# Who were the Moravians?



## Harrie (Apr 10, 2004)

Who were the Moravians and what had Wesley and Whitefield to do with them?


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## Puritan Sailor (Apr 10, 2004)

http://bible.crosswalk.com/History/AD/MoravianChurchHistory/

Here's a link to a history of the movement.

They had an influence on Wesley in his early ministry because of there piety in contrast to the rationalist hypocrits in the Anglican church of the time. I don't think they had much direct influence on Whitfield that I know of.


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## Bladestunner316 (Apr 10, 2004)

http://www.moravian.org/find_us/


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## Harrie (Apr 10, 2004)

If I go to crosswalk, I don't see the text at all.


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## raderag (Apr 13, 2004)

[quote:e9c519a82a][i:e9c519a82a]Originally posted by Harrie[/i:e9c519a82a]
Who were the Moravians and what had Wesley and Whitefield to do with them? [/quote:e9c519a82a]

They were the 'Puritan' movement in the Lutheran Church of sorts in that they wanted to bring the German Lutheran Church out of dead orthodoxy into a vibrant, practicing religion. Much of their theology had to do with practical and moral issues.

The Moravian church to day is fairly liberal with ecumenical ties to Rome.


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## Puritan Sailor (Apr 13, 2004)

[quote:62dc354827][i:62dc354827]Originally posted by raderag[/i:62dc354827]
They were the 'Puritan' movement in the Lutheran Church of sorts in that they wanted to bring the German Lutheran Church out of dead orthodoxy into a vibrant, practicing religion. Much of their theology had to do with practical and moral issues.
[/quote:62dc354827]
That is not entirely accurate. They did merge for a time with the Lutheran Pietist movement. But the Moravians predated the Lutherans. They claim their founding father to be John Hus and had their own communities for a while before being driven out of Moravia and Bohemia. They found refuge under th care of Count Zinzendorf who basically got them back on their feet and tried to keep them working within the lutheran fold, though after his death the Moravians went on their seperate ways.


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## raderag (Apr 13, 2004)

[quote:30627d0d71][i:30627d0d71]Originally posted by puritansailor[/i:30627d0d71]

[/quote:30627d0d71]
That is not entirely accurate. They did merge for a time with the Lutheran Pietist movement. But the Moravians predated the Lutherans. They claim their founding father to be John Hus and had their own communities for a while before being driven out of Moravia and Bohemia. They found refuge under th care of Count Zinzendorf who basically got them back on their feet and tried to keep them working within the lutheran fold, though after his death the Moravians went on their seperate ways. [/quote]

You are right, I forgot about their preexistence. However, it is my understanding that it was a very small movement until after its alignment with the pietist.


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## C. Matthew McMahon (Apr 13, 2004)

Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, heir to one of Europe's leading families, was destined for high duties in 18th Century Europe. Since 1662 all males in the Zinzendorf clan bore the title of count in the Holy Roman Empire; thus young Nicolaus Ludwig became at birth Count Zinzendorf.

Guided by an unseen hand, Zinzendorf went to work to resolve differences which still threatened Herrnhut. It was decided that the Berthelsdorf church would continue as a Lutheran parish, but Herrnhut would be a Unity of the Brethren congregation-they would later become known as the Moravian Church. During 1727-29 the count tirelessly and with wisdom negotiated the necessary legal papers to assure the continuation of the ancient church on Saxon soil. To offset criticism mounting against him for going beyond the acceptable norm of creating Pietistic cells within established churches, he wrote letters and traveled to the centers of influence in Saxony to explain his actions. 
At the same time, Pietism's genius for creating small groups within the established churches was systematized at Herrnhut. To strengthen the spiritual life of the people, "choirs" were formed-first among the single brethren, then the single sisters, married couples and the widowed. These lay men and women traveled to other parts of Saxony and beyond, encouraging cells of believers in personal Bible study and pious living. "Out of this grew a network of societies within the churches to which eventually the term 'Diaspora' was applied," says Weinlick. Herrnhuters roved to and fro on the continent, to Moravia, the Baltic States, Holland, Denmark and even to Britain. 
Weinlick adds that "personal contacts were followed up with a vigorous program of correspondence ... the Herrnhut diary of February 1728 reveals that there were at times a hundred or more letters on hand." Contents of these were shared in monthly Prayer Days or in daily congregational meetings. Through the visits, future leaders of the Brethren were drawn to Herrnhut, such as the brilliant, warmhearted instructor at Jena, August Gottlieb Spangenberg. He would go on to become one of the church's foremost bishops and Zinzendorf's successor-except that no man could fill the count's shoes entirely. 
From this ministry to the Diaspora, it was but one step to another kind of itinerary-going as gospel preachers to the forgotten peoples. Three factors, at least, made the missionary action of Herrnut almost inevitable: 
• The settlement had a contagious brand of Christianity. 
• Its leader "was a count with entry to the ruling circles of many lands and whose restless nature moved him to make use of this advantage," says Weinlick. 
• Further, "the Moravian exiles were uprooted pilgrims who took readily to a vocation of itinerant evangelism." 

(1369-1415) John Hus
1400 John Wycliffe's revolutionary writings spread
1415 John Hus burned at the stake
(ca. 1420-1473) Gregory the Patriarch
1441 Slave trade with Africa begins
1453 Gutenberg first prints Bible
1457 Unitas Fratrum (Moravian Church) organized
(1460-1528) Bishop Luke of Prague
(1483-1546) Martin Luther
1492 Columbus sails to New World
1498 Savonarola martyred
1500 First Protestant Hymnal
(1500-1572) Bishop John Augusta Persecution-thousands of Moravian Brethren flee
(1564-1616) Shakespeare
1579-1593 Kralice Bible translated by Bohemian Brethren
(1592-1672) Bishop John Comenius (Poland-Amsterdam-England) 'Hidden Seed' of persecuted Brethren in Moravia
1611 King James Bible
1620 Plymouth Colony
1621 'Day of Blood'
1618-1642 Thirty Years War in Germany

1700 Count Zinzendorf born in Dresden
1703 John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards both born
1710-1716 Halle, center of German pietism where Zinzendorf studies as a youth
1716-1719 Zinzendorf continued his studies at University of Wittenberg
1722 Moravians begin migration to Herrnhut in Saxony
1727 'Birthday' of Renewed Moravian Church Spiritual awakening at Herrnhut
1732 First two Moravian Missionaries go out to preach Christ at St. Thomas and West Indies 
1748 Saving Influence on John &amp; Charles Wesley
In 1748 mission outreach to the Jews in Amsterdam was begun. First church to give serious priority to Jews.
1753 "The First Missionary Impulse"
1760 Zinzendorf died. At the close of the year 1760 (after only twenty-eight years of work) the Moravian Church had sent out no fewer than 226 missionaries. 3000 converts had been baptized.
1793 The Baptists were greatly encouraged to begin mission work in 1793. "Look what those Moravians had done" they said.
1795 From Zinzendorf's inspiration the annual Herrnhut Ministers conference let to formation of the London Missionary Society, 1795 and the British &amp; Foreign Bible Society, 1804
1818 Moravians pioneered mission work among lepers, Cape Colony, South Africa
1832 There were 42 Moravian Mission stations around the world
1900 Moravians planted churches in Greenland-turned them over to Lutheran Church in 1900.


The Moravian Community of Herrnhut in Saxony, in 1727, commenced a round-the-clock "prayer watch" that continued nonstop for over a hundred years. 

By 1791, 65 years after commencement of that prayer vigil, the small Moravian community had sent 300 missionaries to the ends of the earth.

Recommended Resources-Zinzendorf and the Moravians:

Count Zinzendorf, by John R. Weinlick, late professor of historical theology, Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pa. Published by Abingdon, 1956. 

Zinzendorf, The Ecumenical Pioneer, by Anthony J. Lewis, an English Moravian theologian and minister. Published by Westminster, 1962. 

A History of Moravian Missions, by Joseph E. Hutton, an English Moravian minister and author. Published by the Moravian Publication Office in London, 1922. 

History of the Moravian Church, the Renewed Unitas Fratrum, by J. Taylor Hamilton and Kenneth G. Hamilton, father and son, both bishops of the Moravian Church. Published by the Moravian Church in America in 1967. 

Through Five Hundred Years (Revised Edition, 1974) by Allen W. Schattschneider, a bishop of the Moravian Church. Published by Comenius Press. This is as its cover says, "A Selected Popular History of the Moravian Church." 
"Souls for the Lamb": A Theology for the Christian Mission According to Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf and Bishop Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg, by David A. Schattschneider, professor of theology and world Christianity. Moravian Theological Seminary, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. An unpublished doctoral dissertation, 1975. 

Our Church's Story, Being a History of the Moravian Church for Young People, by A. H. Mumford. Published by the Moravian Publication Office in London, 1911. 

Moravian Daily Texts, published annually by the Moravian Church in America. Distributed by the Department of Publication, 5 West Market St., Bethlehem, Pa. 18018 and the Board of Christian Education and Evangelism, 500 S. Church St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Contains historical notes, directory and statistics. 

Hymnal of the Moravian Church, published by the Moravian Church in America, 1969. 

You Are My Witnesses, a "Story-Study" Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of Moravian Missions, 1732-1982, by James Weingarth, a bishop of the Moravian Church. Published by the Moravian Church in 1981. 

These Fifteen: Pioneers of the Moravian Church by Edwin A. Sawyer. Published by Comenius Press in 1963. 

Periodical Accounts. English language periodical containing translations of early records in German of Moravian missionaries; may be studied at the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Pa. 

The North American Moravian, monthly denominational periodical of the Moravian Church in America, 5 W. Market St., Bethlehem, Pa. 18018.


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