The Moravian Church in America is part of the world wide Moravian Church Unity. It dates from the arrival of the first Moravian missionaries to the United States in 1735, from their Herrnhut settlement in present-day Saxony, Germany. They came to minister to the scattered German immigrants, to the native Americans and to enslaved Africans. They founded communities to serve as home bases for these missions. The missionary "messengers" were financially supported by the work of the "laborers" in these settlements^[1]. A Moravian is a Protestant belonging to a religious movement that originated in Moravia, Czech Republic. ... Herrnhut (Sorbian: Ochranow) is a municipality in the district of Löbau-Zittau, in the state of Saxony, Germany. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km...

[edit] History

The first, unsuccessful attempt to found a Moravian community in North America was in Georgia; it collapsed because of internal discord, and government pressure to serve in the militia in defense against Spanish raids from Florida (1740, the so-called "War of Jenkin's Ear"). The War of Jenkins Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1742. ...

The founding of the church is thus usually given as 1740, when Bishop Augustus Spangenberg sent Christian Henry Rauch to New York City on a mission to preach and convert any native peoples he could find. Eager to learn more, the Mahican Chiefs Tschoop and Shabash he met invited Rauch to visit their Dutchess County village to teach them. In September 1740, they led him through the unbroken wilderness to Shekomeko where a Moravian mission was established and the two Indian chiefs were converted to the Christian faith. Up to the early 18th century, the Mahican Indians, a native Algonquin tribe and a branch of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Nation populated the east bank of the Hudson River in what is today eastern Dutchess County, New York and western Connecticut. ...

By summer 1742, Shekomeko was established as the first native Christian congregation in America. Over the next two years, the Moravians endeavored to reconcile the ancient Indian traditions with the new ways of the onslaught of the ascendant western society. It was a center of New York State growth in the missions to the native peoples. Within the next two years, several more missionaries along with their wives began to resettle the ancient shellfish beds.

Moravian missionary baptising Munsee-Delawares in "Old Chapel" in Bethlehem, PA

The Moravians later found a home in Pennsylvania, where the charter of the colony provided religious freedom. The towns of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Emmaus, and Lititz, Pennsylvania, were founded as Moravian communities. Later, colonies were also founded in North Carolina, where Moravians led by Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg purchased 98,985 acres from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. This large tract of land was named die Wachau, or Wachovia, after one of Zinzendorf's ancestral estates on the Danube River in Austria. Other early settlements included Bethabara (1753), Bethania (1759) and Salem (now Winston-Salem) (1766). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 483 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 604 pixel, file size: 890 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: Moravian missionary baptists Munsee-Delawares Source: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Uploader: User:Nikater Date: 22 December 2006 Other Versions: none License status: Faithful reproductions of... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 483 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 604 pixel, file size: 890 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: Moravian missionary baptists Munsee-Delawares Source: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Uploader: User:Nikater Date: 22 December 2006 Other Versions: none License status: Faithful reproductions of... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania Counties Lehigh and Northampton Founded 1741  - Mayor John B. Callahan Area    - City  19. ... Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. ... Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. ... Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 6 miles (approximately 10 km) north of Lancaster. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (901 km)  - % water 9. ... August Gottlieb Spangenberg (July 15, 1704 _ September 18, 1792), Count Zinzendorfs successor, and bishop of the Moravian Brethren, was born at Klettenberg, on the south of the Harz Mountains, where his father, Georg Spangenberg, was court preacher and ecclesiastical inspector of the courtship of Hohenstein. ... The Right Honourable John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, PC (22 April 1690–22 January 1763), English statesman, commonly known by his earlier title as Lord Carteret, was the son of George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret (1667 - 1695), by his marriage with Grace Granville (September 3, 1654 - October 18, 1744), daughter... Wachovia (Pronunciation: wah-KO-vee-yah) was the area first settled by Moravians in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina, including the present city of Winston-Salem. ... Bethabara (from the Hebrew, meaning House of Passage and pronounced beth-ab-bra) is a village located in Forsyth County, North Carolina. ... Bethania is a town located in Forsyth County, North Carolina. ... 1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Old Salem is a living history museum that operates within the restored Moravian community Salem. ... Nickname: Motto: Youre Something Special in Winston-Salem Location in North Carolina Coordinates: , Country State Counties Forsyth County Founded Incorporated 1766 (Salem) 1849 (Winston) 1913 Government  - Mayor Allen Joines (D) Area  - City  132. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, emerged as the headquarters of the northern church, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, became the headquarters of the southern church. The Moravian denomination persists in America to this day, with congregations in 18 states; presently, the highest concentrations of Moravians exist in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The denomination is organized into four provinces in North America: Northern (which includes three Canadian congregations), Southern, Alaska, and Labrador. Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Official language(s) None[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... Labrador (also Coast of Labrador) is a region of Atlantic Canada. ...

[edit] Organisation

[edit] Headquarters

• North: 1021 Center Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018
• South: 459 S. Church Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

[edit] Districts, circuits and congregations

• Northern Province
  • Eastern District:

District of Columbia

Washington: Faith Moravian Church of the Nation’s Capital

Maryland

Thurmont: Graceham Moravian Church

New Carrollton: Trinity Moravian Church

Upper Marlboro: St. Paul’s Moravian Church

New Jersey

Cinnaminson: Palmyra Moravian Church

Egg Harbor City: 235 Boston Ave.

Riverside: First Moravian Church

Union: Battle Hill Moravian Church

New York

Bronx: Tremont Terrace Moravian Church

Brooklyn: Fellowship Moravian Church (meeting at Church of the Evangel [U.C.C.]) • John Hus Moravian Church

New York City: First Moravian Church • United Moravian Church

Queens: Grace Moravian Church

Staten Island: Castleton Hill Moravian Church • Great Kills Moravian Church • New Dorp Moravian Church • Vanderbilt Ave. Moravian Church

Utica: Good Shepherd Moravian Church

Ohio

Dover: First Moravian Church

Dublin: Church of the Redeemer Moravian Church

Lewis Center: The Promise Moravian Church

Gnadenhutten: John Heckewelder Memorial Moravian Church

New Philadelphia: Fry’s Valley Moravian Church

Schoenbrunn Community Moravian Church

Tuscarawas: Sharon Moravian Church

Uhrichsville: 315 N. Water St.

Ontario

Toronto: New Dawn Moravian Church

Pennsylvania

Allentown: Calvary Moravian Church

Midway Manor Moravian Church

Bethlehem: Advent Moravian Church • Central Moravian Church • College Hill Moravian Church • East Hills Moravian Church • Edgeboro Moravian Church • West Side Moravian Church

Canadensis: Canadensis Moravian Church

Center Valley: Grace Moravian Church

Coopersburg: Coopersburg Moravian Church

Easton: First Moravian Church • Palmer Township Moravian Church

Emmaus: Emmaus Moravian Church

Hellertown: Mountainview Moravian Church

Lancaster: Lancaster Moravian Church

Lebanon: Lebanon Moravian Church

Lititz: Lititz Moravian Church

Nazareth: Nazareth Moravian Church

Newfoundland: Newfoundland Moravian Church

Philadelphia: Redeemer Moravian Church

Reading: Reading Moravian Church

York: Covenant Moravian Church • First Moravian Church

• • Western District: List of congregation names required.
  • Canadian District: List of congregation names required.
• Southern Province

[edit] Societies

Are there any, or is this a purely British term?

[edit] Other work

Is there any, or is this a purely British term?

[edit] Society and theology in America

Rohrer (2001) demonstrates the social history of the community of Wachovia, founded in the North Carolina Piedmont in 1753, illustrates the importance of the beliefs and practices of the Moravians in achieving the integration and acculturation of settlers of different ethnic backgrounds. The Moravian emphasis on openness and tolerance, combined with the conversion experience of new birth, undermined ethnic homogeneity and provided a source of communal cohesion. The primary intermingling and intermarriage was between Germans and English, but 12 nations and territories were represented in the population of Wachovia by the early 19th century.

Fogleman (2003) examines the theological, demographic, and sociological roots of factional clashes between Moravians and their more traditional German Lutheran and Reformed coreligionists, focusing on mid-18th-century communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where these confrontations were frequent and sometimes violent. Moravians' beliefs centered on a feminized Holy Spirit, the right of women to preach, sacralizing the sex act, and metaphorically re-gendering Jesus Christ. These teachings were perceived as threats to more mainstream Christian articles of faith, which stressed the masculinity of the Trinity as the theological cornerstone of the nuclear patriarchal family, the core structure in upholding moral and social order. As Moravian preachers far outnumbered the very few Lutheran or Reformed clergy in the mid-Atlantic colonies during the 1730's-40's and because the Moravians welcomed anyone into their church services, most German Pietists viewed Moravians as more than harmless heretics. Moreover, in the temporal context of a period of intense European immigration to the colonies, the Moravians were seen as challenging the long-term social stability of the colonial community as a whole. Although the Moravians never became a dominant sect in the region, the perception of them as a serious religious and social threat highlights the significant role gendered power issues have played in religious controversy in North America.

Engel (2003) says Moravians in Bethlehem 1753-75 were concerned about the economic prosperity of their settlements, but they were also concerned about the effects that prosperity might have on their religious community. Prosperity was important, as it funded both mission work and more settlements. Moravians valued work highly, but economic ventures had to be carried out in a way morally consistent with their beliefs. To this end, Bethlehem Moravians cooperated in the opening of the Strangers' Store in 1753. The store was the main instrument both in purchasing outside goods for the community and in selling Bethlehem goods to outsiders. Wise management meant the Strangers' Store remained profitable for the rest of the colonial period, funding the growth of Moravian enterprises both in Pennsylvania and back in Germany.

[edit] Architecture

A Moravian architecture style has emerged in the United States, predominately in Winston-Salem (Old Salem). Most Moravian churches in the area feature copper steeple tops which have oxidized and reached a green patina. The Moravian arch is also an example of the style and is mainly used over building entrances [1]. Combined Moravian arches were used to form the dome of the Wachovia Center. This article is about building architecture. ... Old Salem is a living history museum that operates within the restored Moravian community Salem. ... For other uses, see Copper (disambiguation). ... Steeple is a the name of a number of settlements: In the United Kingdom Steeple, Cumbria Steeple, Dorset Steeple, Essex Steeple is also an architectural term. ... The Wachovia Center is on the far right of this photo of downtown Winston-Salem. ...

Central Church in Bethlehem, is an architectural wonder, as the sanctuary has no columns to support the roof. Instead, there is a system of beams above the ceiling which support the structure.

[edit] Ecumenical relations

The Moravian Church in America is: Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

• in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• engaged in dialogue with a group of Reformed Churches: Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, andReformed Church in America
• engaged in dialogue with Christian Church (Disciples of Christ))
• in dialogue with the Episcopal Church of the USA and share in an agreement of interim Eucharistic sharing
• a Participant in Christian Churches Together in the USA
• a member church of the World Council of Churches
• a member of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
• a member of Churches for Middle East Peace.

Historically the Moravian Church had a significant impact on John Wesley and the practices of the Methodist Church. Full communion is completeness of that relationship between Christian individuals and groups which is known as communion. ... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... Emblem of the PC(USA) The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or PC(USA) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. ... Disambiguation: This article is about the United States denomination known as United Church of Christ. ... The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination that was formerly known as the Dutch Reformed Church. ... The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), often abbreviated as the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church, is a denomination of Christian Restorationism that grew out of the Restoration Movement founded by Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell of Pennsylvania and West Virginia (then Virginia) and Barton W. Stone of Kentucky. ... This article is about the Episcopal Church in the United States. ... Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT) is a new ecumenical group growing out of a deeply felt need to broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today. CCT is envisioned as a place where people of widely differing Christian backgrounds can come... The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international Christian ecumenical organization. ... The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (usually identified as National Council of Churches, or NCC) is a religious organization currently (2006) consisting of 35 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, African-American and historic Christian denominations in the United States, and is widely regarded as a leading force... John Wesley (June 28 [O.S. June 17] 1703 – March 2, 1791) was an eighteenth-century Anglican minister and Christian theologian who was an early leader in the Methodist movement. ... The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination, and the second-largest Protestant one, in the United States. ...

[edit] See also

• Adelaide Fries
• Moravian College
• Moravian Academy

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Moravian College is a private liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. ... Moravian Academy, located in historic Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the United States, is a prekindergarten through 12th grade coeducational college preparatory school. ...

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ Gollin 1967,

[edit] Bibliography

• Atwood, Craig D. Community of the Cross: Moravian Piety in Colonial Bethlehem. Pennsylvania State U. Press, 2004. 283 pp.
• Atwood, Craig D. and Vogt, Peter, ed. The Distinctiveness of Moravian Culture: Essays and Documents in Moravian History in Honor of Vernon H. Nelson on His Seventieth Birthday. Moravian Hist. Soc., 2003. 297 pp.
• Engel, Katherine Carté. "The Strangers' Store: Moral Capitalism in Moravian Bethlehem, 1753-1775." Early American Studies 2003 1(1): 90-126. Issn: 1543-4273
• Fogleman, Aaron Spencer. Jesus Is Female: Moravians and Radical Religion in Early America. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.
• Gollin, Gilliam Lindt. Moravians in Two Worlds (1967)
• Langton; Edward. History of the Moravian Church: The Story of the First International Protestant Church (1956).
• Rechcigl, Miloslav, Jr. "The Renewal and Formative Years of the Moravian Church in America," Czechoslovak and Central European Journal 9 (1990), pp. 12-26.
• Rohrer, S. Scott. "Searching for Land and God: the Pietist Migration to North Carolina in the Late Colonial Period." North Carolina Historical Review 2002 79(4): 409-439. Issn: 0029-2494 Fulltext: in Ebsco
• Rohrer, S. Scott. "Evangelism and Acculturation in the Backcountry: the Case of Wachovia, North Carolina, 1753-1830." Journal of the Early Republic 2001 21(2): 199-229. Issn: 0275-1275 Fulltext: in Jstor
• Wagner, Walter H. The Zinzendorf-Muhlenberg Encounter: A Controversy in Search of Understanding. Moravian Hist. Soc., 2002. 173 pp.

[edit] Primary sources

• Zeisberger, David. The Moravian Mission Diaries of David Zeisberger, 1772-1781. ed by Hermann Wellenreuther and Carola Wessel, ed.; Julie Tomberlin Weber, transl. Pennsylvania State U. Press, 2005. 666 pp.

[edit] External links

• The American Moravian church
• The Moravian Church in Canada
• Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, PA
• Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem, NC
• Moravian Music Foundation
• Historic Bethania, c. 1759 Moravian Congregational Settlement in North Carolina built on the Herrnhut model, Visitors Welcome