Photo: Moravian Single Sister

This piece was painted by an unknown artist of an unidentified Moravian Single Sister. (The pink bow denotes that she was single. Married Sisters are pictured with blue bows.)

Unknown Artist, Moravian Single Sister, ca. 1810-1820, oil on canvas, 11.5 in. x 14.5 in.  Moravian Historical Society, Nazareth, Pa.

Photo: Hearth Cooking

Photo Credit: GRL3

Open hearth cooking is the oldest way of cooking. The above image was taken at the 1785 Moravian Single Brother's House, Old Salem, NC. 

Moravian Fairness

In 1756 the Moravians in the Wachovia (NC) had a mill up and running to be “of service to the whole community”. Bishop Spangenberg wrote his congratulations from the Moravian community in Bethlehem, PA. In his letter he offered some fatherly advice on what prices to charge.

“You are aware of our principle in this, that in so far as possible we follow local customs and yet let fairness prevail. To some poor men I would return the charge of grinding, and that would not make us any poorer. From others I would take whatever is customary locally, but not the highest charge nor yet the lowest, but the median.”

What is to be learned from this Moravian principle two hundred and sixty years later?

Uncommon Zeal for Jesus

The old Moravians account for some of the most inspiring, sacrificial and bodacious stories of Christian missions history - ever! 

One in sixty. That is how many Moravians, under the leadership of Count Zinzendorf, went as cross-cultural missionaries, planting mission stations in the Virgin Islands, Greenland, South America, North America, South Africa, and Labrador. 

Ponder that number of 1 in 60. The Episcopal Church has approximately 2.5 millions. To equal the ratio of the early Moravians the Episcopal Church would have to find approximately 42,000 missionaries in the pews. 

Where did the Count acquire the motivation, zeal, strength and persistence to lead the early Moravians into such fervid missionary work?

First, we note that in 1719 Zinzendorf was impacted by a painting of Christ enduring the crown of thorns. The inscription read, "All this I did for you, what are you doing for me?"  This seminal encounter moved Zinzendorf to choose not the life of a nobleman but rather that of a minister of the Gospel.

Second, Zinzendorf a man of Scripture and follower of Jesus did not believe in universalism nor would he understand those who claimed Jesus but were universalists.

Universalists subscribe formally or informally to a theological doctrine that all human beings will eventually be saved - with or without faith in Jesus Christ. The contemporary church is filled with universalists. Denominations that harbor universalists cannot and will not get beyond thinking of missions as social work. The Count and the early Moravians would have nothing of that. They went out to save souls and nothing less.

A Moravian Prayer Meeting

Third, in 1727, during a communion service, the Holy Spirit moved powerfully on all that were present. Out of that holy communion service on August 13, 1727 advanced a prayer meeting. Their prayer was for the lost both near and far. The prayer gatherings met seven days a week - twenty-four hours a day. It continued without interruption for more than one hundred years. This was undeniably a primary force behind the great Moravian missions movements of the 18th century.

The two first Moravian missionaries, on October 8,1732, set sail from Copenhagen for the West Indies. On board were John Leonard Dober, a potter, and David Nitschman, a carpenter. The only way to reach the slaves of the West Indies with the Gospel was to become one of them. These two men set sail with the objective of selling themselves into slavery to reach the slaves if they must. This is zeal - New Testament zeal. 

Upon arriving at the shores of their destinations, some of the Moravian missionaries would unload their few belongings and then burn the ships. It was a refusal to look back. 

The 1784 Tavern at Salem

The 1784 Tavern at Salem (now Old Salem), NC
Photo Credit: GRL3

Contrary to stereotype drunkenness in taverns of good repute was against the house rules, additionally, the laws of the county stood ready to prosecute the inebriant. Intoxication along with gambling were moral issues in Moravian taverns. The Moravian Church built, managed and owned the taverns in their villages, such as Salem. The Church knew that intoxication and gambling would spin their taverns in a direction they did not wish to have them go.

County government controlled a good deal of tavern culture in the late 18th century - including the Moravian tavern in Salem, NC. For example, what liquors and what food was served, along with the price of the same, was decreed by county or city regulation.

The tavern kitchen at Old Salem
Dated 1784
Photo Credit: GRL3

Breakfast was a big meal often featuring eggs, fish, steak, sausages, bacon, bread, coffee and tea. Dinner was placed family style on the dining tables about noon. It remained for two hours and to it the paying customer helped himself from the spread. Supper was served at seven or eight o’clock and more often than not featured left-overs.

Quality of food was not an issue at the Moravian taverns which were considered the best of the best. Good food and plenty of it. It is estimated at a good tavern served up as many as 6,000 calories a day. That the colonists, Moravian and otherwise, were not obese testifies to the degree to which they worked off those calories. 

Potted meats were a popular. Potting requires boiling or baking a chunk of meat till tender, than pounding it into a paste with a wooden hammer, mixing in spices and fat. The resulting paste was then stored in earthenware jars, sealed with melted butter or fat poured on top. This paste could be spread on bread for sandwiches and made for an easy “to go” meal.

With each meal alcohol was served. A colonial era tavern’s reputation could rise and fall on the quality of its ale. Ales were usually locally brewed. Hard liquor was common among the English colonists. Germans preferred beer. Both were served at Salem’s tavern. Salem, in fact, had its own distillery and brewery. In addition, various wines and rum were imported to Salem for its tavern. 

One of the least understood purposes of the tavern, Moravian or not, was as a social hub. Issues of the day were discussed and hammered out here. The important role of the tavern may be underscored by noting that the City Tavern in Philadelphia, was the site of the first continental congress.

Historic Flag Flies At Salem's tavern

President Washington's Battle Flag

President Washington’s personal flag hangs on the front porch of the historic 1784 Tavern at Old Salem, NC, an important village of the Moravians. 

This flag was flown by General Washington during his winter encampment at Valley Forge. General Washington had a personal protection guard called the "Life Guard". It consisted of a few hand picked men from each colony and this special guard carried these colors. It has been suggested that these colors may have been the origin of the field of stars in our stars and stripes flag.

Quote from Count Zinzendorf

Five inspiring quotes from Count Zinzendorf. 

Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, of Dresden, was a German Christian and social reformer and bishop of the Moravian Church. It was he that organized the modern Moravian Church. 

"I have one passion; it is Jesus, Jesus only.” 

“Preach the gospel, die and be forgotten.”

“Only atheists attempt to comprehend god with their mind.”

“I am destined to proclaim the message, unmindful of personal consequences to myself.”

“…henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.”

Historic Flag in Old Salem

The Guilford Courthouse Flag
in the historic barn at Old Salem, NC
Photo Credit: GRL3

In seasons of national celebration the Guilford Courthouse Flag hangs in the barn of the historic 1784 Tavern in Old Salem, NC. 

This unusual flag was made with thirteen 8-pointed stars in a wide field. Historical records report this flag carried by North Carolina militiamen at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, March 17, 1781. 

Photo: Three Moravian Sisters

Photo Credit - Lobster Pot Photography

Moravians in Salem During the Revolutionary War

By the fall of 1780, Patriots and Tories were fighting each other throughout the backcountry, and both sides took the policy that “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” That left groups like the Moravians, who were mostly pacifists, in a difficult position. 

The Moravians supported the Patriots in the war. Like the Quakers, they would not swear an oath, including the oath of loyalty to the new state government, and most Moravians would not take up arms, though some younger members of the congregation did join the Patriot militia. The state Assembly recognized their loyalty, allowing them to affirm their loyalty without swearing an oath and exempting them from military service if they paid a triple tax. 

Still, many backcountry Patriots and Continental Army soldiers didn’t trust the Moravians. They spoke a different language (German); they practiced a different form of Protestant Christianity; and — worst of all — they refused to fight for either side. 

The Spirit of the Ancient Moravian Church

Spirit of the Ancient Moravian Church

An account of the ethos of the Moravian Church is given by one of its British bishops, Clarence H. Shawe. In a lecture series delivered at the Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Shawe described the Spirit of the Moravian Church as having five characteristics: simplicity, happiness, unintrusiveness, fellowship, and the ideal of service.

Simplicity is a focus on the essentials of faith and a lack of interest in the niceties of doctrinal definition. Shawe quotes Zinzendorf's remark that The Apostles say: 'We believe we have salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ....' If I can only teach a person that catechism I have made him a divinity scholar for all time. From this simplicity flow secondary qualities of genuineness and practicality.

Happiness is the natural and spontaneous response to God's free and gracious gift of salvation. Again Shawe quotes Zinzendorf: There is a difference between a genuine Pietist and a genuine Moravian. The Pietist has his sin in the foreground and looks at the wounds of Jesus; the Moravian has the wounds in the forefront and looks from them upon his sin. The Pietist in his timidity is comforted by the wounds; the Moravian in his happiness is shamed by his sin (p. 13).

Unintrusiveness is based on the Moravian belief that God positively wills the existence of a variety of churches to cater for different spiritual needs. There is no need to win converts from other churches. The source of Christian unity is not legal form but everyone's heart-relationship with the Saviour.

Fellowship is based on this heart-relationship. Shawe says: The Moravian ideal has been to gather together kindred hearts.... Where there are 'Christian hearts in love united', there fellowship is possible in spite of differences of intellect and intelligence, of thought, opinion, taste and outlook. ... Fellowship [in Zinzendorf's time] meant not only a bridging of theological differences but also of social differences; the artisan and aristocrat were brought together as brothers and sat as equal members on the same committee. 

The ideal of service entails happily having the attitude of a servant. This shows itself partly in faithful service in various roles within congregations but more importantly in service of the world "by the extension of the Kingdom of God". Historically, this has been evident in educational and especially missionary work. Shawe remarks that none could give themselves more freely to the spread of the gospel than those Moravian emigrants who, by settling in Herrnhut [i.e., on Zinzendorf's estate], had gained release from suppression and persecution. - Wickipedia