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HISTORY OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH
HISTORY OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH J. E. HUTTON (Second Edition Revised and Enlarged.)
1909
CONTENTS.
BOOK ONE.
The Bohemian Brethren. 1457-1673
CHAPTER I.--The Rising Storm
" II.--The Burning of Hus. July 6th 1415
" III.--The Welter. 1415-1434
" IV.--Peter of Chelcic. 1419-1450
" V.--Gregory the Patriarch and the Society at Kunwald.
1457-1472
" VI.--Luke of Prague and the High Church Reaction. 1473-1530
" VII.--The Brethren at Home.
" VIII.--John Augusta and His Policy. 1531-1548
" IX.--The Brethren in Poland. 1548-1570
" X.--The Martyr Bishop. 1548-1560
" XI.--The Last Days of Augusta. 1560-1572
" XII.--The Golden Age. 1572-1603
" XIII.--The Letter of Majesty. 1603-1609
" XIV.--The Downfall. 1609-1621
" XV.--The Day of Blood at Prague. June 21st 1621
" XVI.--Comenius and the Hidden Seed. 1621-1673
BOOK TWO.
The Revival under Zinzendorf. 1700-1760.
CHAPTER I.--The Youth of Count Zinzendorf. 1700-1722
" II.--Christian David. 1690-1722
" III.--The Founding of Herrnhut. 1722-1727
" IV.--Life at Herrnhut
" V.--The Edict of Banishment. 1727-1736
" VI.--The Foreign Missions and their Influence. 1732-1760
" VII.--The Pilgrim Band. 1736-1743
" VIII.--The Sifting Time. 1743-1750
" IX.--Moravians and Methodists. 1735-1742
" X.--Yorkshire and the Settlement System. 1742-1755
" XI.--The Labours of John Cennick. 1739-1755
" XII.--The Appeal to Parliament. 1742-1749
" XIII.--The Battle of the Books. 1749-1755
" XIV.--The American Experiments. 1734-1762
" XV.--The Last Days of Zinzendorf. 1755-1760
BOOK THREE.
The Rule of the Germans. 1760-1857.
CHAPTER I.--The Church and Her Mission; or The Three Constitutional
Synods. 1760-1775
" II.--The Fight for the Gospel; or Moravians and
Rationalists. 1775-1800
" III.--A Fall and a Recovery. 1800-1857
" IV.--The British Collapse. 1760-1800
" V.--The British Advance. 1800-1857
" VI.--The Struggle in America. 1762-1857
" VII.--The Separation of the Provinces 1857-1899
BOOK FOUR.
The Modern Moravians. 1857-1908.
CHAPTER I.--Moravian Principles
" II.--The Moravians in Germany
" III.--The Moravians in Great Britain
" IV.--The Moravians in North America
" V.--Bonds of Union
PREFACE.
For assistance in the preparation of this second edition I desire
herewith to express my obligations to several friends:--To the late
Rev. L. G. Hass? B.D. whose knowledge of Moravian history was
profound and who guided me safely in many matters of detail; to the
Rev. N. Libbey M.A. Principal of the Moravian Theological College
Fairfield for the loan of valuable books; to the Rev. J. T. M?ller
D.D. Archivist at Herrnhut for revising part of the MS. and for
many helpful suggestions; to Mr. W. T. Waugh M.A. for assistance
in correcting the proof-sheets and for much valuable criticism; to
the members of the Moravian Governing Board not only for the loan
of books and documents from the Fetter Lane archives but also for
carefully reading through the MS.; to the ministers who kindly
supplied my pulpit for three months; and last but not least to the
members of my own congregation who relieved me from some pastoral
duties to enable me to make good speed with my task.
MORAVIAN MANSE
HECKMONDWIKE.
BOOK ONE.
The Bohemian Brethren.
CHAPTER I
THE RISING STORM.
When an ordinary Englishman in the course of his reading sees
mention made of Moravians he thinks forthwith of a foreign land a
foreign people and a foreign Church. He wonders who these Moravians
may be and wonders as a rule in vain. We have all heard of the
Protestant Reformation; we know its principles and admire its
heroes; and the famous names of Luther Calvin Melancthon Latimer
Cranmer Knox and other great men are familiar in our ears as
household words. But few people in this country are aware of the
fact that long before Luther had burned the Pope's bull and long
before Cranmer died at the stake there had begun an earlier
Reformation and flourished a Reforming Church. It is to tell the
story of that Church--the Church of the Brethren--that this little
book is written.
For her cradle and her earliest home we turn to the distressful land
of Bohemia and the people called Bohemians or Czechs. To us
English readers Bohemia has many charms. As we call to mind our
days at school we remember in a dim and hazy way how famous
Bohemians in days of yore have played some part in our national
story. We have sung the praises at Christmas time of the Bohemian
Monarch "Good King Wenceslaus." We have read how John the blind
King of Bohemia fell mortally wounded at the Battle of Crecy how
he died in the tent of King Edward III. and how his generous
conqueror exclaimed: "The crown of chivalry has fallen today; never
was the like of this King of Bohemia." We have all read too how
Richard II. married Princess Anne of Bohemia; how the Princess so
the story goes brought a Bohemian Bible to England; how Bohemian
scholars a few years later came to study at Oxford; how there they
read the writings of Wycliffe the "Morning Star of the
Reformation"; and how finally copies of Wycliffe's books were
carried to Bohemia and there gave rise to a religious revival of
world-wide importance. We have struck the trail of our journey.
For one person that Wycliffe stirred in England he stirred
hundreds in Bohemia. In England his influence was fleeting; in
Bohemia it was deep and abiding. In England his followers were
speedily suppressed by law; in Bohemia they became a great national
force and prepared the way for the foundation of the Church of the
Brethren.
For this startling fact there was a very powerful reason. In many
ways the history of Bohemia is very like the history of Ireland and
the best way to understand the character of the people is to think
of our Irish friends as we know them to-day. They sprang from the
old Slavonic stock and the Slavonic is very like the Keltic in
nature. They had fiery Slavonic blood in their veins and Slavonic
hearts beat high with hope in their bosoms. They had all the
delightful Slavonic zeal the Slavonic dash the Slavonic
imagination. They were easy to stir they were swift in action
they were witty in speech they were mystic and poetic in soul and
like the Irish of the present day they revelled in the joy of party
politics and discussed religious questions with the keenest zest.
With them religion came first and foremost. All their poetry was
religious; all their legends were religious; and thus the message of
Wycliffe fell on hearts prepared to give it a kindly welcome.
Again Bohemia like Ireland was the home of two rival populations.
The one was the native Czech the other was the intruding German;
and the two had not yet learned to love each other. From all sides
except one these German invaders had come. If the reader will
consult a map of Europe he will see that except on the south-east
frontier where the sister country Moravia lies Bohemia is
surrounded by German-speaking States. On the north-east is Silesia
on the north-west Saxony on the west Bavaria and the Upper
Palatinate and thus Bohemia was flooded with Germans from three
sides at once. For years these Germans had been increasing in
power and the whole early history of Bohemia is one dreary
succession of bloody wars against German Emperors and Kings.
Sometimes the land had been ravaged by German soldiers sometimes a
German King had sat on the Bohemian throne. But now the German
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