American Provinces of the Moravian Church

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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in 1735, from their Herrnhut

Herrnhut

Herrnhut is a municipality in the district of Görlitz, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.It has access to Bundesstraße 178 between Löbau and Zittau...

settlement in present-day Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. 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.

History

The first Moravians to come to North America were August Gottlieb Spangenberg

August Gottlieb Spangenberg

August Gottlieb Spangenberg was a German theologian and minister, and a bishop of the Moravian Brethren. As successor of Count Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, he helped develop international missions, as well as stabilize the theology and organization of the German Moravian Church.-Early life and...

and Wenzel Neisser, who accompanied a group of persecuted Schwenkfelder to Pennsylvania in 1735 at Zinzendorf's direction. The first, and unsuccessful, attempt to found a Moravian community in North America was in Savannah

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

that also began in 1735; it collapsed because of internal discord, and government pressure for Moravians to serve in the militia in defense against Spanish raids from Florida (1740, the so-called "War of Jenkin's Ear").

The beginning of the church's work in North America is usually given as 1740, when Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg

August Gottlieb Spangenberg

sent Christian Henry Rauch to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

on a mission to preach and convert

Convert

The convert or try, in American football known as "point after", and Canadian football "Point after touchdown", is a one-scrimmage down played immediately after a touchdown during which the scoring team is allowed to attempt to score an extra one point by kicking the ball through the uprights , or...

native peoples. Eager to learn more, the Mahican

Mahican

The Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...

chief

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

s Tschoop and Shabash invited Rauch to visit their village (in present-day Dutchess County) to teach them. In September 1740, they led him to Shekomeko, where he established a Moravian mission

Moravian mission at Shekomeko

The Moravian mission at Shekomeko was founded in 1740 by Christian Henry Rauch to convert the Mahican Indians in eastern New York.-Background:...

. The two Indian chiefs converted to the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

faith. By summer 1742, Shekomeko was established as the first native Christian congregation in the present-day United States. Over the next two years, the Moravians endeavored to reconcile the ancient Indian traditions with the new ways of the western society. They made a center for missions to the native peoples. Within the next two years, several more missionaries along with their wives began to settle in the area. Among these were Gottlob Buettner and his wife, Anna Margaret Bechtel, daughter of a minister. Meanwhile, European settlers who opposed the Moravians' defense of Native Americans spread rumors that they were secret Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

Jesuits allied with the French, British enemies. Such settlers finally were successful in persuading the colonial governor Clinton to restrict the missionaries' efforts. They were expelled in 1744. Buettner died at Shekomeko early in 1745, and the colony dwindled away soon after.
The Moravians were more successful in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, where the charter of the colony provided religious freedom. The towns of Bethlehem

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...

, Nazareth

Nazareth, Pennsylvania

Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 6,023 at the 2000 census.Nazareth is located seven miles northwest of Easton, four miles north of Bethlehem and twelve miles northeast of Allentown...

, Emmaus

Emmaus, Pennsylvania

Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...

, and Lititz

Lititz, Pennsylvania

Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 6 miles north of the city of Lancaster.-History:Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756, and was named after a castle in Bohemia near the village of Kunvald where the ancient Bohemian Brethren's Church had...

, Pennsylvania, were founded as Moravian communities. Later, colonies were also founded in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, where Moravians led by Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg

August Gottlieb Spangenberg

purchased 98985 acres (400.6 km²) from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, KG, PC , commonly known by his earlier title as Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763.-Family:...

. This large tract of land was named die Wachau, or Wachovia

Wachovia, North Carolina

Wachovia was the area settled by Moravians in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina, US. Of the six eighteenth-century Moravian "villages of the Lord" established in Wachovia, today, the town of Bethania, North Carolina and city of Winston-Salem exist within the historic Wachovia tract...

, after one of Zinzendorf's ancestral estates on the Danube River in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. Other early settlements included Bethabara (1753), Bethania

Bethania, North Carolina

Bethania is the oldest municipality in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and was most recently incorporated in 1995, upon the reactivation of the original 1838/1839 town charter...

(1759) and Salem

Old Salem

Old Salem is a historic district of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It features a living history museum that interprets the restored Moravian community. The non-profit organization began its work in 1950, although some private residents had restored buildings earlier...

(now Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...

) (1766).

Bethlehem emerged as the headquarters of the northern church, and Winston-Salem became the headquarters of the southern church. The Moravian denomination persists in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

to this day, with congregations in 18 states. The highest concentrations of Moravians exist in Bethlehem and Winston-Salem. The denomination is organized into four provinces in North America: Northern (which includes five Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

congregations), Southern, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, and Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

Headquarters

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

Provinces, districts, 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: Egg Harbor City Moravian Church

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

John Heckewelder

right|thumb|350px|sketch by [[Henry Howe]]John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder was an American missionary.He was born in Bedford, England. He came to Pennsylvania in 1754, and, after finishing his education, was apprenticed to a cooper. After a visit to Ohio with Christian F...

Memorial Moravian Church

New Philadelphia: Fry’s Valley Moravian Church

Schoenbrunn Community Moravian Church

Tuscarawas: Sharon Moravian Church

Uhrichsville: 315 N. Water St.

Ontario (Canada)

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 • Schoeneck Moravian Church

Newfoundland: Newfoundland Moravian Church

Philadelphia: Redeemer Moravian Church

Reading: Reading Moravian Church

York: Covenant Moravian Church • First Moravian Church

Western District:

California

Banning: Morongo Moravian Church

Downey: Downey Moravian Church

Illinois

West Salem: West Salem Moravian Church

Indiana

Hope: Hope Moravian Church

Michigan

Daggett: Daggett Moravian Church

Unionville: Unionville Moravian Church

Westland: Grace Moravian Church

Minnesota

Altura: Our Savior's Moravian Church

Chaska: Chaska Moravian Church

Maple Grove: Christ's Community Church

Northfield: Main Street Moravian Church

St. Charles: Berea Moravian Church

Victoria: Lake Auburn Moravian Church

Waconia: Waconia Moravian Church

North Dakota

Davenport: Canaan Moravian Church

Durbin: Goshen Moravian Church

Fargo: Shepherd of the Prairie

Leonard: Bethel Moravian Church

Wisconsin

Appleton: Freedom Moravian Church

Cambridge: London Moravian Church

DeForest: Christian Faith Moravian Church

Ephraim: Ephraim Moravian Church

Green Bay: East Side Moravian Church • West Side Moravian Church

Lake Mills: Lake Mills Moravian Church

Madison: Glenwood Moravian Church • Lakeview Moravian Church

Pittsville: Veedum Moravian Church

Rudolph: Rudolph Moravian Church

Sister Bay: Sister Bay Moravian Church

Sturgeon Bay: Sturgeon Bay Moravian Church

Watertown: Ebenezer Moravian Church • Mamre Moravian Church • Watertown Moravian Church

Wisconsin Rapids: Kellner Moravian Church • Saratoga Moravian Church • Wisconsin Rapids Moravian Church

Canadian District

Alberta

Bruderheim: Bruderheim Moravian Church

Calgary: Christ Moravian Church • Good Shepherd Community Church

Edmonton: Edmonton Moravian Church • Millwoods Moravian Church • Rio Terrace Moravian Church

Sherwood Park: Good News Moravian Church

South Edmonton: Heimtal Moravian Church

Southern Province

Florida

Longwood: Rolling Hills http://www.rhmoravian.org/

Miami: King of Kings • New Hope • Prince of Peace • Suriname Moravian Fellowship

West Palm Beach: New Covenant Moravian Fellowship • Palm Beach

Sarasota: Sarasota Fellowship

Tampa: Tampa Fellowship

Georgia

Stone Mountain: First Moravian (GA)

North Carolina

Advance: Macedonia

Asheville: Morning Star

Bethania: Bethania

Charlotte: Little Church on the Lane • Peace

Clemmons: Clemmons

Durham: Christ the King

Eden: Leaksville

Greensboro: First Moravian (NC)

Holly Springs: Holly Springs Community

Huntersville: New Beginnings

Kernersville: Good Shepherd • Kernersville

King: King

Lexington: Enterprise

Lewisville: Unity

Mayodan: Mayodan

Mt. Airy: Grace

Newton: New Hope

Oak Ridge: Moravia

Raleigh: Raleigh

Rural Hall: Mizpah • Rural Hall

Walnut Cove: Fulp

Welcome: Community Fellowship

Wilmington: Covenant

Winston-Salem: Advent • Ardmore • Bethabara • Bethesda • Calvary • Christ • Fairview • Friedberg • Friedland • Fries Memorial • Konnoak Hills • Home • Hope • Hopewell • Immanual-New Eden • Messiah • New Philadelphia • Oak Grove • Olivet • Pine Chapel • Providence • St. Philips • Trinity • Union Cross

South Carolina

Spartanburg: The Palmetto Moravian Fellowship

Virginia

Ararat: Willow Hill

Cana: Mt. Bethel and Crooked Oak

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 1730s-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.

Architecture

A Moravian architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

style has emerged in the United States, predominately in Winston-Salem (Old Salem

Old Salem

). Some Moravian churches in the area feature copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

steeple

Steeple (architecture)

A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...

tops which have oxidized and reached a green patina. The Moravian "Bonnet" or "eyebrow" arch is also an example of the style and is mainly used over building entrances, it is an unsupported half cylinder. Combined Moravian arches were used to form the dome of the Wachovia Center (now called 100 North Main Street).

Ecumenical relations

The Moravian Church in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

is:

in full communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....

with the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
in full communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....

with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
in full communion (Northern Province) and (Southern Province) with the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
engaged in dialogue with a group of Reformed Churches: Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...

, United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...

, and Reformed Church in America
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
engaged in dialogue with Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...

)
a Participant in Christian Churches Together in the USA
Christian Churches Together
Christian Churches Together in the USA is a Christian ecumenical group formed in 2006 to "broaden and expand fellowship, unity and witness among the diverse expressions of Christian faith today"....
a member church of the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
a member of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA
a member of Churches for Middle East Peace
Churches for Middle East Peace
Churches for Middle East Peace is a 501 non-profit advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. As a coalition of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, CMEP works to influence American policy in ways that will bring justice and peace for all people and countries in the Middle East...

.

Historically the Moravian Church had a significant impact on John Wesley

John Wesley

John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

and the practices of the Methodist Church.

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.

External links

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