LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Concordia Lutheran Seminary

66 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW XII
that not everyone was with him and that people were beginning to “take
sides”. 34
Ziegenhagen also faced other difficulties. He was distressed by the loose
living especially among the nobility. He rejoiced in the fact that many people
came out to hear him. Yet he noted that many were still caught up in the
world and their lives were characterized by divorce, fornication, and
drunkenness. 35 He felt that he was making progress among those outside the
castle where “people were beginning to read the Holy Scriptures”. 36 But he
intimated that things were not going as well in the Count’s household. In a
letter to Francke on 1 March 1719, Ziegenhagen alluded to a problem which
was “too abominable to talk about”. 37 A month later, he said, “Things have
become worse.” It appears that the problem had to do with a falling-out
which the count had with a local pastor. In the so-called prayer hour, the
pastor had spoken against fornication. His approach had apparently been
very direct and the count felt the pastor had accused an individual (perhaps a
member of the count’s household) of prostitution. Consequently, the count
had forbidden his subjects to go to this pastor for confession. Ziegenhagen
supported the pastor’s position. He himself had spoken against fornication,
although more carefully, he said. But Ziegenhagen felt he could not continue
to go to this pastor for confession in view of the position which the count
had taken. 38
Ziegenhagen found that the count relied on him to be a messenger in his
communication with Francke. This was the case even when Francke wrote
the count directly to answer his concerns or to thank him for the generous
gifts which the he invariably sent for Francke’s orphanage and for the East
Indian mission. In his very first letter to Francke from Hanover, Ziegenhagen
asked Francke at the behest of Count von Platen whether he might be able to
find someone as a “schoolmaster” to prepare his son for university and later
to go along on his travels throughout Europe. The schoolmaster was to be
pious but stable and to have experience. In response, Francke came up with a
certain Mr Meyer.
But then the Count suddenly became concerned about getting caught in
the struggle between the Pietists and the Orthodox. He felt that it would
undermine the good effect of the schoolmaster if it was known that Meyer
had been recommended by Francke. So the count asked Ziegenhagen to
request Francke “for the sake of my son” to inform Meyer about the situation
34 Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, Linden, 5 April 1719.
35 Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, Linden, 8 January 1719.
36 Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, Linden, 5 April 1719.
37 Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, Linden, 1 March 1719.
38 Letter of Ziegenhagen to A. H. Francke, Linden, 5 April 1719.