Moravians (religion)

The Moravian churches form a modern, mainline Protestant denomination with a religious heritage that began in 15th-century Bohemia, Czech Republic. It is sometimes also known as the Unitas Fratrum or Unity of the Brethren, or as the Bohemian Brethren.

Origins and early history: the Czech background

The movement which would develop into the Moravian Church was started by a priest named Jan Hus (alternatively known as John Hus) in the late fourteenth century. The establishment of the church as a Christian church occurred as a reaction against certain alleged errors within the Roman Catholic Church. Hus, sensitive of the church's misconducts, wanted to return the practices of the church - initially just those in Bohemia and Moravia - to the allegedly "purer" practices of early Christianity: liturgy in the language of the people, having lay people receive communion in both kinds (bread and wine), and eliminating indulgences and the idea of purgatory. The movement gained royal support and a certain independence for a while, even spreading across the border into Poland, but was eventually forced to be subject to the governance of Rome.

A contingent of Hus's followers struck a deal with Rome that allowed them to realise most of their doctrinal goals, while recognising the authority of the Roman Catholic Church; these were called the Utraquists. The remaining Hussites continued to operate outside Roman Catholicism and within fifty years of Hus's death had become independently organized as the 'Bohemian Brethren' or Unity of the Brethren. This group maintained Hussite theology (which would later lean towards Lutheran teachings), while maintaining the historic episcopate, even during their persecution.

The Moravians were some of the earliest Protestants, rebelling against the authority of Rome more than a hundred years before Martin Luther. One unusual and (for its time) shocking belief was the group's eventual focus on universal education. Very often the Brethren were protected by local nobles who joined their ranks to assert their independence from Habsburg Vienna.

During the Thirty-Years War (1618–1648), which devastated not only the Holy Roman Empire but the whole of Eastern Europe, the Brethren's Church was targeted by local counter-reformation nobles, and persecuted severely in its geographical homeland. As a result the followers of the movement were forced to operate underground in the Habsburg—controlled and other Roman Catholic regions, eventually dispersing to other Slavic lands, German states and as far as the Low Countries, where bishop John Amos Comenius attempted to direct a resurgence.

After 1620, due to the Counter Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church, and after being abandoned and betrayed by the local nobility which had previously tolerated or supported them, all Protestants were offered an ultimatum. They were forced to choose to either leave the many and varied principalities of what was the Holy Roman Empire (mainly Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and parts of Germany and its many states), or to practice their beliefs secretly. At this time, members were forced underground and dispersed across Northern Europe. The largest remaining communities of the Brethren were located in Lissa in Poland, which had historically strong ties with the Czechs, and in small, isolated groups in Moravia.

The 18th Century Renewal under Zinzendorf

Nicolas Ludwig von Zinzendorf was a nobleman born in 1700 in Dresden, Saxony, in the east of modern-day Germany. He was brought up in the traditions of Pietism as advanced by Philip Jacob Spener and August Hermann Francke.

Zinzendorf studied law at university in accordance with the wishes of his family, but his main interests were in the pursuit of his religious ideas. In 1722 he left the court in Dresden to spend more time on his estates at Berthelsdorf, where he hoped to establish a model Christian community.

Out of a personal commitment to helping the poor and needy, Zinzendorf agreed to a request from an itinerant carpenter named Christian David that persecuted Protestants from Moravia should be allowed to settle on his lands. Among those who came were members of the Bohemian Brethren who had been living as an underground remnant in Moravia for nearly 100 years since the days of Comenius.

The refugees established a new village called Herrnhut, about 2 miles from Berthelsdorf. The town initially grew steadily, but major religious disagreements emerged and by 1727 the community was divided into warring factions. Zinzendorf used a combination of feudal authority and his charismatic personality to restore a semblance of unity, then in August 1727 the community underwent a dramatic transformation following an experience which they attributed to a visitation of the Holy Spirit, similar to that recorded in the Bible on the day of Pentecost.

The great revival at Herrnhut was accompanied by prophecies, visions, glossalalia, and healings. A faction were modalistic monarchians which also insisted on baptizing in the shorter non-Trinitarian formula. Kruger's introduction of deviant Christological teaching was claimed by him to be the only teaching of the godhead that the Jews would ever accept. Christian David, the founder of Herrnhut, accepted this teaching whole heartedly as did many of the Brethren. While different doctrinal views sometimes threatened the unity of the community Count Zinzendorf was able to keep harmony of spirit and the revival continued unhindered.

Herrnhut grew rapidly following this transforming revival and became the centre of a major movement for Christian renewal and mission during the 18th century. Moravian historians identify the main achievements of this period as:

1) Setting a up a watch of continuous prayer which ran uninterrupted, 24 hours a day, for 100 years.

2) The origination of the Losungen, the "Daily Watchwords," on 3 May, 1728, published today in 50 languages, the oldest and most widely read daily devotional work in the world. Old Testament texts, the "Watchwords", are chosen by lot annually in Herrnhut from a collection of 1200 verses; the New Testament texts, "Doctrinal Texts," are selected then to comment on the Watchwords. This is an ecumenical ministry of the worldwide Moravian Unity that transcends confessional, political and racial barriers of all kinds.

3) The establishment of over 30 settlements globally on the Herrnhut model, which emphasised a lifestyle of prayer and worship and a form of communal living in which personal property was still held but simplicity of lifestyle and generosity with wealth were considered important spiritual attributes. As a result, divisions between social groups and extremes of wealth and povery were largely eliminated.

4) The sending out of hundreds of Christian missionaries to many parts of the world including the Caribbean, North and South America, the Arctic, Africa, and the Far East. The Moravian missionaries were the first large scale Protestant missionary movement. They were also first to send unordained "lay" people (rather than trained professional clergymen), the first to go to slaves, and the first in many countries of the world. The first Moravian Missionaries were a potter named Leonard Dober and a carpenter named David Nitschmann, who went to the Caribbean island of St Thomas in 1732.

5) The formation of many hundreds small renewal groups operating within the existing churches of Europe, known as "diaspora societies". These groups encouraged personal prayer and worship, bible study, confession of sins and mutual accountability.

6) Moravians were instrumental in the "conversion" of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church and the best-known British leader of the 18th century restoration of Christian faith known as the "great awakening". Early "Methodist societies" owed many of their influences to the structure of Moravian "diaspora societies".

The Moravians in the United States and elsewhere

The church which became established following the renewal during the 18th Century is now known in English speaking countries as the 'Moravian Church' (as in Great Britain and Ireland, Canada, Nicaragua, the United States, Jamaica, and several nations in the eastern West Indies). In the Czech Republic they are known as Jednota Bratrská, and in the Netherlands as the Evangelische Broedergemeente and perhaps more commonly as 'Herrnhuters', from the main Moravian settlement at Herrnhut in Germany; they are similarly named in Sweden. Zeist is the historical centre for the Dutch Brethren. The Moravians who came to the United States in the early 1700s were immigrants originating from settlements on the estates of Count Nicolas Ludwig von Zinzendorf in present-day Saxony in Germany.

A sister denomination with common Hussite roots is the Unity of the Brethren in Texas.

The original unsuccessful attempt to found a Moravian community in North America was in Georgia; the Moravians later found a home in Pennsylvania, where the colony provided a greater extent of religious freedom. The towns of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Emmaus, and Lititz, Pennsylvania were founded as Moravian communities. Later, colonies were also founded in North Carolina, where Moravians led by Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg purchased 98,985 acres from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. This large tract of land was named die Wachau, or Wachovia, after one of Zinzendorf's ancestral estates on the Danube River in Austria. Other early settlements included Bethabara (1753), Bethania (1759) and Salem (now Winston-Salem) (1766).

Bethlehem, PA emerged as the headquarters of the northern church, and Winston-Salem, NC became the headquarters of the southern church. The Moravian denomination persists in America to this day, with congregations in eighteen states; presently, the highest concentrations of Moravians exist in Bethlehem, PA and Winston-Salem, NC. The denomination is organized into four provinces in North America: Northern, Southern, Alaska, and Labrador. There are also congregations in three Canadian provinces, as well as about forty Moravian congregations in England.

The Moravian Church in the present

The modern Moravian church still draws heavily on traditions established during the 18th century renewal. It observes the convention of the lovefeast, originally started in 1727, and continues to use older and traditional music in worship. In addition, many Moravians are buried in a traditional God's Acre, a graveyard organized by gender, age, and marital status rather than family. The Moravians have a long tradition of missionary work, for example in the West Indies of the Caribbean and Greenland. This is reflected in their broad global distribution. The Moravians in Germany – whose central settlement remains at Herrnhut – are highly active in education and social work. The Moravian Church sponsors Moravian College and Seminary, recorgnized as the sixth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. The largest concentration of Moravians today is in Tanzania.

The motto of the Moravian church is:

(in Latin) In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas

(in English) "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love"

Ecumenical relations

The Moravian Church in America is in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Moravian Church in America is engaged in dialogue with a group of Reformed Churches (Presbyterian Church in the USA, United Church of Christ, Reformed Church in America, and Christian Church - Disciples of Christ). Moravians have long had close relations with the United Methodist Church, but are not engaged in a formal dialogue. The Moravians are also in dialogue with the Episcopal Church of the USA and share in an agreement of interim eucharistic sharing.

References

Jackman, John. "The Moravian Music Foundation: FAQs". Retrieved April 24, 2005.
Langton; Edward. "History of the Moravian Church: The Story of the First International Protestant Church" 1956.

External links

Christian denominations | Peace churches

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