A

MORAVIAN BRETHREN

MORAVIAN BRETHREN. The Moravian Brethren, also known as the Renewed Unity of the Brethren, developed out of the combined forces of Lutheranism, the German Pietist movement, and the drive to re-Catholicize the Habsburg holdings. The impact of the Moravian Brethren outstripped their numbers, largely due to their ecumenism, influential aristocratic members, and leadership in the Protestant missionary movement. Those influenced by their piety and social organization include the theologian and philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher, the poet Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg), and the social reformer Benjamin Owen.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF THE MOVEMENT: 1722–1736

The Brethren trace their heritage to the "Ancient" Unity of the Brethren (Unitas Fratrum), a Hussite group that went underground after the resounding Catholic victory at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. A little over a century later, the last effort to unify religious practice in the hereditary Habsburg territories sent some groups of Protestants into exile just over the Czech border, where they sought refuge on the estate of the Pietist Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700–1760). These groups formed the nucleus of what became the Moravian Brethren.

Initially the Protestant exiles, including Christian David, David Nitschmann, and Johann and David Zeisberger, who later held leadership roles within the Brethren, settled among the tenants of the village of Berthelsdorf. Soon, however, tensions between the new arrivals and the villagers led to the founding of a separate settlement that was given the name Herrnhut. Zinzendorf had little to do with the settlement until 1727, when religious dissension among the ever-growing number of refugees attracted his attention. The diversity of religious roots within the community, including some of a more radical bent, led to bitter disputes. Zinzendorf, as lord of the manor, crafted two sets of regulations, one dealing with basic economic and social matters, and one dealing with spiritual issues. At the insistence of members of the Nitschmann family, the latter was based on the traditions of the original Unity, most notably the right to refuse to take oaths and bear arms, and the right to impose spiritual discipline. An emotional religious awakening on 13 August 1727 set the spiritual flavor of the newly ordered community, in which devotion to Christ overrode doctrinal disputes.

Herrnhut provided the initial model for the unique communities, called Ortsgemeinen, 'congregation places', which the Brethren founded throughout Europe and North America in subsequent years. When Zinzendorf revised the regulations governing Herrnhut in 1728, he combined both spiritual and mundane matters in a single document. These regulations reflected a blending of particular Pietist interests, such as the regulation of moral conduct and provisions for economic, educational, and social welfare, with governmental structures common to European villages and towns. The expectation underlying all aspects of the community was that the inhabitants shared a common love of Christ and a desire to act for the good of the whole. The combination of Herrnhut's continued growth as a center for religious refugees, and Zinzendorf's alienation from the influential Pietist center at Halle, led to his banishment from Saxony in 1736 on suspicion of heresy. As a result, the count and a central group of the Brethren, defined as a Pilgergemeine, 'pilgrim congregation', traveled across Europe and grew in numbers and influence.

THE FLOWERING OF THE MOVEMENT: 1736–1760

The period from 1736 to Zinzendorf's death in 1760 saw the founding of several communities. In addition, during the 1730s and 1740s the practice of drawing lots to make decisions and the social/spiritual division of the congregations into "choirs" came into regular use. These years also saw the height of the Brethrens' popularity along with a firestorm of criticism.

Zinzendorf's banishment from Saxony caused him to move quickly to ensure that Protestant refugees no longer allowed to settle in Herrnhut would have an alternative. This provided the initial impetus for the founding of other Ortsgemeinen, first in Wetteravia, then in America. Herrnhut's economic success led King Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia to invite the Brethren to set up communities in his territory in the early 1740s. The presence of noble members and patrons with ties to European courts opened more doors, and by 1770 congregation communities existed in several German states, as well as Denmark, the Netherlands, England, America, and Russia. In many cases, the founding of communities went hand in hand with support for their missionary endeavors, initially focused in the Caribbean and Greenland.

Despite (or perhaps because of) their ability to open doors at the courts of Europe, the Brethren faced hostility on both sides of the Atlantic. This hostility was largely generated by their popularity with people from all ranks and religious backgrounds, and by their clash with "orthodox" Pietism, which emphasized repentance and moral reform. The Brethren shared the Pietist concern with behavior but laced it with an often intensely emotional experience of connection with Christ. This found its most unusual expression in their designation of Christ as literal chief elder, whose will was revealed by the use of the lot. The records of the lot's use illustrate the mindset of the Brethren regarding their view of it as Christ's word; the decisions were always recorded as "The Savior approves" or "The Savior does not approve." During the height of its use, from the 1740s through the 1760s, the lot served as the final determiner of all decisions including business issues and marriage proposals.

The emotional bond between the individual member and Christ spilled over into a bond with fellow members. This bond was underscored by the official division of the membership into choirs, or groups defined by sex, age, and marital status. In most communities the Choirs of Single Brothers, Single Sisters, Widows, and Widowers each shared common housekeeping. Thus they formed a second type of family unit that rivaled the biological unit. The intense devotion to Christ and to community that characterized the Brethren reached extreme expression in the 1740s "Sifting Period." During this decade, and rippling beyond it, the devotional language of the Brethren strongly resembled Catholic mysticism in its sexual overtones and close identity with the suffering and death of Christ.

THE "TAMING" OF THE BRETHREN: 1760–1800

After Zinzendorf's death in 1760, the leadership of the Brethren faced the consequences of their expansion and a decade of controversy in the form of a rather large debt and a tarnished reputation. As a result, with the exception of their missionary out-reach, the last decades of the eighteenth century saw them turn inward in an ultimately successful effort to ensure their survival. In the process, they made the final transition from a movement to an established church. This transition manifested itself in several ways. As early as the 1750s, the primary leadership had begun to shift from charismatic individuals to a series of elected and appointed committees. After Zinzendorf's death in 1760, most of the more "unconventional" aspects of the Brethrens' organization began to disappear, at least partially in response to outside criticism. The role of women became increasingly restricted, and more attention focused on the nuclear family unit. The role of the lot in decision making was gradually reduced, and unconventional imagery was removed from hymns and liturgies. Finally, the leadership directed much of their energy at educating, cultivating, and retaining those born within the circle of the church. By 1800, much of what had made the Brethren distinctive was disappearing from practice. The core of the vision survived, however, in the modern Moravian Church, the worldwide membership of which is largely non-Western and from a variety of traditions.

See also Lutheranism; Pietism; Zinzendorf, Nikolaus Ludwig von.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cranz, David. The Ancient and Modern History of the Brethren. Translated by Benjamin LaTrobe. London, 1780.

Hahn, Hans-Christoph, and Helmut Reichel, eds. Zinzendorf und die Herrnhuter Brüder. Hamburg, 1977.

Hamilton, J. Taylor, and Kenneth Gardiner Hamilton. History of the Moravian Church: The Renewed Unitas Fratrum, 1722–1957. Rev. ed. Bethlehem, Pa., 1967.

Sommer, Elisabeth. Serving Two Masters: Moravians in Germany and North America, 1727–1801. Lexington, Ky., 2000.

ELISABETH SOMMER