Moravian Church History
Founding Father
John Hus
The Moravian Church also known as The Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethren), has a long history that stretches back to1457. The Moravian church first came into to being through a man by the name of John Hus. John Hus did not agree with the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. "Hus wanted to return the practices of the church in Bohemia and Moravia to the allegedly "purer" practices of early Christianity: liturgy in the language of the people, having lay people receive communion in both kinds (bread and wine), and eliminating indulgences and the idea of purgatory.” ("History of the," 2012)” John Hus openly rebelled against the Roman Catholic Church as well as many other of his followers. As a result, the Roman Catholic Church accused him of heresy. John Hus was tried and burned at the stake in 1415. Although John Hus died, his followers carried on with his movement and formed what is now the Moravian Church. ("A brief history," ) The Moravian Church began to form in Bohemia and Moravia. The Moravian Church became a Christian ministry in 1467, but was not recognized as such until 1609 by Rudolf II the Holy Roman Emperor and the Kind of Bohemia. “By 1517 the Unity of Brethren numbered at least 200,000 with over 400 parishes. Using a hymnal and catechism of its own, the church promoted the Scriptures through its two printing presses and provided the people of Bohemia and Moravia with the Bible in their own language ("A brief history,").” As the Moravian Church grew so did the mounting persecution against them. The Moravians were forced to flee to Poland for refuge. In Poland, they started to make a new home and as word of the Christian ministry spread, it began to grow in popularity. In 1557, Poland became one of the three church provinces along with Bohemia and Moravia. ("A brief history,"/ "Timeline: 550 years,")
Persecution and Deliverance
John Amos Comenius
During the Thirty Years War, Moravians once again began to be viciously persecuted. In the Battle of White Mountain in 1602, the Bohemian Protestants were defeated and as a result lost their religious freedoms. “In 1627, only one religion was allowed to be practiced in Bohemia and Moravia: the Roman Catholic Church ("Timeline: 550 years,").”During this trying time, John Amos Comenius was the prime leader and elected bishop of the Unity of the Brethren. He was very well-known for his progressive views on education, which later led to progressive Moravian schools in which women were educated. John Amos Comenius spent most of his life in exile because of constant persecution of the Roman Catholic Church. Comenius’s grandson, Daniel Ernst Jablonski was chaplain at the court of the King of Prussia in Berlin ("Timeline: 550 years,").” He tried to carry of his grandfather dream for the Unity of the Brethren and strongly believed the renewal of it was close at hand. Daniel Ernst Jablonski ordained Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf as a bishop of the ministry. Count Zinzendorf allowed Moravian refugees to settle on his estate in eastern Germany where later the Moravian settlement of Herrnhut was built. “Count Zinzendorf encouraged them to keep the discipline of the Unitas Fratrum, and he gave them the vision to take the gospel to the far corners of the globe. August 13, 1727, marked the culmination of a great spiritual renewal for the Moravian Church in Herrnhut, and in 1732 the first missionaries were sent to the West Indies ("A brief history,").” Moravian missionaries began to travel all over the world to bring the Gospel to those who might have never heard it. As missionaries spread the Gospel, they also spread the Moravian Church. The Moravian Church made its way to America. Here the Unity developed into the Southern and Northern Provinces of The Moravian Church in North America. ("A brief history,"/ "Timeline: 550 years,")
*Image1:http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/john-hus-a-condemned-man
*Image2:http://www.thestrengthsfoundation.org/3-tips-for-understanding-friedrich-froebels-work-on-strengths
*Image1:http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/john-hus-a-condemned-man
*Image2:http://www.thestrengthsfoundation.org/3-tips-for-understanding-friedrich-froebels-work-on-strengths
Portrait of Moravian Missionaries
Image:http://userpages.umbc.edu/~kars/history%20200/oct%201%20images.htm
Image:http://userpages.umbc.edu/~kars/history%20200/oct%201%20images.htm