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Q: When was the Moravian Church founded?
A: The modern Moravian Church traces its roots to John Hus,
a Catholic priest and church reformer who lived and worked about one hundred
years before Martin Luther. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415 for his
reformist teachings, which included translating the Bible and the church
service from Latin into the languages of the people, offering communion with
both bread and wine, and ending the sale of indulgences. Because Hus is
credited with its founding, the Moravian Church claims to be the oldest
existing Protestant Church.
Q: Are there any Moravians still alive?
A: Yes, the Moravian Church, while small, has never
disappeared. The Church has a worldwide membership of approximately 800,000
members. In North America there are approximately 50,000 Moravians, with
concentrations in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, New York, New Jersey,
Maryland, Alaska, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, North
Dakota, Virginia, California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Alberta, Canada,
and Ontario, Canada.
Q: Are the Moravians from Moravia?
A: Before 1722 members of the Moravian Church (Unitas
Fratrum) came from the Czech provinces of
Bohemia and Moravia. After 1722, when many people from throughout Europe,
North America, and elsewhere joined the church, membership in the Moravian
Church no longer indicated a member's cultural origins.
Q: Are the Moravians German?
A: Before 1722 the Moravian Church was primarily Czech,
centered in the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia. After 1722, the Moravians
became heavily Germanized. By the time they arrived in American in 1735, they
had members from Germany, England, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and many
other European countries. Even though they were an international multicultural
church, in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the official language
of the Moravian Church was German.
Q: Are the Moravians related to the Church of the
Brethren?
A: This one is a little confusing. No, the Moravians are
not related to the Church of the Brethren, but it does not help that their
names are similar. The Moravian Church's official name is the Unitas
Fratrum, or Unity of the Brethren, adopted
in 1457. Sometimes this is simply shortened to the Unity or sometimes to the
Brethren. In the eighteenth century the Moravians often referred to themselves
simply as the Brethren. They are also known in Germay as Herrnhuters, after their German settlement, Herrnhut. It is
only in the English speaking world that the Unity of the Brethren is known as
the Moravian Church, in honor of its origins in the Czech province from which
it partially originated.
Q: Did the Moravians come to America for religious
freedom?
A: The Moravians are one of the few cases where a religious
group did not come to America for religious freedom. In fact, the Moravians
had found religious freedom in 1722 in Germany. They came to America as part
of an international mission movement to provide a church for German speakers in
America and to convert American Indians to Christianity.
Q: Which came first, Nazareth or Bethlehem (both in
Pennsylvania)?
A: It depends on how you define "first." The Moravians came
to Nazareth first (in 1740 it belonged to George Whitefield). They left
Nazareth in the spring of 1741 and founded their own settlement, which they
called Bethlehem. Bethlehem was the first permanent Moravian settlement in
America, because Nazareth, while started first, was not originally Moravian.
Q: Was communal living part of the Moravian religion?
A: Many eighteenth-century religious groups in Pennsylvania
lived communally because of their religious principles. The Moravians, while
they look like many of these groups, did not live communally because of their
faith, but out of economic necessity. In order to organize their resources
efficiently to support their mission work in America, the residents of the American
Moravian settlements of Bethlehem and Nazareth agreed to exchange their labor
for the food, clothing, shelter, and other items the Church provided. The communal
system only lasted from 1745 until 1762 when it was ended, although the
communities remained closed to non-Moravians until the 1850s.
Q: Are the Moravians like the Amish?
A: While they looked similar in the eighteenth century, today
the Moravians and the Amish are very different. The Amish continue to live
according to traditional ways, as governed by their church. From the
eighteenth century until the 1850s the Moravians had five Moravian-only
communities in America. The church was both the religious leader and municipal
government in these communities. Today the Moravians do not dress in traditional
clothing, or live in church-governed communities; rather they lead very modern
lives and the communities they founded are now home to Moravian and
non-Moravian residents alike.
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Q: Why was the Moravian Historical Society founded?
A: Our mission was (and is) to preserve the culture and
history of the Moravians, not their theology or religion (although it is difficult
to separate them). Established in 1857, the Society was founded just as the
Moravian-only communities in America were opening to non-Moravian residents.
At that time some Moravians were concerned that their unique history would be
overwhelmed and forgotten by their new neighbors.
Q: What is the Moravian Historical Society's mission?
A: In 2005 the Society changed its mission statement. It
now states that we "present the story of the Moravian Church and its
contributions to American history and culture." We do this through collecting
and preserving objects and documents related to Moravian history, and by creating
educational programs based on those collections.
Q: Is the Society part of the Moravian Church?
A: We are not, nor have we ever been, part of the Moravian
Church. The Society was founded to preserve Moravian history, not its
theology. In fact, we are the only church-specific historical society in
America not part of the church on which it focuses. We receive no funding or
support from the church, and unlike the church archives, Moravians are not
required to offer us any historical material. We are an independent historical
society, with a 501(c)3 not-for-profit status. Our mission is education, not
evangelization.
Q: Must you be a member of the Moravian Church to be a member of the Moravian Historical Society?
A: Membership in the Moravian Historical Society is open to
anyone with an interest in history. We believe that Moravian history is also
important to American history, and everyone should be able to share in it.
Q: Where does the Society get its funding?
A: The Moravian Historical Society is supported by a variety
of sources. In the past, over half of our funding came from investments and
endowments, supplemented by grants, membership fees, property rentals, and
contributions from our Donor Club members. Admissions and program fees account
for only a small part of our income.
Q: How large is the Society's staff?
A: The Society operates with a full-time professional staff of one, an Executive Director. There is also a half-time Administrative Assistant, and part time docents (tour guides). Besides the paid staff, there is also a talented and generous body of volunteers. These few people keep the museum open, organize programs, give tours, research exhibits, edit publications, and do everything that you see the Society do (in addition to a lot of things that you may not notice).
Q: Are we also known as the Nazareth Moravian Historical Society or the Nazareth Historical Society?
A: Our name, which is also our focus, is the Moravian
Historical Society. It is not, nor ever has been, the Nazareth Moravian or
Nazareth Historical Society. We do not focus on Moravians in Nazareth or on
Nazareth exclusively. Although we are located in Nazareth, our focus is on
Moravian history, locally, nationally, and internationally, and how it relates
to American history.
Q: Are the Moravian Historical Society and the Moravian Museum the same?
A: The Moravian Historical Society was founded in Nazareth
in 1857, with a focus on Moravian history throughout the world. The Moravian
Museum was founded in Bethlehem in 1939 (as the official museum of the Central
Moravian Church congregation), with a focus on Bethlehem Moravian history.
While the two organizations have similar collections and subjects of interest,
they are in fact very different museums with no affiliation.
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