The Moravian Church Through The Ages

J. E. Hutton's superb history follows the Moravian Church from its earliest years as one of the earliest founding Protestant denominations, over the centuries as it developed into a mature Christian fellowship. Arranged chronologically, Hutton's history takes us first to the dawn of the Protestant Reformation in the fifteenth century. He details the fraught religious and political situation during the decades prior to the eventual split with the dominant Catholic order. We are introduced to the pivotal figures of the era, such as Peter of Chelci, Gregory the Patriarch and Luke of Prague. By harnessing popular sentiment and using new technology such as the printing presses to spread the new, Protestant doctrine, the split of Christianity occurred. The political climate of Prague, Bohemia and the surrounding areas in which the Moravians lived is much-detailed. The pure, simple observance of Christ and his virtues united the Moravian movement - the essential devotion to Jesus and his gospel appealed to Christians, who yearned for community under a common banner and felt distant from the old order. Poland in particular proved a bastion for the Moravian brethren, many of whom traveled and carried their traditions abroad. Following the years of conflict and Reformation, the Moravians distinguished themselves as a highly competent Christian group. Members of the Moravian church were among the first missionaries to venture to the New World, which was the scene of chaotic conflicts between the rival colonial powers. The simple adherence to the word of Christ runs a common thread through the political and moral dramas, as the Moravians grappled with issues such as slavery and war, helping slaves in kindness. Hutton's chronicle is thorough, intensively explaining the important aspects underpinning the Moravians. The development of their customs; how they congregated; the aesthetic appearance of their churches; and their establishment of parochial education are all detailed, giving the reader a vivid and valuable history.

At the end of the 1740s, the Moravians, a young and rapidly expanding radical-Pietist movement, experienced a crisis soon labeled the Sifting Time. As Moravian leaders attempted to lead the church away from the abuses of the crisis, they also tried to erase the memory of this controversial and embarrassing period. Archival records were systematically destroyed, and official histories of the church only dealt with this period in general terms. It is not surprising that the Sifting Time became both a taboo and an enigma in Moravian historiography. In A Time of Sifting, Paul Peucker provides the first book-length, in-depth look at the Sifting Time and argues that it did not consist of an extreme form of blood-and-wounds devotion, as is often assumed. Rather, the Sifting Time occurred when Moravians began to believe that the union with Christ could be experienced not only during marital intercourse but during extramarital sex as well. Peucker shows how these events were the logical consequence of Moravian teachings from previous years. As the nature of the crisis became evident, church leaders urged the members to revert to their earlier devotion of the blood and wounds of Christ. By returning to this earlier phase, the Moravians lost their dynamic character and became more conservative. It was at this moment that the radical-Pietist Moravians of the first half of the eighteenth century reinvented themselves as a noncontroversial evangelical denomination.

Moravian Church was the first protestant church in the world, preceding the revolution of Martin Luther by 50 years. J. E. Hutton's history follows the Moravian Church from its earliest years over the centuries as it developed into a mature Christian fellowship. Arranged chronologically, Hutton's history takes us first to the dawn of the Protestant Reformation in the fifteenth century, describes the political climate of Bohemia and the difficult relations with the Church of Rome. The author also gives an analysis of tools, methods, and key ideas which helped the Moravian church inspire other protestant movements around the world.

Dating back to 1785, the Moravian “Instructions for the Choir Helpers” contain detailed advice for the spiritual counselors of the men, women, and children in Moravian congregations on how to address concerns about one’s body and soul. In this volume, Katherine Faull presents an annotated, translated edition of the original German manuscript. In monthly “speakings”—regularly scheduled dialogues between the choir helper and individual church members to determine whether the congregant could be admitted to communion—men and women received spiritual guidance on topics as varied as the physical manifestations of puberty, sexual attraction, frequency of intercourse, infant care, and bereavement. From their founding in 1722, the Moravians were remarkable for their positive evaluation of the body; they held that the natural manifestations of masculinity and femininity were integral elements of spiritual consciousness. The “Instructions for the Choir Helpers”—which were highly confidential at the time and passed on only by permission of the church administration—reflect that philosophy, providing insights into an interpretation of the body as a holistic system that should be cared for as a vessel for the spirit. A unique resource for scholars of religious history, gender studies, and colonial American church history, Faull’s translation of this fascinating set of documents provides an unprecedented glimpse into a period of foundational change in Moravian history.