By there were three provinces of the church: Bohemia, Moravia and Poland. He became world-renowned for his progressive views of education. Comenius, lived most of his life in exile in England and in Holland where he died. The eighteenth century saw the renewal of the Moravian Church through the patronage of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, a pietist nobleman in Saxony.
The new community became the haven for many more Moravian refugees. Count Zinzendorf encouraged them to keep the discipline of the Unitas Fratrum, and he gave them the vision to take the gospel to the far corners of the globe. August 13, , marked the culmination of a great spiritual renewal for the Moravian Church in Herrnhut, and in the first missionaries were sent to the West Indies. The Moravians first came to America during the colonial period. Their attempt to establish a community in Savannah did not succeed, but they did have a profound impact on the young John Wesley who had gone to Georgia during a personal spiritual crisis.
Wesley was impressed that the Moravians remained calm during a storm that was panicking experienced sailors. He was amazed at people who did not fear death, and back in London he worshiped with Moravians in the Fetter Lane Chapel. After the failure of the Georgia mission, the Moravians were able to establish a permanent presence in Pennsylvania in , settling on the estate of George Whitefield. Moravian settlers purchased acres to establish the settlement of Bethlehem in Other settlement congregations were established in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.
They built the communities of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Lititz, and Hope. All were considered frontier centers for the spread of the gospel, particularly in mission to the Native Americans. Bethlehem was the center of Moravian activity in colonial America.
Bishop Augustus Spangenberg led a party to survey a , acre tract of land in North Carolina, which came to be known as Wachau after an Austrian estate of Count Zinzendorf. The name, later anglicized to Wachovia, became the center of growth for the church in that region. In the two American provinces, North and South, became largely independent and set about expansion. By the time of the Civil War , the Moravians had lost their exemption from military service. Many of them served in the Confederate army, and several of them formed the musical bands of local regiments.
The best known of these is the 26th North Carolina Regiment band, though Moravians served as band members in the 11th and other regiments also. In Salem, the Fries Woolen Mill provided cloth for many of the uniforms worn by North Carolina troops throughout the war. Throughout the twentieth century the Moravian Church in North Carolina cooperated with other denominations in ecumenical discussions and joint programming in response to the needs of the day.
At the same time, it expanded to have congregations in many of the major cities of North Carolina, and new churches were established in Virginia, Georgia, and Florida as part of the Southern Province of the Moravian Church. Total membership in North Carolina at the beginning of the twenty-first century stood at just over 20, Adelaide L. Fries and others, eds. The Gemeinhaus in Historic Bethabara Park. Image courtesy of Flickr user Jeanette Runyon.
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Is anything in this article factually incorrect? Please submit a comment. Printer-friendly page Moravians by C. References: J. If there was a church already set up in the area the missionaries were working in, then they would become part that denomination. For example, if Lutherans were the predominant denomination in the area, the Moravians would become part of the Lutheran church. In this way, the Moravians remained in unity with other denominations on the mission field.
The Moravians were self-sufficient. The only funds they received were enough for them to get to the port of departure and get on the ship. When they got to the mission field, they took up jobs, such as being an artisan, in order to fund the work they were doing. There were two reasons. Secondly, having livelihoods opened up opportunities to share the Gospel with those around them. They also lived with each other in order to live frugally while on the mission field.
They were able to talk to customers and co-workers about Jesus. In addition, it would help the economy of the natives by creating more surpluses for the community and provide for the practical needs of the people they were serving.
The Moravians created a seal. The seal has a picture of a sheep holding a cross with the Christian flag attached. Let us Follow Him. As the Moravians went around the world, they started to multiply the number of converts. The model of the original community at Herrnhut was copied throughout the world. The communities lived frugally. Their sole focus was to proclaim Christ throughout the world.
There were Christians from different denominations. The children were provided with a Christian education. Those who worked in the community did so to provide support for the Moravian missionaries serving in different areas throughout the globe.
People did have personal property, but social classes were erased. Like the early church, they shared their wealth equally with each other. The Moravians believed in adapting to the context of the people. For example, taking on the clothes of the people they are reaching. This opened opportunities for missionaries to share the Gospel. Zinzendorf encouraged the missionaries to not judge the people they were reaching based on Herrnhut, the original Moravian community.
One of the most effective ways the Moravians reached the people was through Bible translation. The Moravians were excellent in learning new languages. When they learned the language, they translated the Bible and hymns into the native language. John and Charles Wesley were missionaries in Georgia. On their way to the United States, they met a group of Moravians.
During a storm, the mainsail of the ship was split into pieces. The English panicked at this. Meanwhile, the Moravians were singing unafraid of the death that may be impending.
The confidence of the Moravians in Christ impressed John Wesley, who saw a vast difference between the way the English and Moravians acted. This led to Wesley doing some soul searching and finding a heart of unbelief inside of him. Under his influence, Wesley came to Christ in After his conversion to Christ, Wesley wrote over 6, hymns.
In August , Wesley visited Herrnhut. What he saw impressed him. One day a child was buried. The father did not seem too sad. He praised the Lord with the firm confidence that one day he will see his child again. If Wesley could have, he would have stayed. Visiting Hernhutt encouraged Wesley to preach the Gospel and work to see it spread throughout the world.
This left Wesley to wonder why more Christians did not live like the Moravians to spread the Gospel throughout the world. When the missionaries went to the mission field- they were not to evangelize whole nations, but instead seekers. Zizendorf believed the Holy Spirit prepared people from every nation to come to Him.
The main indicator of a person prepared for the Gospel was a religious seeker such as Cornelius and the Ethiopian in the book of Acts. These people were dissatisfied with their native religion and were seeking for the truth.
If the people were hostile, the missionaries would move on to a different country where they would be welcomed. The Moravians reached people from all sectors of society. They did not see the difference between rich and poor.
One time, three missionaries went to the same Indian chief. One missionary told them there is a God. The chief sent the missionary home- because that was obvious to the tribe. The second missionary came and told them lying, drinking and stealing are wrong. This too was obvious, so the second missionary was sent home to preach to those who did the same vices.
The third missionary was different. The Holy Spirit convicted the chief and he had a difficult time sleeping. The next morning, the chief told the tribe about Jesus and convicted by the Holy Spirit, the whole tribe came to Jesus. On another occasion, there was a countess.
She was dissatisfied by all the riches and trinkets she had. One day, she met a Moravian missionary. She was wondering why the missionary was so cheerful.
He explained to the countess what Jesus had done for him by dying on the cross for his sins. The countess was so convicted she fell down and prayed.
In turn, she became a witness to many in the royal court, including Alexander I. In , Zizendorf was banished from Saxony because his opponents were trying to undermine his ministry.
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