the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Encyclopedias
The Renewed Moravian Brethren
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or SO called because they form the resuscitated Church of the Ancient Moravian Brethren (see No. 1, above). They are commonly known as "The Moravians," and "The Moravian Church," inasmuch as they originally came from Moravia. Their official title is "THE UNITED BRETHREN," or Unitas Fratrum.
I. History. — At the close of the Bohemian anti-Reformation (1627), a remnant of the Brethren remained concealed in Bohemia and Moravia, and for many years kept up religious services in secret according to the faith and usages of the fathers. This "hidden seed," as it is generally called, was revealed in 1722, when two families, named Neisser, escaped from Moravia under the guidance of Christian David, "the servant of the Lord," and settled on the domain of Berthelsdorf, in Saxony, by the invitation of its young owner, count Nicholas Lewis de Zinzendorf (q.v.). In the course of the next seven years (1722-29), about three hundred other Brethren from Moravia and Bohemia emigrated in little companies to the same place, leaving their houses and lands to be confiscated by the Austrian government, and braving the punishments which were inflicted on those refugees who fell into its hands. They built a town called Herrnhut, or "The Watch of the Lord," to which godly men from various parts of Germany were soon attracted, so that its population rapidly increased. In the midst of this colony the Church of the Brethren was renewed, through the introduction of the ancient discipline, preserved in the Ratio Discipline of Amos Comenius, and through the transfer of the venerable episcopate, which had been kept up with such care, in spem contra spem, even after the ancient Church, as a visible organization, had ceased to exist. This transfer was made at Berlin, March 13, 1735, on which day David Nitschmann was consecrated as the first bishop of the Renewed Church, by Daniel Ernst Jablonski and Christian Sitkovius, the two surviving bishops of the ancient line.
In considering this renewal, two points are important. First, it was not a scheme of man, but altogether a work of God. Hence it bears a reality, and assumes its place in history with an authority, for both of which we would look in vain had a mere human plan been carried out. When Zinzendorf offered his estate as a refuge for the Brethren, he had not the remotest idea of renewing their Church, of which he knew little or nothing. Long before they came to his domain his aims in the interests of the Gospel had received an entirely different direction through the pietism of Spener. Nor did the Moravians themselves, when they began to emigrate, agree to reorganize in some other land. They left the issue of their flight in the hands of God. It was only by degrees that both parties were led to understand the divine will. The failure of his own plans, and other circumstances beyond his control, at last induced Zinzendorf to identify himself with the Brethren, and to labor for the resuscitation of their Church; while the gradual increase of their number at Herrnhut, and the opportunity which they there had to consult and to tell each other of the pious hopes of their fathers, gave them courage to maintain their independence, and to look for a new Unitas Fratrum. Secondly, this renewal involved a union of the German element of pietism with the Slavonic element of the ancient Brethren's Church. Thus arose some principles which were not found in the latter, and a polity of exclusivism that gave a peculiar tendency for more than a century to the Moravians of the modern period. Zinzendorf was a Lutheran by birth, education, and conviction. He was devoted to the system of Spener, who had been one of his sponsors at his baptism, and especially to the project of establishing "little churches in the Church" (ecclesiolae in ecclesia), in other words, unions or associations of converted persons within a regular parish, for the purpose of personal edification. Hence the great aim which shaped his course was not to interfere with the State Church, but to develop Spener's idea in such a way that the Brethren would constitute, on the one hand, an independent Church, and yet, on the other, be a union of believers within the ecclesiastical establishments of the various countries in which they might settle. Accordingly, wherever they spread, exclusive towns were founded, in which religion controlled not only spiritual, but also social and industrial interests; from which the vices and follies of the world were banished, and where none but Brethren were allowed to hold real estate. That the Church could not, with such a system, enlarge its borders to any great extent in its home-field is evident. That its avowed purpose was to remain small is equally clear. The Moravian element, indeed, which drew its life from the old Unitas Fratrum, struggled for a time to gain free scope and expand. But Zinzendorf's views prevailed in the end, and were consistently carried out. Here and there Moravian villages were planted, as a leaven in Christendom. Such villages were to know nothing of a mere nominal Church-membership. All their inhabitants were to be true followers of Christ; and within their secure retreats they were to cultivate simplicity and lowly-mindedness, to foster holiness and love, to show forth a guileless spirit and a beautiful brotherhood. This constituted Zinzendorf's ideal, which was crowned with wonderful success.
At the time of Zinzendorf's death (1760), the Brethren were established in most of the Protestant states of Germany, in Holland, Great Britain, and North America, and after his decease they spread to Russia, Denmark, and Baden. In all of these countries they were represented by exclusive settlements; in Great Britain and America they had, besides, a number of churches in which their peculiar system did not prevail. The various governments granted them liberal concessions, and made them independent of the State Church; the Parliament of Great Britain, with the full concurrence of the bench of bishops, acknowledged them in 1749 as "an ancient episcopal Church," and passed an act encouraging them to settle in the North American colonies. On the part of the theologians of the day, however, the same fraternal spirit was not always manifested. Lutheran divines, especially, began to publish bitter attacks upon the Brethren. That these, in this early period of their history, gave just cause of offence, at least to some extent, cannot be denied. In the first place, the controlling influence of the Church was carried to unreasonable extremes, particularly as regards the sacred rights of the marriage relation and of the family. These were interfered with. In order to educate a chosen generation for work in the kingdom of God, the Church Undertook the training of the children almost to the exclusion of parental rule. In the second place, about the year 1745 there began to appear in the churches of Middle Germany a spirit of fanaticism, which spread to some other Moravian' towns on the Continent, and even to Great Britain. Those in America were not affected. It was a fanaticism which grew out of a one-sided view of the relation of believers to Christ. The Brethren spoke of him in a fanciful and antiscriptural style. A new religious phraseology, unwarranted by the Bible, gained the supremacy. The wounds of Jesus, and particularly the wound in his side, were apostrophized in the most extravagant terms. Images were used more sensuous than anything found in the Song of Solomon. Hymns abounded that poured forth puerilities and sentimental nonsense like a flood. This state of affairs, which in Moravian history is designated "the time of sifting," continued for about five years, reaching its climax in 1749. When Zinzendorf and his coadjutors awoke to a sense of the danger which was threatening the Church, they adopted the most energetic measures to bring back the fanatics to the true faith. By the blessing of God they succeeded; the Church was fully restored to sound doctrine and scriptural practice. This is an experience without a parallel in ecclesiastical history, and shows how firmly it was founded upon Christ as its chief corner-stone. This, too, is the sufficient answer to those assaults which were then made upon it by Rimius, by the author of The Moravians Detected, and by a legion of other writers, whose publications have been collected by the librarian of the archives at Herrnhut, where they fill up a large book-case, and are examined as literary curiosities by the visitor of the present day.
The best evidence of the entire suppression of fanaticism is the fact that the Moravian settlements, subsequent to 1750, not only continued to be centres of a widely spread influence for good, but also exercised such influence in an ever-increasing degree throughout the world. However exclusive their system, they were not market-places in which the people stood idle all the day; on the contrary, there were various ways in which these towns made their power to be felt. They gave a direction to chosen men of God, who became illustrious leaders in other parts of Christendom- as, for instance, to John Wesley, to Schleiermacher, and to Knapp; they were cities of refuge for the pure Gospel during the long reign of rationalism in Germany; they educated in their boarding-schools thousands of young people not connected with the Moravian Church; they originated a vast home missionary work, which will be described below, under the head of "'Diaspora;" and they sent out so large an army of missionaries into heathen lands that by common consent the Moravians are recognised as the standard-bearers in the foreign missionary work of modern times.
Since the beginning of the present century various modifications have been introduced in the Church, especially such as set aside any undue interference on its part with the rights of the family. The General Synod of 1857 undertook a thorough revision of the Constitution, on the basis of local independence in the three "provinces" of the Unitas Fratrum.
II. Moravian Towns. — There still exist fifteen exclusively Moravian settlements on the Continent of Europe, and four in Great Britain. In such settlements the membership is divided into seven classes, called "choirs," from the Greek χορός . These classes are: the married couples, the widowed, the unmarried men, the unmarried women, the boys, the girls, and the little children. Each class is committed to the supervision of an elder. Growing out of this system, we find in every Moravian town a Brethren's, a Sisters', and a Widows' House. In a Brethren's House, unmarried men live together and carry on trades, the profits of which go to support the establishment, as also the enterprises of the Church in general. A Sisters' House is inhabited by unmarried women, who maintain themselves by work suited to their sex. In each house there is a prayer-hall, where daily religious services are held. A common kitchen supplies the inmates with their meals. There is nothing monastic in the principles underlying these establishments, or in the regulations by which they are governed. The inmates are bound by no vow, and can leave at their option. A Widows' House is a home for widows, supplying them with all the comforts which they need at moderate charges, and enabling the poorest to live in a respectable manner. Each house has a spiritual and a temporal superintendent. The settlements in general are governed by two boards: the one, called the 'Elders' Conference," with the senior pastor at its head, attends to the spiritual affairs; the other called the "Board of Overseers," with the "warden" as its president, to financial and municipal matters. On business of importance, a general meeting of the adult male members is convened. These towns at present count among their inhabitants not a few who are not members of the Moravian Church. Such residents, until recently, were not permitted to own real estate. This fundamental principle is now undergoing a change which will, without doubt, gradually lead to the abolition of the entire system of exclusivism.
III. The American A Moravian Church. — The Moravians settled in Georgia in 1735, but left that colony in 1740, on account of the war which had broken out with Spain. In the following year they founded Bethlehem, and subsequently Nazareth, in Pennsylvania. These towns, together with several smaller settlements, not only adopted exclusive principles, but also instituted a communism of labor. "The lands were the property of the Church, and the farms and various departments of mechanical industry were stocked by it and worked for its benefit. In return, the Church provided the inhabitants with all the necessaries of life. Whoever had private means, retained them. There was no common treasury, such as we find among the primitive Christians." This peculiar social system, which bore the name of" Economy," and which has given rise to the erroneous idea that there prevailed at one time a community of goods among the Moravians, existed for twenty years (1742-62). It accomplished great results. Each member of the "Economy"' was pledged " to devote his time and powers in whatever direction they could be most advantageously applied for the spread of the Gospel." Hence, while there proceeded from the Moravian settlements an unbroken succession of itinerants, who traversed the colonies and the Indian country in every direction, preaching Christ Jesus and him crucified, there labored at home a body of farmers and mechanics in order to maintain this extensive mission. After the abrogation of the Economy," the Church for eighty years continued to uphold its foreign exclusive polity. It is true there were a number of organizations not exclusive, but these were looked upon as of secondary importance, and were characterized as mere "city and country congregations." Consequently the Moravians of the United States could expand as little as their brethren in Europe. From 1844 to 1856, however, the old system was gradually relinquished, and has now ceased to exist. There no longer are any Moravian towns in this country. The American Moravian Church now stands on the same footing as the other Protestant denominations of the land, and is pursuing the same policy of extension. In the last twenty years it has nearly doubled its membership, and flourished in other respects.
IV. The Constitution. — The Unitas Fratrum is distributed into three provinces, the German, British, and American, which are independent in all provincial affairs, but form one organic whole in regard to the fundamental principles of doctrine, discipline, and ritual, as also in carrying on the work of foreign missions. Hence we find a provincial and a general government. Each province has a Provincial Synod, which elects from time to time a board of bishops and other ministers, styled the "Provincial Elders' Conference," to administer the government in the interval between the synods. To this board is committed the power of appointing the ministers to their several parishes. It is responsible to the synod. The Provincial Board of the American Province consists of three members, has its seat at Bethlehem, Pensylvania, and is elected every six years. The American Provincial Synod, composed, of all ordained ministers and of lay delegates elected by the churches, meets triennially; and the province is divided into four districts, in each of which a District Synod is annually held. Every ten or twelve years a General Synod of the whole Unitas Fratrum is convened at Herrnhut, in Saxony. It consists of nine delegates from each province, elected by the Provincial Synod; of representatives of the foreign missions; and of such other members as are entitled to a seat by virtue of their office. This synod elects a board of twelve bishops and other ministers, styled the "Unity's Elders' Conference," which oversees the whole Church in so far as general principles come into question, and superintends the foreign missionary work. At the present time the same Conference acts as the Provincial Board of the German Province. It has its seat in the castle of Berthelsdorf, the former residence of count Zinzendorf.
V. Doctrines. — The Renewed Moravian Church does not, as was the case in the ancient Church of the Brethren, set forth its doctrines in a formal confession of faith, nor does it bind the consciences of its members to any which are not essential to salvation. Such essential doctrines, however, it publishes in its Catechism, its Easter-morning Litany, and its Synodical Results, or code of statutes, drawn up and published by each General Synod. From this latter work, as issued by the Synod of 1869, we quote the following extract:
"The points of doctrine which we deem most essential to salvation are: "
1. The doctrine of the total depravity of human nature: that there is no health in man, and that the fall absolutely deprived him of the divine image.
2. The doctrine of the love of God the Father, who has 'chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world,' and 'so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'
3. The doctrine of the real godhead and the real manhood of Jesus Christ: that God, the Creator of all things, was manifested in the flesh, and has reconciled the world unto himself; and that 'he is before all things, and by him all things consist.'
4. The doctrine of the atonement and satisfaction of Jesus Christ for us: that he 'was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification;' and that in his merits alone we find forgiveness of sins and peace with God.
5. The doctrine of the Holy Ghost, and the operations of his grace: that it is he who works in us the knowledge of sin, faith in Jesus, and the witness that we are children of God.
6. The doctrine of the fruits of faith: that faith must manifest itself as a living and active principle, by a willing obedience to the commandments of God, prompted by love and gratitude to him who died for us.
"In conformity with these fundamental articles of faith, the great theme of our preaching is Jesus Christ, in whom we have the brace of the Lord the love of the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost. We regard it as the main calling of the Brethren's Church to proclaim the Lord's death, and to point to him, 'as made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. "
An authorized manual of doctrine is bishop Spangenberg's Exposition of Christian Doctrine as taught in the Church of the U.B. (Lond. 1784); a systematic work for theologians, although not authorized by the synod, is Evatngelische Glaubenslehre nach Schrift und Efaciahrung (Gotha, 1863), by Dr. Plitt, president of the German theological seminary. See also Zinzendorfs Theologie (Gotha, 1869-74, 3 volumes), by the same author.
VI. Ministry, Ritual, and Usages. — The ministry consists of bishops, presbyters, and deacons. The episcopal office is not provincial, but represents the whole Unitas Fratrum. Hence bishops have an official seat, not merely in the synods of the provinces in which they are stationed, but also in the General Synod; hence, too, they can be appointed only by this body, or by the Unity's Elders' Conference, although the American Province has secured the right of nomination. From all this it is evident that the Moravian episcopacy is not diocesan, and that bishops are not rulers of the Church ex officio, as was the case among the ancient Brethren. They are, however, almost invariably connected with the government by election to the Unity's Elders' Conference, or to the Provincial Boards. The president of the former is always a bishop; the presidents of the latter are, as a general thing, the same. The contrary is the exception. In the episcopate is vested exclusively the power of ordaining; it constitutes, moreover, a body of men whose duty it is to look to the welfare of the entire Unitas Fratrum, in all its provinces and missions, and especially to bear it on their hearts in unceasing prayer before God. At present there are eleven bishops in active service: four in America, two in England, and five in Germany. Of these, seven are members of the governing boards.
The ritual is liturgical in its character. A litany is used every Sunday morning; free prayer is allowed in connection with the litany, and at other times. There are prescribed forms for baptism, the Lord's Supper, confirmation, ordination, marriage, and the burial of the dead; special offices of worship for parochial, boarding, and Sunday schools; liturgical services for the various festivals of the ecclesiastical year, such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, etc., which are all observed; and a particular litany for Easter morning, prayed annually at sunrise, and, wherever practicable, amid the graves of them that sleep. Certain days commemorating important events in Moravian history are celebrated, and in those churches in which the division of the membership into "choirs" has been retained, which is the case not only in the exclusive settlements, each class observes an annual day of praise and covenanting, the festival closing with the Holy Communion. Love-feasts are held, in imitation of the ancient "agape," preparatory to the Lord's Supper, and on other occasions. At all liturgical services sacred music forms a prominent feature. Foot-washing (pedilavium) was formerly practiced on certain occasions within the limited circles of some of the " hoirs," but has been universally discontinued since the beginning of the present century. The statement in this Cyclopaedia, volume 4, page 616, taken from Herzog's Real-Encyklopiadie, 4:630, that the Moravians still practice foot-washing, is therefore incorrect. At one time the lot was employed in the appointment of ministers, and in connection with marriages. Its use in the former case has been greatly restricted, and is left to the discretion of each provincial board. In the American Church it is scarcely ever resorted to, except when a minister receiving an appointment requests its use. Touching marriages by lot, they were abolished, as a rule, by the General Synod of 1818. Since that time they have been almost unknown in the American Province. This usage, which has been so generally misunderstood and ridiculed outside of the Church, was a legitimate result of its controlling influence in all the relations of its members, and constituted, moreover, a wonderful example of the childlike faith of the early Moravians. They gave themselves entirely into the hands of God. He was to lead them in all respects. In view of the loose ideas that prevail in our day with regard to the marriage contract, an intelligent mind cannot but admire such a spirit. That God did not put the confidence of the Brethren to shame is evident from the results of this practice. While it continued, there were fewer unhappy marriages among them than among the same number of people in any other denomination of Christians. This is a well-known fact, which can be established by statistics. Not a single divorce ever occurred. Without going into the details of this usage, we will merely add that any woman was at liberty to reject an offer of marriage even when sanctioned by the lot.
VII. Schools and Missions. — The Moravians have 35 flourishing boarding-schools: 17 in the German Province, 14 in the British, and 4 in the American. They are intended for young people not connected with the Church, and educate annually about 2500 pupils of both sexes. The schools in the American Province are the following: Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, founded in 1785 (200 pupils); Nazareth Hall, for boys, at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, founded in 1785 (125 pupils); Linden Hall, at Litiz, Pennyslvania, founded in 1794 (75 pupils); Salem Female Academy, at Salem, N.C., founded in 1802 (200 pupils); Hope Academy, for girls, founded in 1866 (75 pupils). This province, moreover, has a flourishing theological seminary, with a classical department. at Bethlehem. It was founded in 1807; reorganized in 1858. The British theological seminary is located at Fulneck, Yorkshire, England; and the German seminary at Gnadenfeld, in Silesia. The German Province has a prosperous college at Nisky, in Prussia. The work of foreign missions was begun in 1732, only ten years after the first house had been built at Herrnhut, and when that settlement counted but 600 inhabitants. Leonhard Dober and David Nitschmann were the pioneers, and established the first mission among the negro slaves of St. Thomas. Since that time the home Church has sent out 2171 missionaries, male and female. The following missions proved unsuccessful: Lapland (1734-35); among the Samoyedes, on the Arctic Ocean (1737-38); Ceylon (1738-41); Algiers (1740); Guinea, West Africa (1737-41, and 1767-70); Persia (1747-50); Egypt (1752-83); East Indies (1759-96); among the Calmucks- (1768-1823); Demerara, South America (1835-40). At the present time the work embraces the following fields, called "Mission Provinces:" Greenland (begun 1733); Labrador (1771); Indian Country of North America (1734); St. Thomas and St. John (1732); St. Croix (1732); Jamaica (1754); Antigua (1756); St. Kitt's (1775); Barbadoes (1765); Tabago (1790, renewed in 1827); Mosquito Coast (1848); Surinam (1735); South African Western Province (1736, renewed in 1792); South African Eastern Province (1728); Australia (1849); Thibet (1853). This extensive work is supported by the contributions of the members of the Church, by the interest of funded legacies, by the donations of missionary associations, and by such revenue as the missions themselves can raise through voluntary gifts and the profits accruing from mercantile concerns and trades. The annual cost of the foreign missions is about $250,000. On retiring from the field in consequence of sickness or old age, missionaries are pensioned. Their widows also receive a pension, and their children are educated at the expense of the Church. In other respects they are satisfied with a bare support. The converts are divided into four classes: New People, or applicants for religious instruction; Candidates for Baptism; Baptized Adults; Communicants. The principal missionary associations are the following: The Society of the United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen, founded in 1787, at Bethlehem, Pennyslvania; The Wachovia Society of the United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen, founded in 1823, at Salem, N.C.; The Brethren's Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen, founded in 1741. in England, supporting the mission in Labrador, and owning "The Harmony," a missionary ship annually sent out to supply the missionaries with the necessaries of life; The London Association in Aid of the Missions of the United Brethren, founded in 1817, and composed chiefly of members not connected with the Moravian Church; The Missionary Society of Zeist, in Holland, founded in 1793; and The Missionary Union of North Sleswick, founded in 1843.
In addition to these foreign missions, the last General Council inaugurated a work in Bohemia (1870), in the midst of the ancient seats of the Brethren, which promises to be successful. It already numbers four churches.
Independently of the other provinces, the German Province carries on its Diaspora. This is a mission which receives its name from the Greek διασπορά in 1 Peter 1:1, and which has for its object the evangelization of the European state churches, without depriving them of their members. Hence missionaries itinerate through Protestant Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Livonia, Estonia, and some other parts of Russia, and organize "societies" for the purpose of prayer, of expounding the Scriptures, and of edification in general. The members of such societies do not leave the communion of the state churches. In the event of their disestablishment, however, which seems to be approaching, it is more than probable that the members of such "societies" will fully join the Moravian Church, whose membership will thus be increased by thousands. Indeed such a change is now taking place in Switzerland, where, since the adoption of the new ecclesiastical laws (1873), three independent Moravian churches have grown out of the Diaspora.
VIII. Statistics. — German Province: churches, 26, of which 15 are in Moravian towns; ministers, 113; members, 8067. British Province: churches, 38; ministers, 55; members, 5575; number in Sunday-schools, 3994. American Province: churches, 70; ministers, 80; menbers, 16,698; number in Sunday-schools, 8212. Foreign Missions: mission provinces, 16; stations, 114; out-stations, 8; preaching-places, 307; ordained missionaries from Europe and America, 161; female assistants from Europe and America, 172; total of laborers from Europe and America, 333; native ordained missionaries, 41; native assistants, 1575; normal schools, 7; day- schools, 217; scholars, 16,590; teachers (natives), 290; monitors, 623; Sunday-schools, 92; scholars, 13,604; teachers, 944; total number of converts, 79,021. Bohemian Mission: stations, 4; missionaries, 4; members, 259. Diaspora: central stations, 61; ordained missionaries, 33; unordained missionary assistants, 32; members, about 100,000. Totals in home provinces of the Unitas Fratrum: ministers, 248; members, 27,906. Totals in missions: laborers, 1454; members, 69,473. Totals in Diaspora: laborers, 65; members of societies, 100,000. The Unitas Fratrum therefore has in all 1767 laborers engaged in the work of the Gospel, numbers 110,130 members, and has besides 100,000 souls in its Diaspora societies.
IX. Publications and Literatures. — Periodicals of the German Province: Herrnhut (weekly); Der Bruder Bote (every alternate month); Nachrichten aus der Brudergemeine (monthly); Journal de l'Unite des Freres (monthly); Berigten uit de Heiden-Wereld (monthly); Missionsblatt (monthly); Brudermissionsblatt fur Kinder (monthly). British Province: The Messenger (monthly); The Missionary Reporter (monthly); Periodical Accounts (quarterly). American Province: The Moravian (weekly); Der Bruderbotschqfter (weekly); The Little Missionary (monthly). South African Mission Province: De Bode (monthly); De Kinder-Vriend (monthly). Besides these periodicals, there is an annual published by the Unity's Elders' Conference, entitled The Text-book, containing two passages from the Bible — one from the Old, the other from the New Testament — each with a corresponding stanza from the Hymn-book, and arranged for every day in the year. This annual has appeared since 1731; it is published in German, English, French, Swedish, Esquimau, and Negro- English; and thousands of copies are circulated every year outside of the Moravian Church.
The denominational literature is very extensive. We mention only the most important works: Cranz, Accident and Modern History of the Brethren (Lond. 1780); Holmes, History of the United Brethren (Lond. 1825, 2 volumes); A concise History of the Unitas Fratrum (Lond. 1862); The Moravian Manual (Bethlehem, Pa., 2d ed.), giving a short but complete account of the Church; Bp. Croger, Geschichte der Erneuerten Briidderkirche (Gnadau, 1852-54, 3 volumes); Schrautenbach, Zinzendosf und clie Buiidergemeine (Gnadau, 1851); Burckhardt. Zinzendosf und die Briidergemeine (Gotha, 1865); Memorial Days of the Renewed Church of the Brethren (Lond. 1822); Results of the General Synod of 1869 (Lond. 1870); Plitt, Gemeinei Gottes in ihrem Geist u. ihren Formen (Gotha, 1859). The principal works relating to the foreign missions are: Holmes, Missions of the United Brethren (Lond. 1827); Cranz, Greenland (Lond. 1767, 2 volumes); The Moravians in Greenland (Edinb. 1839); Oldendorp, Mission der Briuder auf den Karaibischen Inseln (Barby. 1777); The Moravians in Jamaica (Lond. 1854); Loskiel, Hist. of Indian Missions (Lond. 1794); Heckewelder, Hist. of the Indian Mission (Phila. 1817); Moratvitan Missions among the Indians (Lond. 1838); Schweinitz, Life and Times of David Zeisberger (Phila. 1870). Works not emanating from the Church are: Bost, Hist. of the Moravian Brethren (Lond. 1848: an abridged translation. of Hist. de l'Eglise des Freres de Boiheme et Moravie,, Paris, 1844, 2 volumes); Schaaf, Evangelische Brudergemeinde (Leipsic, 1825); Tholuck, Vermischte Schriften, 1:433; Muller, Selbstbekenntnisse merkwurdiger Munner, volume 3; Schroder, Zinzendorf und Herrnhut (Nordhausen, 1857); Bengel, Abriss d. Brudergemeinde (1751; reprinted in 1859; written against the Church); Litiz, Blicke in d. Vergangenheit u. Gegenwart d. B.K. (Leipsic, 1846); Nitzsch, Kirchengeschichtliche Bedeutung d. Brudergemeine (Berlin, 1853); Kurtz, Text-book of Church History (Phila. 1862). This last work contains a chapter on the Moravians, dictated by the personal animosity of' the author to their mission in Livonia, where he resides, and full of gross misstatements, as is shown in The Moravian Manual, pages 11-14. (E. de S.)
These files are public domain.
McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'The Renewed Moravian Brethren'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/t/the-renewed-moravian-brethren.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
