Please note: this article was written in 2001 and is part of my Master's thesis. It is here for archival purposes only. See the bottom of this page for licensing information.

-Vika Zafrin (email me with any questions)

“We all must now lament when we hear tell of this great betrayal and must grieve that any baptized Christian ever counseled murder. It is treated in the Scriptures when David, a mighty king, speaks thus of such a traitor: 'He has sharpened his tongue and incited my foes against me; against God's will he hates me. Punish him, Lord. Shorten his days and let another take his riches. Let his wife become a widow, his children be orphaned and never free from want. Let him perish in his sins.'

”Lord, when You sit in judgment before all nations, let Genelun be condemned and delivered to the devil and his sulfur-burning host. May he abide in hell forever for having treacherously betrayed two realms, for he delivered his fellow Christians to martyrdom when Karl sent the imperial staff with him to the heathen lands to bring about the atonement and pardon of those who were willing to be baptized. He was unfaithful to both sides, but he did not profit from his rancor. This meeting with the disloyal Genelun was called the spruce council because it took place under a spruce.”

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