Sunday
morning, and for me it immediately brings to mind, Church. People around the world now attend church on
Sundays because of the work of the Moravians.
So, who are the Moravians?
The
Moravians have been on my mind recently after attending a presentation at St.
Francis Church on Monday, 13th August. (I know, I’m very behind with this blogging
subject.) Mrs. R, who works with the
Moravians, provided a 30 minute power-point show and answered questions
afterward.
In
the early 1990’s I watched a film entitled, First
Fruits; Zinzendorf and the Moravians.
It was my first introductions to the Moravians. My second exposure to the Moravians was in 1996,
while I was working with Youth With A Mission in Switzerland. Having a basic knowledge, I went along to
Mrs. R.’s presentation, because I wanted to learn more.
The
story of the Moravians starts with a man named Jan Hus. Born 124 years before Martin Luther, Jan Hus
was a contemporary of John Wycliffe.
Born in the Kingdom of Bohemia, (now part of Czech Republic), Hus moved
to Prague to work and study. He was a
ardent scholar and was ordained as a priest in 1400.
Hus
was a firm supporter of the common people, believing the Bible should be
available to the people in their own language; ideology which the (Catholic)
church rejected. Hus also preached
against indulgences—stating that trying to buy one’s salvation was immoral and
un-Biblical. Hus also challenged the
Church’s Ecclesiology--ecclesiology deals with the church's orgin, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation,
its discipline, its destiny,
and its leadership. When Hus refused to recant his beliefs, the Council
of Constance declared him a heretic and condemned him to death, burning at the
stake; he was executed 6th July 1415
Hus’s
death led to the people of Bohemia rejecting the teaching of the Catholic
Church, which then led to war. At any
rate, after his death, the Hussites split into different sects; one of which
was called the Bohemian Brethren or “Hidden Seed.”
In 1722, this
group of refugees arrived in Moravia, and their leaders requested to stay on
the estate of a nobleman, Count Nikolaus Ludwig van Zinzendorf. He graciously permitted them to settle and
the Brethren built a village called Herrnhut.
The community grew, but struggled from theological divisions. On 13th August 1727, the community
experienced a visitation of the Holy Spirit, much like the Biblical report of
Acts 2. Out of this revival came
remarkable growth and ministry:
"Moravian
historians identify the main achievements of this period as:
- Setting up a watch of continuous prayer that ran uninterrupted, 24 hours a day, for 100 years.
- Originating the Daily Watchwords.
- Establishing more than 30 settlements internationally on the Herrnhut model, which emphasised prayer and worship, and a form of communal living in which simplicity of lifestyle and generosity with wealth were held to be important spiritual attributes. The purpose of these communities was to assist the members resident there in the sanctification of their lives, to provide a meeting place for Christians from different confessional backgrounds, to provide Christian training for their own children and the children of their friends and supporters and to provide support for the Moravian Mission work throughout the world. As a result, although personal property was held, divisions between social groups and extremes of wealth and poverty were largely eliminated.
- Being the first church body to begin missionary work; and
- Forming many hundreds of 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."
There are two
other symbols that many of us see at Christmas that have their origins in the Moravian
Church: the Moravian Star and Christingle.
I might write more about these things at
Christmas. 
The main
Centre for Moravian’s worldwide church is still in Herrnhut. The town is about 90 kilometres/55 miles east
of Dresden. The official page for
Herrnhut, Germany is, of course, in German.
Google does have a translate button, which I did. Although some of the translation is a bit
confusing, overall, you can find a lot of information for tourists—including informational
trips to the Moravian Worldwide headquarters, cemetery, and other sites of
interest. http://wikitravel.org/en/Herrnhut
What inspires
me most about the Moravians is their commitment to missions. The film mentioned above, First Fruits, Zinzendorf and the
Moravians, tells the story, set in 1737 of two young men called to take
the Gospel to the slaves of the West Indies.
They committed to live amongst the slaves—even becoming slaves
themselves—in order to minister to the needs of the oppressed workers, and show
them God’s grace. These two men were the
first missionaries to be sent out by the Moravians. The legacy of missions remains with the
Moravians today.
The film is
available for purchase/rental from this website:https://www.visionvideo.com/detail.taf?_function=detail&a_product_id=31349
I will
probably write more about the Moravians as time goes by. But this, I hope, is a good introduction.
Serving
Jesus, Author of our faith,
“Lady Helene”
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