Herrnhut: The Formation of a Moravian Community, 1722–1732

Paul Peucker’s Herrnhut: The Formation of a Moravian Community, 1722–1732 focuses on the establishment of a home for religious refugees from Moravia, Silesia, Bohemia, and surrounding areas during the 1720s on Count Zinzendorf’s estate in Saxony. The Lutheran Church dominated the region where they gathered, yet they were able to form a community in which differences between Lutheran and Reformed theologies did not matter. The primary goal of the Moravian residents was to renew the Unity of Brethren.The village of Berthelsdorf in Upper Lusatia was the home of Nikolaus Ludwig Count Zinzendorf, and Herrnhut was the Moravian community on his estate. Zinzendorf formed Herrnhut at a time when he became influenced by Pietism and essentially left the Lutheran Church. The Philadelphian movement, which wanted to return the church to that of the apostles, also influenced Zinzendorf’s religious beliefs and his views on the relationship between established churches and individuals. Key members in founding Herrnhut were Christian David, who brought refugees from Moravia, Pastor Johann Andreas Rothe, a Pietist from Görlitz, and Pastor Melchior Scheffer. Rothe shared Zinzendorf’s Philadelphian beliefs and helped steer David toward Berthelsdorf; when Zinzendorf needed someone to pastor the Lutheran Church there, he requested Rothe take the position.Shortly after Zinzendorf purchased the Berthelsdorf estate from his grandmother, three families from Moravia settled there, including Christian David and his wife. Berthelsdorf, in Zinzendorf’s mind, would become the place where he hoped to achieve his vision for creating a Philadelphian society. Unfortunately, the site selected for Herrnhut lacked access to a reliable water supply and was not fertile. Still, Zinzendorf moved forward with his biblical community. Pastor Scheffer suggested an alliance of Zinzendorf, Rothe, and Scheffer to coordinate fundraising and project development. Joined by Friedrich von Watteville, who had a background in finance, and Christian David, the Brotherhood of Four focused on promoting Herrnhut through publications (including hymnals, catechisms, and the Ebensdorf Bible), education (including a school for the poor), and establishing a network through correspondence with royalty to elicit support. Most important, though, were caring for the Protestants who had fled Moravia for Herrnhut.Many of the Moravian refugees left detailed autobiographical accounts of their experiences in Moravia and their reasons for fleeing to Herrnhut. Protestantism had begun in Moravia in the early 1400s when Jan Hus challenged Church leadership, and they ultimately burnt him at the stake as a heretic. Government officials outlawed Protestantism in the 1620s, leading to waves of immigration from Moravia and Bohemia to present-day Germany; the wave in the 1720s focused on settling at Herrnhut. These migrants affiliated with the Unity of Brethren, although they probably knew little about the teachings of a faith created three centuries earlier. Schwenkfelders from Silesia also came to Berthelsdorf after experiencing persecution from the Habsburgs.Herrnhut was Zinzendorf’s attempt to recreate what he perceived to be the church Jesus intended to establish—“the spiritual gathering of true believers” (131). He wanted to create a Philadelphian church that included Pietism. Lay people instead of clergy conducted services, with women actively participating and leading prayer meetings. The Brotherly Agreement created in 1727 created an apostolic congregation with communal societies, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was a prime example of the Moravians’ goals. The key difference, though, was that Herrnhut withdrew from the outside world, while Bethlehem interacted with it.As a religious community, life at Herrnhut predominantly focused on worship services conducted both indoors and outdoors. Music played an important role in the services. Residents of Herrnhut created a worship schedule distinct from the one at the Lutheran Church in Berthelsdorf, with voluntary participation consistent with Philadelphians. Love feasts were part of the communion celebrations, which also occurred outside the Lutheran Church. Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Schwenkfelders, and other separatists lived in peace and harmony in Herrnhut, pleasing Zinzendorf. He incorporated Philadelphian ideas into the statutes of Herrnhut and Berthelsdorf through the Brotherly Agreement. These statues faced criticism from outsiders because Zinzendorf viewed Herrnhut as an independent community separate from the Lutheran Church in Berthelsdorf. The Notarial Instrument developed in 1729 further distanced Herrnhuters from the outside world, as it announced that they saw themselves as “descendants of the Unity of Brethren” (187).However, by the early 1730s, the Herrnhut community came under attack because of its loose affiliation with the Lutheran Church. Habsburg emperor Charles VI opposed Zinzendorf’s estate because Moravians left his empire to join the community. Eventually, Zinzendorf sold his estate to his wife, and the Elector of Saxony granted toleration to the Moravians. However, toleration did not extend to the Schwenkfelders, who left for Pennsylvania. The Brotherhood of Four declined in influence, and soon Rothe and Zinzendorf split. Herrnhuters began to consider expanding their mission overseas, shifting their focus from being a Philadelphian congregation. Ultimately, Zinzendorf left Herrnhut, and, in Pennsylvania, he attempted to create another Philadelphian congregation but did not succeed.Paul Peucker, Director and Archivist at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has written an engaging work that explores the activities of Nikolaus Ludwig, Count Zinzendorf, in the 1720s and early 1730s. The volume is thoroughly researched, using archival repositories in Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and the United States, along with voluminous primary and secondary sources. Peucker effectively conveys the rationale for the establishment of Herrnhut, Zinzendorf’s plans for the community, and the causes of its demise. He ensures that the voices of the participants in this religious venture are not lost while reinforcing Zinzendorf’s influence in the success of the community. His review of sources in the introduction clearly justifies the value of the book to scholarly literature on global religious history. Ultimately, as Peucker notes, Zinzendorf’s efforts to keep Herrnhut separate from the established Lutheran Church did not succeed, as secular leaders perceived him as a threat. Herrnhut: The Formation of a Moravian Community, 1722–1732 is a must read to understand the origins of one of the more prominent religious groups to settle in Colonial Pennsylvania.