The church's emblem is the Lamb of God with the flag of victory, surrounded by the Latin inscription: Vicit agnus noster, eum sequamur; or in English: "Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him."

History

The movement that became the Moravian Church was started by Jan Hus (English: John Huss) in the late 14th century. Hus objected to some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and wanted to return the church in Bohemia and Moravia to what were the practices in these territories when it had been Eastern Orthodox: liturgy in the language of the people (i.e. Czech), having lay people receive communion in both kinds (bread and wine), married priests, and eliminating indulgences and the idea of Purgatory. Evidence of their roots in Eastern Orthodoxy can be seen today in their form of the Nicene Creed, which like Orthodox Churches, does not include the filioque clause. In rejecting indulgences, Jan Hus can be said to have adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone; in doing so, the Moravians became the first Protestant church.

The movement gained royal support and a certain independence for a while, but was eventually forced to be subject to the authority of Rome. Hus was tried by the Council of Constance and burned at the stake (1415).

Within fifty years of Hus's death, a contingent of his followers had become independently organized as the "Bohemian Brethren" (Čeští bratři) or Unity of the Brethren (Jednota bratrská), which was founded in Kunvald, Bohemia, in 1457. They received episcopal ordination through the Waldensians in 1467. These were the earliest Protestants, rebelling against Rome more than a hundred years before Martin Luther.

After 1620, due to the Counter Reformation and the Thirty-Years War (1618–1648), and after being abandoned and betrayed by the local nobility, who had previously tolerated or supported them, the Brethren were forced to operate underground and eventually dispersed across Northern Europe as far as the Low Countries, where Bishop John Amos Comenius attempted to direct a resurgence.

The largest remaining communities of the Brethren were located in Leszno (German: Lissa) in Poland, which had historically strong ties with the Czechs, as well as in small, isolated groups in Moravia, these are referred to as "the Hidden Seed" which John Amos Comenius had prayed would preserve the evangelical faith in the land of the fathers.

Today, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church claims also to be a modern successor of the Hussite tradition.

Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, 18th century renewal

In 1722, a small group of Bohemian Brethren who had been living as an underground remnant in Moravia (the so-called "Hidden Seed") for nearly 100 years arrived at the Berthelsdorf estate of Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, a nobleman who had been brought up in the traditions of Pietism. Out of a personal commitment to helping the poor and needy, he agreed to a request from their leader (Christian David, an itinerant carpenter) that they be allowed to settle on his lands in Upper Lusatia, which is in present-day Saxony in the east of modern-day Germany.

The refugees established a new village called Herrnhut, about 2 miles (3 km) from Berthelsdorf. The town initially grew steadily, but major religious disagreements emerged and by 1727 the community was divided into warring factions. Count Zinzendorf worked to bring about unity in the town and the Brotherly Agreement was adopted by the community on 12 May 1727. This is considered the beginning of the renewal. Then, on 13 August 1727 the community underwent a dramatic transformation when the inhabitants of Herrnhut "Learned to love one another," following an experience that they attributed to a visitation of the Holy Spirit, similar to that recorded in the Bible on the day of Pentecost.

Herrnhut grew rapidly following this transforming revival and became the centre of a major movement for Christian renewal and mission during the 18th century. Moravian historians identify the main achievements of this period as:

1. Setting up a watch of continuous prayer that ran uninterrupted, 24 hours a day, for 100 years.
2. Originating the Daily Watchwords.
3. Establishing more than 30 settlements internationally on the Herrnhut model, which emphasised prayer and worship, and a form of communal living in which simplicity of lifestyle and generosity with wealth were held to be important spiritual attributes. As a result, although personal property was held, divisions between social groups and extremes of wealth and poverty were largely eliminated.
4. Starting missionary work; and
5. Forming many hundreds of small renewal groups operating within the existing churches of Europe, known as "diaspora societies". These groups encouraged personal prayer and worship, Bible study, confession of sins and mutual accountability.

Missions

The Moravian missionaries were the first large-scale Protestant missionary movement. They sent out the first missionaries when there were only 300 inhabitants in Herrnhut. Within 30 years, the church sent hundreds of Christian missionaries to many parts of the world, including the Caribbean, North and South America (see Christian Munsee), the Arctic, Africa, and the Far East. They were the first to send lay people (rather than clergy) as missionaries, the first Protestant denomination to minister to slaves, and the first Protestant presence in many countries.

The first Moravian missionaries were a potter named Leonard Dober and a carpenter named David Nitschmann, who went to the Caribbean island of St Thomas in 1732. Nitschmann, a descendant of the Ancient Unity, became the first bishop of the Renewed Unity in 1735.

Moravians founded missions with Algonquian-speaking Mahican in the British New York colony in North America. For instance, they founded one in 1740 at the Mahican village of Shekomeko in present-day Dutchess County, New York. The converted Mahican people formed the first native Christian congregation in the present-day United States. Because of local opposition to the Moravians' defense of the Mahican, rumors spread of their being secret Catholic Jesuits trying to ally the Mahican with the French, at a time of tensions between the British and French. Although supporters defended their work, at the end of 1744, colonial government based at Poughkeepsie expelled the Moravians from New York.[2]

On Christmas Eve in 1741, David Nitschmann and Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf, led a small community to found a mission in the colony of Pennsylvania which they named Bethlehem, after the Biblical town in Judea. There, they ministered to Algonquian Lenape. According to the 2000 US census, Bethlehem, PA is today the sixth largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, and Reading.

The start of far-flung missionary work necessitated the setting up of independently administered Provinces. So, from c. 1732,^{[citation needed]} the history of the church becomes the history of its provinces.

The Moravians no longer conduct missions in Australia and Greenland.

Present

The modern Unitas Fratrum (or Moravian Church) with about 825,000 members worldwide, continues to draw on traditions established during the 18th century renewal. In many places it observes the convention of the lovefeast, originally started in 1727. It uses older and traditional music in worship. In addition, in some older congregations, Moravians are buried in a traditional God's Acre, a graveyard organized by gender, age, and marital status rather than family.

The Moravians continue their long tradition of missionary work, for example in the Caribbean. This is reflected in their broad global distribution. The Moravians in Germany, whose central settlement remains at Herrnhut, are highly active in education and social work. The American Moravian Church sponsors the Moravian College and Seminary. The largest concentration of Moravians today is in Tanzania.

The motto of the Moravian church is:

(Latin) In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas (English) "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love"

Some Moravian scholars point to a different formula as a guide to constructive debate about faith. This formula was first advanced by Luke of Prague 1460-1528, one of the bishops of the ancient Unitas Fratrum. Luke taught that one must distinguish between things that are essential, ministerial or incidental to salvation. The essentials are God's work of creation, redemption and sanctification, as well as the response of the believer through faith, hope and love. Things ministerial are such items as the Bible, church, sacraments, doctrine and priesthood. These mediate the sacred and should thus be treated with respect, but they are not considered essential. Finally, incidentals include things such as vestments or names of services that may reasonably vary from place to place. [3]

Organization

Provinces

For its global work, the Church is organized into Unity Provinces, Mission Provinces and Mission Areas. This categorization is based on the level of independence of the Province. Unity Province implies a total level of independence, Mission Province implies a partial level of supervision from a Unity Province, and Mission Area implies full supervision by a Unity Province. (The links below connect to articles about the history of the Church in specific provinces after 1732, where written.)

UNITY PROVINCES

• Alaska
• America (North): Greenland, Canada and the Northern States of the USA
• America (South): Southern States of the USA
• British: England and Northern Ireland
• Congo * Zambia
• Costa Rica'
• Czech Republic
• Eastern West Indies: Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts, and the Virgin Islands including St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas and Tortola.
• European Continental: Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland
• Honduras
• Jamaica
• Nicaragua
• South Africa
• Suriname
• Tanzania (Rukwa)
• Tanzania (Southern)
• Tanzania (South Western)
• Tanzania (Western)

MISSION PROVINCES

• Guyana
• Tanzania,Kigoma
• Labrador
• Zambia
• Zambia
• Malawi
• Eastern Tanzania &

Zanzibar

• Northern Tanzania

MISSION AREAS

• Burundi, Belize, Cuba, * French Guiana, *Kenya, * Peru, *Rwanda, *Uganda

Other areas with missions but that are not yet established as Provinces are:

• Star Mountain Rehabilitation Centre, Ramallah, Palestine - under the care of the European Continental Province. Work began among people with leprosy in 1867 at the 'Jesus Hilfe'(Jesus, help) home in Jerusalem, responsibility for which was taken over by the Israeli State. In 1980, the former Leper Home on Star Mountain was converted for use as a home for handicapped children of the Arab population.[4]
• South Asia (India, Ladakh, Nepal, Assam) - under the care of the British Province. Formerly the West Himalayan Province (1853) and designated a Unity Undertaking in 1967.

Tanzania is divided into five provinces because of the size of country and the numbers of people in the church. "The Moravian Church in Tanzania" co-ordinates the work in the nation.

The lists above, except for some details given under 'Other areas', can be found in The Moravian Almanac.[4]

Each Province is governed by a synod, made up of representatives from each congregations plus ex officio members.

The Synod elects the Provincial Board (aka Provincial Elders' Conference or PEC[5]) to be responsible for the work of the Province and its international links between Synods.

Districts

Many, but not all, of the Provinces are divided into Districts.

District Conferences need a mention.

Congregations

Each congregation belongs to a district and has spiritual and financial responsibilities for work in its own area as well as provincially. The Congregation Council (all the members of a congregation) usually meets twice a year and annually elects the Church Committee that acts as an executive.

In some provinces two or more congregations may be grouped into circuits, under the care of one minister.

Unity Synod and Board

The Unity Synod meets every 7 years and is attended by delegates from the different Unity Provinces and affiliated Provinces..