In His Arms Life In An English Moravian Settlement In The Eighteenth Century

"In this book, historian Ron Southern explores the early years of Fulneck's development, between 1750 and 1760, when it was called either after its site, Lambshill, or chapel, Gracehall. Through an exploration of the structure and symbolism of its architecture, the phenomenology of its spaces, and a close reading of their Congregation Diaries, Life Histories, and other original sources, he conjures a picture of the rituals of daily life in an English Moravian Settlement under the influence of their charismatic leader Count Zinzendorf."--Back cover.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was a unique colonial town. It was the first permanent outpost of the Moravians in North America and served as the headquarters for their extensive missionary efforts. It was also one of the most successful communal societies in American history. Bethlehem was founded as a &"congregation of the cross&" where all aspects of personal and social life were subordinated to the religious ideal of the community. In Community of the Cross, Craig D. Atwood offers a convincing portrait of Bethlehem and its religion. Visitors to Bethlehem, such as Benjamin Franklin, remarked on the orderly and peaceful nature of life in the community, its impressive architecture, and its &"high&" culture. However, many non-Moravians were embarrassed or even offended by the social and devotional life of the Moravians. The adoration of the crucified Jesus, especially his wounds, was the focus of intense devotion for adults and children alike. Moravians worshiped the Holy Spirit as &"Mother,&" and they made the mystical marriage to Christ central to their marital intimacy. Everything, even family life, was to be a form of worship. Atwood reveals the deep connection between life in Bethlehem and the religious symbolism of controversial German theologian Nicholas von Zinzendorf, whose provocative and erotic adoration of the wounds of Jesus was an essential part of private and communal life. Using the theories of Ren&é Girard, Mary Douglas, and Victor Turner, Atwood shows that it was the Moravians&’ liturgy and devotion that united the community and inspired both its unique social structure and its missionary efforts.

The industrial city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was originally settled in colonial times by Moravians from southeastern Germany. These religious utopians were noted for urban planning. In this large-format, richly illustrated volume, historian William Murtagh compares more than 20 Bethlehem landmarks with other Moravian communities for a fascinating glimpse into a part of America's past.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, thousands of ordinary women and men experienced evangelical conversion and turned to a certain form of spiritual autobiography to make sense of their lives. This book traces the rise and progress of 'conversion narrative' in England during this period and establishes some of the cultural conditions that allowed the genre to proliferate.

Drawing on unpublished archival material, this volume compares Moravian economic practice in three different mission-settings, to demonstrate how Moravian practices evolved during the 18th century as part of a globalizing world and economy. Delivering in-depth analysis of the far-reaching and deep seated effects of missionary activity on indigenous communities and social relations, it explores how different economic contexts had an impact on the missionaries' relations with Indigenous and slave-populations in empire. Petterson provides an insight how the missionaries worked, lived among various non-European peoples, and how they organised themselves and their surroundings at a time of changing identities and socio economic change. Analysing how missionary practice developed over this period, it also demonstrates how the Moravian leadership's priorities and how this affected attitudes to non-European peoples on the ground. Standing outside of national and imperial boundaries, and ambivalent about the political notion of imperialism as well as colonisation itself, Moravian missionaries nonetheless functioned in parallel with colonial structures, and were part of a broadly culturally colonial mission. So, even on the outskirts of imperial organisation, they were often a crucial part of colonial practice and took part in normalising capitalist relations in many-but not all-settings, as this book demonstrates.

Since the seventeenth century, millions of people from every continent have settled in America. Seeking a better life for themselves and their children, they braved deprivations, studied an unfamiliar language, adapted to a different way of life, and battled prejudices and hostility. Most of them held on to their faith as well, re-establishing churches and meeting-houses, synagogues and mosques, temples and cathedrals, and electing priests, rabbis, imams, and other spiritual leaders from among their number. Immigration irreversibly altered the face of the new republic, and it still moulds the political and spiritual fabric of the nation even to this day. Joselit surveys the history of immigration--which is actually the history of this country--and its effect on both political and religious issues through the centuries. The book explores the immigrant experience through case studies representative of all major newcomers' groups. The vividly rendered stories of courage and perseverance will alternately inspire and horrify.

In Moravian Soundscapes, Sarah Eyerly contends that the study of sound is integral to understanding the interactions between German Moravian missionaries and Native communities in early Pennsylvania. In the mid-18th century, when the frontier between settler and Native communities was a shifting spatial and cultural borderland, sound mattered. People listened carefully to each other and the world around them. In Moravian communities, cultures of hearing and listening encompassed and also superseded musical traditions such as song and hymnody. Complex biophonic, geophonic, and anthrophonic acoustic environments—or soundscapes—characterized daily life in Moravian settlements such as Bethlehem, Nain, Gnadenhütten, and Friedenshütten. Through detailed analyses and historically informed recreations of Moravian communal, environmental, and religious soundscapes and their attendant hymn traditions, Moravian Soundscapes explores how sounds—musical and nonmusical, human and nonhuman—shaped the Moravians' religious culture. Combined with access to an interactive website that immerses the reader in mid-18th century Pennsylvania, and framed with an autobiographical narrative, Moravian Soundscapes recovers the roles of sound and music in Moravian communities and provides a road map for similar studies of other places and religious traditions in the future.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.