Seiss, Joseph Augustus

Lutheran (General Council); b. near Graceham, Md., Mar. 18, 1823; d. at Philadelphia June 21, 1904. Hiss parents were Moravian, but he became a student in Pennsylvania college, Gettysburg, 1839-41, without graduating; and his theological study was mostly private. He became pastor at Martinsburg and Shepherdstown, Va., 1843; Ccumberland, Md., 1847; Baltimore, Md., 1852; of St. John’s, Philadelphia, 1858; and of Holy Communion, Philadelphia, 1874. He was one of the most eloquent preachers of the country, possessing a style that was clear, ornate, and forceful. He was one of the founders of the General Council, and one of the committee which made its Church Book. He edited Prophetic Times, a monthly, 1863-75; was joint editor of The Lutheran, 1860-61; of The Lutheran and Missionary, 1861-73; editor of the latter, 1873-79; and traveled in Europe and the East, 1864-65. He was the author of Lectures on Epistles to the Hebrews (Baltimore, 1846); Baptist System Examined (Philadelphia, 1854); Digest of Christian Doctrine (1855); Last Times (1856); Holy Types (1860); Book of Forms (1860); Evangelical Psalmist (1860); Parable of the Ten Virgins (1862); Ecclesia Lutherana (1867); Plain Words, sermons (1869); Lectures on the Apocalypse (3 vols., 1870-84; 6h ed., 1900); The Javelin, by a Lutheran (1871); Uriel, Occasional Discourses (1874); Church Song (1875-81); Lectures on the Gospels (2 vols., 1876); A Miracle in Stone (1877); Recreation Songs (1878); Thirty-three Practical Sermons (1879); Voices from Babylon (1879); Blossoms of Faith, sermons (1880); The Golden Altar, manual of private devotions (New York, 1882); Gospel in the Stars (Philadelphia, 1882); Luther and the Reformation (1883); Lectures on the Epistles (2 vols., 1885); Right Life (1886); Letters of Jesus (1889); Beacon Lights (1900); The Christ and his Church (1902); and Recent Sermons (1904).