continue in careful German script until 1821 and have not only been restored but also digitized for easier reference.
The process was a project of the Lutheran Archives Center at Philadelphia which has also undertaken a major project to restore the 30 original journals of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.
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Bishops Claire S. Burkat of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and Bishop Samuel R. Zeiser of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, representing the present “heirs” and legal owners of the Minutes examine them along with John E. Peterson, Curator and Kim-Eric Williams, Archivist, from the Northeast Regional Archives Center, located in the Brossman Center at the Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia.
