In the original version that Bonhoeffer drafted, it went further, saying they “no longer recognize[d]” the Reichsbischof. That was too strong for some, so it was softened to the nonetheless electrically charged “withdraw our confidence.” In either case, to declare such things to the Reichskirche was as close to the Rubicon of a status confessionis as the opposition churches had ever come. As events were unfolding, they would cross that river soon enough.
