Martin Stephan

Bible Translators Theologians Martin Stephan (1777–1846) was pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Dresden, Germany during the early 19th century.

[2] In 1810, Martin became the pastor of St. John's in Dresden, a specially chartered church that had its origins in those who had fled from Moravia and Bohemia in 1650.

When four of the five the ships landed at the Port of New Orleans, Martin Stephan was elected bishop of this small band of Lutherans, according to the travel regulations of the Emigration Society.

Forster indicates that Stephan was made bishop initially only by the passengers and clergy on board the Olbers at about the time this ship entered the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Forster states, "On January 14, 1839...they made Stephan their bishop and endowed him with a liberal grant of power to carry out the functions of his office.

After two months, the Saxon immigrants purchased land in Perry County, Missouri, at the confluence of Brazeau Creek and the Mississippi River.

On May 30, 1839, Stephan was deposed and excommunicated from the community on the grounds of sexual misconduct and embezzlement, leaving C. F. W. Walther as the senior clergyman.