Produced by John Bechard
HISTORY OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH
by J. E. Hutton
(Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged.)
1909
Transcriber's Note: I have inserted a few notes of my own regarding
spelling (one Greek word) and the rearranging of dates that were
originally shown in the margins of the book; any of my own adjustments
or notes have been enclosed in these brackets: {} to separate them from
the original text. As well, I have renumbered all the footnotes from
their corresponding pages and set them at the end of this document.
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. Hassé, 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. Müller, 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 settlers
in Bohemia had become more powerful than ever. They had settled in large
numbers in the city of Prague, and had there obtained special privileges
for themselves. They had introduced hundreds of German clergymen, who
preached in the German language. They had married their daughters into
noble Bohemian families. They had tried to make German the language of
the court, had spoken with contempt of the Bohemian language, and had
said that it was only fit for slaves. They had introduced German laws
into many a town, and German customs into family life; and, worse than
all, they had overwhelming power in that pride of the country, the
University of Prague. For these Germans the hatred of the people was
intense. "It is better," said one of their popular writers, "for the
land to be a desert than to be held by Germans; it is better to marry a
Bohemian peasant girl than to marry a German queen." And Judas Iscariot
himself, said a popular poet, was in all probability a German.
Again, as in Ireland, these national feuds were mixed up with religious
differences. The seeds of future strife were early sown. Christianity
came from two opposite sources. On the one hand, two preachers, Cyril
and Methodius, had come from the Greek Church in Constantinople, had
received the blessing of the Pope, and had preached to the people in the
Bohemian language; on the other, the German Archbishop of Salzburg had
brought in hosts of German priests, and had tried in vain to persuade
the Pope to condemn the two preachers as heretics. And the people loved
the Bohemian preachers, and hated the German priests. The old feud was
raging still. If the preacher spoke in German, he was hated; if he spoke
in Bohemian, he was beloved; and Gregory VII. had made matters worse by
forbidding preaching in the language of the people.
The result can be imagined. It is admitted now by all
historians--Catholic and Protestant alike--that about the time when our
story opens the Church in Bohemia had lost her hold upon the affections
of the people. It is admitted that sermons the people could understand
were rare. It is admitted that the Bible was known to few, that the
services held in the parish churches had become mere senseless shows,
and that most of the clergy never preached at all. No longer were
the clergy examples to their flocks. They hunted, they gambled, they
caroused, they committed adultery, and the suggestion was actually
solemnly made that they should be provided with concubines.
For some years a number of pious teachers had made gallant but vain
attempts to cleanse the stables. The first was Conrad of Waldhausen,
an Augustinian Friar (1364-9). As this man was a German and spoke in
German, it is not likely that he had much effect on the common people,
but he created quite a sensation in Prague, denounced alike the vices of
the clergy and the idle habits of the rich, persuaded the ladies of high
degree to give up their fine dresses and jewels, and even caused certain
well-known sinners to come and do penance in public.
The next was Milic of Kremsir (1363-74). He was a Bohemian, and
preached in the Bohemian language. His whole life was one of noble
self-sacrifice. For the sake of the poor he renounced his position as
Canon, and devoted himself entirely to good works. He rescued thousands
of fallen women, and built them a number of homes. He was so disgusted
with the evils of his days that he thought the end of the world was
close at hand, declared that the Emperor, Charles IV., was Anti-Christ,
went to Rome to expound his views to the Pope, and posted up a notice on
the door of St. Peter's, declaring that Anti-Christ had come.
The next was that beautiful writer, Thomas of Stitny (1370-1401). He
exalted the Holy Scriptures as the standard of faith, wrote several
beautiful devotional books, and denounced the immorality of the monks.
"They have fallen away from love," he said; "they have not the peace of
God in their hearts; they quarrel, condemn and fight each other; they
have forsaken God for money."
In some ways these three Reformers were all alike. They were all men
of lofty character; they all attacked the vices of the clergy and the
luxury of the rich; and they were all loyal to the Church of Rome, and
looked to the Pope to carry out the needed reform.
But the next Reformer, Matthew of Janow, carried the movement further
(1381-93). The cause was the famous schism in the Papacy. For the long
period of nearly forty years (1378-1415) the whole Catholic world was
shocked by the scandal of two, and sometimes three, rival Popes, who
spent their time abusing and fighting each other. As long as this schism
lasted it was hard for men to look up to the Pope as a true spiritual
guide. How could men call the Pope the Head of the Church when no one
knew which was the true Pope? How could men respect the Popes when
some of the Popes were men of bad moral character? Pope Urban VI. was
a ferocious brute, who had five of his enemies secretly murdered; Pope
Clement VII., his clever rival, was a scheming politician; and Pope John
XXIII. was a man whose character will scarcely bear describing in print.
Of all the scandals in the Catholic Church, this disgraceful quarrel
between rival Popes did most to upset the minds of good men and to
prepare the way for the Reformation. It aroused the scorn of John
Wycliffe in England, and of Matthew of Janow in Bohemia. "This schism,"
he wrote, "has not arisen because the priests loved Jesus Christ and His
Church, but rather because they loved themselves and the world."
But Matthew went even further than this. As he did not attack any
Catholic dogma--except the worship of pictures and images--it has been
contended by some writers that he was not so very radical in his views
after all; but the whole tone of his writings shows that he had lost
his confidence in the Catholic Church, and desired to revive the simple
Christianity of Christ and the Apostles. "I consider it essential," he
wrote, "to root out all weeds, to restore the word of God on earth,
to bring back the Church of Christ to its original, healthy, condensed
condition, and to keep only such regulations as date from the time of
the Apostles." "All the works of men," he added, "their ceremonies and
traditions, shall soon be totally destroyed; the Lord Jesus shall alone
be exalted, and His Word shall stand for ever." Back to Christ! Back to
the Apostles! Such was the message of Matthew of Janow.
At this point, when the minds of men were stirred, the writings of
Wycliffe were brought to Bohemia, and added fuel to the fire. He had
asserted that the Pope was capable of committing a sin. He had
declared that the Pope was not to be obeyed unless his commands were
in accordance with Scripture, and thus had placed the authority of the
Bible above the authority of the Pope. He had attacked the Doctrine of
Transubstantiation, and had thus denied the power of the priests "to
make the Body of Christ." Above all, in his volume, "De Ecclesia," he
had denounced the whole Catholic sacerdotal system, and had laid down
the Protestant doctrine that men could come into contact with God
without the aid of priests. Thus step by step the way was prepared for
the coming revolution in Bohemia. There was strong patriotic national
feeling; there was hatred of the German priests; there was a growing
love for the Bible; there was lack of respect for the immoral clergy,
and lack of belief in the Popes; there was a vague desire to return to
Primitive Christianity; and all that was needed now was a man to gather
these straggling beams together, and focus them all in one white burning
light.