M. Luther, Ecclesiastes, to all Christians of the congregation of Leißnig, to my dear lords and brothers in Christ, grace and peace from God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.
1. Since, dear lords and brothers, the Father of all mercy, together with others, has called you into the fellowship of the Gospel and has allowed His Son JESUS Christ to shine into your hearts, and such riches of the knowledge of Christ are so strong and active among you that you have established a new order of worship and a common good, following the example of the apostles; I have considered such an order of yours to be good, that it should go out by printing, if God would give His gracious blessing to it, that it should become a common example, which many other churches would follow, so that we also might boast of you, as St. Paul has said of the Corinthians. Paul boasts of the Corinthians, that their diligence has provoked many. Although you must take comfort in this and dare that, if what you begin is of God, it must be challenged honestly, for the wicked Satan will not rest nor celebrate.
2) Because we hope that such an example of yours will become general, and from it will follow a great fall of the former monasteries, convents, chapels, and the gray churches.
The fact that the basic soup, which until now has been filled with all the world's riches under the name of divine service, also helps tremendously.The holy gospel, which again bursts forth and brings to light such blasphemous and damning services; moreover, that the clergy themselves hold themselves in such a way that nothing righteous has remained with them nor wants to enter into them, and that everywhere the matter presents itself as if God and the world had had enough of monasticism and spirituality and had to change: For this reason, care must be taken that the goods of such monasteries do not fall into disuse, and that each one snatches for himself what he can get.
Therefore, I have thought to anticipate in time, as much as is due and due to me, with Christian counsel and admonition. For since I must have done so, when the monasteries and convents become empty, monks and nuns diminish, and everything that may happen to the spiritual state to break off and diminish it, I will not let that lie on me either, so that some stingy guards would snatch such spiritual goods and turn me as the one who would have given cause for it into a pretense. For although I fear that few will follow my advice when it comes so far, for avarice is a disobedient, unbelieving man.
956 E. 22,108-110. order of a gem. box of the municipality at Leißnig re. W. X, 1150-1153. 957
Schalk - I will do my part and clear my conscience and burden their consciences, so that no one may say that I was silent or too slow to let them hear me.
4 Now accept or despise my faithful counsel, whoever will, I am innocent. But first I warn faithfully and kindly ask that no one obey or follow my advice, for he knows and understands thoroughly from the gospel that monasticism and spirituality, as it has been for four hundred years, is no use and vain harmful error and seduction; for such a great thing must be attacked with a good, firm, Christian conscience. Otherwise it will become worse and even an evil newcomer will come at the deathbed.
In the first place, it would be good that no field monasteries, such as Benedictines, Cistercians, Celestines and the like, had ever come to earth; but now that they are there, the best thing is to let them perish, or, if it is possible, to help them to get away pure and simple. This can be done in these two ways. The first is to let the persons who are in it go out free of themselves, if they want to, as the gospel allows. The other, that any authority with its monasteries provide to receive no more persons, and if there are too many of them, send them elsewhere, and let the rest die out.
(6) But since no one is to be brought to faith and the gospel, the rest of the people who remain in monasteries, whether because of age, custom, or conscience, are not to be cast out or dealt with unkindly, but are to be left alone all their lives, as they should have been before. For the gospel also teaches to do good to the unworthy, as the heavenly Father sends rain and sunshine on the good and the evil; and it must be considered here that such persons have got into such a state out of common blindness and error, and have learned nothing so that they could feed themselves.
7 However, it is my advice that the authorities of such monasteries take possession of the property and provide for the remaining people who remain in them until they die out, and also more abundantly and more effectively.
so that it may ever be felt that it is not avarice that is hostile to spiritual goods, but Christian faith that is hostile to monasteries; and here it is not first of all papal or episcopal permission that is to be sought, or banishment and malediction that is to be feared; for I write this also only to those who understand the gospel and are powerful to do so in their countries, cities and authorities.
8.. In addition, the goods of such monasteries, which the authorities take to themselves, should be handled in three ways. The first is to provide for the persons who remain there, as has now been said. The other is to give the people who go out something honest, so that they can start something and get into a state, even if they have already brought nothing into it. For they nevertheless leave food all their lives when they go out, and are deceived; had they been in the monastery, they would have learned something else. But to those who have brought in, it is fair in the sight of God to give back a part each; for here Christian love and not human rights should judge severity; and if someone should bear damage or loss, that should go over the monastery and not over the persons; for the monastery is the cause of their error.
(9) But the third way is the best, that all other things be made common property of a common estate, out of which, according to Christian love, they give and lend to all who are needy in the land, whether nobles or citizens, so that they may also fulfill the will and testament of the founders. For even though they were deceived and misled into giving it to monasteries, their intention was to give it in honor and service of God, and so they failed. Now there is no greater service than Christian love, which helps and serves the needy, as Christ himself will confess and judge on the last day, Matth. 25, 40. Therefore, even in the days of the churches, goods were called bona ecclesiae, that is, common goods, like a common box for all who were needy among the Christians.
10 However, it is also reasonable and in accordance with Christian love that, where the founder's heirs are impoverished and in need, such heirs should be given the same
958 2.22,110-112. B. Of the ten commandments in particular. Ninth commandment. W. x, nss-nss. 959
Foundation again home fall each a large part, and everything with each other, where the need would be so great. For of course it was not the opinion of their fathers, nor should it have been, to take their children's and heirs' bread out of their mouths and turn it elsewhere; and even if the opinion had been so, it is wrong and unchristian; for fathers are obliged to provide for their children above all things; that is the highest service of God which they may do with temporal goods. But where the heirs are neither needy nor scanty, they should not take such of their fathers' endowment again, but leave it to the common treasury.
(11) But you may say here: The hole is too wide, so the common box will get little, because everyone will take it all to himself and say he needs so much etc. Answer: That is why I said that Christian love must judge and act here; it cannot be grasped with laws and articles. I also write this advice only according to Christian love for the Christians, and one must dare that miserliness is subverted; how can one do that? Therefore it must not remain. Nevertheless, it is better that avarice takes too much in an orderly way, than that it becomes a rape, as happened in Bohemia. Let every man examine himself as to what he should take for his necessities and leave for the common store.
(12) Thirdly, such consecration also belongs to the bishoprics, monasteries and chapters that have land and cities and other properties under them. For such bishops and monasteries are neither bishops nor monasteries; they are in truth temporal lords with a spiritual name. Therefore they should be made secular lords, or the goods should be distributed to the poor heirs and friends and the common caste. But what are benefices and fiefs should be left to those who now hold them, and after their death they should not be given to anyone else, but should be distributed among the poor heirs and to the common castes.
(13) Fourthly, some of the monasteries' and convents' goods, and almost many of the benefices, are subject to usury, which is now called repurchase throughout the world, and has devoured the whole world in a few short years. Such goods must first be separated from the
inherited estates, such as leprosy. For what I have said about the threat, I want to have said about the foundations, which are endowed without repurchase of right honest hereditary property. The endowments, however, endowed on repurchase, may well be considered usury; for I have never seen or heard of a right interest purchase on repurchase. Therefore, one would have to atone for the usury here first and give back to each his own before letting it come into the common treasury. For God says: "I am hostile to the sacrifice that comes from robbery. Unless one could not find those who are damaged by the redemption; then the common casket would take it. But how the redemption is right and wrong is now too long to tell; I have written it enough in the sermon on usury, from which one may inquire how many of such benefices and endowments are to be restored to the interest men; for no doubt many benefices have long since had their principal money restored and yet do not cease to suck the sweat and blood of the interest men; that this piece is almost the most necessary one, since emperors and kings, princes and lords, and everyone should contribute.
Fourteenth and fifth: Good schools for boys and maidens should be made out of the mendicant monasteries in the cities, as they were before; but houses should be made out of the other monasteries, where the city needs them; for the consecration of the bishops should not hinder this, because God knows nothing about it. But where one would attack this my council in a Christian way, it would give itself, send and teach, more than one can now propose with words; for the cases would be manifold and strange, since no one can judge well inside, but Christian love.
(15) Now if God would grant that this council would cease, not only would there be a rich common treasury for all necessities, but three great evils would go away and cease. The first is the beggars, who cause much damage to the country and its people, both to their souls and their property. The other is the terrible abuse of the ban, which is almost no longer done, because people are tortured for the sake of the priests' and monks' goods.
such a ban should not be imposed. The third is the tiresome purchase of interest, the greatest usury on earth, which has so far prided itself mostly in spiritual goods, that it is right there. But whoever does not want to follow this advice or atone for his avarice in it, I let him go; I know well that few accept it.
It is enough for me if one or two follow me or ever want to follow me. The world must remain the world and Satan the prince of the world. I have done what I can and what I owe. God help us all that we may go right and remain steadfast, amen.
[Order of a common box of the municipality of Leißnig.]
In the name of the holy undivided Trinity, Amen.
We honorable men, council, quartermasters, elders and common inhabitants of the city and villages of the parish of Leißnig - after by the grace of Almighty God, from the revelation of Christian evangelical scripture, we not only received a constant faith, but also thorough knowledge that all internal and external abilities of the believers in Christ are to serve and serve for the glory of God and love of the neighbor, fellow Christians, according to the order and suspension of divine truth and not according to human discretion; - We herewith confess and declare that we have established and resolved for ourselves and our descendants, according to the timely advice of the divine Scripture scholars, this following fraternal union between our community, which is now and will be in the future, to be faithfully and immutably kept. Namely:
Order of the parish office.
We want and should at all times act, exercise and use our Christian freedom, as far as the appointment of our common parish office with appointment, election, appointment and dismissal of our pastors solely for the proclamation of the Word of God and the distribution of the sacraments is concerned, no differently than according to the suspension and prescription of divine biblical scripture. And in such an archly way, as the poor, simple, scholars of the divine Scriptures, proven, well-founded instructions and advice in true humility.
obediently subjected and obeyed by the grace of God; as we have a clear record of this with us in our common custody and shall be kept unchanged.
From listening to divine word.
We want and should, also every landlord and landlady in our parish, for himself, also his children and household, be obligated out of Christian love to faithfully listen to the wholesome, comforting word of God at regular days and hours, as much as God grants us grace, and to apply it for improvement.
Handle honor and commandment of God.
Above the honor of God, we housekeepers and housekeepers, as much as we have grace from God, shall each keep firmly in his house for himself, children and household, avoid, prevent and ward off public blasphemy, excessive drinking, fornication, deceitful double games and other sins and vices, which are strictly and knowingly contrary to divine commandments, with serious diligence. Even if some of our community were to find fault or negligence in this, a whole parish assembly shall have good reason and power to take care of this, to bring it to worthy punishment and blessed correction by proper means, help and assistance of the authorities.
Property, stock and revenue to the common box.
So that our Christian faith, in which all goods are temporally and eternally from the eternal God, through our Lord and
962 E. 22:114-116. B. Of the ten commandments in particular. Ninth commandment. W. L, 1158-1160. 963
Having acquired and imparted to us, out of pure grace and mercy, the Savior Christ, the true fruit of brotherly love, and that this love may come and be led into the truth and works of kindness, we, the first-named common parish assembly, in perfect unanimity, have ordained, raised and erected a common box for ourselves and our descendants. Do hereby ordain, raise and direct the same, by virtue of this fraternal union of ours, in opinion, measure and form, as follows. To the property and stock in the common caskets, these named pieces, interests, goods, righteousness, money and possessions shall be and remain in heaps everywhere, collected, brought, dedicated and incorporated as perpetual.
Revenue Parish Goods and Justice.
All property and justice, hereditary fiefs, hereditary estates and goods, interest, hereditary courts, house, farm, garden, fields, meadows, stock and movable property, nothing excluded, as much as has been given to the parish and pastoral office here with us by the initial benefactors and subsequent benefactors, decreed and in use over the preserved time; which goods and justice we parishioners of the congregation would have or would like to have, because of our common parish office, to obtain, in all ways reserved, content of the acts and agreements; therefore between the abbot of the book and us in the electoral chancellery of our most gracious lord the Elector of Saxony etc. and are available in this our common box. Likewise, what belongs to the school and sexton's office, also struck in this box.
Taking house of worship property, equity etc.
All property and justice, hereditary fiefs, hereditary and gate rents, bridge tolls, building property, silver works, jewels, stocks, movable property, and all other certain and incidental things in the jurisdiction of our house of God, shall be completely and utterly taken into account together with the written deeds.
The name of the company is the same as the name of the person who is the owner of the company.
Taking the four altar fiefs and other foundations, goods and justice.
The four altar fiefs in our house of God shall henceforth, when the present feoffed altar priests are deceased or the fiefs are otherwise settled, no longer be conferred, but the four houses, together with the goods, interest, income, usufruct, jewels, stocks and movable property, with the deeds, lists and registers belonging thereto, shall be brought into the common treasury, The four houses, together with the interest, income, usufruct, jewels, stocks, and movable property, with the deeds, registers, and registers belonging to them, are to be brought into the common box, and in addition, all the beggivings, anniversaries, indulgence weeks or octaves, and other unique endowments and alms to the hospital and elsewhere, everything is to be put into the common box.
Taking Brotherhoods.
What has been collected in cash, interest purchases, jewels, silverware, stock and movable property, for the famous brotherhoods of the Kaland St. Anne's and the shoe servants until now and is responsible for the same, with the written documents, lists and registers, has been struck everywhere in this common box and ordered to remain there.
Taking God's gift of crafts and building communities.
Deposits, guild rights, speeches, fines, penalties and taxes, which have been collected until now within the city from the craftsmen and from the countryside in villages from the farmers in our common parish as God's gifts and will henceforth be collected over the year, are and shall be struck everywhere in common boxes and brought in.
Taking eating food and money into the alms boxes and money sticks.
In our house of God are ordained, and shall be kept at all times without shifting, two barrels or wheelbarrows, therein bread, cheese, eggs, meat, other food, and victuals, and a stick or two, therein money, and thus
964 A. 22,1IK-118. order of a common box of the municipality of Leißnig. W. X, 1160-1163. 965
both for the upkeep of the common treasury. Likewise, the alms and charitable handouts, which are requested by two of our deputies whenever our parishioners are in assembly in the house of God, shall be given from person to person for the maintenance of the poor, and shall also be placed and turned into such sticks at hourly intervals, and the pieces of the stock, which are perishable, shall be distributed among the poor by the deputies without delay, according to the ability of their command, The pieces of the stock, which are perishable, shall be distributed among the poor by the deputies, according to the ability of their order, as follows, without delay, for emergency needs, but what is durable shall be kept until the following Sunday and then disposed of for the benefit and convenience of the poor.
Ingestion during healthy days and testament at deathbed.
Other voluntary gifts made at the time of life and at the time of death, as much as is done for the glory of God and the love of one's neighbor out of Christian devotion, be it in the form of goods, cash, jewels, stocks and movable property, shall be and remain entirely for this common box; also faithful admonition by our pastors on the sermon seat and otherwise, that people with reason at the deathbed, with the consent of the waiting heirs, in proper cases to do.
Decomposition of the common box to order.
The decomposition of the common chest shall be ordered and done in this way: namely, that every year, on the Sunday after the eighth day of the Epiphany, at about eleven o'clock, a common parish assembly will and shall appear at the town hall here, There, by the grace of God, in true Christian faith, unanimously elect ten guardians or presidents to the common caste from the whole bunch, without distinction, the most suitable, namely, two honorable men, two of the ruling council, three from the common citizens in the city and three from the peasants in the countryside; which ten thus chosen shall immediately take upon themselves the burden of this decay and guardianship for the sake of God and the common good, and load it, in good Christian conscience, without regard to
The members of the Board of Directors shall be bound and obligated, to the best of their ability, to act faithfully and safely with respect to the decomposition, receipt and expenditure of this present union of ours, whether due to favor, envy, benefit, fear or any other unseemly cause.
Closure of the box with four special locks.
This common box and container shall be kept in our house of God in the place where it is safest and shall be locked with four different special locks and keys, so that the honorable men have one, the council one, the community in the city one and the rural community a special key.
The overseers are to be together every Sunday.
Every Sunday in the year, from eleven o'clock until two o'clock at the time of vespers, the ten rulers shall be together in our common parish courtyard or in the town hall, and there they shall diligently care for and attend to their guardianship; All of them shall counsel and act so that the honor of God and the love of the fellow Christians may be kept in good practice and be sent on to betterment, and their counsel shall be kept in sincere and faithful secrecy and not be revealed in a disorderly manner. Whether some of them are not present at all times and are prevented by honest causes, the majority shall nevertheless have the power to act and proceed.
Three books, therein all goods, justice and decay marked.
Three books or registers shall the ten rulers have in hand for the time of all Sundays, viz:
The ledger, therein shall be described and henceforth this our fraternal union, as the same lies sealed in the box, all the deeds, letters of endowment, inventories and registers of inheritance over all the estates and rights, which are everywhere turned and brought into common boxes, as above, and will be brought and come therein in the future.
966 E. 22, II8-I2I. B. Of the ten commandments in particular. Ninth commandment. W. X, 1163-1165. 967
The trade book. In it, all actions, advice, agreements, inquiries, investigations and decisions, which are made, practiced and executed in and about the decay, income and expenditure of the common treasury, are to be inscribed and recorded, from which one may obtain necessary information at any time.
The annual account register. Therein shall be described initially a complete list and inventory of all pieces of stock, movable property, jewels, silverwork and cash in money, each with proper distinction of weight, number and measure, to be handed over to the ten foremen as a revenue in their arrival of each year piece by piece and calculated again. Therein shall also be described every Sunday, weekly, all and every income and expenditure; all according to the contents of a general account form, to which a whole assembly shall unite and have to unite again according to opportunity; whereof such a made register, with its necessary chapters arranged, shall be handed over on the day of the election to the new ten rulers, compiled and described by the old ones, so that harmful error and neglect may be prevented. And when these three books, as above, have been used, they shall immediately be locked up again in common boxes.
All incomes and income from savings.
The ten rulers shall with all diligence dun all interest, annulments, incomes and debts, both permanent and accidental, and bring in common castes, as much as can always be done and without oppression of the poor, maintained in unalterable being.
Office of two builders.
The ten rulers shall appoint two builders among themselves, both of whom, with the advice and knowledge of the other eights, shall care for the buildings of the house of God, the bridges, the vicarage, the school, the sexton's office, and the hospitals; also that these two shall have two sacks or boards in the house of God,
as often as our parish assembly is present, ask for alms for the maintenance of the poor and immediately pour them publicly into the two money boxes ordered for this purpose, the keys of which shall be kept in the common box, and the money shall be taken out every Sunday by the ten rulers, The alms of food and provisions, which are perishable, shall be distributed daily among the poor, after it has been deemed necessary and good each Sunday and decided by the ten rulers. But what is more durable shall be taken out of the alms-box and kept in convenient places in the house of God until one Sunday, and thus be used for the poor at the discretion of the ten rulers.
Strange weights discarded.
After we honorable men, councillors, quartermasters, elders and common inhabitants of the town and villages of our parish have decided for ourselves and our descendants by virtue of this our union, and this noticeable burden, so that a whole parish assembly beyond measure, as of the foreign, imaginary, needless poor and idlers, burdened and in our own lack deepened, from the council of the divine Scripture scholars averted and lifted, so also averted and lifted shall be and remain. Namely:
Terminiren filed.
No monks of any order shall have any appointments in our parish, in the city or in the villages, therefore the three houses of appointment from the common treasury shall be given to them for their benefit, according to proper dignity (estimation).
Begging of the monks, stationirer nnd Kirchenbitter abgethan.
No monk, no stationer, nor church beggar shall be permitted or allowed to beg in our parish, in the city and villages.
968 E. 22,121-123. order of a common box of the municipality of Leißnig. W. x. ii6s-ii68. 969
Begging foreign students discarded.
No foreign pupil shall be suffered to beg in our parish, in the city nor in the villages; but if anyone wishes to go to school with us, he may provide his own expenses and food.
Beggars and beggars discarded.
No beggars and beggars' wives shall be suffered in our parish, in the town or villages. For those who are not burdened with old age or illness shall work or be driven out of our parish, out of the city and villages, even with the help of the authorities. Those, however, who are impoverished by chance or who cannot work due to illness or old age, shall be provided for by the appointed ten from our common treasury in a proper manner; as follows.
Issue and provision from the common box.
Therefore, we, the parishioners and our descendants, will and shall henceforth feed, provide for, and maintain from our common treasury, through the ten elected our rulers, as far as our property will extend by God's grace, and do and set forth the expenses as follows, according to opportunity, namely:
Parish Office Issue.
The common pastor or parish priest elected by us, together with a preacher appointed by us, such a parish priest, who himself should be able and know how to perform his parochial office with the proclamation of God's word and other things, shall be assisted by a chaplain, if the necessity would require it, the ten rulers shall, by unanimous decision of the whole congregation, be provided with a considerable sum of money and some enjoyable supplies and use of the grounds and goods lying there every year, annually every fourth part on a quarter of a year, for their proper need and maintenance, and shall hand them over from the common treasury against due receipt, at which annual money, supplies, and
They shall be satisfied that they shall neither seek nor receive anything more from the parishioners and people, except unsought, unmarried, free offerings and gifts; but shall keep themselves according to the order and instruction of the common pastoral office, and also according to the decay of the divine Scripture scholars: Which order shall be kept in our common treasury, and shall be diligently stirred up and enjoined by the ten overseers every Sunday, so that there may be no break in the pastoral office.
Output for the sexton's office.
The churchwarden or sexton, who is ordered by a congregation to close the house of God and to perform the proper services, shall be given by the ten rulers from the common treasury a notable annual fee and some enjoyable supplies, also use for the four quarters of the year; as decided by the congregation and included in the written order of the common pastoral office, as above, together with the sexton's services.
Output for the breeding schools.
To appoint, set and dismiss a schoolmaster for the young boys, the ten appointed rulers shall have power and command in the name of our common parish assembly, according to the advice and good opinion of our elected pastor and a preacher and other divine scripture scholars, so that a pious, blameless, well-learned man for Christian, honest and honorable discipline and instruction of the youth, as a highly necessary office, is placed in charge. Which schoolmaster shall be obliged in his discipline, teaching, life and government according to the ability of the order of our common pastoral office, as lying above, in the stock of our treasury, to be directed and kept unchanged, therefore out of our common treasury a considerable yearly allowance and some stock for the four quarters, according to the decision of a common assembly, shall be given to the same schoolmaster by the ten principals and shall be enjoyed. And nothing more shall be said about it.
970 D- 22,123-125. V. Of the ten commandments in particular. Ninth commandment. W. x, 1168-1170. 971
from our parish congregation, as indicated above in four distinctions. But from foreign pupils, who are to be suffered here solely at their own expense, not by begging, the schoolmaster may, at the discretion of a pastor and preacher, together with the ten headmen, take a reasonable reward: so that Christian discipline and doctrine may also be imparted to the same foreigners. Our pastors, preachers, and the ten presbyters shall take care of the school ministry and the government of the youth in a negligent and faithful manner, and shall keep all Sundays on this account with necessary concern and counsel, and handle it with strengthened seriousness.
Likewise, an honest, aged, blameless woman from our common treasury shall be provided by the ten rulers with a yearly salary and some supplies to instruct the young maidens under twelve years of age in proper Christian discipline, honor, and virtue, and to teach them to write and read German according to the contents of the order of our pastoral office for several considerable hours in bright sunshine and in an honest, unsuspicious place; and to neither seek nor receive anything more about this from our congregation. But from foreign maidens, whether sent from elsewhere to the German school, such a female may also take possible reward, according to the advice of the ten rulers. And the ten directors shall take great care of the discipline and government of these German schools and young maidens, so that Christian discipline, honor and virtue may be preserved unchanged.
Issue for the frail and old poor people.
The people who are impoverished in our parish and parish by chance, who have been abandoned by their friends, whether or not they have some possible ones, who are unable to work because of illness or old age, and who are needily poor, shall be maintained and provided for by the ten overseers weekly every Sunday and otherwise as occasion arises from our common treasury; so that they may give their life and limb to the glory and praise of God out of mankind.
The ten stewards shall therefore make great efforts to inquire and investigate, and shall have a thorough knowledge of all such poor people as above in the city and villages throughout our church. Therefore, the ten rulers shall with great, constant diligence make inquiries and investigations and have true, thorough knowledge of all such poor people, as above, in the city and villages, within our entire parish, and shall deliberate about them every Sunday, and the names of those poor people who have thus been investigated and decided to help them shall be clearly inscribed together with the decided deliberation in the trade book, so that the property from our common treasury may be distributed properly.
Edition, provision of orphans and poor children.
Poor abandoned orphans shall be provided for with discipline and physical needs, until they can earn and work for their bread, by the rulers from the common castes, within the city and villages of our entire parish, according to opportunity. If among such orphans or poor people there are children, young boys, who would be well suited for school and capable of the liberal arts and writing, they shall be fed and provided for, along with the other poor people, by the rulers from the common castes, and the other boys shall be required to work, do handicrafts and proper trades. The virgins among such abandoned orphans, as well as poor people's daughters, shall also be advised by the rulers of the common caste to marry with proper help.
Edition, provision of Hausarmer people.
Craftsmen and other house-poor people, who live in the town and villages within our parish in wedlock or widowhood and are not able, nor have help elsewhere, to do their crafts, civil and farmer's food honestly and to work, shall do the rulers from the common box proper advance,
972 D. 22,12S-I27. Order of a common box d. Gemeinde zu Leißnig. W. X, II70-IN3. 973
However, those who are not able to pay it back through their faithful work and diligence shall be exempted from it for the sake of God, as a necessity. Such an opportunity should actually be explored by the leaders.
Issue, provision of foreign incomers.
The ten rulers shall faithfully support foreigners, of whatever status they may be, male or female, and who have Christian brotherly confidence in our common congregation, and who would seek their sustenance within the city or villages in our parish with their work, effort and diligence, and shall also come to the proper assistance of our common treasury with loans and gifts according to opportunity, so that the foreigners may not be desolately abandoned and saved from disgrace and open sins.
Expenditure for maintenance and erection of buildings.
Daily preservation and improvement of the buildings, also new buildings, namely in these following places, the common box responsible: the church, the bridge over the river Mulden, the vicarage, the school, the sexton's office, the hospitals, the ten heads shall consult and order with good diligence and prudence, also with the advice of building experts and proven builders, They are to order, do and carry out the necessary work and to obtain the associated necessities with ease in stock and from the common treasury, and also to have their two master builders do it, and to obtain other manual work from the people in the city and in the countryside, especially for the bridge, by request.
Issue, grain purchase in common stock.
For the common benefit of our parish assembly, the ten rulers of our common treasury, in addition to the supply of a councilor from their city chamber, shall purchase a fair sum and number of grain and inheritance on the rubble houses, which are in charge of the council and common parish, in stock and
not to attack such a supply in the fine purchase of grain, but to increase and strengthen it in all ways, so that the inhabitants of the common parish congregation everywhere, in the city and villages, in time of need in selling, lending and giving, as such is considered convenient and comfortable by the ten rulers, may have recourse to such a supply by the grace of God and nourishment for the body. Whatever grain is given by farmers in the city or in the countryside for the common good, out of a lenient hand, or given in wills, and which is left over for the maintenance of the poor people, as above, shall also be added to this common stock and, as heard, used for the necessities of the entire parish assembly.
Annual allowance to be paid in common boxes.
Where also the interest, levies, fees and additions to the assets and stocks of our common treasury, as indicated above, are not sufficient for the upkeep and maintenance of our parish office, sexton's office, schools, the needy poor and common buildings, We, the honorable men, councillors, quartermasters, elders and common inhabitants of the town and villages of our entire parish, have resolved and agreed for ourselves and our descendants by virtue of this fraternal union: That every respectable man, citizen and farmer, residing in the parish, as he has and is able, shall annually contribute money for himself, his wife and children, so that the main sum, which a common parish assembly in its deliberation and council meeting would learn and discover from the annual account to be necessary and sufficient, may be fully spent and obtained.
For this purpose, as far as our parish extends, all members of the household, servants, miners of the trades and other persons who are not domestically owned and yet enjoy and use our parish rights, each person shall receive a silver penny, and in all cases for a quarter of a year three new pennies, as the fourth penny.
974 E. 22. 127-130. u. Of the ten commandments in particular. Ninth commandment. W. X. 1173-1175. 975
Each landlord or landlady shall diligently contribute this amount and shall hand it over to the ten heads of the household at the end of each quarter.
And a parish assembly will and should not complain, now and in the future, about such a small annual allowance and help for the glory of God and the love of the neighboring Christians, considering that for a long time both, the residents and non-residents, were overloaded by our common parish with excessive, unbearable burdens and deductions in various ways and lists without interruption throughout the year. Which things have now, by the grace of God, again turned and come into true freedom of the Christian spirit and to prevent every Christian with the utmost diligence, not to abuse such Christian freedom to cover the shameful avarice.
To hold common assembly three times a year.
Three times a year, namely the Sunday after the eighth day of the holy three kings, the Sunday after St. Urban's day and the Sunday after St. Michael's day, a whole common parish assembly shall meet at eleven o'clock in the town hall and remain there until at least two o'clock after noon. First, to publicly read out and hear this fraternal union of ours, to discuss the decay, income and expenditure of our common treasury and otherwise the necessities and conveniences everywhere, with the presentation of their trade and account books and otherwise from the common concerns of all of us, and also to finally decide by the grace of God, so that this fraternal union is maintained according to the opportunity of the common property and stock and does not decrease. Even if someone from the common parish could not be present on such three specific days, as no one should speak out of it without noticeable great cause, nothing less, as touched upon above, shall be properly proceeded with by the group.
The Board of Directors is responsible for the complete annual financial statements.
Our ten appointed rulers shall every year, on the Sunday after the eighth of the Epiphany and the following days in succession, do, present and perform their entire annual account of the decay, income and expenditure of our common treasury, by means of their commercial and accounting books and otherwise with their oral report, publicly in the presence of our common assembly or a considerable number and committee on account of and instead of the whole assembly, as the occasion may give.
After the form and instruction for such annual account has been made by common resolution of an assembly on the first day of its arrival, as reported above, and has been handed over or delivered to the rulers, and when such account has been made and accepted by the rulers; they shall be discharged, acknowledged and released by an assembly, with diligent thanksgiving of the same, according to all necessity, and immediately they shall be handed over to our newly elected ten rulers and presented to them the common box together with all written documents, lists and registers, as well as all the other documents, They shall also hand over the three ledgers, the general ledger, the commercial ledger, the annual ledgers, as many of them as have been made, and in addition, according to the inventory, all the items that remain in the stock and residue after their account has been decided, Grain, edible stock, movable property, jewels, silverware, cash, all kinds of necessities for buildings, all according to the right distinction in weight, number and measure, completely assign and hand over, and such handing over shall be described again properly in an inventory and list elsewhere and sealed by the honorable men, councilors and four craftsmen in the name of the whole assembly and deposited in common boxes, again to be calculated on it.
The new rulers to keep recreation at the old.
Thus, the new leaders may, as often as it is necessary for them, have a rest with the old leaders, which the old leaders have taken care of for the sake of the old ones.
We do not want to complain about the honor of God and the common good, but we should give faithful instruction and advice.
For true deed, and that this our fraternal union in all its written articles, pieces and points not otherwise, but only to the glory of God and love of the neighboring Christians, and thus common benefit to good, by a parish assembly here in Leißnig shall at all times be acted upon, used and administered faithfully and without any danger, we honorable men, by name Balthasar von Arras, Bastian von Kotteritzsch, and Sigmund von Lausk, have our native seals; and we, the town council, our town secret; and we sworn master craftsmen of the four trades, namely clothier, baker, shoemaker
and coopers, our usual craft seals, by reason of and at the request of all and every inhabitant in the town and villages of our parish with public right science for us and our following parish assembly to attach to this present our description. Done and given at Leißnig, after the birth of Christ, our dear Lord, one thousand five hundred and in the twenty-third year.
You can also read here :
L. Preface to the Booklet on the False Beggar's Mendicity, and
L. Preface to M. Casp. Aquila's booklet on almsgiving; both will appear among the prefaces.