Protestant Beliefs Take a New Form: The Moravian Church

Most Americans and Europeans are no stranger to the protestant faith. Literally hundreds, if not thousands, or protestant denominations cropped up after the reformation during the 16th Century. Religious leaders hated the idea of a central Pope ruling over the Christian faith. Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, and other denominations where determined to lead a simple life without a central party telling them what to believe and how to worship. Little did they know that a small Eastern European nation, under the Holy See’s rule, broke from tradition nearly two hundred years before the Protestant Reformation. The Moravian Church represents the earliest known attempt at anti-Catholic sentiment and reform.

The First Protestant: What is the Moravian Church?

The Moravian Church derives its name from Latin, “Unitas Fratrum” (Palmyra Moravian Church). It means “Unity of the Brethren” (Palmyra Moravian Church). Indeed, “Unitas Fratrum” is seen throughout the church’s practice, beliefs, and philosophy. The Moravian Church is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, protestant churches and denominations in the world (Palmyra Moravian Church). Historians date the church long before the Bohemian Reformation in the fifteenth century (Palmyra Moravian Church). This little church, unknown at the time, would be the first church to start a long line of dissidents. And, while it selected to practice Christianity a different way than most modern protestant denominations, it paved the way for a true Christian reform.

The Moravian Church earned its name from exiles fleeing Saxony in 1722 to escape the tyrannical religious persecution (Palmyra Moravian Church). Members chose to refer to the church as a sanctuary of brothers to expound upon the connections with their lost brethren who died under religious rejection and future brothers who would join their fight against tyrannical rule (Palmyra Moravian Church). While the name was indoctrinated in the 1700s, Moravian’s actual heritage comes from religious practice dating back more than 300 hundred years earlier (Palmyra Moravian Church). In 1457 Bohemia, including the royal countries owned by the crown: Moravia and Silesia, citizens enjoyed more freedom from the autonomous kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire (Palmyra Moravian Church). 

Historical Reform: Where did the Moravian Church Come From?

For more than five hundred years, the Moravian Church has functioned as a world religion and spread its message to nearly every continent (The Moravian Church in North America). While it may not be a household name like Baptist, Methodists, or Church of God, the Moravian influence has is undeniable. The historic church traces its origins to ancient Bohemia and Moravia, then under the rule of the Holy See and now known as the Czech Republic (The Moravian Church in North America). In the mid-ninth century, both pre-Czech countries converted to Christianity through the influence of two Greek Orthodox missionaries, Cyril and Methodius (The Moravian Church in North America). The two brought the message of the Holy Bible in an easy to understand translation. The people would only have a short-lived religious freedom, as both Bohemia and Moravia soon was annexed under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rome and the Holy See (The Moravian Church in North America). 

 Most Czech believers took exception to a foreign nation telling them how to believe and worship. They didn’t understand the necessity of one man, the Pope, having ultimate control over their faith (The Moravian Church in North America). This caused many protests among local residents. They protested the Catholic Church, an unheard of tactic in medieval times (The Moravian Church in North America). The most notable Czech reformer was John Hus, a professor of philosophy and rector of the University in Prague (The Moravian Church in North America). Hus taught and preached as an ordained minister at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, soon to become the starting point for the Czech reformation (The Moravian Church in North America).

Hus soon gained enough support from his fellow liberal students and local townspeople to mount a proper revolution against the Catholic Church. He founded and led the protest movement against many Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy, demanding the sacrilegious practices stop and Czechs be allowed to worship freely (The Moravian Church in North America). Rather than submit to his demand, Catholic leaders charged Hus heresy, the worse charge under Vatican Law (The Moravian Church in North America). Hus faced a lengthy trial and answered for his crimes at the Council of Constance (The Moravian Church in North America). Like many believers who refused Catholicism and denounced the religion, Hus was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415 (The Moravian Church in North America). Though Hus paid the ultimate price for his beliefs, this did not stop supporters from protesting Catholic practices; indeed, Hus became a martyr and fueled the movement even further (The Moravian Church in North America).

More than 40 years after Hus’s execution, the Moravian Church was born in 1457 and started practicing its beliefs under the Latin translation of Unitas Fratrum (The Moravian Church in North America). More than 60 years before Martin Luther began his reformation and 100 years before the establishment of the Anglican Church, Gregory the Patriarch, the founder of the Moravian Church, began teaching a new Christian doctrine, free from the influences of Catholic oppression (The Moravian Church in North America). 

Not Just Another Denomination: What do Moravians Believe?

Much like other protestant churches, the Moravian Church focuses on Jesus Christ as the center of its religion, unlike Catholics who place centrality on the Virgin Mother Mary, Jesus’s mother (Rural Hall Moravian Church). Moravians accept the following standards from both Christian, Protestant, and Catholic heritages: The Three Ecumenical Creeds: Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian; First 21 Articles of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession; The Confession of the Unity of the Bohemian Brethren of 1535; The Barmen Declaration of 1934; The Small Catechism of Martin Luther; The Synod of Berne of 1532; The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England; and The Heidelberg Catechism (Rural Hall Moravian Church).

Moravians consider the Holy Trinity – understood as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – an integral feature of the beliefs (Rural Hall Moravian Church). Unlike protestants, who consider Jesus, or the Son, as the living embodiment of God, Moravians consider the Son as the Word or Logos of their belief system (Rural Hall Moravian Church). This is not to be misconstrued as to mean Moravians don’t believe in Jesus or his position as God’s Son. Rather, they do believe God took on the incarnation as man, became Jesus to teach the world about the true message, and died to free them from their sins (Rural Hall Moravian Church). This belief also is integral to other protestant beliefs (Rural Hall Moravian Church). It defers from Catholicism, which states Jesus was a mortal man and son of God (Rural Hall Moravian Church). They do not recognize Jesus as equal or an incarnation of God. (Rural Hall Moravian Church).

Religious practice and beliefs are but one of the aspects defining all religions, including the Moravian Church. One must consider the philosophy or ethos of a religion. One striking difference between the Moravian Church and other missionary-centric religions is its tone. Many protestant beliefs are, unpopularly, pushy towards non-believers. They consider a dogmatic approach as ineffective, but a more deliberate tone works wonders (Rural Hall Moravian Church). Indeed, particularly in the Southern United States, tent revivals, homecomings, gospel concerts, and door-to-door witnessing takes on a demanding perspective (Rural Hall Moravian Church). Many protestants who believe in evangelism tend to push their beliefs on others. The Moravian Church, having roots in tyrannical oppression, believes one must come to their beliefs without intrusion (Rural Hall Moravian Church). This serves as the primary driving force of the church’s philosophy: faithfulness, simplicity, sensitivity, and happiness (Rural Hall Moravian Church). Moravian believers simply want to be left alone to practice and worship as they see fit.

Different Strokes: What’s the Difference between Moravian and Other Protestant Beliefs?

With such a different philosophy, the Moravian Church is called a separate religion from protestant Christianity (Dragon). Or they often are mistakenly compared to Mormon or Amish beliefs (Dragon). This is not true and represents one of the common misconceptions of the Moravian Church (Dragon). It is a denomination within the protestant religion, and Moravians hold the same core beliefs as other Christians (Dragon). The difference is symbolic and practice. There are five distinct differences between Moravian believers and most other protestant denominations (Dragon; About Religion). 

First and foremost, Moravian believers aren’t keen on missionary work, even though its own believe system started with two missionaries (Dragon). “They did not hold the belief that congregations must be formed to spread their church and belief systems like other Protestant denominations” (Dragon). This is further explained by the second difference – doctrine. Most Moravians don’t consider doctrine a universal practice (Dragon). One Moravian Church may teach different interpretations than another location (Dragon). This is because Moravians believe the Holy Scripture do not include a formal system of doctrine and Jesus’s mysteries cannot be explained by human intellect (Dragon).

Another interesting difference is of authority. Most protestant denominations either make individual congregations the decision-makers or entrust it to local councils (Dragon). This system comes from the fear or one universal leader or another Pope (Dragon). Moravian authority, particularly the power to ordain, is vested entirely in the local Bishop (Dragon). But the responsibility of religious beliefs falls to the authority of the parent as evident in their baptismal (Dragon). Most protestants require people to be of age and follow the teachings on their own (Moravians in North Carolina). However, the Moravian Church demands if infants are sprinkled with water, the congregation and parents are required to raise the child according to church beliefs (Dragon; Leiser). Additionally, most protestants, with the exception of the oldest faiths, require full immersion into the water, not sprinkling (Dragon).

Works Cited

About Religion. “Moravian Church Beliefs and Practices.” About.com. 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 10 

June 2016. http://christianity.about.com/od/Moravian/a/Moravian-Beliefs.htm.

Dragon, Debra. “5 Beliefs That Set Moravians Apart from Other Protestant Christians.” 

Newsmax. 2 April 2015. Web. 10 June 2016. http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/moravians-protestant-beliefs-christians/2015/04/02/id/636022/.

Leiser, Amy. “History of the Moravian Star.” Monroe County Historical Association. Dec. 2008. Web. 10 June 2016. http://www.monroehistorical.org/articles/files/120408_moravianstart.html.

The Moravian Church in North America. “A Brief History of the Moravian Church.” N.p. N.d. Web. 10 June 2016. http://www.moravian.org/the-moravian-church/history/.

Moravians in North Carolina. “Misconceptions About Moravians.” N.p. N.d. Web. 10 June 2016. http://moraviansinnorthcarolina.weebly.com/misconceptions-about-moravians.html.

Palmyra Moravian Church. “Moravian History?” N.p. N.d. Web. 10 June 2016. http://www.palmyramoravian.org/what-is-moravian.html.

Rural Hall Moravian Church. “Beliefs and Teaching of the Moravian Church.” N.p. N.d. Web. 10 June 2016. http://rhmc.org/about-us/moravian-beliefs/.