■
L o4
/O
THE EARLY HISTORY
OF THE
Church of the United Brethren,
(UNITAS FRATRUM) COMMONLY CALLED MORAVIANS,
IN
North America,
A. 13. 1734-1748.
BY THE
Rev. LEVIN THEODORE REICHEL,
Member of ///<• Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and of the Moravian Historical Society.
NAZARETH, PA., Published for the Moravian Historical Society.
1888.
PREFATORY NOTE.
FOR a number of years the MS. compiled by the Rev. Levin Theodore Reichel, and containing " the Early History of the Church of the United Brethren (Unitas Fratrum), commonly called Moravians, in North America, A. D. 1 734-1748," which is herewith produced in print for the Moravian Historical Society, was thought to be absolutely lost. Fortunately, however, it was discovered in the Summer of 1S87, and immediate steps were taken to prepare it for publication. Owing in great measure to the difficulty of handling the Germanisms to which the author so genially alludes in his Preface, the work of editing progressed slowly. In no case, however, has the Publication Committee taken upon itself to change any of the Rev. Mr. Reichel' s statements or sentiments except linguistically, and a recognizable flavor may still be perceived. The proof-sheets, in their several stages, as well as the original MS. have been deposited in the Archives of the Moravian Historical Society, where comparisons may be made.
On account of its importance this little work will form Volume III of the Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society, comprising its publications for the years 1SS7, 1888 and 1889.
PREFACE.
WE propose in the following pages to give the history of the Unitas Fratrum, or the Moravian Brethren, in Pennsylvania and other English colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence. A careful study of a mass of documents, preserved in the Archives
of the Moravian settlements, has furnished us with many interesting facts in reference to the early history of Pennsylvania, and especially its eastern Counties, which we believe will prove of general interest to intelligent readers in any denomination. Our object, therefore, is not to write exclusively for the members of that Church to which we belong, and which we cherish and esteem as the Church of our fathers and a chosen instrument in the hand of the Lord, by which, especially in olden times, much good was effected in this country; but, whilst we shall not try to hide our respect for the early Moravian fathers in this country, we will endeavor to relate carefully collected facts in such a manner that our pages may become inter- esting and instructive to all who take any interest in historical truth.
By way of introduction to the History of the Moravian Church in North America, we deem it sufficient to make only a few remarks in reference to the Moravian Church in general.
We <all ourselves the Unitas Fratrum or the Protestant Church of the United brethren, and date the origin of the Renewed Church to the 17th of June, ry22, on which day the first tree was cut down on the estate of Count Zinzendorf — Berthelsdorf in Saxon) — by some poor exiles from Moravia, descendants of the Church of the brethren in Bohemia, Moravia and Poland, which flourished in those Slavonic countries from 1457-1627. Having for conscience' sake left their houses and homes in these bigoted papal regions, 1 1 seek religious liberty
4 PREFACE.
in a Protestant country, they, by the Providence of God, were led to Berthelsdorf, and there on the slopes of the Hutberg commenced the building of Herrnhut. Many of their countrymen followed them, and after they had been joined by other awakened souls from different parts of Germany this motley colony, by a gracious outpouring of the Spirit of God on the memorable 13th of August, 1727, became a congregation of true disciples of the Lord, firmly united in the bonds of fervent love to their Saviour and Redeemer — the embryo of a Church, which was soon to expand and to extend its operations to far distant countries. In 1732 the first missionaries were sent to the Danish West India Islands, and were followed by others to Greenland in 1733. In 1735 episcopal ordination was obtained from the two last remaining Bishops of the Ancient Church of the Brethren, Daniel E. Jablonsky in Berlin and Sitkovius in Lissa, Poland, which gave ecclesiastical rights to the Renewed Church of the Brethren.
Rapidly increasing in numbers, not only by the accession of lay members from the evangelical churches of Germany, but also by a considerable number of professors and students of theology, the whole constitution of the Church, at first only calculated for a single congre- gation of emigrants, was gradually re-formed and fully developed in 1 741, prior to the time of the first permanent American settlements.
In order fully to understand the operations of the Brethren in Penn- sylvania, it will be necessary to give a detailed description of the re- ligious state of this English colony prior to 1 740, which we trust, will not prove uninteresting.
As our documents are almost exclusively in German, many German- isms may occur and can hardly be avoided in the following pages, which however will matter very little for the intelligent reader. For the sake of those, who understand the German, we will occasionally add some notes in that language.
LEVIN T. REICHEL. Salem, N. C, March i, 1857.
CONTENTS.
PAGES.
Title, ....... i
Prefatory Note, . . . . . .2
Preface, . . . . . . . 3, 4
Contents, ...... 5-7
CHAPTER I.
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
PAGES.
i. Pensvlvania and its Inhabitants, . . 9-14
2. The Settlements of the Germans in Pennsylvania, 14-21
3. Moral and Religious State of the Germans in
Pennsylvania, more especially of the Lutherans, 22-30
4. The German Reformed, .... 30-35
The Mennonites, ..... 35, 36
The Tunkers, ..... 37-39
The Siebentager, .... 40-48
Separatists, ...... 48-50
The Schwenkfelders, .... 50—53
The Indians, ...... 53-59
Signs of Life, ..... 59-60
CHAPTER II.
BEGINNING OF THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA, 1 734-1 744.
PAGES.
1. Moravian Colony in Georgia, 1734, . . 62-68
2. Spangenberg in Pennsylvania, 1736, . . 68-72
PAGES. 72-80 |
|
81 |
|
82- |
-91 |
91 |
-96 |
96- |
I 12 |
) CONTENTS.
3. The Whitefield House at Nazareth, 1740,
4. The Church at Oley, ....
5. Settlement of Bethlehem, 1741,
6. Zinzendorf's Visit in Pennsylvania in 1742,
7. The Pennsylvania Synods, .
8. Zinzendorf's Activity among the Lutherans and
German Reformed, .... 11 3-1 17
9. Zinzendorf at Bethlehem, .... 1 17-125
10. Zinzendorf's Journeys to the Indians, . . 125-129
11. Zinzendorf's Opponents, .... 129-136
12. Zinzendorf's " Pennsylvania Testament. " Return
to Europe, ...... 137-139
13. Bethlehem and Nazareth, 1 743-1 744. Peter
Bohler, ...... 139-152
CHAPTER III.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BRETHREN'S CHURCH IN PENNSYLVANIA. 1 744-1 748.
PAGES.
i. Spangenberg, Vicarius Generalis, . . . 153-158
2. Synods in 1745, ..... 158-162
3. Bethlehem. — The "Church of Pilgrims," 1744-
1745, . . . • . . . 163-165
4. Bethlehem. — " Family Economy," 1747, . 165-172
5. Nazareth. — " The Patriarchal Plan," 1744-1748, 173-178
6. J. F. C. Cammerhof — His Influence, 1747, . , 178-182
7. Pennsylvania Congregations in Connection with
the Brethren, 1744-174S, . . . 183-196
8. Moravian Schools, ..... 197-203
9. Home Missions in Pennsylvania and other Colonies, 203-207 10. Indian Mission, Gnadenhutten, 1746, . . 208-213
CONTENTS.
PAGES.
ii. Persecutions, . . • • • .214-220
12. The Synods of 1746, 1747, 1748, . , • 220-226
13. Visitation by John de Wattevil£e, 1748, . • 227-230
14. November 13, 1748, ■ 23°_235 Index, . • 237-241
CHAPTER I.
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
I. PENNSYLVANIA AND ITS INHABITANTS.
The moral and religious as well as the social and polit- ical condition of the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, about the year 1740, more than a century ago, was in many respects vastly different from the present state. The colony itself, though according to the royal charter com- prising three degrees of latitude and five of longitude, was in reality encompassed by very narrow boundaries, hardly extending to the Blue Mountains in the North and the Susquehanna in the West. Beyond there was a yet unexplored wilderness of endless mountains, dismal swamps and interminable forests. Even the four settled Counties of Pennsylvania contained not only many quite unsettled districts, but even much unexplored land, while other parts, now in the highest state ol cultivation, were passed by and rejected as unfit for any agricultural purposes. To reach any of the settlements in the inte- rior, which were few and far between, required days ol toil ; for in many instances roads had first to be cut through trackless forests, and bridges to be erected over swollen creeks and mountain torrents. Fortunate was he who could hail his next neighbor within the reasonable distance of only six or seven miles, or had only ten or fifteen miles to walk, on Indian paths, to reach the nearest mill. Whilst labor was plentiful and much hard work had
IO RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
to be performed in the clearing of the ground, the erection of mills and the construction of roads, the first settlers, living in primitive simplicity in their unadorned log cabins, were perhaps happier than many of their descendants in their stately mansions. If they had not as many com- forts and luxuries, neither had they as many real or im- aginary wants. Oppressed and down-trodden in the old countries of Europe, they had left their homes, and had embarked for the shores of America, to seek liberty, religious and political, in the forests of Pennsyl- vania. The full consciousness of being free from all political oppression and every ecclesiastical restraint, of having entire liberty to maintain and extend as far as they pleased their own religious tenets and views, sweet- ened all their toil and seemed to lessen all their labor.
There could not be found at that time on any other spot on the globe such a mixture of nationalities and lan- guages, such a medley of opinions and views, so freely maintained and so fearlessly proclaimed, as in Pennsyl- vania. English and Irish, Scotch and Welsh, Ger- mans and Swiss, Swedes and Danes, Dutch and French, Jews and Indians were scattered throughout the whole province, maintaining their nationalities without any political restraint ; and still more variegated perhaps were the religious views of the first settlers. Truth and error, genuine piety and utter indifference to all religion, fanati- cism and mere formality were to be found side by side in the enjoyment of equal rights and privileges.
In 1 68 1, William Penn, of the Society of Friends, had opened an asylum in the wilds of North America for the oppressed of all nations. The English govern- ment was indebted largely to his father, Sir William Penn, a distinguished Admiral, for money as well as ser- vices, amounting, with interest, to about ,£16,000, in lieu of which, the government being unable or unwilling to
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. II
settle with him in money, he proposed to receive land in America, and accordingly presented a petition to King- Charles II. asking for the issue of letters patent for the same. His request was granted, and by the King's order, much against Penn's inclination, the new province was to be called Pennsylvania^ in honor of the services of his illustrious father. The charter was dated March 4, 1 68 1 , and confirmed in April by royal proclamation.
On April 5 Penn' wrote to his friend, Robert Turner: "Dear Friend. — My true love in the Lord salutes thee, and dear friends that love the Lord's precious truth in those parts. Thine I have, and for my business here, know that after many waitings, watchings, solicitings and disputes in Council, this day my country was con- firmed to me under the great seal of England, with large powers and privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania, a name the King would give it, in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, being, as this, a pretty hilly country ; but Penn being Welsh for a head, as Penmanmoire in Wales, and Penrith, in Cumberland, and Penn, in Bucking"- hamshire, the highest land in England, called this Penn- sylvania, which is the high or head woodlands ; for I pro- posed, when the Secretary, a Welshman, refused to have it called New Wales, Sylvania, and they added Penn to it, and though I much opposed it, and went to the King to have it struck out and altered, he said it was past, and would take it upon him ; nor could twenty guineas move the under-secretaries to vary the name, for I feared lest it should be looked on as a vanity in me, and not as a respect in the King, as it truly was, to my father,
1 Hazard's Annals <>f Pennsylvania, p. 500. A curious translation we find in an old German hymn. " Den 55 Briidem die aus Europa im November, 1754, in Amerika ankamen, wurde bei cinem Liebesmahl zugerufen : ' Wilkomm'n, liebe Herzelein, Wilkomm'n in Penn's
(iebiisch ! ' "
12 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
whom he often mentions with praise. Thou mayest communicate my grant to friends, and expect shortly my proposals. It is a clear and just thing, and my God, that has given it me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care to the government, that it will be well laid at first. No more now, but dear love in the truth.
Thy true friend,
William Penn."
The extent of the province granted was three degrees of latitude in breadth by five degrees of longitude in length ; the eastern boundary being the Delaware River ; the northern, the beginning of the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, and on the South a circle drawn at twelve miles' distance from New Castle, north- ward and westward unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude, and then by a straight line westward to the limits of longitude above mentioned. This impossible southern line was afterwards the source of much dispute with Lord Baltimore.
In 1682, October 27 (old style), Penn with a numerous company landed at New Castle, Del., and the next day, November 83 (new style), proceeded to Upland in Chester, Pa. Soon after the city of Philadelphia was laid out, and the province divided into three counties, Philadel- phia, Bucks and Chester.
Philadelphia and Bucks counties comprised all the territory between the rivers Schuylkill and Delaware, separated by a straight line, running in a northeasterly direction to the limits of the province (the Kittatiny or Blue Mountains), or as far as the land might be pur- chased from the Indians. Chester contained all the ter-
! November 8, the day of the landing of Penn in Chester, and the Anni- versary of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. I 3
ritory southwest of the Schuylkill to the extreme western limits of the province, of course including the present county of Delaware. In 1729, Lancaster County was established as a fourth county, separated from Chester, " comprising- all the province lying to the northward of Octararo Creek, and westward of a line of marked trees running from the north branch of the said Octararo Creek northeasterly to the river Schuylkill." The city of Lancaster, at that time called Newtown, had been laid out by Governor Hamilton the previous year, and re- ceived its first charter in 1742. York County was separated from Lancaster in 1 749, and Berks and Northampton Counties were formed in 1752. Conse- quently when the Brethren made their first settlement in Pennsylvania there were only four counties between the Delaware and Susquehanna.
Soon after his arrival, Penn called an assembly at Chester, where the "Great Law" was passed, so justly celebrated for " liberty of conscience."4 There it was dis- tinctly expressed as the " principal desire and intention of the proprietary and governor and the freemen of the province of Pennsylvania, to make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in opposition to all un-Christian, licentious and unjust practices, whereby God may have His due, Caesar his due, and the people their due, from tyranny and op- pression of the one side, and insolency and licentious- ness of the other, so that the best and firmest foundation may be laid for the present and future happiness of both the governor and people of the province, and their posterity."
By thus establishing his colony upon the broad prin- ciples of Christian charity and constitutional freedom,
4 Hazard's Annals of Pennsylvania, p. 619.
14 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
Penn very soon succeeded in drawing colonists to the wilds of Pennsylvania. In 1682 thirty vessels arrived in Pennsylvania, mostly from England, and in the following year fifty more brought settlers from England, Ireland, Wales, Holland and Germany. The banks of the Dela- ware were one building scene ; some lodged in the woods in hollow trees, some in caves, which were easily dug on the high banks of the Wissahickon and Delaware, and others in hastily erected huts.
Thus the colony rapidly increased in numbers, and if the supposition be correct that the German population, in 1742 about 100,000, formed the third part, then the whole population of Pennsylvania in 1 740 may have been nearly 300,000 souls. Among those of English descent the Quakers at first predominated. Subsequently the Episcopalians and Presbyterians gained in number and influence, especially in the larger towns.
2. THE SETTLEMENTS OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA.
It is not our intention nor are we able distinctly to point out all the different companies of Germans, who from 1682 to 1 74 1 settled in Pennsylvania.5 Though many came for conscience' sake, others came to improve their temporal condition, and it may be well supposed that not nearly all, who finally made a permanent settlement in Pennsylvania, were led thither by a settled plan. How- ever, the first impulse to emigration, the first invitations to settle in North America came from Penn, who had some interest in West Jersey lands before he ob- tained the Charter of Pennsylvania. Well known in Germany, he had learned to esteem the people, and, in 1677 and 1678, when traveling along the Rhine and in
5 I. Daniel Rupp's Collection of 30,000 Names of Immigrants in Pennsyl- vania. 1 727-1 776.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 1 5
Westphalia and Franconia, both by his letters to the governments and by his enthusiastic addresses to the peo- ple on Christian charity and benevolence, he had created more than a mere passing sensation. His words soon led to actions.
In 1682 the " Frankfort Land Company" was formed by ten gentlemen of note, mostly Mennonites, living in Frankfort-on-the-Main. The object of this company was to procure an asylum in Pennsylvania for their friends and religious associates. In 1683, August 20, one of the leaders of this company, F. Daniel Pastorius, arrived on the shores of the Delaware with twenty Ger- man and Dutch families, and they were soon followed by others. They bought nearly 28,000 acres of land from Penn, the Germantown and the Manatauny patent, and in 1685, October 24, Germantown was laid out, and in 1689 incorporated by the Assembly, the first German town in Pennsylvania.
The comparatively small number of German immi- grants, which, however, gradually increased, was in 1709 followed by an emigration en masse. The continual wars on the continent of Europe,, scarcity of provisions causing an actual famine, and above all the religious oppression of the different governments in connection with repeated changes in the confession of faith, especially in the Pala- tinate, awakened among the masses a desire for the land of liberty. The distress seemed to have reached its climax in the dreadful Winter of 1709, when thousands died of cold and starvation. The invitation of Queen Anne oi England, promising free transportation to America and good land without price, was therefore joyfully ac cepted, and in a short time no less than 30,000 Germans had left their native places, relying on the promise of the British Queen. So main- had not been expected. And though the first-comers were well provided for both with
1 6 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
provisions and farming utensils — the Queen visiting them in person ; and though many Christian inhabitants of London provided great numbers with food and blankets, still there were thousands for whom no provision had been made, who, being strangers in a foreign land, had to go begging through the streets of London, while their wives and children lay almost naked and starving on Blackmoor. Many were even beaten or otherwise maltreated by the unfeeling populace of London. At last, when the famishing multitudes began to disperse over the country and fears were aroused, govern- ment took the matter in hand. Seven thousand, and amongst these especially the Roman Catholics, 3,584 in number, with their priest, were sent back to Germany. About 4,000 were taken to Ireland to settle some waste lands in county Limerick, and of the remaining 20,000 hardly one-half were in 17 10 taken to America and scattered in the different British colonies, while many perished in England or at sea.
About 5,000 came in ten ships with Governor Hunter of New York, arriving there June 10, 1710, part of whom immediately went to Germantown, while the rest founded several German villages on the Hudson, as Rhine- beck, Ancram, Palatine Town or the Camp, New Paltz, Germantown or the East Camp, and the German Flats. Though the Queen had promised them a tract ol land,6 "to be granted for the maintenance of Lutheran parish schools and ministers for the Germans, who either had settled or who should hereafter settle in the neighborhood of the river Hudson," this grant was wrested from them under various pretenses, and the oppressions of New York land-owners obliged 2,000 Germans to remove in 1 714 to Albany, Beaverdam, Schenectady and other places.
Hazelius' History of Lutheran Church, p. 25.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. J J
About one hundred and fifty families determined to remove to Schoharie, a place about forty miles to the west of Albany. They, therefore, sent deputies to the land of the Maquas to consult with the Indians about it, who allowed them to occupy Schoharie. For the Indian deputies, who were in England at the time the German people were lying in tents on Blackmoor, had presented Schoharie to Queen Anne that she might settle these people upon it. Indian guides were sent to show the Germans where Schoharie was. John Conrad Weiser, father of the well-known Indian interpreter, Conrad Weiser, was the first of the German deputies, and left his son Conrad, then seventeen years old, with an Indian chief to learn the Maqua language during the Winter.7
In November, 1 7 1 3, when the deputies had returned from the Maqua country, these one hundred and fifty families removed from Livingston Manor to Albany and Schenectady, so as to be able to move in the Spring to Schoharie. Bread was very dear, but the people worked very hard for a living, and were kindly assisted by many of the older settlers. In the Spring of 17 14 they removed from Schenectady to Schoharie, in great poverty. Borrowing horses and cows, plows and har- ness wherever they could, they made common stock, and broke up jointly so much land, that they raised nearly enough corn for their own consumption the following year. But this year they suffered much from hunger, and made many meals on the wild potatoes and ground beans which grew in great abundance at that place. When they wanted flour they had to travel thirty- five to forty miles to get it, and then had to borrow it on credit. They would get a bushel of wheat here, a
7 Collections of Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. I, p. 2, et seq. Conrad Weiser's Family Register.
1 8, RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
couple at another place, and were often absent from home three or four days before they could reach their suffering wives and children, who were crying for bread.
The people had settled in seven villages, in which they lived peaceably for several years without preachers or magistrates. Each one did as he thought proper. But as they had taken possession of the land without in- forming the Governor of New York, they were soon ex- posed to new trials and hardships ; for Governor Hunter, after letting- them know his dissatisfaction, sold the land to seven rich merchants, four of whom lived in Albany, the other three in New York.
Upon this a great uproar arose both in Schoharie and Albany, because many in Albany wished the poor people to retain their lands. The people of Schoharie divided into two parties ; the stronger wished to keep the land, and, therefore, sent deputies to England to obtain a grant asking not only for Schoharie, but for more land in addition. But their plans did not succeed according to their wishes. The deputies had to leave secretly, and embarked at Philadelphia in 171 8. As soon as they got to sea they fell into the hands of pirates, who robbed them as well as the crew of their money, but then let them free. The ship had to put into Boston to purchase provisions for the crew and passengers, in place of those taken by the pirates. When they reached England they found times had changed, and that Queen Anne was no longer on the throne. However they found some of the old friends and advocates of the Germans among whom were the Chaplains at the King's German Chapel, Messrs. Bohn and Roberts, who did all in their power to help them.
The affairs of the deputies finally reached the Lord Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, and the Gov-
OF THE GERMANS IX PENNSYLVANIA. 1 9
ernor of New York, Robert Hunter, was recalled. Meanwhile the deputies became involved in debts; one of them, becoming homesick, embarked for New York and died at sea. The other two were thrown into prison. They wrote promptly for money, but, owing to the ignorance and carelessness of the persons whose duty it was to transmit what the people had collected, it reached England very slowly. Meanwhile Robert Hunter, having arrived in England, had arranged the sale of the Schoharie lands in his own way before the Board of Trade and Plantations. The opposite party was in prison without friends or money. Finally, when a bill of exchange for £jo arrived, they were released from prison. Hereupon they petitioned anew, and finally obtained an order addressed to the newly-appointed Governor of New York, William Burnet, to grant vacant lands to the Germans who had been sent to New York by Queen Anne.
Towards the end of the year 1720 William Burnet arrived in New York, and soon after J. Conrad Weiser presented a petition in behalf of the Germans. The Governor appeared friendly, and stated what kind of an order from the Lords of Trade and Plantations he had brought with him, with which he would comply, but that their deputies yet in England were not content with the decision, though they could get nothing more done.
After the return of the deputies in 1723 Governor Burnet gave patents for land to the few who were willing to settle in the Maqua country, namely, in Stone Arabia. and above the Mohawk Falls, where they founded Cana- joharie, Little Falls, etc. The majority resolved to move into Pennsylvania, whither they had been invited by Gov- ernor William Keith, who, it is said, had at that time an
8 Letters of James Logan.
20 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
idea of forming an independent province in the West, to be supported by his friends, the Palatines and Irish ; for his chief popularity at that time was with these elements of the population.
Many of the Germans in Schoharie united and cut a road through the forest to the Susquehanna River, car- ried their goods there, made canoes, and floated down the river to the mouth of Swatara Creek, driving their cattle overland. Going up the creek they found suit- able places in Tulpehoken, and here began a settlement in 1723.
Others followed this party and settled here, without the permission of the Proprietary of Pennsylvania or his Commissioners and also against the consent of the Indians, from whom the land was not purchased till 1732. As their nearest white neighbors lived thirty miles off, they had to contend with many hardships. There was no one to govern them — each one did as he pleased. In 1729 Conrad Weiser, afterwards well known as an Indian interpreter, removed to the neighborhood of the present Womelsdorf, and soon became a man of influ- ence among the Palatines in Tulpehoken, Heidelberg, Mill Creek, etc.
Their numbers steadily increased. In 17 19 Jonathan Dickinson remarks : " We are daily expecting ships from London which bring over Palatines, in number about six or seven thousand. We have a parcel who came out about five years ago, who purchased land about sixty miles west of Philadelphia and prove quiet and indus- trious. This is besides our common supply from Wales and England. Our friends do increase mightily, and a great people there is in the wilderness, which is fast becoming a fruitful field."9
9 Rupp's History of Northampton County, p. 7.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 2 I
The great influx of Germans very soon roused the fears of the English colonists. It appears from a letter, written in 1725 by James Logan, afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania, that many of the Germans were not over-scrupulous in their compliance with the regulations of the Land Office. He says : " They come in in crowds, and as bold, indigent strangers from Germany, where many of them have been soldiers. All these go to the best vacant tracts, and seize upon them as places of common spoil." He says, they rarely approach him on their arrival to propose to purchase ; and when they are challenged for their right of occupancy, they allege it was published in Europe that we wanted and solicited colonists, and had a superabundance of land, and, therefore, they had come without the means to pay. Many of them, he states, are a surly people, divers of them Papists ; the men well armed, and as a body, a warlike, morose race.
In 1727, he states, that six thousand Germans mOre are expected, and also many settlers from Ireland, and these migrations, he hopes, may be prevented in future by Act of Parliament, else he fears those colonies will be in time lost to the Crown.
In 1729, he speaks of being glad to observe the influx of strangers as likely to attract the interference of Par- liament ; for truly, says he, they have danger to appre- hend for a country where not even a militia exists for government support. To arrest in some degree their arrival, the Assembly passed a tax of twenty shillings a head on newly-arrived servants.
These extracts plainly show that the increasing number and prosperity of the Germans in Pennsylvania were watched with great jealousy on the part of the English colonists.
2 2 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
3. MORAL AND RELIGIOUS STATE OF THE GERMANS IN
PENNSYLVANIA, MORE ESPECIALLY OF THE
LUTHERANS.
The political history of Pennsylvania during the early part of the last century records a continual strife between the people and the government of the Proprie- taries, in which the German settlers more or less participated. Having escaped the political tyranny of their fatherland and the oppression of their former rulers, they were not willing quietly to submit to the dictates of those, whose language they could not understand. The idea of forming German communities and even German states in the land of promise was the sincere desire of many, and this idea might no doubt at that time have become a reality, if there had been more harmony. But this was wanting.
Though jealously watching the progress of their English neighbors, and obstinately resisting the influences of the English spirit, they were no less suspicious of each other. Prejudices brought along from the Old World were not so easily laid aside, even amid very different outward circumstances of life, more especially as the majority of the German settlers belonged to those classes which had been oppressed and down-trodden for centuries, and were, therefore, more distrustful and sensitive than the more educated classes would have been. But this very distrust, which prevented a hearty co-operation, united them in opposing and resisting the aristocratic movements of the English party. The English or "Gentlemen's party" was stren- uously opposed by the " Freeman's party," consisting mostly of the Quakers or Friends and the Germans.10 A manuscript pamphlet in the Philadelphia Library,
Iu Rupp's History of Northampton County, p. 10.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 23
supposed to have been written by Samuel Wharton in 1755, shows his ideas of passing events, saying " that the party on the side of the Friends derived much of their influence over the Germans through the aid of Christopher Sauer in Germantown, who since 1729 pub- lished a German paper — Der Pennsylvanisch Deutsche Berickter — which, being much read by that people, influenced them to the side of the Friends, and hostile to the Governor and Council. All who are not of their party, they call 'Governor's men,' and themselves they deem strong enough to make the country their own.""
The anarchical political condition of the province necessarily had an influence on the moral and religious state of the people. Hence it is not surprising that irreligion and indifference to all forms of public worship prevailed to a fearful extent. Though there were many who had emigrated to Pennsylvania for conscience' sake to enjoy religious liberty (for instance, the Mennonites, Dunkers, Schwenkfelders, and the Lutherans and German Reformed from the Palatinate), still these were by no means the majority. Much larger was the number of those who, in order to escape political oppression or for the purpose of acquiring riches, had embarked for the New World, leaving in the Old also their old faith and whatever they may have had of the forms of religion. In their new homes they found no ministers, no school- masters of the German tongue, and English teachers and preachers they did not care for. The few preachers, who in 1 7 10 had accompanied the large numbers of emigrants, had gradually found their graves in the western wilds, or if yet living, their influence on new-comers was very slight. There were thousands, who, educated in Germany as Lutherans, but now scattered about in the forest wilds of
" Compare Loh's Geschichte der Deutschen, |>. S4 91,
24 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
Pennsylvania, never saw a church, nor cared for it. Many were so utterly indifferent to all religion, that it became proverbial to say of those, who cared nothing for God or His Word, that they belonged to the " Pennsylvania Church."12 Many married people, nomi- nally Lutherans, had never been baptized, the same being true of their grown up sons and daughters.
"If it had continued thus for some years longer," Muhlenberg said in 1743, "our poor Lutherans would have been scattered or turned into heathenism. Nu- merous sects and opinions fill the country."13
In another letter he describes the state of religion in the country as follows : " Atheists, Deists and Naturalists are to be met with everywhere ; in short, there is no sect in the world which has not followers here. You meet with persons from almost every nation in the world. Those that are not tolerated in Europe find a refuge here. God and His Word are openly blasphemed. Here there are thousands, who by birth, education and confirmation ought to belong to the Lutheran Church, but they are scattered to the four winds of heaven. The spiritual state of our poor Lutheran people is so wretched, that even with tears of blood it could not be bewailed enough. The young people have grown up without instruction and without knowledge of religion, and are turning- into heathenism. Thus I found it, when I arrived in Philadelphia."14
And really the religious arrangements of the Lutherans, the most numerous German denomination, were as poor and miserable as they possibly could be. Prior to 1730 hardly anything seemed to have been done for the religious wants of those Germans who had settled in
12 Spangenbcrg's Life of Zinzendorf, p. 1230.
" Hallische Nachrichten, p. 16.
14 Hazelius' History of the American Lutheran Church, p. 51.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 2$
Philadelphia and vicinity for ten years or longer. Having been accustomed to leave to the respective political governments all care for the Church and the schools, it naturally required some time before the Germans learned themselves to care for their ecclesias- tical wants. Far different it was among the neighboring Swedish Lutherans, who since 1636 had settled along the Delaware in New Jersey, and since 1643 were regu- larly supplied with ministers from Sweden. One of these ministers, Jacob Fabricius,15 who took charge of the Swedish Church at Wicacao in 1677, had been for eight years previous the German Lutheran pastor in New Amsterdam (New York), where a Lutheran con- gregation existed since 1621, and the first church had been built in 1671.
The activity of these Swedish Lutheran ministers, however, did not extend very far, there never being more than three engaged in the work at the same time. They were stationed at Wicacao (now Southwark, Phila- delphia), at Fort Christina (Delaware), and at Racoon and Penn's Neck (New Jersey). Nor was their influ- ence very great, for not all of these Swedish colonist preachers were men of sterling character — some being rather too much inclined to eo to the nearest tavern immediately after preaching and there spend the rest of the Lord's Day in drinking and frolicking in company with their parishioners.
In 1727 a very large number of Lutherans came to Pennsylvania from the Palatinate, from Wiirtemberg, Darmstadt and other parts of Germany; and though they also were destitute of a regular ministry, yet there were some school-masters and other good men among them, who occasionally preached, assisted by the Swedish
: Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 324.
2 6 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
pastors. Many of these emigrants brought with them the spirit of true piety ; they also brought many devo- tional books, and often, for mutual edification, read Arndt's "True Christianity," and other similar works.16
Churches or meeting-houses were as yet very rare in Pennsylvania. One of the oldest, if not the very oldest church of the Germans in Pennsylvania, was a small wooden edifice in New Hanover, Montgomery County.
In 1730 some Lutherans and German Reformed in Philadelphia rented an old log building on Arch Street which had been used as a barn or a carpenter-shop, and assembled there occasionally to listen to the reading of a printed sermon or to hear a short address, if anybody present was willing and able to officiate. For a time a certain J. Caspar Stiever (or Stcever), whose ordination, by an imposter Schulz, seems very suspicious, acted as minister. Soon afterwards he visited Germany, and col- lected a considerable sum of money in aid of the American Lutheran churches, part of which, however, was expended for the purchase of a plantation and negro slaves in Madi- son County, Virginia, where he preached for a time. Later he returned to Pennsylvania and made disturbances in Tulpehoken.
In 1734 we find the name of J. Chr. Schulze as minister of the associate congregations of Philadelphia, New Providence and New Hanover. He seems not to have remained for any considerable length of time.
Hence the applications, addressed already in 1732 to Dr. Ziegenhagen, the German court-preacher in London, and to the theological faculties of Halle and Tubingen, to send suitable men, to feed them with the Bread of Life, were renewed again and again.
16 Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 326. Hallische Nachrirh- ten, p. 665.
OF THE GERMANS TN PENNSYLVANIA. 27
"Living in a land," they said, "in which divisions in religious opinions are almost countless, being destitute of that food for our souls which we need,, and unable to find ways and means in our own community to supply our wants, we pray God to show us through our friends abroad what may be done for us. The great bod)- of our young people, bewildered by the multitude of opinions, and in absolute want of schools and religious instruction, will go astray, and be led into paths of error. The Lord, the Searcher of hearts and the Trier of the reins, alone knows how greatly we stand in need of the assistance of fellow Christians, and that in asking our friends to lift collections for us — we have nothing in view but the honor of God and the spiritual welfare and eternal salvation of our fellow-men. . We do not ask for such contributions, as would enable us to build stately edifices and temples ; no ! we shall be fully satisfied if we can obtain sufficient aid to erect plain places of worship in different parts of the country, where we may meet for prayer and praise, and for the religious instruction of our youth. And we trust that a merciful God will not forsake us, but will excite the hearts of our fellow Chris- tians to assist us in our great spiritual distress, and that Your Reverence will grant us that aid which we so much need."17
Years elapsed and these touching petitions seemed to have been uttered in vain, partly because no men could be found at the time, suitable for such a service (as Dr. Ziegenhagen repeatedly assured Count Zinzendort ' in 1737), partly because no certain salary could be determined upon.
For the present the Halle divines merely sent a supply
17 Hazelius' History, p. 37.
18 Zinzendort"*-, Naturelle Reflexionen, p. 207. Spangenberg's Life of Zin- zendorf, p. 1360.
2 8 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
of Bibles, Testaments, hymn-books and prayer-books to Philadelphia ; and fully ten years elapsed until the desired pastor arrived there.
Another Lutheran congregation had been formed in Tulpehoken by those Palatines who had removed thither from Schoharie in 1723. They also had no settled min- ister, but occasionally, at least once a year, Pastor Bern- hard van Dueren, from Schoharie, came over to baptize their children and administer the Lord's Supper. Occa- sionally also Pastor Henkel, from Falkner Swamp, visited here and administered the Communion. According to his advice the Palatines in 1727 built a log meeting-house, in which a German Reformed minister, Peter Miller, preached for several years, after 1730, and also Caspar Stiever now and then.19
However, these Palatines, accustomed as they had been to regular church organizations and abhorring sectarianism which threatened to make inroads in their settlements, could not be satisfied with this state of affairs, and desired to see a regularly ordained minister settled in their midst as soon as possible. They there- fore applied to Pastor Caspar Leutbecker, in Skippach, who had been ordained in London, and often visited them, and by his advice they sent a call to a minister in Germany in 1733. He accepted the call and the Pala- tines set about building a parsonage, under Leutbecker's direction. After a year's time, however, it was ascer- tained that the new minister had died at sea on his voy- age from Germany, and in 1734 the Rev. Caspar Leut- becker was appointed and accepted the call as minister of the Tulpehoken church, which he served with great faithfulness, insisting on practical Christianity, and observ- ing a strict conscientiousness in the administration of tlTe sacraments.
■9 Kirchenbuch of Tulpehoken, in the Bethlehem Archives.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 29
Having refused to baptize a child, whose father was intoxicated when making the request, the latter went to Caspar Stiever, who at that time stayed in Conestoga, and had the child baptized by him. Stiever made use of this opportunity to gain an entrance into this congrega- tion, and at last succeeded in taking possession of the church and keeping Leutbecker out of it. After much quarreling and strife between the two parties, the whole matter was referred to William Webb, of Chester County, one of the attorneys20 of the proprietor of this land in England, by whose interposition an agreement was made September 1 5, 1 736, according to which Stiever was permitted to preach there on every fourth Sunday. But he did not care much for this arrangement. Finding the church door locked, he did not break the lock, but had a new door sawed out of the logs and kept the com- munion the next day. Leutbecker, peaceful, old and infirm, patiently suffered this outrageous conduct of a brother minister and at last avoided the church altoofether. But even in the parsonage he was not safe. Not only were stones thrown into his window, but an attempt was even made to demolish his home, while he was keeping a meeting there, by putting some wood filled with gun- powder into the fire, which, however, exploded without doing any damage. Leutbecker, sick and wearied, re- moved at last to the house of George Loesch, where he died in 1738. Brother Spangenberg, who had accident- ally come there from Skippach shortly before his death, held his funeral service.
Stiever had now full sway in this congregation, until Count Zinzendorf came in 1742 and sent another minister.
The above narrative, showing the anarchical state of
The land — Manor of I'lumton — containing 5165 acres, belonged to John Page, of Austin Friars, London.
30 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
Pennsylvania border-life more than a century ago, is taken from a German manuscript entitled, "Die Confusion von Tulpehoken," attested before Conrad Weiser, a Justice of the Peace, on August 16, 1742, by the trustees of the Lutheran Church at Tulpehoken.21
A third Lutheran cono-reofation we ^nc| at Lancaster about the year 1 730. J. C. Schulze and C. Stiever vis- ited there in 1731 and 1732. In later years some of the Swedish ministers paid occasional visits there, and in the name of this congregation applied to the Archbishop of Upsala, in Sweden, for an ordained German minister. Meanwhile old Pastor Valentine Kraft visited here occa- sionally. The first regular Lutheran minister in Lancas- ter was Laurentius Theophilus Nyberg, a native of Western Gothland and a graduate of the University of Upsala. Having been ordained by Archbishop Jacob Benzelius, he arrived in Lancaster in 1743.
4. THE GERMAN REFORMED.
The destitution in a religious point of view and the lack of the means of grace among the Reformed " Kirchenleute " (church-people) were probably as great as among the Lutherans, though they may claim priority as regards the age of the first congregation in Mont- gomery County. The greater part of them came from the Palatinate, and therefore belonged to the German Re- formed Church. While in New York and New England Dutch Reformed and Scotch Reformed or Presbyterian ministers, sent from Europe, had collected and organized congregations more than one hundred years before, there were thousands of the German Reformed immigrants of Pennsylvania for whose spiritual welfare nobody seemed to care. Without churches, without schools, without
Printed by Franklin, p. 8.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 31
ministers, they grew up in ignorance and vice ; and though there certainly were diligent, sober, frugal and industrious people among them, still practical religion and vital godliness could hardly be expected of those who either had no means of grace at all, or, even when they heard an occasional sermon, were not led to Christ, the crucified Saviour of the world. In a German hymn written in 1 745 the following description is given of the manner of preaching prevalent at that time :
A great deal is said concerning God's might, But still the hearts are covered with night. Concerning God none can have a true notion, Until he perceive by Christ's bitter passion God was made flesh.
The preachers enlarge on morality ; Of Jesus Christ their sermons are free, Except on Good Friday — and sometimes in Lent — A great deal of power is uselessly spent Condemning the Jews.22
To whom these lines may refer more particularly, we are of course unable to say, but have reason to suppose, that in those remote times, among the German Reformed as well as among the Lutherans, there were worthless men, who dared to act as pastors without any ecclesi- astical sanction or authority. An instance of this kind
22 We have attempted a free translation of the following stanzas, which, though imperfect, will give the Fmglish reader some idea at least of the quaint poetry of one hundred and ten years ago. For the sake of those who understand German, we subjoin the original :
Man redet /.war viel von dem groszen Gott, Und bleibet im Herzen steinkalt und todt ; Denn kein Mensch kann etwas von Gott verstehen, \V\^ man lernt aus Jesu Wunden sehen Gott war im Fleisch.
Man prediget nichts als Sittenlehr', Und von dem Herrn Jesu so ungefahr ; Zu Passionszeiten — in den Charwochen Thut man so was iiber die Juden pochen, Wie schlimm sie war'n.
o-
RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
we find mentioned in the letters of Bishop Cammer- hof to Count Zinzendorf.23 There was a Parson Freymuth in the neighborhood of Minisink beyond the Blue Mountains (now Monroe County), who for several years had baptized children, married people, and performed other ministerial acts, alleging that he had been regularly ordained. After the Rev, M. Schlatter's arrival in 1746, being convinced by him that his former ordination had no ecclesiastical validity, he applied to the Classis of Am- sterdam for ordination, which request was granted. At the same time he received an order, which he read in public, to rebaptize all those children whom he had bap- tized before, because they were not properly baptized. Some submitted ; others demanded their money back, because according to his own confession they had not re- ceived the value of their money.24
The oldest German Reformed congregation is sup- posed to be that at Goshenhoppen (Montgomery County), which was organized in 171 7. 25 The Rev. Henry Goetschy is mentioned as its first pastor, but the time and place of his ordination are not known. So much, however, seems certain, that he was the first who traversed the country as an itinerant preacher, officiating from time to time in Skippach, Falkner Swamp, Saucon, Egypt,26 Macungie, Moselem, Oley, Bern and Tulpe- hoken, his circuit extending into the five counties of Montgomery, Chester, Berks, Lehigh and Lebanon.
In 1726 George Michael Weiss,27 who had studied in
23 Cammerhof Epistola Sexta, 1747.
-4 " Weil er ja selbst bekannt habe, dasz seine Waare nicht gut gewesen."
25 Nevin's History of Heidelberg Catechism, p. 106.
;6 In 1733 J- H. Gitschi commenced the church-book of Egypt (North Whitehall Township, Lehigh County). In 1734 Bbhm baptized the first child there. In 1742 a log church was erected. Jacob Conrad Wiirt, from Switzerland, served as minister a short time.
27 Chronicon Ephratense, p, 57. Nevin, p. 107.
OF THE GERMANS IX PENNSYLVANIA. 3$
Heidelberg in Germany, arrived in Pennsylvania, and preached for a while anions his countrymen in Philadel- phia. In 1730, in company with an elder named Reif, he visited Holland and other parts of Europe in order to make collections in aid of the feeble churches in Penn- sylvania. Great interest was taken in their mission, particularly on the part of the Church of Holland, which was now led in fact to assume a sort of missionary ma- ternal care over this German plantation in America. By the permission of the Classis of Amsterdam28 J. P. Bohm, formerly school-master in the Palatinate, received in 1729 ordination from the Dutch Reformed minister of New York, and preached after 1730 in the log- meeting-house, rented by the Lutherans and Reformed. This was evi- dently the first " gemeinschaftliche Kirche" (a church held in common by two denominations), which were to be met with everywhere among the German congregations of Pennsylvania, much to the detriment of the real welfare of both denominations.
Many German Reformed had also settled in German- town, where they built a small church in 1733. As they could not obtain the services of an ordained minister, a pious mechanic, John Bechtel, who had settled there in 1726. officiated as minister for more than sixteen years. besides maintaining daily morning and evening meet-
28 Schreiben der Amsterdammer Classis an die Herrn und Briidervon der Reformirten Getneine in Pennsylvania. — Die Classis urtheilt, dasz alle Kirchenhandlun^en von Herrn Bohm als g'ultig anzuerkennen sind, dasz er aber durch einen Praedicanten von \\u York nach kirchlichem Gebrauch zu befestigen (ordinieren) sei; dasz diese Befestigung aber nicht sol] fortgehen, bevor und ehe der bewuszte Bohm an die Herrn Praedicanten zu Neu York verklart hat, dasz seine Ehrwurde den Heydelbergischen Catechismus und alle die Formularen von Einigkeit annimbt, umb darnach seinen Dienst tiptilyk zu richten, und sich unterwirfi der kirchlichen Ordnung von der Synode zu Dortregt." J. Bakker,
Dep. CI. ad res ex /eras.
20 Jltllj, /J2Q.
34 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
ings in his own house. Though not ordained, he had a regular call and a written confirmation or license from the University in Heidelberg.
In 1730 another minister, John Peter Miller, who had studied in Heidelberg, arrived in Tulpehoken, where he for a time served both the Lutheran and German Re- formed congregations. Having undergone an examina- tion in Philadelphia, he was by order of the Scotch Synod ordained by the Presbyterian ministers Tennent, An- drews, and Boyd, who gave him a very honorable testi- mony for his great learning.29 A few years later, in 1 735, he united with the "Siebentager" (Seventh-Day Baptists) at Ephrata, and died as Prior of their monastery in 1796.
His university friend, John Bartholomew Riiger, also a Palatine, who had studied in Basel and Heidelberg, fol- lowed him to America in 1731 and settled in Lancaster County, where he served several German Reformed congregations.
Besides these, a Pastor Dortius (or Peter Henry Torschi), who had settled about this time in Bucks County, is mentioned occasionally.
These are all the German Reformed ministers, whose names we have been able to ascertain, and even if there had been double the number, they would not have sufficed to supply the most immediate wants. If learned men like Miller were misled, it is not surprising that many others of lower intellectual power and less firmly estab-
29 "There is lately come over a Palatine candidate of the ministry, who having applied to us at the Synod for ordination, 'tis left to three ministers to do it. He is an extraordinary person for sense and learning. We gave him a question to discuss about Justification, and he answered it in a whole sheet of paper in a very notable manner. His name is John Peter Miller, and speaks Latin as readily as we do our vernacular tongue, and so does the other, Mr. Weis." — Extract from a letter of the Rev. Jedidiah Andrews, October 14, 1730.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 35
lished in the faith, were led astray by the errorists and sectarians who at the time abounded in Pennsylvania.
Though the Moravian Brethren had not much inter- course with most of these errorists and sectarians, still the description of the religious condition of Pennsylvania in 1 740 would be incomplete without glancing at them also, more especially as the remnants of most and the influence of all is more or less to be felt in the eastern counties of Pennsylvania to the present day.
5. THE MENNONITKS.
The Menhonites30 (or Manisten, as they are generally called in Pennsylvania) derive their name from Menno Simon, a monk of Friedland, who died in 1561. After a faithful study of the New Testament, he renounced his former popish views in 1530, and embraced the doctrines of Protestantism, with some modifications however, of which the following are the most important :
1. Rejection of Infant Baptism. "All penitent be- lievers, who by faith, regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost are made one with God and written in heaven, must upon their scriptural confession of faith and reformation of life be baptized with water. These alone constitute the Church of Christ."
2. A steady refusal to take a judicial oath, or to bear arms under any circumstances, as contrary to the distinct commandments of Christ (Matt. 5: 34, 35,
39-44)-
In his travels through the northern part of Germany amidst trials and calamities of various kinds, Menno Simon gained many adherents and founded many con- gregations, more especially along the river Elbe. After
30 Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 406.
36 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
his death and being exposed to many persecutions, they were scattered over Germany, Denmark, Holland and Switzerland, and became very numerous, especially in the two last-named countries. In the Netherlands they were left undisturbed, but in Switzerland a great perse- cution arose in 1650, which induced many to flee to the Palatinate, whence in 1683 some emigrated to Pennsyl- vania. Others followed in 1698 and 1708, and settled mostly in or near Germantown, where they built a meet- ing-house in 1708.
The rest of the Swiss refugees prepared about this time for an emigration en masse by buying from William Penn, for five hundred pounds sterling, ten thousand acres of land on the Pequea Creek, then Chester, now Lancas- ter County. Led thither under the guidance of their Bishop, Hans Meylin, they settled in the midst of the Mingo or Conestoga, Pequea, and Shawanese Indians. After the most necessary arrangements had been made, they sent some of their number to Germany and Switzerland to bring over their relatives and friends. Some came in 171 1, the greatest number in 171 7, and others followed ten years later. Before 1735 there were five hundred Mennonite families in the present Lancaster County. Some settlements were also made near Skip- pach.
As a body the Mennonites did not belong to the poor settlers ; almost all bringing some money in hand and good common sense, by which they were enabled to make a judicious selection for their future farms. Economy, industry, frugality, simplicity in dress and in their meeting-houses are to the present day the character- istics of their descendants, many of whom live on the very grounds purchased by their forefathers one hundred and forty years ago. They have become very rich farmers and enjoy the fat of the land.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 37
6. THE TUN REUS.
Of much later origin than the Mennonites are the Tunkers" or German Baptists (Die Taufer), who also refuse to take an oath or to bear arms, but differ from the former in the manner in which they perform baptism, viz., by immersion or dipping (Tunken). They have no connection whatever with the Anabaptists, however, who originated in the time of the Reformation.
The founder (Urstander) of this sect was Alexander Mack, a native of Schriesheim, near Heidelberg, in the Palatinate. In i 708 he and seven others — all pietistically awakened souls, but quite uneducated, who lived in or near Schwarzenau, one of the hot-beds of fanaticism — cove- nanted together to study the New Testament carefully, and to be governed only by the undisputed precepts of Christ.
" On a close and diligent search of the Scriptures, and a careful examination of the authentic history of the primitive Christian Church, they arrived at the inevitable conclusion, as they hopefully believed, that the apostles and primitive Christians administered the ordinance of baptism to believing adults only, by trine-immersion. And in conformity with this custom, they now resolved to be immersed as obedient servants of their Lord and Master." (Matt. 3 : 16.)32
"The question now arose : Who is the first to admin- ister this sacred ordination f None of them as yet had been immersed. To this end, one of their number visited, in various parts of Germany, Mennonite congregations, to confer with their ministers, touching the ordinance of baptism. Many of the Mennonites admitted that this ordinance, performed by immersion, if done from pure
!' Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 91 and 531, et scq. '-' Winebrenner's History of Denominations. Introduction to the History of the River Brethren, p. 551.
38 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
motives and love to the Saviour, was proper, but still maintained that if administered by pouring or aspersion, it was equally valid ; as no particular mode had been pre- scribed."
" Mack and his consociates did not concur with the views of the Mennonites on this subject ; they had determined to yield to their convictions, as the result of investigating the Scriptures and historical testimony. It was by common consent agreed, that Mack should assume the responsibility of baptizing the small number of believers. However, as he conceived himself still iinbaptized, he declined to comply, in this instance, with their ardent wishes. They now resolved to fast, and in prayer and supplication to the throne of grace, to ask God for direc- tions. As did the eleven (Acts 1 : 26), they now cast lots as to which of the brethren should be the first baptizer. Lots were accordingly cast ; and he upon whom it fell, baptized one of the brethren. The baptized one, now baptized him by whom he had been baptized, and the first baptizer then baptized the others. But upon whom the lot fell to baptize first, has been studiously concealed to this day. For it had been previously agreed among themselves, never to disclose the name upon whom the lot should fall."33
However, baptized they were, early one morning, in the river Eder, near Schwarzenau, and then formed themselves into a church, choosing Alexander Mack as their minister. Their numbers soon increased in various parts of Germany, and they were joined by men of superior intelligence, as John Henry Kalklceser, of Funkenthal, Peter Becker, of Dilsheim, and others.
33 " Sie gaben," says Mack, " aber unter einander ihr Wort von sich, dasz es Niemand verrathen sollte, welcher der erste Taufer unter ihnen gewesen, damit Niemand Ursache nehmen mochte, sie irgend nach einem Menschen zu nennen, weilan sie solche Thorheit schon von Paulo an den Corinthern bestrafet funden."
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 39
Being driven away by persecutions, many went to Holland, and thence migrated in 17 19 to America, where the first settlements were made near Germantown. The last followed in 1 729, 34 and thus all the "Tunker churches" of America sprang from the small church of Schwarzenau, which commenced with eight souls in 1 708.
The most active and most influential man among the first settlers was Peter Becker, who in 1723 was chosen official baptizer of the church of Germantown. In succeeding years he collected the dispersed brethren in Lancaster County into a distinct society at Miihlbach (Mill Creek). Congregations were also organized under his supervision in Skippach, Falkner Swamp, Oley and Conestoga.
The Tunkers have in course of time become pretty numerous, retaining to a certain degree the simplicity of their forefathers — commonly wearing long beards, and hence called " Bartleute," and paying but little attention to education.
At an early period they lost their best educated men to the " Siebentager." Among these was one of their teachers, G. A. Martin, who, as well as others, character- ized the founders of this sect as uneducated "Erz Idioten und Ignoranten " (ignorant idiots).
Zinzendorf, however, gave them in 1742 a more hon- orable testimony as a people who were unenlightened, but well-meaning and seriously inclined.35
;4 Im Jahr 1729 ist Alex. Mack, der Urstander der Taufer, sammt den librigen gedachter Gemeinde, von Friesland abgesetzt, und in Pennsylvanien angekommen.
»s " Es ist cine Versammlung gottesfiirchtiger, ohne Licht nach Gewissen handelnder, ernstlicher, und urn dcswillen liebenswurdiger Menschen. So lange sich Kinder (iottes entschlieszen konnen unter ihnen zu leben, und Treue an ihnen zu beweisen, so sind sie gliicklich, und wir wollen dabei denken, dasz nur Christus gepredigt wird." — Budingische Sammlungen, II., p. 815.
4-0 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
7. THE SIEBENTAGER.
One of the most remarkable phenomena in the Penn- sylvania sect-life of the last century, is the rise and for a time astonishing progress of the " Siebentager" (the German Seventh-day Baptists, or Sabbatarians) — the Protestant monks and nuns of Ephrata in Lancaster County. Some of their wooden buildings with their small windows and narrow cells stand to the present day, a monument of bygone times. We would hardly believe that an order of Protestant Friars, adopting the most absurd and ridiculous customs, could have originated in this country ; much less, that men of learning and superior intelligence could have joined such an order and sub- mitted to the most arbitrary rules, if two members of this society (Bros. Lamech and Agrippa) in the " Chronicon Ephratense," which was printed in 1786, had not given a circumstantial, and to all appearances, faithful narrative of the doings and the times of Father Friedsam.
Father Friedsam Gottrecht (Peaceable Godright) was the assumed monastic name of John Conrad Beisel, the founder and superintendent (Vorsteher) of the Spiritual Order of the Hermits of Ephrata. He was born in 1690 in Eberbach in the Palatinate, where his father was a baker. He was a man of great natural abilities, and though of very limited education, of a very lively imagi- nation, which often seemed to gain the ascendency over his more sober judgment. In his wanderings through Germany as a journeyman baker, he succes- sively adopted the views of the Pietists, the Inspired and other Separatists, and resolved in 1720 to emigrate to Pennsylvania, in order to dedicate his life to God in con- templative -solitude.
Having learned the weaver's trade with a Tunker, he removed in 1721 to Conestoga and settled near Mill Creek. In 1724, P. Becker visited this neighborhood,
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 41
baptizing many, among them also Beisel,36 who soon after was elected minister of the new Tunker congregation of Conestoga.37
Conceiving after a while that there was an error among the Tunkers in the observance of the day for the Sabbath — the seventh clay being established and sanctified by the Lord — he felt it his duty to contend for the observance of that da)r, and in 1728 published a pamphlet on this subject, in consequence of which the congregation at Mill Creek adopted the seventh day for public wor- ship and worked on Sundays, though often obliged to pay a fine.
In the same year Beisel had himself re-baptized by Brother Amos, thereby returning their baptism unto the Tunkers. This action increased the breach between the two societies of Germantown and Conestoga, which even Alexander Mack was not able to heal.
Meanwhile Beisel's congregation increased ; men and women flocking together from all sides ; even married women leaving their families33 to lead "a more holy life,"
Y' "Da ist auch dor Vorsteher von seiner geistlichen Hohe herunter- gestiegen, hat sich vor seinem Freund, Feter Becker, gedemlithiget, und ist also denselben Tag von ihm nach Apostolischer Ordnung unters Wasser L,re- tauft worden." — Chron. Ephratense, p. 21.
0 He now began to preach: " Wobey es ihm im Anfang nicht erlaubl war, eine Bibel zu gebrauchen, damit nemlich das Zeugnusz im Vortrag durch buchstabliches Wissen nicht geschwacht wiirde. Seinen Vortrag that er anfanglich mit vcrschlossenen Augen, und das bey einer grosen Menge Zuhorer; wann er aber die Augen wieder aufthat, so waren die meiste wieder fort, als die des Geistcs Scharfe nicht ertragen konnten.
" Wann er fiihlte, das/ Menschen zugegen waren, welche suchten sein Reden in die Vernunffi einzusacken, ward er plotzlich getrieben, eine seiner vorigen Rede :4am/ entgegenlaufende Rede zu halten, und das mit ebenso wichtigem Grund als die vorige, wodurch die Zuhorer in eine II. Confusion gesetzt wurden. * * * Im Vortrag war er zu schnell, weil er dem Geist muszte nacheilen, dabey er sich oft wehnig um die Regeln der Sprache bekiimmert hat." — Chron. Ephratense, pp. 25, 26.
38 As ,-. g.% the wife of Christopher Saner, primer, in ( Germantown. 3
42 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
which induced him to write a tract against matrimony, "the penitentiary of carnal men."39
In 1732 he suddenly retired from the settlement and went secretly to a cell on the banks of the Cocalico, which had previously been occupied by one Elimelech, a hermit. When his retreat was discovered, some of his adherents followed him, settling around him in solitary cottages, and imitating his ascetic mode of life. In 1735 he suc- ceeded in gaining over the young German Reformed minister of Tulpehocken, John Peter Miller who, as Brother Jabez, became his very valuable assistant. Some Lutherans also were for a time led away, men even like Conrad Weiser;40 and a few years later some of the prin- cipal teachers of theTunkers — H. Kalklceser, Val. Mack, and John Hildebrand — joined the followers of Father Friedsam.
As the number of hermits steadily increased, the soli- tary life was in 1735 changed into that of a conventicle,
39 Die P^he das Zuchthaus fleischlicher Menschen. 1730.
40 "Conrad Weiser war durch schwere Buszarbeit bald so heruntergesetzt, und liesz seinen Bard wachsen, dasz ihn fast Niemand kante ; daneben hat er Gott zu Ehren einen Theil seines Vermogens freywillig aufgeopfert zur Auferbauung" des Klosters Kedar. Da Conrad Weiser als Dolmetscher in den Verhandlungen mit den Indianern unentbehrlich war, kam Gouverneur Thomas selbst mit groszem Gefolge nach Ephrata, und bot ihm das Amt eines Friedens-Richters an, welches er mit des Vorstehers Bewilligung annahm> "Man hat ihn noch auf der Court als obersten Richter gesehen, unter der Krohne sitzen mit seinem gewohnlichen Bard; aber endlich hat doch sein Amt so viel vermocht, dasz er seinen Briidern ist fremd worden. Den ersten und schwersten Anstosz hatte er an seinen vertrauten Freund dem Vor- steher selbst, der ihm einmal erzehlete, er seye vor einen verstorbenen Bruder in den Risz getreten, und das habe ihm das Blut aus den Niigeln getrieben ; daraus er schlosz der Vorsteher miisse sich vor Christum halten. Auch war ihm sein vieler Aufenthalt im Schwestern-Konvent verdachtig, und bewog ihn einmal zu gerichtlicher Untersuchung gegen ihn.
"Spaterhin besuchte er einmal seinen alten Freund, P. Miller im Lager. Bei der Gelegenheit ward ein Liebesmahl gehalten, bei welchem er durch den Gebrauch des heiligen Sacraments der Gemeinschaft im Geist wieder ist eingeleibt worden, wiewohl wir seiner Mutterkirche gern die Ehre lassen, dasz sie seinen Leib hat eingeerndtet." — CJiron. Ephratense, pp. 68 to 70.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 43
and a Monastic Society was established. Kedar, the first convent for the sisters, was built in 1735, and Zion in 1738 for the brethren. The habit of the Capu- chins or White Friars was adopted by both the brethren and sisters. It consisted of a shirt, trowsers and vest, with a long, white gown or cowl, of woolen web in Winter and of linen in Summer. That of the sisters differed only in the substitution of petticoats for trowsers, and in some little peculiarity in the shape of the cowl. Monastic names were given to all who entered the cloister.
In 1740 there were thirty-six single brethren in the cloister, and thirty-five sisters ; and at one time the Society, including the married members in the- neighbor- hood, numbered nearly three hundred.
Though Dr. Fahnestock maintains4' "that the com- munity was a republic in which all stood upon perfect equality and freedom," still it is evident from the candid narrative of Brother Lamech in the " Chronicon Ephra- tense," that Father Friedsam held very despotic sway and that he well knew how to gain his point and to main- tain his spiritual power as long as he lived.4'
41 Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 1 10.
*- We subjoin a longer extract from the Chronicon Ephratense, p. 1 10 : Vom geistlichen Kirc hen- Regiment im Lager.
" Nachdeme die Einsamen im Lager in ihre Convente waren heimgebracht, fingen die Schulen des einsamen Lebensan. Da kamen solche Lectiones vor zu erlernen, das/ einem oft Horen und Sehen ist vergangen. 1><t Vorsteher war Tag und Nacht aufFiiszen, und wer seiner wolte loszwerden, muszte des Nachts seine Thtir verschliesen, dann er stund unter dem Dienst der vier lebendigen Thiere, welche Tag und Nacht keine Ruhe haben. Also war im Lager eine bestandige Herumarbeitung, also das/, wann einer nurdrey Tage abwesend war, er ein Fremder wurde; und muszte sich hernach wieder mit vie! Miihe in das Spiel schaffen, Keiner ware ira Stande gewesen, wann er auch viel Jahre hatte im Lager gewohnt, eine richtige Beschreibung von dem Regiment darinnen zu geben ; es war unbegreiflich, und dabey vor der Ver- nunft hochst anstosig. fallen und Aufstehen wechselte immer ab; wer heute in geistlichcr Hoh sasz, lag morgen darnieder, und das war eine un- vermeidliche Sache. Wem der Vorsteher seine Gemeinschaft grab, der
44 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
Some of the most remarkable men of this curious society were Israel Eckerling and Peter Miller. The former of these, whose monastic name was Brother Onesi- mus, became Prior of the Brethren's Convent in 1740 and, supported by Father Friedsam, soon gained such authority, that his word was supreme law and every- body was forced to submit to his views.43 Assisted by his own brothers he endeavored to obtain the sole control of the considerable property of the brotherhood and by trade and extension of their worldly business to increase the power and the influence of the cloister. A grist-mill, saw-mill, oil-mill, fulling-mill, and even a paper- mill, were successively erected, and other still larger buildings were planned. A convent-bell was ordered in England, which was afterwards sold to the Lutheran conoreo-ation jn Lancaster.44 For more than a year Prior Onesimus had undisputed sway, to such a degree that even Father Friedsam submitted to his authority and did his bidding"- But after a while the latter
schwebte oben, unci wera er sie entzog, der sanck wieder unter sich, zu Zeiten ins funstere Principium, da er dann wurde ansCreutz genagelt, welche Processe haufig sind vorgekommen. Hierwar der gefahrliche Pfosten, wo viele seiner Nacbfolger in Aergernusz fielen.
" Er war in seinem Umgang nicht natiirlich, und die nahe um ihn waren, muszten sich auch darnach richten, dahero ihn Niemand mit der Selbheit fassen konte. Den Gottesdienst stellete er in der unbequamsten, als in der Mitternachts-Zeit an, und hatte sonderlichs Vergniigen im Geist, wann er ihn bis an den Tag verzogern konte.
" Besonders driickte der Prior die Br-Lider durch seine Zankereien in den Nachtmatten die oft der Vorsteher schlichten muszte.
"So unerbaulich auch diese Dinge klingen, so musz man doch gestehen, dasz es an dem wesentlichen Theil des Gottesdiensts, als der Creutzigung der Natur, nichtgemangelt hat ; darum gedencken wir noch derselben seligen Zeiten."
41 " Der Prior hat die Bruderschaft in solche Sclaverey gebracht, dasz zwischen einem Zionitischen Bruder und einem Neger nur der Unterschied gewesen, dasz dieser Schwartz und gezwungen, jcner aber weisz und freywillig ein Sclav gewesen." — Chron. Ephratense.
44 Rupp's History of Lancaster County, p. 223.
OF THE GERMANS IX PENNSYLVANIA. 45
succeeded in winning some influential members over to his side and with their assistance expelled the Eckerlings, who in 1744 removed to the wilds of Virginia.
Meanwhile a new sisters'-house, called Sharon, had been erected, which is standing to this day, and in 1 746 the brothers' house, Bethania, was finished. The latter, being three stories high, contained eight large rooms, to each of which belonged six or eight small dormitories surrounding the larger rooms, barely large enough to contain the sleeping bench with a billet of wood for a pillow, a closet and an hour-glass.15 The passages leading to the cells and through the different parts of both convents, are barely wide enough to admit one person. Altogether these buildings present a very singular appearance, with their small windows of only four panes of glass, and the outer walls entirely covered with shing'les. When Bethania was in course of erection, it is said,4'1 a long dispute was held among the brethren concerning the length of the house. Some con- tended that it ought to be • 66 feet, others preferred 99, and some 100 feet. Those in favor of 99 feet, considered their proposal the best, "for," they said, "the circle means God, and the stroke signifies man. Now, in 66 God is placed below and man above; in 100 man stands before God ; hence 99 is preferable, where God stands above and man below." This anecdote, which was current at the time, is certainly characteristic, point- ing out the spirit of this society ami the eccentric notions of their spiritual father.
The hour lor religious worship was, for a long time, at midnight, and the meeting was often prolonged till day- break, when every one had to go to work again. At other times there were no meetings at all, " in order that
45 Rupp's History of Lancaster County, p. 213, et seq.
46 Cammerhoff's Epistola IX, written in Xovember, 1747.
46 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
all might have time to bring into practice, what they had been taught."
A great deal of time was devoted to music and orna- mental writing (Fractur-Schriften), especially by the sisters, and Father Friedsam was himself a poet and musical composer, though of a very peculiar order. In the "Chronicon Ephratense" there are long essays on music, which are as strange and curious as everything else con- nected with this singular society.
In a letter of a tourist during the proprietary adminis- tration of Governor Penn the following is said concerning their music, which was set in four, six, or eight parts:47
" The counter-treble, tenor and bass were all sung by women, with sweet, shrill and small voices, but with a truth and exactness in time and intonation that was admirable. The performers sat with their heads inclined, their countenances solemn and dejected, their faces pale and emaciated from their manner of living, the clothing exceeding white and quite picturesque, and their music such as thrilled to the very soul. I almost began to think myself in the world of spirits, and that the objects before me were ethereal."
The most remarkable of the female members of the " Camp " was Mother Marie (daughter of Daniel Eicher), the prioress, who in spite of all intrigues maintained her authority for a much longer period than any of the priors of the brothers' convent, Peter Miller excepted. But at last she also was compelled to resign, and after many years of solitary penitential life, died, in 1784. Long before her, July 6, 1768, Father Friedsam had departed this life, well stricken in years.48
47 Rupp's History of Lancaster County, p. 227.
48 The following inscription we read on his grave-stone :
Hier ruhet eine Ausgeburt der Liebe Gottes FRIEDSAM,
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 47
His faithful assistant, Prior Jabez (Peter Miller), man- aged the spiritual and temporal affairs of the society for nearly thirty years longer (he died in 1796) ; but, although he was undoubtedly a man of much greater ability than Conrad Beisel, still during his administration the decline of this society became more and more perceptible. And this can hardly be surprising, as the whole idea of a monastic institution of the Middle Ages, in which celibacy and ascetic exercises were considered the principal virtues, was too little in accordance with the views of the times, especially after the Revolutionary War. Hut it is surely surprising, that such a society could spring up in Pennsylvania one hundred and twenty-five years ago, exist for nearly fifty years, and exert no inconsiderable influence all around. This fact shows only too plainly how low must have been the state of religious and Christian life among the Germans of Pennsylvania in general and how much they needed not only the teaching of the Gospel, but also practical examples of true evan- gelical godliness.
Spangenberg wrote to Count Zinzendorf in 1738 in reference to the "Siebentager"49 : "These people triumph now ; their affairs prosper. Everybody must perceive that they have something peculiar in their external exer- cises. They sleep neither in beds nor on straw ; they eat no pork ; some live on bread and water only ; they wear the cowl of the monks ; they neither buy nor sell ; have no trades to earn money by ; some live separately.
Ein Einsamer, nachmals aber geworden cin Anfuhrer, Aufscher
und Lehrer der Einsamen und Gemeine Christi in und mn
Ephrata. Geboren in Eberbach in der Pfalz, genannt
Conrad Beisel ; entschlief d. 6ten Julius, Anno 1768,
seines geistlichen Alters 52 Jahr,
aber des natiirlichen
77 Jahr, 4 Monat.
** Risler's Life of Spangenberg, p. 149.
48 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
as in a convent, spending their time in watching and fasting.
" If I had never heard of Dio«-enes and his tub, nor of the doings of the Carthusian monks, I also might be dazzled by them. But I know from experience that external exercises do not constitute the new creature, or produce the new birth ; that all this comes by grace and through grace. Hence I can only look upon them sorrowfully, for they make their works holiness, thereby hoping to merit grace."
8. SEPARATISTS.
Besides the larger or smaller religious societies and communities, there were in the first part of the last cen- tury in Pennsylvania many individuals who, in Germany already, for some reason or other had separated from the Church, and were utterly opposed to any and every form of ecclesiastical organization.
Among these Separatists there were some honest and sincere seekers of the truth, as for instance a certain Eckstein,50 Spangenberg's companion on his journey from Pennsylvania to Georgia in 1737. But upon the whole their condition was most deplorable, as with- out any fixed principles, they agreed only in one point, namely, to disagree with and to oppose all other religious associations and societies. The principal food for this hatred was a certain book written in 1730 by Andrew Gross,51 a well-known Separatist in Frankfurt, Germany, condemning the doctrine and constitution of the Mora- vian Church, which was much read in Pennsylvania at that time, and influenced men like Christopher Saner, the printer in Germantown, J. H. Schcenfeld and others to
Spangenberg's Life, p. 140. 51 Biidingische Sammlungen, II, pp.817, 867.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 49
oppose Zinzendorf when he came to Pennsylvania in 1742.
Some of these Separatists not only refused to be con- nected with any Christian denomination, hut, impelled by sectarian fanaticism, avoided all other human society, and lived as hermits, scattered about in the; woods, and exposed to constant danger from the Indians ; for instance, John G. Stiefel, the traveling- companion of Beisel, who died in Bethlehem in 1745. Many of these hermits joined the Ephrata cloister, or went farther West, into the wilds where no white men had yet ventured to settle. Thus Prior Onesimus (I^ckerling) and his two brothers were the first settlers in Monongalia County, Virginia. Two were killed by the Indians in 1750. Onesimus was taken prisoner, but suc- ceeded in escaping to Canada, whence he went to France, where he closed his days in a Roman Catholic monaster)-.
Others again pretended to have received especial divine revelations, and called themselves the' "Inspired." There was at that time a community of such fanatics in Western Germany, under the spiritual leadership of J. F. Rock. Some of his adherents may have come to Pennsylvania, without, however, forming distinct societies. John Adam Gruber, who will be mentioned hereafter, probably belonged to them.
Another sect, which originated and flourished ior a short time in ( )ley Township (Berks County) was that of the "New Born."5' A Palatine, Matthias Bauman (died in 1727), was the founder and leader of this sect. They professed sinless perfection, maintaining that those who had received the "new birth" could thenceforth sin no more ; consequently, whatever they might do, would be right and good. That this doctrine must lead to
52 Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 7.
50 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION
licentiousness, is self evident. Even twenty years after Bauman's death there were still some adherents of these doctrines.
There is yet to be mentioned a "spiritual society,"53 consisting- for the most part of unmarried men of liberal education. Their founder was John Kelpius, an Austrian by birth, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1694. Daniel Falkner, John Seelig and others, in all forty persons, joined him, and they settled on "the Ridge," (the ridge- road from Philadelphia to Reading), which at that time was a complete wilderness, and called their society the "Woman of the Wilderness" (Rev. 12: 6). In 1704 Conrad Matthaei, a Swiss of noble connections, joined them (he died as a hermit in 1748) and also Christopher Wilt, a famous doctor and magician.
9. THE SCHWENKFELDERS.
One of the smallest of the German denominations in Pennsylvania is that of the Schwenkfelders,54 who at pres- ent [1851] count only eight hundred members. Even in former times they were not numerous nor did they display any outward religious activity, either of the miss- ionary or polemical order, preferring to keep aloof from all religious controversies. Thankfully enjoying the religious freedom of Pennsylvania they led according to the dictates of their consciences a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Though among the least influential for the general history of the Church, still they deserve particular notice in the history of the American Brethren's Church, as their emigration to this country was the first cause for establishing a Moravian colony in America.
53 Chronicon Ephratense, p. 11.
4 Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 557. Erlauterung fur Caspar Schvvenkfeld. Spangenberg's Leben, pp. 94, 150.
OF THE GERMANS IN PENNSYLVANIA. 5 I
Their founder was a Silesian noble and contemporary of Luther, Caspar Schwenkfeld von Ossing, counselor to the Duke of Lieomitz, a man of liberal education, well read in the Latin and Greek classics, and active in various ways in the service of his country. The movements of the Reformation early attracted his attention but, differing in some points from Luther and other friends of the Reformation, he began a controversy with Luther about the doctrine of the Holy Communion, which so irritated the latter that, in 1543, he wrote a maledictory letter to Schwenkfeld, breaking off all connection with him. Nevertheless Schwenkfeld gained many adherents among the higher classes, had an extensive corres- pondence all over the empire with persons of every rank and description, and wrote many learned treatises and pamphlets, in German and Latin. After man)- trials and hardships he died at Ulm in 1562, in the seventy- second year of his age.
Schwenkfeld's followers, of whom the greater number lived in Silesia, were repeatedly persecuted by the Lutheran clergy, in the most cruel manner, especially in 1590 and 1650. But still greater were the hardships to which they were exposed by the Jesuit missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church, in 1719. Thus pressed from two sides, many desired to leave their country. In 1723 they became acquainted with Count Zinzendorf who, while on a journey through Silesia, interceded with the government for them, though without success. In 1 726 many families left their homes ; some sought shelter under the protection of the Senate of Gorlitz (a city of Lusatia in Saxony) and others of Count Zinzendorf. The latter lived for awhile in Herrnhut, and then removed to L"pper Berthelsdorf, where they remained unmo- lested for some years, until in 1733 the Saxon Govern- ment withdrew its protection. Zinzendorf now endeav-
52 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CONDITION.
ored to procure for them free transportation to Georgia, which was to be colonized by German Protestants, but succeeded only in procuring for them a grant of land. On May 26, 1734, forty families, numbering one hun- dred-and eighty souls, left Berthelsdorf, led by George Wiegner. Spangenberg was to follow them and be their minister in Georgia. In Altona (Denmark) and Harlem (Holland) Christian friends took an interest in them, and promised free transportation to Pennsylvania, in consequence of which the Georgia plan was dropped. Sailing from Rotterdam on June 28, they arrived in Philadelphia on September 2, 1734, after a long and tedious voyage.
They settled principally on the Skippack and Perk- iomen (in Montgomery, Berks, Bucks and Lehigh Counties), and the large barns with tile-covered roofs show at the present day where their descendants live, distinguished alike by their wealth and the simplicity of their manners. They are most numerous in Goshen- hoppen, formerly called " Schlesisch Warte ; " they are connected in two congregations, with three hundred families, and five churches or school-houses. Their first minister was George Weiss, who died in 1760.
In 1 736 Bro. Spangenberg paid a visit to the Schwenk- felders, scattered in the forest-wilds of Pennsylvania, and for a time assisted Christopher Wiegner in his farm labors. At the same time he made use of every oppor- tunity to preach the Word of Reconciliation in the blood of Christ, and to warn against self-righteousness. Many heard him willingly, but there were no lasting fruits of his endeavors.
In 1738, when* visiting the Schwenkfelders for the third time, he complained of their exclusive sectarian spirit, by which the consciences are burdened ; but it is more than likely that Spangenberg himself, " still too
THE INDIANS.
53
learned to be an apostle" (as Zinzendorf expressed it), and lacking experience, did not always meet them, and especially their minister, George Weiss, with that Christian candor and liberality, which alone awakens con- fidence, and which in later years was the brightest ornament of Bro. Spangenberg's character.
Nevertheless his protracted sojourn among the Schwenkfelders was of great importance, as he was thereby enabled to gather correct information concern- ing the moral and religious state of the Germans in Pennsylvania and the many heathen Indian tribes.
IO. THE INDIANS.
The first reliable accounts of the Indians which Bro. Spangenberg received, were given to him in 1737 by Conrad Weiser, who by request of Governor Gooch, of Virginia, and under regular instructions from James Logan, Esq., at that time President of the Provincial Government of Pennsylvania, had undertaken a very tedious journey53 through the wilderness of Northern Pennsylvania to Onondaga in New York.
Onondaga was at that time the place of the great war council, or the headquarters of the Aquanuschioni or the allied Six Nations, by the French called Iroquois (Mingoes by others, and Maquas by the Dutch). This very powerful Indian Confederacy consisted at that time of the following six nations:56
'' Narrative of a Journey made in the year 1737, by Conrad Weiser, Indian Agent and Provincial Interpreter, from Tulpehokcn to Onondaga. Collec- tions of Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Vol. I., No. 1, p. 6.
56 The relative position of the different Indian tribes is best seen on a map published in Philadelphia in 1755, by Lewis Evans, containing the .Middle British Colonies of America, tlu' country of the ( lonfederate Indians, Aquanishuonigy and the Lakes Erie, Ontario and Champlain and parts of New France.
54 THE INDIANS
i. The Maquas or Mohocks living between the Hudson and the Susquehanna, near the Kaatskill Mountains.57
2. The Oneidas or Onoycets, and
3. The Tuscaroras (who formerly lived in Virginia and North Carolina and had joined the Confederacy quite lately, in 1713), lived westward of the north branch of the Susquehanna and around Onoydas Lake.
4. The Onondagas, more to the South and on the Onondaga River.
5. The Cayugas and
6. The Senecas, near the Lakes, which still bear their names.
By these six powerful nations some weaker tribes were overthrown and absorbed, as, for instance, the Susquehannocks,58 who, before 1680 possessed the whole present Lancaster County. Settlements were gradually planted by the conquerors along both branches of the Susquehanna, and especially at Conestoga- which subse- quently became the chief place of council of the Indians seated on the Susquehanna, below the fork. The resi- dents there were chiefly of the Seneca tribe, mixed however, with Oneidas, Cayugas and Tuscaroras, and were generally called Mingoes or Conestogas by the white settlers.
About the year 1698 some Shawanos from the South applied to the Conestogas, and through them to William Penn's government, for permission to settle near Conestoga. This being granted, they established themselves upon Pequea Creek, under Opessah, their
57 Whether the Mohiccons (Mahicander of Loskiel) were a separate nation, is not quite certain. Proud, in his History of Pennsylvania, II, p. 297, dis- tinguishes the Mohocks belonging to the Six Nations from the Mohiccons, who were confederates of the Delawares.
58 Notes Respecting the Indians of Lancaster County, by W. P. Foulke. Memoirs of Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. II, Part II, p. 212.
IN PENNSYLVANIA. 55
principal chief, and gradually extended their settlements to the North and West, until in the first part of the eighteenth century they all removed to the wilds of Ohio.
In a similar manner, about 1 700, some Ganawese from the Potomac and Nanticokes and Conoys from Maryland appeared and settled in the same vicinity, under the protection of the Six Nations.
While thus the power of the Six Nations on the North was constantly increasing, the influx ol Kuropean immigrants was pressing more and more upon the original owners of the soil in Pennsylvania — the Delawares.
These were, according to their own traditions, direct descendants of the Algonkins, one of the most powerful nations of antiquity, and called themselves Lenni Lenape,59 that is, " Indian Men," or Woapnachky, that is, "a people living towards the rising of the sun," having formerly inhabited the eastern coast of North America. They were divided into three tribes ; the Unami, the Wunalachtikos, and the Monsys. Many other tribes, like the Shawanos and Nanticokes, called the Delawares "Grandfathers,"6" and never ventured to wage war against them, for they were alike celebrated for their courage, peaceful disposition, and powerful alliances. They were at one time the undisputed masters of all middle America, and extended their wars against the Alligewi as far as the Mississippi and maintained a determined hostility with the Mengwi. On the arrival of Penn their number in Pennsylvania was computed at thirty or forty thousand souls.61
Their history spoke only of conquest. They were a brave, proud and warlike race, who gloried in the preser-
59 History of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Indians in North America, by G. H. Loskiel, translated by Christian Ignatius La Trobe, 1794.
•~ Loskiel, I, 1 28. [36.
01 Discourse on the Surviving Remnant of the Indian Race, by |. R.Tyson.
56 THE INDIANS
vation of a character for valor, which had come down to them from the remotest times. However, they were finally vanquished by the Confederacy of the Six Nations, and at a treaty at Albany, in 1717, had to submit to be declared "a nation of women."
According- to their own tradition/'2 the Delawares were always too powerful for the Six Nations, so that the latter were at last convinced, that if they continued at war, their total extirpation would be inevitable. They therefore sent the following message to the Delawares : "It is not profitable that all the nations should be at war with each other, for this will at length be the ruin of the whole Indian race. We have, therefore, considered a remedy, by which this evil may be prevented. One nation shall be the 'woman.' We will place her in the midst, and the other nations who make war shall be the 'man,' and live around the ' woman.' No one shall touch or hurt the ' woman,' and if any one does it, we will imme- diately say to him : ' Why do you beat the " woman ? " ' Then all the ' men ' shall fall upon him who has beaten her. The ' woman ' shall not go to war, but endeavor to keep peace with all. Therefore, if the ' men ' that surround her beat each other, and the war be carried on with violence, the ' woman ' shall have the rieht of addressing them : ' Ye men. what are ye about ; why do ye beat each other ? We are almost afraid. Consider that your wives and children must perish, unless ye desist. Do ye mean to destroy yourselves from the face of the earth ? ' The ' man ' shall then hear and obey the ' woman.'
"The Delawares add, that not immediately perceiving the intention of the Six Nations, they had submitted to be the 'woman.' The Iroquois then appointed a great feast, and invited the Delaware Nation to it, when,
62 Loskicl, p. 124.
IN PENNSYLVANIA. 57
in consequence of the authority given them, they made a solemn speech, containing three capital points. The first was, that they declared the Delaware Nation to be the 'woman,' in the following words: 'We dress you in a woman's long habit, reaching down to your feet and adorn you with earrings,' meaning that they should no more take up anus. The second point was thus ex- pressed : ' We hang a calabash tilled with oil and medicines upon your arm. With the oil you shall cleanse the ears of the other nations, that they may attend to good, and not to bad words ; and with the medicines you shall heal those who are walking in foolish ways, that they may return to their senses, and incline their hearts to peace.' The third point, by which the Delawares were exhorted to make agriculture their future employ and means of subsistence, was thus worded: "We deliver into your hands a plant of Indian corn and a hoe." Each of these points was confirmed by delivering a belt of wampum, and these belts have been carefully laid up, and their meaning frequently repeated."
If the tradition of the Delawares be correct, it is cer- tainly an extraordinary instance ol a nation voluntarily ^ivinq up the means ot self-defense, tor the purpose of becoming mediators and arbiters between other nations ; and this in itself would be an evidence, that they were providentially prepared to accept the Gospel of Peace. He this as it may, so much is certain, that the missionaries ot the Brethren accomplished more among the Delawares than among any other Indian tribe.
When Spangenberg received from Conrad Weiser the first accounts ot the deplorable moral and relig- ious state ot the Indians, he wrote in November, 1737, a letter'4 to Christian David, in which he com
1 -oskiel, I, pp. 124-126. '4 Briiderblatt tor 1X54, p. 155. Conrad Weiser's Narrative, p. 17.
4
58 THE INDIANS
municated a prophecy current among the Indians at the time. One of their seers (the Indians told Weiser) had seen a vision of God, who had said to him the following- words : "You inquire after the cause why game has become scarce. I will tell you. You kill it for the sake of the skins, which you give for strong- liquor and drown your senses, and kill one another, and carry on a dreadful debauchery. Therefore, have I driven the wild animals out of the country, for they are Mine. If you will do good and cease from your sins, I will bring them back ; if not, I will destroy you from off the earth."
When this letter arrived in Herrnhut, Saxony, it made a deep impression, especially on the single brethren, and forthwith twelve of them were selected as candidates for the Indian Mission, and after Spangenberg returned to Germany in 1 739, one of these. Christian Henry Rauch, was sent from Marienborn to New York, in order to ascertain whether and where he might find an open door to the Indians. Arriving in New York in 1740, he found but little encouragement, as the idea of Christianizing the Indians seemed to most people almost an impossi- bility. Nevertheless he did not suffer his confidence in God to be shaken in the least, and soon had an oppor- tunity to become acquainted with some Indians of the Mohiccon (Mahikander) tribe. These, Tschoop and Sha- bosh, both very much addicted to drinking, gave with true Indian solemnity their consent that he might be the teacher of their people, and promised to take him along, which, promise, however, was forgotten in a drinking frolic.
Having waited for them in vain at the appointed place, near the North River, he at last set out alone for the nearest Indian town, Chekomeko, about twenty-five miles east of the Hudson on the borders of Connecticut, near the Stissik Mountain. The Indians at first listened
]\" PENNSYLVANIA. 59
quietly to his address, hut soon becoming weary they laughed at him, and when intoxicated, which was no unfrequent occurrence, even threatened his life. But, though suffering much in body and in mind, and repulsed from their huts repeatedly, he persevered, and soon forgot every grievance, when he discovered that the Word of the Cross began to be the power of God unto salvation. Tschoop, the greatest drunkard amongst them, was the first whose heart was powerfully awakened through the grace of Jesus Christ, and he was soon followed by others.
This, of course, created a stir among those of the white settlers who were ungodly, and Ranch was soon the ob- ject of hatred and persecution, both by the white and the brown people. Nevertheless, the work of the Lord prospered, the number of the converts increased, and in 1742 Bro. Rauch had the happiness of baptizing the three first Indian converts at a public Synod in ( )ley, Penn- sylvania.
I I. SIGNS OF LIFE.
Before going into a detailed account of the activity of the Brethren in this country, more than a century ago, we must point to some signs of religious life, of which the evidences have happily been preserved. Deplor- able as was the religious state1 of the German settlers in Pennsylvania about 1740. even without distinct historical records we would hardly venture to assert that there were none amongst them who felt this spiritual destitution and desired a better state of affairs. On the contrary, there were certainly many, especially among those who had left Germany tor conscience' sake, who sincerely desired and earnestly prayed for the dawn of the spiritual day for these benighted regions : more especially when they perceived,
60 RELIGIOUS AND MORA!, CONDITION.
how vital religion was disappearing; more and more, and how die different religious associations, instead of bearing with each other in Christian charity, were finding fault and quarreling with each other. These secret wishes and desires found an expression in a printed pamphlet of twenty-six pages, written in 1736 by fohn Adam Gruber, and addressed to anxious inquirers in Penn- sylvania,65 admonishing them to do away with their mutual animosity, and to pray for a new outpouring of the Spirit of God. " O ye souls," he exclaimed, " if there are any among you in whom there is real love to God, to yourselves, and to your neighbors, would that you might take to heart the affliction of Joseph (Amos 6 : 6), the breaches of Zion, the broken walls of Jerusalem, the devas- tation of the sanctuary ! O that you might be the first to humble yourselves, to embrace your erring fellow-ser- vants, to admonish them, and pray with them, that the hand of the Lord which is not yet shortened, may strengthen the covenant, that new life, and faith, and love may be granted unto us, and the work of God, in His kingdom on earth, be perfected, according to His gracious promise," (John 16: 23; 17: 21-23). 66
Whilst Gruber, a man of considerable religious ex- perience, was thus trying by his writings to draw the attention of his countrymen to their spiritual wants, another man was endeavoring to promote the cause of religion by his oral testimony. This was Henry Antes, of the German Reformed Church, who lived in Frederick Township, Montgomery County, a man of great zeal and fervent piety, but of no great oratorical
65 " John Adam Gruber's An- und Aufforderung an die ehmalig erweckte hier und dar zerstreute Seelen in Pensylvania, in oder ausser Partheyen, zur neuen Umfassung, gliedlicher Vereinigung, und Gebets-Gemeinschaft, dar- gelegt aus dringendem Hertzen eines urn Heilungder Briiche Zions angstlich beki'immerten Gemiiths, im Jahr 1736." — Biidingische Sammlungen, III,
PP- 13-39-
66 Biidingische Sammlungen, (If, p. 37, 38.
STGNS OF LIFE. 6 1
powers. Though well aware that he had no call to the ministry, nevertheless his love to his destitute countrymen induced him occasionally to address an assembly and to preach the Gospel. In Oley especially, where he preached in 1736 for the first time, there were many who rejoiced to hear a simple testimony of the truth as it is in Christ fesus, though as yet the " Newborn"67 with their erroneous doctrine were in the ascendent:)'. Nevertheless, the simple testimony of a pious me- chanic aroused many, and prepared the way for the Home Mission efforts of the Moravian Brethren.
A few years later, in 1 739, George Whitefield, the well known leader of the Methodists, paid his first visit to Pennsylvania, where thousands flocked together to hear his "forest sermons." Seeing the moral destitution of the Germans and not being able to preach to them in their language, he wrote to Count Zinzendorf, requesting him to send German missionaries. Hereupon Andrew Eschenbach68 was sent, in 1740. Thus Whitefield, who afterwards became a violent opponent of Zinzendorf, was instrumental in introducing the Moravian Brethren into Pennsylvania.
'" See p. 49, ante.
See " B. Ludewig's wahrer Bericht, de dato Germantown 20 Feb., 1742,
>t. v. an seine liebe Teutsche, wegen sein und seiner Briider Zusammen- hanges mit Pennsylvanien," p. 6.
The following remarks aboul Whitefield are nut without interest : " Mein Bruder Georg Whitefield ** * * hat mir mit clem Evangelio Halm gemacht, wie es am Tage ist, und als er mir von Philadelphia schrieb, und mich um Gehiilffen ersuchte, ist Andreas Eschenbach in seine Erndte ge sandt worden unter die Teutschen, der nun seiner lieben Gemeine in Oley /um Aufseher gesetzt ist."
" Ich hatte von meines Bruders Georg Whitefields Arbeit eine bleibende Frucht gehoffet ; ich horte ihn aber mehr loben als mir lieb war, und was er lobliches gestiftet hatte, davon sah ich nicht genug. Ich wolte in seine Arbeit treten bey meinen Teutschen, aber wie konte ich, denn sein eignes Korn unter den Englischen frassen die Vogel in der l.uft weg; und die Lehre verriickter Sinnen " von der unbedungenen Yerw erffung der armen Gemffenen," deren Ausbreitung dieser junge Zeuge so unweislich befordert, war fast in aller seiner Jiinger Munde."
CHAPTER II.
BEGINNING OF THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA, 1734-1744.
I. MORAVIAN COLONY IN GEORGIA. 1734-
The congregation at Herrnhut, founded June 17, 1722, originally consisted of two elements — the Slavonic and the German ; the first comprising the descendants of the Ancient Unitas Fratrum in Bohemia and Moravia, who for conscience' sake had left the land of popish intolerance, to seek religious liberty in a Protestant country ; the latter consisting of members of the Luth- eran and Reformed Churches who were desirous of a more special care of souls than was at that time to be found in their own churches. Since the memorable Thirteenth of August, 1727, both these elements were firmly and intimately connected by the Spirit of God, into one congregation, consisting of members firmly estab- lished in faith, fervent in love to their Redeemer and ever ready to serve Him, wherever they might be called by the leadings of His providence. But though there was but one mind and one spirit, though Moravian and non-Moravian — David Nitschmann and Leonhard Dober — went out together as the first missionaries of the Re- newed Church of the Brethren, the political relations of the country and the continued animosity of other Churches rendered it advisable to make a distinction between the properly so-called " Moravian " congregation — the rem- nant of the Church of martyrs — and the "strangers," (62)
THE COD >\Y l\ GE( >RGTA. 63
who were willing for awhile to participate in the weal and woe of the Moravian Church. It seemed not unlikely, that just as the Saxon Government withdrew its protection from the Schwenkfelders in 1733, so also the Moravian and Bohemian emigrants might be ordered to leave the land. Especially was this possible in view of the fact that Count Zinzendorf had many enemies at court, who succeeded at last, in 1736, in having him banished from Saxony. His exile lasted ten years, and led to the settlement of Herrnhaag in 1740.
To be prepared for such an emergency, Moravian colonies were settled in various parts of the world, according to the leading of Providence ; but the existence of all these colonies was only ephemeral. The first was a Moravian colon)- in St. Croix in 1731 ; the second a similar attempt in Georgia in 1734; the third a "place- congregation " at Pilgerruh in Denmark, commenced in 1737, and abandoned in 1741 ; and the fourth a mission-house at Heerendyk, in Holland, which in later years led to the establishment of the congregation at Zeyst.
The Georgia colony became important for the Amer- ican branch of the Unitas Fratrum. and, therefore, deserves more than a passing notice.
Georgia, thus named in honor of King George II, and separated from South Carolina in 1732, was the only English colony of the present United States, which was settled with direct support from the English Government. To prevent the Spaniards in Florida and the French on the Mississippi from encroaching on the English colonies, it was deemed important to take speed) possession of the country between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers, and in order to induce emigrants to settle there, free passage and a grant of land were promised. Through the mediation of Pastor Urlsperger in Augsburg, many of
64 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
the Protestant Salzburgers, who were driven from their own country by the intolerance of the Romish Arch- bishop, went there. The first company, consisting- of ninety-one persons, embarked in November, 1733, accompanied by their Lutheran pastors, Bolzius and Gronau, and settled at Eben-Ezer — twenty-four miles trom Savannah. They were soon followed by others of their countrymen. By the liberal support of Christian friends in Germany and England, and a grant by the British Parliament of ,£26,000, they were enabled not only to supply their immediate wants, but also to estab- lish an orphan-house at Eben-Ezer.1
It was the intention of Count Zinzendorf, as mentioned before," to procure an asylum in Georgia for the Schwenk- felders, for which purpose he entered into negotiations with the Trustees of this colony. After they had changed their mind and set sail for Pennsylvania, Zinzendorf was not inclined to drop the plan altogether, but wished to use this opportunity for finding a permanent abode tor the Moravian exiles, and, if possible, at the same time, for beginning a Mission among the Cherokee and Creek Indians.
Having mentioned this idea to the conerecration at Herrnhut and called for volunteers, twenty brethren were at once ready to undertake this enterprise ; and in the same year (November, 1734) nine3 of them pro- ceeded to England by way of Holland. Spangenberg had meanwhile preceded them to London, in order to make the necessary arrangements with the Trustees of
1 Hazelius' History of the Lutheran Church, pp. 27-34.
- See p. 52.
3 Their names were : Anton Seiffert, John Toltschig, Gottfried Haberecht, Gotthard Demuth, Peter Rose, Michael Haberland, Frederick Seidel, Georg Haberland, and George Waschke ; most of them natives of Bohemia or Moravia.
THE COLONY IN GEORGIA. 65
the Georgia colony, and to obtain the promised grant of land and free passage for the colonists. But he met with unexpected difficulties. Applying first to the Rev. Mr. Ziegenhagen, the German court-preacher in London, who had come there from Halle, he found that his German friends, especially Count Stolberg Wernigerode (a hitter enemy of Count Zinzendori ) had prejudiced him against this enterprise of the Moravian Brethren. The divines at Halle as well as some of the Lutheran ministers who belonged to the so-called "orthodox party," had taken a lively interest in the transmigration of the Salzburgers to Georgia, but tried their host to prevent the Moravians from going there. Consequently Span- genberg found no favorable reception from the ma- jority of the Georgia Trustees. He, therefore, applied directly to General Oglethorpe, the Governor of Georgia, with whom he conversed in Latin, as he at that time- was not acquainted with the English language, at hast not sufficiently to converse in it, and the Governor did not understand German. After repeated interviews with the Governor, Spangenberg obtained the promised grant of land (viz., 500 acres for Count Zinzendorf and 50 acres for himself) and the desired immunities, liberty oi worship and exemption from bearing arms, for his brethren. When they arrived in London, in January, 1 735 the ( Governor had anticipated their needs, by kindly providing a dwelling for them until they could set sail on February 6, 1 735.
Spangenberg accompanied the Brethren to Georgia, superintending at the same time, at the request oi the Trustees, a company of Swiss emigrants who sailed in the same vessel for Carolina.
After a tract of 50 acres near the Savannah River had been conveyed to Spangenberg in the usual manner, the Brethren forthwith set about building a house of split
66 the brethren's congregations.
logs, and clearing land, though beset by many difficulties, and at times sorely taxed by sickness, as is more or less the case in all new settlements of this kind. Never- theless, they were able to provide for their most pressing wants (Bro. Spangenberg for a long time serving as cook for the company), and also to build another house in the town of Savannah for the reception of the second company of colonists4 who arrived in February, 1736, led by Bishop David Nitschmann.
In the same vessel with the Moravian brethren, the Governor of the colony, General Oglethorpe, also traveled, and with him John and Charles Wesley. John Wesley was to be minister of the Episcopal Church in Savannah. With him especially, Bishop Nitschmann became intimately acquainted, the one learning to speak German and the other English. This was the first connection of the Brethren with the leaders of the Methodists ; but it led to im- portant results, preparing for the Brethren an entrance into a great field of usefulness in En gland, and preparing Wesley to accept from the lips of Peter Bohler the doctrine of the free grace of God in Jesus Christ, and the all-sufficient merit of the Saviour, which led to his own conversion and made him a blessing to thousands of his countrymen.
The impression made on Wesley by this intercourse with David Nitschmann, the first Bishop of the Renewed Church of the Brethren, was strengthened by his con- versations with Spangenberg who, uniting fervent piety
4 The second company consisted of: John Bohner, Matthias Seybold, John Martin Mack, Augustine and George Neisser, David Jag, David and John Tanneberger, David Zeisberger and Anna, his wife, and some other sisters.
They were, after some time, joined by two Moravian lads — David Zeis- berger and Shober — who had left Heerendyk secretly, to join their friends in < Georgia.
THE COLONY IN GEORGIA. 67
with great theological knowledge, soon gained the con- fidence and esteem of the English divine.
Aft#r the departure of Spangenberg to Pennsylvania, Bishop Nitschmann and Anthony Seiffert superintended
the affairs of the colon)', which were for a while very prosperous. God blessed their industry in such a manner, that, in a short time they not only procured a sufficient maintenance for themselves, hut even repaid the money advanced to them in London, and were also enabled to assist their neighbors, especially the newly arrived Salzburgers. At the same time the main object of their mission, preaching the Gospel to the Indians, was not lost sight of, and for this purpose a school-house was established for Indian children, on an island in the Savannah River, called Irene, about five miles from town. Bro. Peter Rose and his wife, A. Seiffert, John Bonner, and other brethren lived there for a while among- the Indians, endeavoring to learn their language. Most of these Indians, who had some knowledge of English, heard the Brethren gladly, and frequently brought their chief or king, Tomo Tschatschi, to hear " the great word," as they expressed it.
The prosperity of this small Moravian colony, how- ever, received a sudden check in 1737 ; for when the neighboring Spaniards endeavored to expel the English from Georgia, the latter called upon the Brethren to join in taking up arms against them. This they re- fused, having declared when in London, "that they neither could nor would bear arms on any consideration." Some were in favor of leaving Georgia immediately, but following the advice of Bro. Toltschig they awaited the arrival of Spangenberg from Pennsylvania. Lie advised them to refer the whole matter to the Trustees of the
Loskiel, Pari II, \>. j.
68 the brethren's congregations.
colony in England. For this purpose they sent John Toltschig to Europe, in company with the Rev. Benjamin Ingham, an English clergyman, who had materially assisted the Brethren in various ways. The decision by the Trustees, given August 3, 1737, was to the effect that the Brethren should be bound to furnish two men 6 for military service, but should not be obliged themselves to bear arms.
Thou of h this decision was as favorable as could be expected, still the jealousy of their neighbors was thereby aroused, internal harmony became disturbed and the death-blow was given to the colony. Already in 1738 twelve of the colonists removed to Pennsylvania and settled near Germantown. Among them were David Tanneberger, Gotthard Demuth, and Augustine Neisser.
Leaving the Moravian colony in Georgia for a while we now follow Spangenberg on his first visit to Pennsyl- vania.
2. SPANGENBERG IN PENNSYLVANIA, I 736.
Pour times, for longer or shorter periods, Spangen- berg resided in Pennsylvania, and he may justly be called the founder of the American branch of the Unitas Fratrum, which owes as much to him as the German branch owes to Count Zinzendorf.
Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg, among the Brethren generally called "Brother Joseph," was born July 15, 1 704. He was the son of a Lutheran minister in Kletten- berg, in Northern Germany. Having received a classical education he went to the University of Jena in 1722, to study theology under the especial superintendence of Dr.
6 That is, one man for Spangenberg's lot and one for Nitschmann's land. — Biidingische Sammlungen, III, pp. 479, 480.
SPANGENBERG. 6g
Francis Buddeus, from whom he adopted two important maxims: i. "That children of God may be found in all denominations ; and 2. That the true Christian Church consists of those who live in intimate communion with the Saviour." 7
Havino- obtained the academical degree of Artium Magister, he held public lectures in Jena, from 1726 to 1 732, which soon became very popular. Hut still more useful was his pastoral activity among the awakened stu- dents. From the year 1 72S on many of them entered into spiritual communion with the Church at Herrnhut, and afterwards became faithful ministers of the Unitas Fratrum. (as Peter Bohler, P. E. Leyritz, G. H. Molther, J. C. F. Cammerhof [. M. Graff, F. C. Lembke, G. A. ( Hdendorp, etc.).
In 1732 he accepted an appointment to Halle as Pro- fessor of the University, and Dr. Franke's assistant in
: These maxims are beautifully expressed in a hymn ((imposed by Spangenberg, during the Synod at Lancaster in 1745 : Die Kirche Christi, die Er geweiht Zu Seinem Hause, ist weit und breit In der Welt zerstreuet — in Nord und Siiden, In Ost und West, und doch so hienieden Als droben Eins.
Die Glieder sind sich meistens unbekannt, Und doch einander gar nah' verwandt ; Einer ist ihr Heiland, ihr Vater Einer, Ein deist regiert sie; und ihrer keiner Lebt mehr sich selbst.
The Church of Christ, that He hath hallowed here To be His house, is scattered far and near, In North, and South, and East, and West abroad; And yet in earth and heaven, through Christ, her Lord, The Church is one.
One member knoweth not another here,
And yet their fellowship is true and near; ( >ne is their Saviour, and their Father one ; One Spirit rules them, and anion- them none I.i\ e> to himself.
JO THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
the Orphan-house, where, however, he never felt quite at home. His more liberal way of thinking, his willing- ness to serve everybody with the Gospel, which brought him into intercourse with many Separatists, and above all his continued connection with Zinzendorf and the Brethren in Herrnhut, created many enemies, who at last succeeded in having him expelled from the University.
He now went to Herrnhut, where he arrived May 9, 1733, and soon became Zinzendorf's most intimate friend and valuable assistant. Next to Zinzendorf he was the most influential man in the Renewed Church of the Brethren, which he served both in Europe and America for nearly forty years, with great ability and faithfulness, until his death at Berthelsdorf on Sep- tember 18, 1792.
Spangenberg had spent about a year in the wilderness of Georgia, faithfully assisting by word and work in es- tablishing a Moravian colony. After this object had been accomplished and Bishop Nitschmann had taken charge of the infant settlement, he was instructed to proceed to Pennsylvania and visit the Schwenkfelders. With letters of recommendation from General Oglethorpe to Thomas Penn, Spangenberg left Georgia on March 15, 1736, after having been ordained a presbyter of the Moravian Church by Bishop David Nitschmann. In April he arrived in Skippack, Pennsylvania, where his old friend, Christopher Wiegner, received him very cordially. Here he remained for a considerable time, and from occasional remarks in his letters to the Brethren in Germany, as well as from other sources, it is evident that the learned Professor of Theology took many practical lessons in ploughing, threshing and other agricultu- ral labors, by which he became well qualified for future practical usefulness in the "economies" of Bethlehem and Nazareth.
SPANGENBERG. ;r
"As regards my outward occupation," he wrote to Isaac Lelong in fune, [738, "it is at present farm-work ; but this is as much blessed to my soul as formerly my studying and writing-. For nothing, even in outward affairs, is in itself good or had ; hut whatever is done with the blessing of God, thereby becomes good, whilst anything, performed without God's blessing, becomes bad."
But, though at times busily occupied on Wiegner's farm, Spangenberg did not neglect his mission to preach the Gospel whenever an opportunity offered. In 1737 he went to Oley, accompanied by Chr. Wiegner, to visit those German Lutherans and Reformed (mostly from the Palatinate and Wirtemberg), among whom Henry Antes had been laboring with great success, until coun- teracted by the influence of "the Newborn."
Here, as we read in the old Church-records of Oley, Spangenberg several times proclaimed the testimony of the meritorious death ot the Lamb, with such demonstra- tion of the Spirit and of power, that a lasting impression was made and a great victory obtained over the power of darkness. He kept his first meeting- in the house of Jonathan Herpdes; the second, in that of Abraham Rar- tholet. At the latter place he attacked the spirit of the " Newborn " in an address on 1 John 1 : 7-9, so vigor- ously that from that time they could never regain their influence.
He also visited repeatedly inTulpehocken ; for instance, in 1738, shortly before the death of Pastor Leutbecker, whose funeral sermon he preached. One of his earliest acquaintances there was George Lcesch (who died at Nazareth in 1790), in whose house he held many an edifying and instructive meeting. Among the Men nonites and Tunkers, also, he had many friends and ac quaintances; and though opponents were not wanting,
72 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS
his humble, loving manner likewise made an impression on them. As the sequel will show, the seed sown by him in humble reliance on the blessing" of the Saviour was not altogether lost.
When Peter Bohler came to Pennsylvania in 1740, he found that Spangenberg was well known everywhere, and often heard it said, " that he had come to Pennsyl- vania a very wise man ; but had returned from this high-school much wiser."
And in truth he returned wiser than he had come ; richer in practical knowledge of the country and the manners and customs of the settlers ; richer in knowl- edge of the human mind and in pastoral experience.
In a letter to Bishop Nitschmann in 1738, he said: " If Brethren are to come to Pennsylvania, the most firmly rooted, staid, practical and every way useful mer ought to be selected ; for they come into a country where there are people who have considerable spiritual exper- ience and can discern the spirits."
To this class, however, most of the first-comers from Georgia did not belong. They left the colony without direct permission of the Church at home and settled in or near Germantown, preferring their own secular ad- vantage to the welfare of the congregation which had sent them, and were, therefore, a poor recommendation for the Moravian Brethren who came to Pennsylvania a few years later.
3. THE WHITEFIELD HOUSE AT NAZARETH. 1 74O.
Whilst Spangenberg was busily engaged in Pennsyl- vania in proclaiming the love of the Saviour and promot- ing His cause among sectarians and separatists of every kind, and thus prepared the field for future cultivation by the Brethren, another brother was no less actively
THE WIITTEFIELD HOUSE. J 1,
employed in Georgia in endeavoring to promote the spiritual and temporal interests of the Moravian colony, which already showed symptoms of decay.
This was Peter Bohler, a man of great gifts and fer- vent piety, and, next to Spangenberg, the most important man in the early history of the American Moravian Church. Like Spangenberg he also was four times in Pennsylvania, and his services, especially in the earliest times of the Moravian settlements, were of the most valuable and self-denying kind.
Peter Bohler was born December 31, 17 12, in Frank- furt-on-the-Main. Showing, even in early years, great ability, he was destined for the study of theology, and accordingly went to the University of Jena in April, 1 73 1. At that time about thirty of his town-people were students at this University, mostly irreligious and profligate young men ; and as it was customary that those from the same city generally kept together, young Peter Bohler, only eighteen years of age, was in great danger of being led astray if the Lord had not graciously protected him. About a wreek before his arrival one of his acquaintances from Frankfurt had come to Jena. After seeing the wild life and for a few days participating in the drinking frolics of his country- men, which often led to fighting, he had become so dis- gusted that he sought refuge among the more piously inclined students, who were in connection with the Church at Herrnhut. By him Peter Bohler was imme- diately led to the house of Dr. YValch, where the awakened students used to assemble, and, though his other countrymen tried their best to entice him away from the Pietists, he was graciously preserved by the hand of the Lord. While attending oik; of their religious meetings he heard a fervent address by Spangenberg on
a tract of Spener, of which, however, he himself relates : 5
74 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
" I heard and remembered only that one sentence: 'The Saviour has the power to liberate from sin.' This went to my heart, and the Saviour soon proved to me prac- tically that He is able to free us from the power and dominion of sin."
Having thus dedicated himself to the Lord he soon began to preach the Gospel in different village- churches, and was, after 1734, the acknowledged leader of the awakened students who maintained connection with Zinzendorf and the Brethren. Urged by the former, he applied for and obtained in 1735, when only twenty two years old, the academical degree of Magis- ter Lessens, and commenced to lecture on the Hebrew language.
In 1737, when Count Christian Renatus de Zinzendorf, with some other young noblemen, accompanied by Bro. John Nitschmann, went to Jena, Peter Bohler was re- quested to direct their studies and select their teachers, and did so to the satisfaction of Count Zinzendorf.
In October, 1737, he received and accepted an appoint- ment from the Church at Herrnhut to go to Georgia in company with George Schulius, and was commissioned to pay a visit to the students at Oxford, England, and speak with them about the Saviour.
This visit led to important results, by preparing the entrance of the Moravian Brethren into Great Britain, and afterwards leading to the establishment of a number of Moravian congregations in England and Ireland. In London Peter Bohler became acquainted with John Wesley, who had just returned from Georgia, much dis- turbed in mind and convinced of the necessity of a change of heart.
"These convictions" — we quote from the " Wesleyan Centenary" — "painful and humiliating as they were to a man who had done and suffered so much in what
PETER BOHLER. 75
he conceived to be the cause of true religion, were strengthened and confirmed by his intercourse with Peter Bohler, a learned minister of the Moravian Church, who arrived in England at this time. JHe was intro- duced to this distinguished German at the house of a Dutch merchant in London, February 7, 1738, and omitted no opportunity of conversing with him, till the beginning of May, when this pious stranger embarked for Carolina. Mr. Wesley appears to have derived more evangelical light from Peter Bohler than from any other man with whom he had been acquainted up to this period."7
The following notices in John Wesley's journal show the deep impression which Bohler' s conversation made upon his mind :
" Friday, ij. — I set out for Oxford with Peter Bohler.
''Saturday, 18. — We went to Staunton-Harcourt to visit Mr. Gambold.8 At this time I conversed with Peter Bohler, but I understood him not, and least of all when he said : ' My brother, my brother, that philosophy of yours must be purged away.'
"Saturday, MarcJi 4. — I found my brother at Oxford, recovering from pleurisy, and with him Peter Bohler, by whom (in the hand of God) I was on Sunday, the 5th. clearly convinced of unbelief, of the want of faith whereby alone we are saved. Immediately it struck my mind : 'Leave off preaching. How can you preach to others, who have not faith yourself?' I asked Bohler whether he thought I should or not? He answered: 'By no means.' I asked, 'But what can I preach?' He said. ' Preach faith till you have it ; and then because you have it, you will preach faith.'
Wesleyan Centenary, p. 55. 8 At that time minister of the Established Church, afterwards the Inst Moravian Bishop in England.
j6 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
" Thursday, 22. — I met Bohler again, who now amazed me more and more by the account he gave of the fruits of living faith ; the holiness and happiness which he affirmed to attend it. The next morning I began the Greek Testament again, resolving to abide by the law and the testimony ; and being confident that God would hereby show me whether this doctrine was of God.
" Wednesday, May j. — My brother had a long and particular conversation with Peter Bohler. And now it pleased God to open his eyes, so that he also saw clearly what was the nature of that one true living faith, whereby alone through grace we are saved.
o o
" Thursday, May 4? — Peter Bohler left London in order to embark for Carolina. O what a woik hath God begun since his coming to England ! Such an one as shall never come to an end till heaven and earth pass away.
On May 13, 1738, Peter Bohler and George Schulius embarked at Portsmouth in one of General Ogle- thorpe's vessels. Both were destined for South Carolina as missionaries among the negroes, and Peter Bohler was to be the regular pastor of the Moravian colony in Georgia, and had for this purpose been ordained by Bishop Nitschmann and Zinzendorf, at the Ronneburg, on December 15, 1737.
Their journey lasted very long ; for it was September 29 when they landed in St. Simons, Georgia, while they did not reach the settlement of the Brethren before October 15. In February, 1739, both removed to Purys- burg in South Carolina, twenty miles' from Savannah,
" Peter Bohler's manuscript memoir states that he left London Thursday, May 15. Evidently the same day is meant, according to old and new style, which made a difference of eleven days.
GEORGIA ABANDONED. jy
a small town which in 1733 had been laid out by John Peter Pury, from Switzerland, and was inhabited mostly by Germans. Here Peter Bohler preached every Sunday for the Germans, while during- the week both endeavored to instruct the negroes, of whom, how- oxer, there were not many in that neighborhood. In the Summer both became sick with fever and Schulius died August 4. Towards Fall Peter Bohler left Purys- burg and wont to his brethren at Savannah, where his faithful instruction had a salutary effect on the internal well-being of this small colony. However, as the main object of the mission, to preach the Gospel to the Indians, could not be gained, because the colonial govern- ment prohibited their going into the interior, and as, after the breaking out of the war with the Spaniards, the Brethren were again urged to take up arms, they resolved to leave their houses and well-cultivated fields and to remove to Pennsylvania. Their number was already greatly reduced. Besides the twelve who had left in 1738, Peter Rose and his wife had gone to Pennsylvania ; Haberland had taken his sister, John Toltschig's wife, to Europe ; Shober had died, and Francis Regnier had deserted ; so that there remained only six brethren, viz., Peter Bohler, Anthony Seif fert, |ohn Bohner, John Martin Mack, George Zeis berger, and his son David, and George Zeisberger's wife. .
It was deemed best to send John Bohner in ad- vance to find a place where they might settle ; but whilst he was gone on an unsuccessful mission, as was afterwards ascertained, the Lord had already prepared another way. On New Year Pay, 1740, Mr. White-field arrived in Georgia the second time, and immediately went to see Bro. Bohler. with whom he had not before been personally acquainted, though he had corresponded
78 the brethren's congregations.
with him. This led to a more intimate acquaintance both with Mr. Whitefield and with Mr. William Seward, his traveling- companion, which proved beneficial for the settlement of the Brethren in Pennsylvania.
On April 13 the Moravian Brethren left Savannah, where they had gained many friends, of whom some, as John Brownfield, James Burnside, and H. T. Beck, after- wards followed them to Bethlehem, as also did Abraham Bl'ihninger, from Purysburg.
They traveled in Mr. Whitefield' s company10 to Phila- delphia, where they arrived on April 25. They were greatly disappointed at not finding either Spangen- berg, who had left for Europe, or Bishop Nitschmann, whose arrival was soon expected. They went to Wiegner's, next to Henry Antes, and then back again to Germantown. Those of the Georgia colonists who had settled in this village in 1738, tried to per- suade them to do the same ; but Peter Bohler and Anthony Seiffert, though for the moment at a loss what to do, preferred to await Bishop Nitschmann's arrival. Meanwhile Mr. Whitefield had bought 5,000 acres of land in the Forks of the Delaware (now Northamp- ton County) from Mr. Wm. Allen for ,£2,200, (Mr. Seward advancing the money), for the purpose of erecting there a school for negroes. On May 5 he came to Christopher Wiegner's plantation in Skippack, to see Peter Bohler concerning the intended building, and as some of the Brethren were carpenters, he offered to pay them for doing all the carpenter work and requested Peter Bohler to take general superintendence of the building.
Many people having assembled to see and to hear the famous Mr. Whitefield, he preached to them in English,
10 On board of Whiteheld's sloop.
THE WHITEFIELD HOUSE. 79
and Peter Bohler closed with a German address." The next day Peter Bohler and Anthony Seiffert, accom- panied by Henry Antes, set out to look for this tract in the northern forest-wilds of Pennsylvania ; and on Saturday, May 7, found a pretty considerable Indian village, on the site of what was later known as " Old Nazareth."
They returned to Philadelphia and reported to Mr. Whitefield, who closed his contract with Mr. Allen, and called the tract Nazareth, and once more renewed his offer to the Brethren. After serious consideration they con- sulted the will of the Lord by Lot. The answer being- affirmative, they thereupon accepted Mr. Whitefield's proposal, glad to have found, at least, a temporary occu- pation till Bishop Nitschmann should arrive.
After a three days' march from Germantown the com- pany of seven brethren, two sisters and two boys I2 might have been found (May 30) seated under a large forest tree, singing song-s of praise and prayer to their Lord and Saviour.
Two days later the commissioners sent by Whitefield arrived and marked off the spot where the house was to be built. The entire management of the erection of the building was left to Peter Bohler and his brethren. The common tradition that Whitefield had commenced this
" W. Seward wrote in his journal, April 24, old style : " It was surprising to see such a multitude of people gathered together in such a wilderness country, thirty miles distant from Philadelphia. Our brother was exceedingly carried out in his sermon, to press poor sinners to come to Christ by faith, and claim all their privileges, viz., not only righteousness and peace, but joy in the Holy Ghost: and after he had done, our dear friend, Peter Bohler, preached in Dutch [German] to those who could not understand our brother in English." — Gillie's Memoir of Whitefield, p. 36.
1 Peter Bohler, Anthony Seiffert, John Martin Mack, John Bohner, George Zeisberger, and his wife Rosina, David Zeisberger, Matthias Seybold, Hannah Hummel, who had accompanied them from Purysburg, and two boys, Ben- jamin Summers and James.
8o THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
building and that it was afterwards finished by the Brethren, is, therefore, erroneous. Whitefield himself was never on the spot as long- as he was the owner of the land, and his commissioners only marked the size of the house, and may possibly have brought a plan for the external and internal arrangement of the house, but the execution of the work was left to the Moravian Brethren.
For about four weeks they could not do much on account of the almost continual rains, and so they built the small log house which was afterwards enlarged and is inhabited to this day. As soon as the weather permitted they engaged as many people as they could to push on the work, but they were exposed to many disappointments and delays. Three hundred pounds sterling were expended before the cellar-walls were finished in September ; to run up a massive two-story building and roof it before Winter would have been an impossibility. Therefore it was deemed the best policy to provide for their own immediate wants and to erect a two-story log building. This was finished in November, and is also inhabited to this day.
Though exposed to want and privation, nevertheless these pious workmen enjoyed happy times in com- munion with their Saviour, and often in later years remembered how brotherly union and willingness to serve each other had sweetened all labor. Peter Bohler not only kept daily meetings for his brethren, but faithfully assisted them in their work and generally walked every week some eight or ten miles to the nearest mill to fetch needed provisions.
In October the Brethren were unexpectedly cheered by the arrival of Andrew Eschenbach from Europe, who told them that more brethren and sisters were comine in a short time.
THE CHURCH AT OLEV. 8 1
THE CHURCH AT OLEY
Andrew Eschenbach had been sent, in consequence of Whitefield's request to Count Zinzendorf, to labor amono- the destitute Germans in Pennsylvania, for which work he seemed peculiarly qualified. 1 le was a shoe- maker by trade and had joined the Brethren only a few years before, but soon distinguished himself by his eloquent address, and his humble and exemplary walk and conversation. Whenever not employed in the service of the Church, he was wont to take his seat again on the shoemaker's bench, never arrogating any importance to himself as one of the Elders of the
congregation.
Being introduced in Oley by Henry Antes, he remained there for a time, lodging at first at Jean Bertholet's and afterwards in John Leinbach's family, and proclaiming the Word of God in houses and in barns, wherever opportunity offered, with great power and demonstration of the Spirit. Soon the whole town- ship was excited ; the people came in crowds to hear the Word, and though after a while the first excitement subsided, still there were many on whose hearts deeper impressions were made, and who gladly availed them- selves by private conversation with Bro. Eschenbach of the opportunity to be strengthened and confirmed in spiritual knowledge and experience.
In 1 74 1 there were already fifty-one awakened souls in this neighborhood, of whom many in later years became members of the Brethren's Church, e.g., several Leinbachs, originally German Reformed from Wetter- avia, the Burstlers, who were Lutherans from the Palati- nate, John de Turk, a Mennonite, and others.
For the present, however, only a small beginning was made.
82 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS
5. SETTLEMENT OF BETHLEHEM, I 74I .
The brethren and sisters whose coming- was an- nounced by Andrew Eschenbach, arrived at the two- story log-house of Nazareth Manor in December, 1740. It was only a small company, consisting of Bishop David Nitschmann, old Father David Nitschmann and his daughter Anna, Sister Molther and Brother Frohlich.
Bishop David Nitschmann, born at Zauchtenthal, Moravia, in 1696, was one of those three David Nitsch- manns who, in company with Melchior Zeisberger and John Toltschig, arrived in Herrnhut May 12, 1724, when the corner-stone of the first meeting-house was being laid. They were all young men of good families, with the best prospects before them in their own country, but rather than give up their religious meetings and submit to the errors of popery, they left house and home, wealth and fame, to seek among strangers a spot where they could serve the Lord according to the dictates of their con- science. Leaving their native village by night they expressed their feelings in the Moravian Emigrant's song :
" Blessed be the day when I must roam, Far from my country, friends, and home,
An exile, poor and mean ; My fathers' God will be my guide, — Will angel guards for me provide, —
My soul from dangers screen.
Himself will lead me to a spot, Where, all my cares and griefs forgot,
I shall enjoy sweet rest. As pants the hart for water-brooks, — My thirsting soul, with longing looks
To God, my refuge blest.
By the providence of God they were led to Herrnhut just when Frederick de Watteville was in the act of praying at the solemn consecration of the corner-stone
BETHLEHEM. 8$
of that house which was to contain the first Moravian chapel. Such a prayer they had never heard before, and they at once decided to cast their lot with these people. David Nitschmann and Melchior Zeisberger learned the carpenter's trade with Christian David, and were much happier here, though their fare was very poor and scant, than they had been at home in the plentiful enjoyment of the good things of this life.
On May 20, 1727, David Nitschmann was chosen one of the twelve brethren who constituted the first Elders' Conference of the Unity in the Renewed Church. In 1728 he was one of the three brethren who were sent to England to make the Moravian Church known there. On-August 21, 1732, he went out with Leonhard Dober to St. Thomas, to preach the Gospel to the negro slaves, thus beginning the first missionary work of the Church of the United Brethren among the heathen. After spending a year among the negroes, he was recalled to Herrnhut and on March 13, 1735, he was consecrated to the episcopal office as the first Bishop of the Renewed Church. This solemn transaction took place in Berlin in the presence of several Bohemian and Moravian brethren, when Bishop Daniel Ernst Jablonsky, court-preacher in Berlin and senior Bishop of the Ancient ( Tnitas FratniDL with the concurrence of Bishop Chris- tian Sitkovius of Lissa, Poland, thus transferred the epis- copacy again from the Polish to the Moravian branch of the Unity. Both Bishops furnished him with the usual certificate, giving him full authority "to hold visitations, ordain presbyters and deacons, and perform all the functions which belong to a bishop in the Church of Christ."
Zinzendorf characterizes David Nitschmann in these words: " His genuine conversion, his humble walk and conversation, his straightforward manner, his authority
84 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS
before the world ; his indefatigable zeal to spread the Gospel, his skill in planning and building-up settlements, his first attempt among the heathen, since so abundantly blessed by God — all this taken together pointed him out as the only candidate, when it was time to renew the Episcopacy of the Moravian Church. He spent most of his time in visiting the Moravian colonies in foreign countries."
In 1736 he accompanied the second company of col- onists to Georgia, assisted in 1738 in the establishment of Herrnhaag in Western Germany; and now in 1740 he arrived in Pennsylvania to superintend a settlement there.
He was accompanied by his aged uncle, David Nitschmann, generally called "old Father Nitschmann," who, though already sixty-four years old, was still very vigorous, both in body and in mind. This venerable patriarch of the Brethren, a genuine descendant of the Church of Martyrs, was born in Zauchtenthal in 1676. In early life he obtained a knowledge of evangelical truth by studying the writings of the forefathers, which were carefully hidden in secret places, and, later in life, in 1723, in consequence of the preaching of Christian David, he was led to open his house at Kunewalde for the preaching of the Gospel. This, of course, exposed him to persecution and he was repeatedly thrown into prison, as "an arch-heretic," loaded with irons, and was even put to the torture.
Having resolved to make his escape, Nitschmann made known his intention to one of his fellow prisoners, David Schneider, who decided to accompany him. About eleven o'clock at night, as he was trying to unloose his feet, to his astonishment he found that the stocks were unlocked ; and having assisted Schneider to take off his irons, they proceeded with cautious steps across the court
BETHLEHEM. 85
of the prison, and finding the doors open, hastened to Nitschmann's wife, to give her the necessary directions, and commenced their arduous journey out of the coun- try, fanuary 2.5, [725. They escaped into Silesia, where Nitschmann was joined by his wife and children (Melchior and [ohn, Rosina and Anna) and on February 25 they arrived at Herrnhut.
In [733 he went with the? first company of colonists to St. Croix, W. I., where his wife died in 1735. Having spent some time at I lerrnhut, lie assisted in building the Moravian settlement at Pilgerruh in Denmark, and when this plan failed, he; was requested to take an active part in the settlement of a third Moravian colony, which was more successful than the two former attempts. Having been duly naturalized in 1750, he became the nominal proprietor of all the lands belonging to the Brethren in America. He died at Bethlehem, in 1758, aged eighty- two years.
Old Father Nitschmann was accompanied to the New World by his youngest daughter, Anna Charity, (born November 24, 1715,) who exercised great influence in the earlier times of the Renewed Church. When but in her fifteenth year, on March 15, 1730, she was nominated by the sisters of Herrnhut to the office of Eldress, according- to the custom of the Ancient Church, and the remarkable choice of so young a person to such an office was confirmed by the Lord through the Lot. She gained her livelihood by spinning wool. Whole nights were frequently spent by her in prayer and communion with her Saviour. While she thus led a peaceful and happy life, she was of signal service in building up her sisters in the faith and love of God. When the number of chief elders decreased and their authority was virtu- ally exercised by a single individual, she was regarded by the Church as holding1 a similar office among the sisters.
86 the brethren's congregations
On May 4, 1730, she entered into a special covenant with seventeen of her sisters, to devote themselves wholly to the Lord. This covenant laid the foundation for the celebration of the fourth of May as a memorial day, for a solemn renewal of the pledge in the case of all those unmarried women who feel themselves drawn, by the grace of God, into the same spirit which was mani- fested by Anna Nitschmann and her faithful companions. No one, Zinzendorf not excepted, has been so highly esteemed, nay almost venerated among the Brethren, as this poor Moravian exile girl, Anna Nitschmann. From affection she was generally called " Mother Anna," or "The Mother."
For a time she laid aside her office as Eldress of the Single Sisters, in order to labor as a free handmaid of the Lord among her own sex in Pennsylvania. She was accompanied to America by Sister Hannah Molther, whose husband, the Rev. Philip H. Molther, was mean- while active in England.
The fifth of this company was Christian Frohlich, from Holstein, a baker by trade, and destined for missionary service among the Indians.
The Brethren at Nazareth were highly rejoiced at the opportune arrival of Bishop Nitschmann and his com- pany ; for they were just then quite at a loss in refer- ence to the future, as they had received a peremptory order from Mr. Whitefield, to leave his lands forthwith. The following was the reason for this strange proceeding :
When the Brethren left Georgia, they wished, if possible, to preserve the influence which they had gained among the heathen, and accordingly accepted an offer made to them by Mr. Whitefield to assist him in his establishment in Georgia, and Bro. John Hagen was sent there in 1740. Living in Whitefield's house and being in daily intercourse with his people, he often heard the
BETHLEHEM. 87
opinion expressed, that Christ had not died for all men, but only for those predestinated to salvation. Though avoiding- disputes as much as possible, still he could re- frain from maintaining his views, for he disapproved of the doctrine of election and reprobation as un-Scriptural. In consequence of this, White-field ordered his people to break off all intercourse with Bro. Hagen, while he took a journey to New England.
In Philadelphia he met Peter Bohler and disputed with him also on this doctrinal point, and as he could not con- vince him, resorted to a very practical argument and ordered the Brethren to leave his land. In justice to Mr. Whitefield, however, we must add that this doctrinal difference was probably not the only cause for such a summary proceeding; for Whitefield had become preju- diced against the Germans by the slanderous insinuations of some of their Irish neighbors, who looked with envy and jealousy on the German settlement. It was only the commericement of many subsequent similar perse- cutions, which in reality were caused not so much by different religious convictions as by the innate antag- onistic feeling- between the different races.
It was out of the question to remove "forthwith," as Winter was at hand ; but still they had to look for another place of refuge. Bishop Nitschmann's arrival was, therefore, a very joyful event ; for he had been commissioned to buy land in Pennsylvania for a settle- ment of the Brethren. Of various offers that of Justice Irish, agent of William Allen, of Philadelphia, seemed the most acceptable. Irish had seen Peter Bohler occa- sionally at the mill, and though not himself a professor of religion, yet he esteemed the Brethren as moral and industrious men, ami highly disapproved of Mr. White- field's arbitrary conduct. He, therefore, offered them five hundred acres of woodland at the confluence of the
8& THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS
Manakasy Creek and Lehigh River (or West Branch of the Delaware).
Having been recalled to Europe, Peter Bohler, left the care and superintendence of the intended colony to Bishop Nitschmann, and set sail for England in January, 1 741, from New York. In that city he became ac- quainted with the Noble and Horsfield families, which was the first step towards the formation of a Moravian congregation in New York City.
The Brethren went to work directly, cutting logs and clearing the ground, and in March, 1 741 — the weather being still very severe and the snow very deep — the first house was blocked up, old Father Nitschmann surpass ing all in industry and perseverance. In April, Bishop Nitschmann closed the contract with Mr. Allen, and on June 26, after all the brethren and sisters had removed from Nazareth into the new house near the Lehigh,13 they immediately began preparations for the erection of a two-story " clergy-house," in which work they were faithfully assisted by Henry Antes.
While thus engaged they received letters from Europe announcing- that the Nazareth tract had been bought for the Church. Mr. Seward having died suddenly, Mr. Whitefield was called upon to refund the advanced money, for which purpose he offered to sell a part of the land, retaining only five hundred acres for himself. Peter Bohler heard of it and consulted with Spangenberg, who was in England at the time, and the latter, resolved to
13 They must have been rather crowded in that small one-story log building, for the company consisted of ten brethren, two sisters and two boys, viz., Anthony Seiffert, George Zeisberger and his son David, M. Seybold, John Martin Mack, George Neisser (who had left Georgia and for a time had lived with Henry Antes), John Bohner, Bishop Nitschmann, Father Nitschmann, C. Frohlich ; Sisters Zeisberger and Hannah Hummel; Benjamin Summers and James. Sister Anna Nitschmann and Sister H. Molther had meanwhile gone to Oley, to assist Andrew Eschenbach in his spiritual labors.
BETHLEHEM. 89
prevent needless discussions with Whitefield, decided either to buy the whole tract, or not to meddle with it at all. Whitefield agreed, on condition that the Brethren, in addition to the original sum, should assume all the expense already incurred. Thus those who had been at first day-laborers on the land and afterwards exiles from it, now became the lawful owners of the soil, which in later years proved a very valuable property, comprising as it did the whole of Upper Nazareth township.'4
For the present it was impossible to go on with the building of the Whitefield house, as the large house at the Lehigh had first to be finished. The corner-stone of this building was solemnly laid on September 20, Bishop Xitschmann and Bro. Andrew Eschenbach conducting the religious ceremonies.
On October 26 three brethren arrived from Europe, John Christopher Pyrlaeus, who had studied at Leipzig, and Gottlob Biittner and William Zander, from the Brethren's Theological Seminary, who were destined to serve as missionaries among the Indians. They were followed by Count Zinzendorf and his company, who arrived on December 24, or December 13 old style. In the same night Christmas Eve was celebrated by the whole company in the small log-house, which was as yet the only finished building.
John Martin Mack relates: "The place having as yet no name, it so happened, that on Christmas Eve we called
u In reference to the title to the Nazareth tract we find the following notes in a litter of Spangenberg to Matthew Hehl :
Mr. I'enn bought this land from the Indians, conveyed five hundred acres to Laetitia Aubrey as a Barony, without quit-rent. From her Mr. William Allen bought it, paying /"500 ; sold it again to Whitefield for ^"2200. By him it was transferred to G. Stonehouse, and then to Countess Zinzendorf for the Moravian Church.
Therefore it was not Indian land when the Brethren bought it, though there wen- Indians living on it, who < [aimed to be the rightful owners despite the fact that it had been sold long ago both by the Delawares and the Iroquois.
90 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
to mind the birth of our Saviour, and as there was a thin partition-wall between our dwelling-room and the cow- and horse-stable, the ' Ordinary ' in the tenth hour of the night went over to the stable and commenced to sing with great fervency of spirit :
' Not Jerusalem, — No, from Bethlehem We receive life and salvation, etc.' I5
"And thus on Christmas Eve, i 74 1 , this new settlement received the name of 'Bethlehem.'"16
Thus passed the year 1741, in which the first steps were taken for a permanent settlement of the Brethren in Pennsylvania. Though their time was fully occupied with building and clearing the land, one or the other of the brethren occasionally visited the older German settlements, to become acquainted with the spiritual needs of the country. Bishop Nitschmann paid a longer visit to Checomeko, to observe the work of grace prevailing among the Indians.17 He found great reason to rejoice at the blessing which attended Brother Rauch's faithful and self-denying labors. Upon his return he made a very favorable report of what he had seen in Checomeko, in consequence of which John Martin Mack was appointed Rauch's assistant. The Delawares living in the neighborhood were an especial object of solicitude to the Brethren, who omitted no opportunity of showing a kind disposition to serve them in various ways. Bro. Christian Frohlich soon became a favorite among the Indians, and their Captain, Jan or John, who
15 " Nicht Jerusalem, — -
Sondern Bethlehem, Aus dir kommet, was mir frommet." — Hymn-book of 1735, No. 940, parts of stanzas 2 and 3. 16 Another derivation of the name, but probably of later origin, makes it "the house on the Lehigh" (or Lecha). *7 Loskiel, II., p. 17.
ZINZENDORF. 9 1
could speak a little English, conceived such an affection for him, that he offered to make him a present of his son, a boy about eleven years old.
Sister Anna Nitschmann visited in Skippack, Oley and Ephrata. At the latter place she found Gottfried Habe- recht, one of the Georgia colonists, who had been living in the monaster)- for several years and now joyfully re- ceived permission to return to his brethren. The Ephrata monks and man)- others often visited the new settlement on the Lehigh, where, especially in August, an abundance of rockfish proved a very acceptable supply for the colonists and their visitors.
It may be said, in truth, that from its very commence- ment Bethlehem attracted the attention of all German Pennsylvania. Now Zinzendorf had arrived, and soon the whole country was excited either for or against the Moravian Brethren.
6. ZINZENDORF'S VISIT IX PENNSYLVANIA IX I 742.
Ix 1737 Count Zinzendorf had been consecrated a Bishop of the Church of the United Brethren, thus re- nouncing- for ever all prospects of worldly fame and political distinction, and thereby dedicating- himself en- tirely to the service of the Lord in His Church militant on earth. But though he was now a Moravian Bishop, it was by no means his intention to devote all the strength and energy of his mind exclusively to the service of the Moravian Church. Considering himself a servant of Christ in His Church on earth, his active mind could not be restrained within the narrow bounds of any particular branch of the universal Church. Wherever his Master had work for him, he was ready to do it, quite uncon- cerned whether his services would be acceptable to man or not, caring as little for the praise or good will of his
92 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
fellow Christians as for the hatred and persecution of the worldly-minded.
When in 1736 the decree of banishment from Saxony was placed in his hands, he said : " Within the next ten years I can not at any rate return to Herrnhut to re- main there, for now we must collect the ' Pilgergemeine ' (the congregation of pilgrims), and proclaim the Saviour to the world. Our home will be wherever the most real service (das Reelste) is to be done for the Saviour."
In the same year a letter arrived from Spangenberg in Pennsylvania, which seems to have made a deep im- pression on Zinzendorf's mind, and which he afterwards designated as his first call to Pennsylvania.18 On the point of leaving for St. Thomas to visit the Mission there, whilst Bishop Nitschmann intended to sail for Europe in a short time, Spangenberg wrote, June, 1737: "His (viz., Bishop Nitschmann's) walk and conversation have been among all with whom he has become ac- quainted, a shining light, whereby they might have learned to know themselves, and to find the right way in which they ought to walk. Yet there is a much greater harvest awaiting you, dear brother, for it has been impossible to speak thoroughly with all the souls that hunger for the truth. There is not one in these parts, among those with whom I have become acquainted, who does not wish to see you and to hear you. I wish you wings to cross the sea, and to collect for the warfare of the Lord all those that have hitherto hid themselves in caverns, in holes, and in the rocks. They promise themselves a great blessing if a branch (Pfropfreis) of the Church at Herrnhut could be transplanted here, con- cerning which Nitschmann will tell you more. The Lord will surely do much more than we expect, and
18 Ludewig's alissere erste Vocation nach Pennsylvanien. — MS in the Beth- lehem Archives. See also "B. Ludewig's Wahrer Bericht," pp. 15 and 16.
ZINZENDORF. 93
eyes, ears, tongues and hands will fail us to see, hear, tell and write it all. The Lord be praised for all His faithfulness towards His people. I must conclude, as the vessel is ready to sail ; but I remain for ever,
Your faithful
Span(;knp.kr(;."
The subsequent written and oral reports of Nitsch- mann and Spangenberg, the accounts of the great desti- tution of the Germans in Pennsylvania and of the miser- able condition of the Indians, had their effect both on Zinzendorf and on the congregation in general. The failure of the Moravian colony of Pilgerruh in Denmark, caused by the enemies of Zinzendorf, seemed a plain indication of Providence that it was now time to look for a permanent place of refuge for the Moravian exiles in Pennsylvania, this being at that time the freest and most tolerant country in the world. Therefore Bishop Nitschmann and his company were sent out in 1740 to found a colony in Pennsylvania, which in the providence of God was destined soon to increase by numbers of those who from all parts of Protestant Christendom swelled the ranks of the Moravian Church.
A personal visit of Count Zinzendorf in Pennsylvania would not have been absolutely necessary for the further- ance of this Moravian colony. Either Nitschmann or Spangenberg or Peter Bohler was much better qualified than Zinzendorf to direct such an undertaking. But his plans and ideas reached far beyond the narrow boundaries of the Moravian Church, as may be gathered from an address, delivered in Herrendyk, August 6, 1741, when he declared publicly: "I am destined by the Lord to proclaim the message of the death and blood of Jesus, not with human ingenuity, but with divine power, unmindful of personal consequences t<> myself. And this was my vocation long before 1 knew
94 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
anything of the Moravian Brethren. Though I am and shall remain connected with the Moravian Brethren, who have accepted and taken to heart the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and have called me and other brethren to the ministry in their congregations, still I do not on that ac- count by any means separate myself from the Lutheran Church, for a witness of Jesus can well live and remain in this Church. Nevertheless I can not with my testi- mony confine myself to one denomination ; for the whole , earth is the Lord's, and all sou/s are His ; I am a debtor to all. I know that I shall find opposition in future as well as hitherto ; but the message of the crucified Jesus is divine power and divine wisdom, and whosoever op- poses it, will be confounded."
Zinzendorf was of the opinion that the best field for unrestrained general activity for the Kingdom of God would be found in Pennsylvania ; for in a country and among a people where there were as yet no ecclesiastical organizations whatever, there could not be hindrances such as he had met elsewhere — hindrances founded upon and emanating from ecclesiastical usages and customs of old standing. Therefore if anywhere on earth his ideal of " a Church of God in the Spirit" could be realized, Pennsylvania, he thought, might be that country.
In order not to be restrained in any way in his general activity for the Lord, Zinzendorf for a while severed his connection with the Moravian Church, and in June, 1 741 , laid down his episcopal office. When he landed in Philadelphia, in December, he announced himself to Governor Thomas not as Count de Zinzendorf, but as Dominie de Thlirnstein, wishing his rank as nobleman not to become known in this country. Nevertheless it became known that Dominie de Thlirnstein was the famous Count de Zinzendorf, and so he tried to escape the difficulties growing out of his rank by renouncing his
ZINZENDORF. 95
title as Count. This he did in a Latin oration before Governor Thomas and other persons of distinction19. But whether he called himself "Dominie de Thiirnstein," " Friend Lewis," " Brother Ludwig," " Johanan," or " the Ordinary" everybody knew him to be and treated him as the Count de Zinzendorf.20
He was accompanied to America by his daughter Benigna, then sixteen years of age, Rosina Nitschmann,
1 In tin- Biidingische Sammlungen, III, p. 330 etc., the following memor- andum of May 15 (Old Style, May 26, New Style), [742, is found:
Inclosed latin Oration and Declaration was made and pronounced by the Right Honnble Count Lewis de Zinzendorff before the Honnble George Thomas, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Pro- vince of Pensylvania and Counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware, at his Dwelling-house in the City of Philadelphia. Present: — Doctor Thomas Graeme, one of the Provincial Judg -. Willm. Allen, Recorder of the said City. Tench Francis, Attorney General James Hamilton, one of the Justices of the Peace and Protont. of the
Court of Common Pleace. Thorn. Lawrence, one of the Governour's Council and one of the Jus- tices of the peace. Doctor Patrick Bard, the Governor's Secretary. William Peters, Esq. James Read, Esq.
The Rev. Mr. Eneas Ross, Minister of Christ's Church, Philad. The Rev. Mr. Cross, Minister of a Congreg. of Dissenters, Philadelphia. The Rev. Pyrlaeus. Mr. Benezet, Merchant. Mr. Jn. Sober, D. Mr. Graydon, I). Mr. Sam. M. Call, 1). Mr. Cha. Willing, D. Mr. Benj. Franklin, Postmaster.
And Mr. Cha. Brockden, Deputy-Master of the Rolls of the said Pro- vince and Recorder of Deeds for the City and County of Philadelphia. The Count reading over the printed Copy, each Gentleman in the mean- time perused the other Copies, wich ware all herein inclosed under my Seal, wich I affixed in the Presence of the Governour.
(A true copy.) C. BROCKDEN,
30 Zinzendorf, as Count and Lord of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, Lord of the Manors of Freydeck, Schoneck, Thiirnstein and the Wachau Valley, and Lord of the Estates of Upper-, Middle-, and Lower Bertholdsdorf,
96 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
wife of Bishop Nitschmann, John Jacob Miiller, his secretary, Abraham Meinung and his wife, Henry Miiller, and David Bruce, who had been a Scotch Presbyterian.
7. THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS, 1 742.
Hardly had Zinzendorf arrived in Pennsylvania, when he felt as if he ought to call out in the words of Moses : "Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me." Ex. 3:26. When he became acquainted with the moral and religious state of society, he was for a time at a loss how to find among- the crowd of infidels, scoffers and self- rigfhteous saints, those humble and contrite souls who were really desirous of a revival of religion. From the accounts received through Spangenbergand others he had conceived the idea that there was a general desire for the glad tidings of the Gospel, and that therefore he, as an ambassador of Christ, would be every where received with open arms. But he found it very different. " I ex- pected," he said in an open letter to the Germans in February, i 742, " to be received with love and confidence, but I encountered a great deal of mistrust and oppo- sition. Is it to be wondered at, that I felt dejected, and that the lukewarmness of my countrymen in Philadelphia depressed me. But I thought : I will keep silent, and not open my mouth. The Lord will help.
" I traveled through Pennsylvania, but could not speak anywhere, except in Oley. Therefore, I can tell you, my countrymen, in a few words, what I have done in
including Herrnhut, etc., etc., was fully and legitimately entitled to use any of these feudal names, whenever he so wished, especially when he preferred to travel incognito. See Preface to Spangenberg's Life of Zinzendorf, pp. 3 and 4. He was called " Friend Ludwig " or " Friend Lewis " by the mem- bers of the Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers; while " Johanan " was the name given him by the Indians. " The Ordinary " was the easy English of a Latin official title conferred upon him by the Moravian Brethren, namely, Ordinarius et Advocatus Fratrum.
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. 97
these two months : I traveled and prayed, and wept and bore witness, and sought for peace, and seek it still."
However, his bold testimony in Oley, his sermons and other devotional meeting's in his rooms in Germantown soon attracted the attention of those who were secretly sighing over the deplorable state of religion among; their countrymen. Henry Antes, John Bechtel, Adam Gruber, Christopher Wiegner and others had often, in their meetings at Bechtel's house, expressed the wish that there might be less envy, malice and slander displayed, both in conversation and in the public prints, and had only waited for a favorable opportunity to do something in the matter. Now the time seemed to have come, and they thought that Count Zinzendorf, with whom they had become acquainted, might be of essential service in conciliating the clashing views, and in bringing about more friendly relations between the different denominations.
On December 26, 1 74 1 , Henry Antes sent out a cir- cular, inviting members of all denominations to attend a general meeting at Germantown " not for the purpose of disputing, but in order to treat peaceably concerning the most important articles of faith, and to ascertain how far they all might agree in the most essential points, for the purpose of promoting mutual love and forbearance."21
Pursuant to the invitation a considerable number of delegates of different German denominations assembled at Germantown at the house of Theobald Endt, on January 12, 1742 (New Year's Day of Old Style). The minutes or summary results22 of these meetings are
31 Biidingische Sammlungen, II, p. 722.
32 Authentische | Relation | von dem | Anlass, Fortgang und Schlusse | Der .mi rsten u\u\ 2ten Januarii Anno 174.1 | In Germantown gehaltenen | Versammlung | Einiger Arbeiter | Derer meisten Christlichen Relijjionen ; und I Yielei voi >uh selbst Gott-dienenden Christen-Menschen | in Pennsyl- vania. I Aufgesetzt | In Germantown am Abend des 2ten obigen Monats. Philadelphia, | Gedruckt und zu haben bey B. Franklin. |
Extracts in the Biidingische Sammlungen, II, p. 722, et seq.
98 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
extant in print, though the number of the members is nowhere mentioned ; but more than fifty persons are named as taking an active part in these deliberations. The following seem to have been the most prominent : Lutheran : Conrad Weiser. German Reformed : Henry Antes, John Bechtel, John
Leinbach. Mennonite : John de Turk (Oley). Tunkers : Joseph Miiller, Andrew Frey, Abraham du
Bois, G. A. Martin. Schwenkj elder : C. Wiegner. Siebentager ; Prior Onesimus (Israel Eckerlin), John
Hildebrand, H. Kalkloser. Separatists: J. A. Gruber, Theobald Endt, Conrad
Matthai. Hermit: J. G. Stieffel.
Moravians : de Thlirnstein, John Jacob Miiller, (Secretary of the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh Synods,) Bishop David Nitschmann, Andrew Eschenbach, Pyrlaeus, Biittner, Rauch, and others.23 When Antes' circular arrived at Ephrata, " a council of war was held in the camp," and it was resolved that a brother in Zion and some fathers should make their ap- pearance there ; but the Prior, against whose dignity it
23 The following are some additional names whose Church-relations are not mentioned :
Cornelius Weygand and Christopher Meng, from Germantown.
Adam Schaues, from Frederick Township, Secretary of the second Synod.
John Peter Jacobs von Larschett, Amwell Township, West Jersey.
John Kooken, Worcester Township.
Christian Kintsy, Oley.
John Bartley, Oley.
G. Merckel, Skippack.
Jacob Vetter and John Herpein, Oley.
Christian Baus, Skippack.
Heinrich Hollstein, Falkner Swamp.
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. 99
would have been that another should be preferred to him, knew how to manage that his hands were filled.24
The Mennonites at Skippack sent no delegates to the first meeting.
According- to Zinzendort's statement, there were generally about one hundred or more persons present at these Synods, but he declares distinctly in his " Naturelle Reflexionen : " a5 " I was neither the author nor adviser (suasor) of these meetings, which were called by Penn- sylvanians who had become tired of their own ways. What the object ol these meetings may have been, I am not able to determine. I should almost think that every deputy had his own instructions. What my ulti- nnis fines (ultimate object) was, I know well enough, and have not for a moment endeavored to conceal. I wished to make use of this opportunity to place on the throne (inthronisiren) the Lamb of God, as the real (eigentliche) Creator, Preserver, Redeemer and Sancti- fier of the whole world, and at the same time to intro- duce in thcoria et praxi the catholicity of the doctrine of His Passion, as a universal theology for the German Pennsylvanians."
It is difficult to decide whether the original purposes of those who convened these meetings were always kept in view and finally obtained, but as far as we are acquainted with the proceedings, it may be said that they were not. It appears as if Antes and other "lovers of peace" would have been satisfied if they could only have succeeded in forming a kind of confederacy among all the different denominations and sects, henceforth to avoid all animosities and, without condemning others in minor particulars, to agree in the essential point of the orthodox and evangelical doctrine, " Justifi-
*4 Chronicon Ephratense, p. 126.
■s Naturelle Reflexionen, pp. 194, 195.
IOO THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
cation by faith in Christ," lest the children of this world might have reason to say: "They that preach peace and conversion are at enmity 'amongst themselves."
Others may have attended with the intention of defend- ing and spreading their peculiar views, and kept aloof when they perceived that they could not succeed in their design.
A Christian Union, in the modern acceptation of the term, was not broug-ht about, nor was it intended, as far as Zinzendorf was concerned. On the contrary, these synodal meetings had rather the effect of increasing the religious warfare between churchmen and dissen- ters, errorists and indifferentists, lukewarm disciples and fanatics. But the standard of the Gospel was raised higher ; the warfare was no longer concerning outward forms and ceremonies merely, but about the very essence of Christianity itself. A fermenting leaven was thrown into the corrupt mass, and many who had been indifferent about the concerns of their souls, began to inquire for the truth and to wish for the long- neglected means of grace.
Hence more than a mere passing notice of these Synods is important, not only for the history of the Brethren's Church in America, but for the general Church History of Pennsylvania.
. The first Synod was held at Germantown in Theobald Endt's house, on January 12 and 13, 1742, (New Style.) Henry Antes opened the meeting by once more stating its object, as expressed in his circular mentioned above. Thereupon a Separatist (whose name is not mentioned), handed in a paper containing some stringent remarks "about some sermons of a newly arrived German min- ister and his uncharitable expressions." Zinzendorf thus gained an opportunity to repeat what he had said in a sermon in Germantown and to point out Christ and
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. IOI
His meritorious suffering and death as the only source of our salvation. His words made a deep impression and his proposal that they all. instead of judging and condemning- each other, ought to how down before the Saviour and implore His forgiveness, was generally ap- proved of.
But as there were not only such present who desired a closer connection with each other, but also Separatists, who had conscientious scruples concerning too in- timate and close connection, this point was thoroughly discussed on the second day, and according to the Saviour's declaration (John i 7 : 10-23), it was maintained, that the closer fellowship of believers was in itself no sign of sinful attachment. " The true communion of the saints," it was said, "is the Church of God in the Spirit throughout the whole world, constituting that spiritual body whose Head is Christ. But they also constitute a communion of saints who, though outwardly belonging to different denominations, agree in all essen- tial points of doctrine pertaining to salvation. And lastly those small societies or congregations are called a commmunion of saints, who form a closer and more intimate connection among themselves in order that their ministers, as they who must give account, may be enabled to watch the better over their souls." (Heb. 13: 17.)
After these preliminaries the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :
" We believe and unanimously confess, that no one else could have saved us from eternal death, save our Lord and God, Jesus Christ alone, by His blood. We be- lieve that He must die for the world ; not that any one in heaven or on earth could have forced Him, but because there was no other way in heaven or on earth to save us ; His compassion for us sinners constraining Him.
102 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
"The Father, who loved His only-begotten Son, es- pecially because He (the Son) willed to give His life for the world, even before its creation, has sent Him for this purpose. He has given Him for the whole world, and Jesus is, therefore, called not only the Saviour of believers and the propitiation for their sins, but also for the sins of the whole world, and the Saviour of all men. * * *
" Every one remaineth dead in sin, except he be called to life by Christ. Every one must be regenerated ; but when and in what manner, is known only to the Lord. It is not our office to bring souls to life, but to impart the Word of Life to those that have been awakened by Christ. * * *
" The pardoned sinner has the privilege or the right, henceforth not to sin any more, but to become holy ; and lest Satan again pervert his senses, he must have his heart and mind guarded by the grace of the Lord, our God."
In conclusion all agreed to abstain in future from dis- puting about all plain passages of Scripture ; and thus the conference ended peaceably, orderly and in the most per- fect unanimity, as is testified by the signing of the minutes by nine witnesses, chosen from different denominations.
But we may well suppose that the oral and printed reports of this meeting were not received alike favorably everywhere. Here and there more or less opposition was thereby called forth, and especially was this the case at the Ephrata Monastery. Prior Onesimus, who had been treated by Zinzendorf with great consideration, in- sisted that the next Synod should be held "in the camp," that is, at Ephrata. But Father Friedsam strenuously op- posed it, probably foreseeing danger for his own authority in these public meetings. On this account, also, he took care never to come into personal contact with Count Zinzendorf, whose mental superiority he could not but
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. IO3
secretly acknowledge. He found it a good opportunity, however, to break the increasing power of the Prior. Meanwhile he permitted some of his community to attend several of the succeeding meetings.26
The second Synod was held in the house of George Huebner in Falkner Swamp, on January 25 and 26. Zinzendorf was at once elected presiding officer, and for the purpose of bringing some order into this chaos of most contradictory views and opinions, and to avoid unnecessary and lengthy discussions about trifling mat- ters, proposed to decide by the Lot what subjects should be discussed, and also whether any one should, or should not, produce his own views, which might possibly prove to be very undigested. Whether Zinzendorf himself always strictly adhered to this rule, might be difficult to decide.
The most important decision of this meeting was the following- : 27
"The proper object of this assembly of all evangelical denominations is, that henceforth a poor inquirer for the way of life may not be directed in twelve different ways, but only in one, let him ask whom he will. But if any one should take a fancy to him who directed him in the way, and should wish to travel on the same according to his method, he has full liberty to do so, provided he be as yet in no connection with any religious society."
The third Synod met at ( )ley, in John de Turk's house, on February 2 1-23.
Through the evangelical testimony of Bro. Andrew Eschenbach, a small congregation of believers, consisting of Lutherans, German Reformed, Mennonites and others had been gathered at this place ; their minister being a Moravian. The most natural course would have been
36 Chron. Ephratense, p. i 26.
1 Fourth Question ; see Report, p. 26.
104
at once to organize these believers as a Moravian con- gregation, and it is probable that all concerned would have agreed. But Zinzendorf opposed this plan. He did not wish to gain proselytes for the Brethren's Church, his idea being that "if all could only agree in the most essential points, every one might remain in his denomi- nation."
The Synod, therefore, coinciding with Zinzendort's views, recognized the Oley congregation as an undenomi- national Church, and Andrew Eschenbach, who was to continue his apostolic labors in this congregation, was sol- emnly ordained a minister of the Gospel by the Moravian Bishop, David Nitschmann, assisted by Brother Ludwig, as a theologian from Tubingen28, and by Brother Anthony Seiffert, an elder and teacher of the Moravian colony in Georgia.
At the same time also, three other Brethren received ordination, viz., Christian Henry Ranch, missionary among the Indians between Esopus and Albany ; Gottlob Blittner, destined to be a missionary among the Six Nations ; and J. Christopher Pyrlaeus, minister-elect of the Lutheran congregation in Philadelphia.
After this act, preparations were made for the baptism of three converted Indians, who had come with the mis- sionary, Brother Rauch, from Checomeko. The whole assembly being met in a barn belonging to Mr. de Turk, the three catechumens were placed in the midst, and with fervent prayer and supplication were devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, as His eternal property ; upon which Brother Rauch, with great emotion of heart, baptized these three first fruits of the North American Indians into the death of Jesus, calling Shabash, Abraham ; Seim, Isaac ; and Kiop,
28 Zinzendorf had been approved as a Lutheran theologian by the Lutheran Superintendent and Divines at Stralsund, April 26, 1734, and had been formally recognized as such by the Theological Faculty of the Univer- sity of Tubingen, December 19, 1734.
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. I05
Jacob. The Tunker brethren were present at this trans- action, though the baptism was performed by sprinkling.
These solemn acts had a great influence on the spirit of the whole assembly, which at first, when the Siebentager brought forward a paper against matrimony, and a Scotch Presbyterian addressed them, speaking of the secret enemies of Jerusalem, threatened to become very stormy ; but when the Siebentager had departed, so much harmony prevailed, or seemed to prevail, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit was felt in so powerful a manner, that all the members present (Lutherans, Reformed, Baptists, Mora- vians, Schwenkfelders) felt, for the moment at least, that the)- were, indeed, one Church of God in the Spirit, though outwardly divided into different denominations and communities.
Fearing that this spiritual union might again be broken, they made the following provision, which may be objected to as inadequate, though it at least shows the sincerity ' of their convictions and the fervency of their brotherly love. From fifty men there were selected by Lot, first thirty, then twenty, then ten, and then five, and from these five, appointed by Lot, three were elected as trustees of the Synod, viz., Andrew Frey, a Baptist or Tunker ; Gott- tried Haberecht, who had been a member of the Ephrata community, and Anthony Seiffert, from Bethlehem.
These trustees were ordered by the Synod to select from the children of God in this country two worthy men, and to have them confirmed by Lot. These men, known only to the trustees, should superintend the Church of God in the Spirit, and should try to prevent, as much as was in their power, this spiritual union from being again dissolved, or from becoming a new sect without spirit. In case their names should become known, their commission was to cease, and others were to be elected
by the trustees.
7
106 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
Whether this resolution was ever acted upon, it would of course, be difficult to determine, but from some hints in the manuscript minutes29 of the sixth Synod it would appear as if the selection of these two men had not been made. But even if these proceedings should be called unpractical, they at least prove that Zinzendorf aimed at no spiritual dominion in this country ; that he did not wish to become the founder of a new Church ; but that his aim was that "all Christians might be perfect in one." John 17: 21—23.
However, the immediate effect of this arrangement was that the Mennonites and Schwenkfelders withdrew alto- gether ; the Tunkers arranged their own annual meet- ings,30 which continue to this day31 ; and the Sieben- tager also refused to have any further connection with these Synods. Hence the next meeting, which had been appointed for Conestoga, had to be transferred to Ger- mantown.
The fourth Synod met at Germantown in Mr. Ash- mead's house, on March 21—23.
2? MS, Bethlehem Archives.
30 Chron. Ephratense, p. 210. George Adam Martin, at that time a min- ister of the Tunkers and later a monk at Ephrata, speaks as follows con- cerning these Synods: " Und weilen alle Gesinntheiten darzu eingeladen wurden, wurde ich auch von meinero Vorsteher deputirt, dahin zu gehen : als ich zur Conferenz kam, welche in Oley gehalten wurde, fand ich daselbst von unsern Taufern, Siebentager, Mennonisten und Separatisten ; der Graf aber selbst war Vorsitzer, daselbst horete ich drey Tage wunderliche u. seltsame Sachen. Als ich nun wieder heimkam, brachte ich mich bey meinen Vorstehern an, und sagte ; dasz ich des Grafen Conferenzen ansehe als einen Fallstrick, um einfaltige und ungeiibte erweckte Leute wieder an die Kindertaufe und den Kirchengang zu bringen, und das alte Babel wieder auf zu richten. Wir hielten Rath, was zu thun seye, und wurden einig, dieser Gefahr zu vor zu kommen, weil schon einige Taufer sich an dieser nichtigen Lehre vergaft hatten, jahrlich eine Conferenz zu halten, oder, wie wirs nannten, eine grose Versammlung, (a big meeting) und wurde zugleich Zeit und Ort bestimmt : dieses ist der Anfang und das Fundament von der grosen Versammlung der Taufer."
31 Winebrenner's History of Denominations, p. 93.
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. ICJ
When Zinzendorf entered and found that only those had made their appearance who were really one in spirit — the Mennonites and Schwenkfelders having sent no deputies — he felt that the proper object of these meet- ings would not be gained, and proposed to dissolve the meeting at once, but this proposition was overruled by the Synod.
The discussion soon turned from general matters to the especial wants of particular localities, and different proposals and resolutions were passed, which, however, are of no general interest.
The most important matter was Zinzendorf's inci- dental declaration concerning the Lutheran Church. When a Tunker and Siebentagfer began a theological dispute, he made use of this opportunity to request permission of the Synod to demonstrate that the Lutheran denomination, of which he still held himself to be a member, was properly the most blessed one and, as to the internal concerns of the soul, preferable even to the old Moravian, and open for all apostolic graces, if only its ministers would be valiant, single-minded, well- grounded in doctrine and would act with divine wisdom. He further stated, that it was a great question whether a servant of Christ who had separated himself from the Lutheran Church, had gained anything by joining another sect ; he considered it very doubtful.
As regards the Reformed Church he referred to the first part of the published proceedings of the Synod of Berne, saying that the chief points of doctrine were there set forth according to the truth, in such a manner, that a servant of Jesus in that Church, might, under the shield of his denominational creed, proclaim the pure Gospel.
Hence it would naturally follow, that if these two Churches would unite and hold their spiritual treasure in common, they might form a real apostolic Church, and
108 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
gradually absorb all smaller sects, whereupon the Mora vian Church, seeing" her dear brothers in one house, would be their faithful sister.
The fifth Synod was held in a more public manner, on April 17-20, in the German Reformed Church in Germantown, and was attended by those only who were of one mind and one spirit. Concerning the ecclesiastico- religious state of Pennsylvania the Synod declared :
" Pennsylvania is a complete Babel. The first to be accomplished is to liberate its sighing prisoners, which cannot be done according to the common rules ; apostolic powers are required."
Quite unexpectedly Bro. C. G. Israel, missionary in St. Croix, W. I., arrived while the Synod was yet in session, and related his wonderful preservation in a ship- wreck near Tortola, December, 1739, where his com- panion, Albinus Feder, perished.32
Immediately after the Synod the minister of the Re- formed Church in Germantown, John Bechtel, was ordained by Bishop Nitschmann, who thereupon de- parted on a visitation of the Moravian Missions in the Danish West Indies.
The sixth Synod, also held at Germantown, on May 16-18, seems to have been but sparsely attended, and was the least important of all. It is evident that these meetings followed each other in too quick succession, and it is not to be wondered at, if even those who at first had taken a lively interest became tired and remained away.
A proposal to invite all parents in the four counties of Pennsylvania to send one man from each township to a conference in Bethlehem, to devise ways and means for the establishment of a general boarding-school, led to no results.
32 Oldendorp's Missions-Geschichte, p. 627, et scq.
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. IO9
The seventh Synod was convened at Philadelphia, on June 13 and 14, "in Mr. Evans' house," and was numer- ously attended, partly because it was intended to be the last of these meetings, and partly because it had become known that a considerable company of Moravians had arrived, and curiosity was excited to see these people.
It must be borne in mind, that when these Synods began, there was no Moravian Church in this country, and therefore no deputies of the Moravians could attend them. There were some members of the Church living in the woods where Nazareth and Bethlehem are now located, who had made the first beginnings of a settlement. As they enjoyed the love and confi- dence of other children of God, they were freely per- mitted, as far as they themselves were concerned, to take part in the deliberations of the Synods, and some, for instance, Bishop Nitschmann and Anthony Seiffert, even became active members. Still, as Zinzendorf expresses it,33 "as the)' had nothing to do with the prevailing con- fusion of tongues in Pennsylvania," not having any established congregations in the country, they could not participate in the deliberations of the Synod in the same manner as did other denominations. But now the time was come when the first Moravian Church in .America was to be established, under the direction of the Lord.
A colon)- of Moravian pilgrims, fifty-seven in number, had arrived in Philadelphia, on June 7, a few days before the opening of the seventh Synod, and had made applica- tion to be received into the spiritual connection of the "Church of Ood in the Spirit." After several letters addressed to the Synod had been read, Peter Bohler, the leader of this company which had been regularly organ- ized as a "Sea Congregation," and three elders, George Piesch, John Brandmuller, and Adolph Meyer, were then
53 Zinzendorf's Naturelle Reflexionen, p. 192.
IIO THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
summoned, and closely questioned concerning their doc- trine ; the names of all the brethren and sisters who were to constitute the Church at Bethlehem, were read — one hundred and twenty in all — and a vote having been taken, all present in Philadelphia were permitted to enter.34
After a fervent prayer by Andrew Frey, one of the trustees of the Synod, and a short address by the Presi- dent, Zinzendorf, Henry Antes declared in the name of all the members present, " that the undenominational35 Synod of Pennsylvania acknowledges the old Moravian Church just arrived, as a true Church of the Lord ; that their ministers especially will be considered their brethren and fellow-servants ; that as regards the internal arrange- ments of their Church, the Synod, according to its fundamental rules, will not interfere in any way, deeming this, as well as any other, Church ' independent and inviolable;" and finally expressed the wish, that the grace of the Lamb might be with them.
Anthony Seiffert, another trustee of the Synod, and an Elder of the Church, concluded the solemnity by prayer. In the afternoon the members of the Synod and the " Sea Conereofation " held a love-feast on board the vessel.
The second day was altogether devoted to the regular business of the Synod. After full discussion the views of its members in reference to the religious state of nine denominations, viz., the Friends, Moravians, Lutherans, German Reformed, Mennonites, Schwenkfelders, Tunkers, Conestoga Siebentager, and Separatists, were recorded and published in nine paragraphs as the " unanimous result of the General Synod of Pennsylvania."36
" Authentisch? Relation der siebenten Synodus der Gemeine Gottes im Cxeist, p. 109.
& " Unpartheyische " = undenominational.
36 Authentische Relation der siebenten Synodus, p. 113.
THE PENNSYLVANIA SYNODS. Ill
It was further resolved to convene as regularly as possible a quarterly Ministerial Conference (Arbeiter Rath,) either at Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Conestoga, or somewhere else in the country, to be attended by all those who had remained faithful to the decisions of the first conference, and open to all servants of Christ who acknowledged His divinity, did not believe in the doctrine of reprobation and promised not to abuse the confidence of the Synod.
Lastly, Henry Antes was commissioned to prepare, in the name of the Synod, a circular to the whole country, in which all the children of God should be invited to join the Church of God in the Spirit. In this circular occurs the following passage, which will easily be recog- nized as Zinzendorf s own resume of these seven Synods :
" All of us, taken together, constitute the body of Jesus in Pennsylvania, which was recognized as such in the first conference of all denominations ; acknowledged anew in the second Synod ; sealed in the third ; opened in the fourth ; demonstrated in the fifth and sixth ; and in the seventh and last general conference of denominations cheered by the presence of a visible Church of Jesus. We intend to continue holding this Church-council every quarter of a year, with all quietness, according to the wisdom which the Lord will grant. Our members will assist; for as regards externals all are called and spirit ually all are known. Whoever belongs to the Lord, let him come to us !
"These are the words of the Church of the Lord to all her members, whether hidden or known, yea, to all whom the Lord our God will yet call. Have Thou mercy on Zion ! "37
37 " Wir alle zusammen machen den Leib Jesu in Pennsylvania aus, der auf der ersten Conferenz von alien Religionen bekannt, auf der zweiten nochmals eingestanden, auf der dritten versiegelt, auf der vierten eroffnet,
I I 2 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
Thus ended the Pennsylvania Synods in which Zin- zendorf personally participated ; but though he had to turn his attention to other matters, they were still con- tinued as general meetings for all denominations until they gradually assumed a different character and changed into Synods of the Moravian Church.
During Zinzendorf's absence among the Indians the eighth Synod was held on October 16, 1742, in Frederick Township, at the house of Henry Antes. Seven brethren from Bethlehem were present and Peter Bohler presided. The number of members cannot be ascertained, but there still exists a short manuscript report and a printed cata- logue of the standing members of these Synods, which was probably drawn up at this meeting, to which were invited "all those children of God, who have the greatest insight into John 17, and serve their own churches most faithfully ; to be elected per vota, and to be confirmed by Lot.38
It was resolved at this meetinpf :
1. To establish a boys' school for the whole country at Philadelphia and a girls' school at Germantown.
2. To build a church in Philadelphia by the Moravians for the use of the Lutherans, as long- as these are willing1 to hear the Gospel proclaimed by the Moravian Brethren.
auf der fiinften und sechsten bewiesen, und auf dieser siebenden und letzten allgemeinen Religions-Conferenz durch die auswesende sichtbare Gemeine Jesu begliicket worden. Wir werden auch diesen Kirchen-Rath, nach der Weisheit die der Herk darreichen wird, vierteljahrig in aller stille fortsetzen. Unsere Glieder werden dabey assistiren; dem aussren nach alle beruffen, dem geiste nach alle gekannt. Her zu uns, wer dem Herrn angehoret !
" Das sind die Worte der Gemeine des Herrn an alle ihre verborgene und bekannte Mitglieder, und alle die der Herr unser Gott noch herzu ruffen wird. Du wollestdich iiber Zion erbarmen /" — Authentische Relation, p. 120.
38 Budingische Sammlungen, III, p. 95.
LUTHERANS AND GERMAN REFORMED. I I 3
8. XINZENDORF's ACTIVITY AMONG LUTHERANS AND GERMAN
RIM IRMED.
In the intervals between these Synods Zinzendorf de- voted most of his time to the spiritual needs of his Lutheran brethren. For he had come to Pennsylvania not as a Moravian Bishop, but as a Lutheran clergyman, and he wished and endeavored to be considered in this light only.
His first sermon in Pennsylvania was preached at Oley, and soon after, on December 31, he was invited to occupy the pulpit of the German Reformed Church in German- town, where he delivered a series of discourses on 1 Tim. 3 : 16. In Philadelphia, where he had taken private lodgings, he held daily family worship which was often attended by visitors. After a time, when the Lutherans who attended his meetings had become fully convinced that his doctrine was exactly the same as that which they in their earlier days had learned in Luther's Smaller Cate- chism and in many of those evangelical hymns which still clung to their memory, they requested him to preach occasionally in their meeting house in the city. Count Zinzendorf, or Brother Ludwig. as he preferred to be called, cheerfully complied with this request, and having made the needful arrangements with the Reformed pastor, Mr. Bohm, as to the time for the services, he began on Sunday, January 21, and continued regularly every Lord's Day as far as circumstances permitted, preaching in the morning in Philadelphia and in the afternoon in Germantown.
Many of his auditors, who for years had had no oppor- tunity to partake of the Lord's Supper, requested him to administer to them this holy ordinance. For a time he refused, not being willing to permit a mixed company of godly and ungodly people to approach the sacramental table. Rut when the blessed fruits
114 THE BRETHREN S CONCxREGATIONS.
of his faithful ministration became more evident, and especially when an extraordinary emotion pervaded the whole assembly during the service on Palm Sunday, April 2 2,39 he declared his willingness to administer the Lord's Supper, which was done on Easter Monday, April 30, according to the Lutheran ritual.
About this time all the German Lutherans in and around Philadelphia unanimously expressed the desire that Brother Ludwig might become their permanent pastor. Before answering their request he called them together, and proposed a number of questions, to which he re- quired their answers in writing. From these it is evi- dent, that the Lutherans in Philadelphia at that time had no other minister, that they were in no connection what- ever with any other congregation, and that they had, or at least professed, full confidence in the Count and his advice.40
Still Zinzendorf was not over-anxious to accept this vocation at once, knowing- well that he was watched from beyond the ocean, and that especially his opponents at Halle would misrepresent and misconstrue his motives.41 He therefore wished his countrymen to reflect a little longer on this important matter, and after some weeks, when they all remained firm in their resolution and not one objected, he accepted the vocation, on May 19, in which document also the Rev. J. C. Pyrlaeus was named as his assistant and successor.42
Thus Count Zinzendorf became the regularly called pastor of the Lutheran congregation at Philadelphia, the first one who had received regular ordination, and
39 Biidingische Sammlungen, III, p. 580.
40 Biidingische Sammlungen, II, p. 827.
41 A proof of this may be found in Weisman's Church History, p. 1104, et seq., and p. 1 1 1 3, et seq., to which Zinzendorf replied at length in his Naturelle Reflexionen, p. 190, et seq.
42 Biidingische Sammlungen, II, p. 828.
LUTHERANS AND GERMAN REFORMED. I 1 5
as such he performed all ministerial functions, though only for a short time.
Immediately after the Synod at Oley, Zinzendorf had paid a visit to Tulpehocken, and preached there on Feb- ruary 25. Since the death of Pastor Leutbecker, as related above, the greatest confusion had prevailed in this Lutheran Church. At the request of the more respect- able part of the congregation, Zinzendorf took an active part in its affairs and sent the Rev. Gottlob Biittner to be their Lutheran minister. He, however, was recalled in the same year, and sent as missionary among the Indians.43 In his place John Philip Meurer was nomi- nated by Zinzendorf as minister of this congregation, and as such ordained December 9, at Tulpehocken.
Thereupon both these Lutheran congregations ac- knowledged Zinzendorf not only as a Lutheran minister, but as the Superintendent of the Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania, investing him for the time with the right of installing and recalling ministers according to his judg- ment.
But though he wished to be considered a Lutheran minister only, he was a man of too liberal principles to suffer himself to be restrained in serving his Lord and Master in any way, and therefore he cheerfully pro- claimed the Gospel of Christ, the crucified Redeemer of the world, whenever and wherever opportunity offered. He had no objection to preach frequently in the German Reformed church in Germantown, though he carefully abstained from interfering in any other way in the affairs of the German Reformed Church, and when the desire was expressed that John Bechtel, who had preached in Germantown for many years, might be ordained, Zinzen- dorf very properly left it to Bishop David Nitschmann to perform this solemn act, which was done on Palm Sunday.
43 Biidingische Sammlungen, II, p. 830.
Il6 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
With the Reformed congregation in Philadelphia he had, of course, no connection whatever, as their minister, the Rev. Mr. Bohm, had become one of his most violent opponents.
But there was yet another mixed congregation, that at Oley, which consisted of Lutherans, Reformed and Mennonites. Andrew Eschenbach was minister and John Leinbach elder. It was resolved to build a new church, John de Turk, a Mennonite, having presented to this congregation a piece of ground for that purpose. Gradually the peace of this congregation was disturbed. Eschenbach, not satisfied with a loo--buildincr desired a large two-story building like the clergy-house at Bethle- hem, and not succeeding in his plans, manifested his disappointment so plainly in his public discourses, that he at last entirely lost the confidence of the congregation. On this account Zinzendorf, as President of the Penn- sylvania Synod which had recognized this congregation, considered it expedient to recall Bro. Eschenbach,44 and proposed Henry Antes as minister in his stead.
The various sermons45 which Zinzendorf preached in Pennsylvania, have been published in a separate volume, and are a standing memorial of his activity among Lutherans and German Reformed.
Concerning the manner and substance of his sermons we find the following passage in a letter written " to his brethren among different people," May 28, 174246:
"Our method in proclaiming salvation is this: To point out to every heart the loving Lamb, who died for us
44 Andrew Eschenbach returned to Bethlehem, served for a time as itiner- ant preacher here and there, but the success of his ministry was gone. In 1745 he left Bethlehem and became a farmer.
45 Pennsylvanische Reden.
46 Zinzendorf's Naturelle Reflexionen, p. 38, et seq. Schreiben an seine Briider unter allerlei Volk, wahrend der Pennsylvanische Synode verfasst. Philadelphia, am \\ Maji, 1742.
ZINZENDORF AT BETHLEHEM. I 1 7
and, although He was the Son of God, offered Himself for our sins, as his God, his Mediator between God and man, his throne of grace, his example, his brother, his preacher of the law, his comforter, his confessor, his Saviour, in short, his all in all, by the preaching of His blood, and of His love unto death, even the death of the cross ; never, either in the discourse or in the argument, to digress even for a quarter of an hour from the loving Lamb ; to name no virtue, except in Him and from Him and on His account ; to preach no commandment except faith in Him ; no other justification but that He atoned for us; no other sanctification but the privilege to sin no more; no other happiness but to be near Him, to think of Him and do His pleasure ; no other self- denial but to be deprived of Him and His blessings ; no other calamity but to displease Him; no other life but in Him."
This method of referring everything to Christ and of regarding Him as all in all, made Zinzendorf s sermons very powerful, impressive and effective, and many could be pointed out in later years, who traced their first impressions of divine truth to one or the other of these animated Gospel discourses.
9. ZINZENDORF AT BETHLEHEM.
Count Zinzendorf had been in Pennsylvania more than six months, without bestowing any special attention to the small Moravian colony at Bethlehem. His mind, as well as his time, was fully occupied with that kind of activity for the Kingdom of Christ, which he found at the Pennsylvania Synods and as Lutheran pastor in Phila- delphia. Moreover, his extensive correspondence and voluminous writings in pamphlets and newspapers, forced upon him by his opponents, demanded not a little part of
Il8 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
his time and labor ; hence he actually had no leisure to attend to the affairs of the infant colony at Bethlehem ; and, in truth, there was as yet no occasion to pay a longer visit there. The number of colonists was very small, and as each Synod was attended by some of their number, whilst others were visiting here and there in the country, the building of the "house of the pilgrims" on the Lehigh proceeded very slowly, and when Father Nitschmann demanded more assistance, he was told that the spiritual work must be attended to first.47
After the close of the seventh Synod, however, which also for a time closed the home-mission labors of Brother Ludwig, and after the " Sea Congregation " had arrived, the time was at hand when, either in Bethlehem or elsewhere, a more definite arrangement had to be made for the organization of the first Moravian congregation in America, and for a while Zinzendorf turned his whole attention to this matter.
After the celebration of the festival of Pentecost, June 17,48 (we read in the Diary of Bethlehem, which Brother George Neisser commenced on that day.) thirty-five of the European Brethren and Sisters left Germantown and marched on foot by way of Skippack, Falkner Swamp and the Great Swamp to Bethlehem. On account of the great heat they did not reach the settlement before the fourth day, June 21,49 when they were welcomed in a love-feast.
On Sunday, June 24, Brother Andrew Eschenbach preached in the morning, and in the afternoon the first
47 Es wurde uber den Mangel an leiblichen Arbeitern vor Bethlehem und Nazareth, nun Nitschmann nach [St.] Thomas <,nenge, geklaget ; und von Bruder Ludewig zur antwort gegeben, es moge lieber noch ein jahr brache liegen, und das brodt gekaufft werden ; die Seelen-saaten im Lande giengen vor. — Authentische Relation, p. 97.
48 According to Old Style five weeks later than according to New Style.
49 Now hardly a two hours' ride by railroad.
ZINZENDORF AT BETHLEHEM. 119
church-council was held, which in this case, there being no children among the emigrants, was a delibera- tive meeting of all the members of the Church present at that time. In this council two very important resolutions were passed, which in a manner decided the character of this congregation for main' years to come.
The first was "to observe as a day of rest not only Sunday — the da)- of the Lord, but also Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath," partly in order to avoid giving offense to the Seventh Day Baptists at Ephrata, partly on account of the Indians and missionary labors among them, as not a few at that time supposed that the Indians might be descendants of the ten tribes of Israel which had been led into the Assyrian captivity.
The second resolution was " to divide this church into two parts, the home-church, (Hausgemeine) and the church of pilgrims, ( Pilgergemeine)," with the intention that the former should principally attend to the work of the general housekeepi ng, whilst the latter should devote its time and strength to spiritual labor throughout the country.
According to this arrangement the church at Beth- lehem was solemnly organized, June 25, 1741, in an evening-meeting kept by Zinzendorf, in which he ad- dressed the congregation on the daily word: "Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock," Num. 24 : 21. Ever since 1752, this day has been annually celebrated as the church-festival of Beth- lehem.
To the congregation of pilgrims belonged Abraham Meinnng, [ohn Brucker, Adolph Meyer, A. Eschenbach, Anthony Seiffert, C. H. Ranch, \Y. Zander, John Hagen, J. C. Pyrlffius, David Bruce, Nathanael Seidel, George Neisser, Jacob Lischy, Christian Frederick Post, Leon- hard Schnell, Philip Meurer, John Bohner and John
I 20 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
Reinhard Ronner, all of whom were employed in various ways in the service of the Church, either in Pennsylvania or on missionary stations. There were some among those who were reckoned at first to the home-church who later entered the missionary or minis- terial service, e. g„ Joachim Senseman, David Zeisberger, and Paul Daniel Bryzelius, a Swede, who had studied at Upsala. Of the English brethren who subsequently arrived in Bethlehem in company with Peter Bohler, the following ought to be mentioned here, as having soon after entered the service of the Church : Owen Rice, Thomas Yarrell, Joseph Powel, Joseph Shaw and Hector Gambold.
From its very commencement, the whole organiza- tion of the church at Bethlehem according to this plan was a very peculiar one. It might be called an econ- omy of pilgrims, a missionary family on a grand scale ; or it might appear to some as a socialistic commu- nity directed by some secret power ; and there were, no doubt, many who were utterly at a loss what to make of this colony, so utterly different from any other in the country. And in truth it was a strange mixture ; from one point of view, a colony in its incipient stage of gradual growth, expansion and development only ; but at the same time a fully organized church, ruled and directed by men of no ordinary powers. Whilst some were working on, steadily building houses, clearing lands, or making roads, others were going and coming, and strangers who visited Bethlehem — and their number was considerable — received very different impressions, and accordingly spread very different reports concerning "these Moravians and their outlandish ways." Though many of these reports, no doubt, were not in accordance with the real state of the case, still many misconceptions were excusable, especially in the early period, when all
ZINZENDORF AT BETHLEHEM. 121
arrangements for the social and religfious life of the in- habitants of Bethlehem were as yet unstable and subject to constant changes. This was especially the case as long as Count Zinzendorf was personally present, for his inventive genius constantly proposed new plans, or modifications and alterations of those already adopted. Hence it is extremely difficult to sketch a faithful picture of the early days of the Moravian mother-church in America, without transcribing almost literally the Diary of the Church. We trust, however, that the following condensed extracts will give some idea of the state of affairs during Zinzendorf's visit in Bethlehem.
On Sunday morning the first meeting, after the daily morning prayers, was generally a church-council in which all the external and internal affairs of the Church were fully and fraternally discussed. Then followed German preaching, kept by Zinzendorf, Peter Bohler, Bishop Nitschmann, Anthony Seiffert and others. In the afternoon there was English preaching, or Bible lectures, or private meetings for the different choirs or classes of the congregation, for which services the church of the pilgrims afforded a great variety of speakers.
Whenever he was present, Count Zinzendorf was con- sidered the ordinary or pastor of the congregation, and during his absence and after his return to Europe, Bro. Peter Bohler held this first and most important office until Bishop Spangenberg arrived. But besides their pastor the congregation had, like the early congregation in Herrnhut in 1727, a spiritual elder. Anthony Seiffert held this office for a time, being publicly confirmed in it l>v Zinzendorf, fuly 9, and after him Andrew Esch enbach. There were besides vice-elders and eldresses for the different choirs.
In a church-council on July 15, ten brethren were nominated as "fishermen" 1 Matt. 4: [8, ig) and the
122 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
places pointed out in which to cast out the net of the Gospel. After an absence of five weeks they returned, made their reports to the congregation, and were sent out agfain, with the distinct direction, not to interfere with the labors of any servant of Christ and to avoid all useless disputes.
On November 26 we find the following quaint notice: " To-day the wheel ran out," i. e., one of those four brethren and sisters who for the time formed the " Pennsylvania wagon," (consisting of one married and one single brother, one married and one single sister) — the idea being taken from Ezekiel.
In July a regular mail service was arranged by the brethren for their own use, to expedite letters, diaries and reports between Bethlehem and Philadelphia, prob- ably the first arrangement of this kind for the interior parts of Pennsylvania. The first postmasters were : Bro. Pyrl?eus in Philadelphia, and George Neisser in Bethlehem. The letter carriers were: Abraham Btihn- inger, Andrew, the negro, Christian Werner and George Schneider; their resting-places being in Philadelphia at John Stephen Benezet's, and in Falkner Swamp at Brother Holstein's. They left Bethlehem every Monday morning, walked as far as Falkner Swamp ; reached Germantown on Tuesday night ; went on Wednesday morning to Philadelphia, and returned again to German- town ; on Thursday back again to Holstein's, and on Friday returned to Bethlehem. Verily, our ancestors were great pedestrians. After a time Henry Antes provided them with horses for this mail service.
According to an arrangement adopted at Herrnhut in 1727, some brethren and sisters were appointed as hourly intercessors,50 others as watchmen for the night ; others as attendants on the sick ; and as all these services
5" Memorial Days of the Renewed Church of the Brethren, p. 131, et. seq.
ZINZENDORF AT BETHLEHEM. I 23
were gratuitous, these various offices often changed among the members of the congregation.
Meanwhile old Father Nitschmann superintended the outward affairs of the colony and himself helped faithfully in the erection of houses and barns, assisted by young and old, not only 1)>' the members of the home-church but also by the brethren whose main calling was to pro- claim the Gospel of salvation to their destitute neighbors. Whenever one or the other of these "pilgrims" or "fishermen" returned to Bethlehem for a day or two, he would not idle away his time, but cheerfully assisted in burning bricks, in making fence rails, or mending his own shoes. All were cheerful and happy, although their fare was at times very scant, and the labor and toil were severe.
From all parts of the country there constantly arrived visitors who wished to see this colony, which by these means became known far and near. To accommodate them, without interfering with daily avocations, a " Fremdenstube." — a room for visitors and strangers — was devoted to this purpose. Among the: rest a visit of ten Mennonites is mentioned in October, and in No- vember several of the Siebentager from Ephrata came to spy out the land. Among these visitors were some who came for curiosity's sake merely and never returned again ; but others frequently repeated their visits, and, at last, applied to be received as members of this con- gregation.
( )n December 22 thirteen persons, mostly from Oley (John and Frederick Leinbach, and others), were sol- emnly received into the Church, and their number was farther increased on December 29, by the admission of seventeen persons to church-membership, partly from the neighborhood and partly from Philadelphia. Among these we mention especially Sebastian Knauss and Jacob
124 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
Ehrenhard, the fathers and founders of the Emmaus congregation. And probably the number would have increased still faster, if Count Zinzendorf had not warned his brethren repeatedly, not to be too hasty with the reception and admission of new members ; nay, he even required that brethren and sisters who came from European congregations should undergo a certain time of probation before being admitted to all the rights and privileges of full membership in the Church in this coun- try. "Not to proselyte, but to evangelize," had always been his motto.
Among the brethren and sisters who had come from Europe in June, there were some fifteen or twenty from England. These were sent to the Nazareth lands in July, with the intention of forming the nucleus of an English congregation to be collected there, of which David Bruce was to be the Elder and John Hagen the Warden. Zinzendorf visited there in July and wrote to the congregation of Bethlehem, July 27 :
"Dear Brethren: — Do, I entreat you, nurse and care faithfully, both bodily and spiritually, for your Sister Nazareth, upon whose door I have written: 'We have nothing to do but to be happy.' Adopt bold measures to promote their building-up and everything else to their best advantage, even if it should be to your own disad- vantage. Never say No to anything that they may demand. The Saviour will help you and enable you to assist liberally.
"Your faithful and happy foster-son,
LUDWIG JOHANAN."
Soon, however, the brethren became convinced that it would be impracticable to adopt any national dis- tinction for the congregations at Bethlehem and Nazareth, and hence it was resolved (September 10) to take measures to make Nazareth a "place-congregation,"
ZINZENDORFS JOURNEYS TO THE INDIANS. 125
according to the model of the European congregations, though this plan was not carried into effect until 1772.
Meanwhile the English brethren were recalled and removed in October, mostly to Philadelphia. The two log-houses in the woods at Nazareth were occupied for the Winter by M. Seybold, who removed thither with his wife on October 16. It was necessary that some one should live there on account of the Indians, who would not give up their claim to the land. In December, how- ever, an agreement was made with them," upon which they peaceably relinquished their claim, and the Brethren resolved, though the full value of the land had been paid, to give to the Indians, as soon as they should have permanently settled elsewhere, the same amount as a present which they had demanded as the price oi the land ; thus proving by deeds as well as by words that they were friends of the redmen of the forest.
IO. ZINZENDORF'S JOURNEYS TO THE INDIANS.
Hardly had the most necessary arrangements been made for the temporal and spiritual organization of the Moravian colonies at Bethlehem and Nazareth, when Count Zinzendorf again set out to visit the Indians, in order to convince himself, from personal observations on the spot, how far his brethren could become useful to them.
From July 24 to November 8, he successively under- took three journeys to the Indians, the first having for its object the Delaware's within the borders of the Province; the second the Mohicans in the Province of New York, and the third the Shawanese in the Indian Country.
Without entering into any details, we will merely sketch52 the route of these wanderings, which as far as
51 Budingische Sammlungen, II, p. 933.
5JFor a full account, see Loskiel's History of the Mission among the
Indians, II, pp. 24-33.
126 THE BRETHREN'S C< )NCREGATIONS.
the Indians were concerned, did not lead to any great results, though they testify to the zeal of Count Zinzen- dorf in promoting the Kingdom of Christ to the utmost of his power.
On July 24 Count Zinzendorf set out from Bethlehem for his first Indian journey, accompanied by his daughter, Beniena, and eleven brethren, Eschenbach, Zander, Lischy, and others. Having visited Patemi53 and other Indians, who were yet living on the Nazareth lands, they found beyond the Blue Mountains a larger Indian village, Meniologameka, which afterwards for a time became a flourishing missionary station of the Brethren. Without returning again to Bethlehem, they rode across the country to Maguntsche (now Emmaus) and thence to Allemangel (now Lynn Township, Lehigh County), where Zinzendorf became acquainted with some piously inclined German settlers, who afterwards became the pillars of Moravian country congregations.
Toiling on through forests and through swamps, and crossing hills on roads which now would hardly receive that name, and having forded the Schuylkill,54 they at last reached the house of Conrad Weiser, at Tulpehocken,
53Patemy or Tatemy (Moses) owned a tract of three hundred acres, bought from the Proprietors, occupying the site of Stockertown, not far from Friedensthal."
54 August 1. On the Schuylkill:
" Hier schrieb ich einen Brief, Als alles um mich schlief ; In der finstern Wiisten Sickihillehoken, Wo wenig Vbglein nisten ; Werd' ich doch kaum inn', Dasz die Schuylkill rinn' Ueber Nachbar Green." — Zinzendorf.
As I write, I vigils keep, While all around me silent sleep, In the forest, dark and deep, Of Sickihillehocken, etc.
ZINZENDORF S JOURNEYS TO THE INDIAN'S. 1 2 7
where Zinzendorf had the satisfaction of meeting some sachems or chiefs of the Six Nations, who invited him to visit them in their own country, and as a token of their good-will presented him with a fathom of wampum, which afterwards became very useful to Bishop Spangen- berg in his intercourse with these savages.
Having returned to Bethlehem on August 7, by way <>l Philadelphia, Count Zinzendorf forthwith made prepara- tions for his second Indian journey to the Mohicans at Shecomeko, beyond the Hudson. His daughter Benigna, Anna Nitschmann, Anthony Seiffert and Conrad YVeiser accompanied him. After a fatiguing ride of six days over mountains, through woods and swamps, they arrived safely on August 16 at Brother Rauch's hut, and found a cottage of bark prepared for their reception. During the Count's abode at Shecomeko six converted Indians were baptized and several useful regulations were introduced.
While returning to Bethlehem he had to experience an instance of Puritanic intolerance which bordered on the ridiculous. Resting on the Sabbath, near Hurley, some people assembled near his tent, and tried to commence a dispute with him, and finding him engaged in writing and unwilling to listen, one of them, as a justice of the peace, had him fined the next day, six shillings for breaking the Sabbath!"
The third Indian journey to the Shawanese on the Susquehanna beyond Wajomik56 was by far the most dangerous and fatiguing. Brother Mack and his wife, Peter Bohler, H. Leinbach, from Oley, and two baptized Indians, accompanied the Count, who left Bethlehem on September 2 1.
Conrad Weiser also went with them from Tulpehocken. The Susquehanna not being navigable, they took the
---" Biidingische Sammlungen, III, p. 332.
56 Wajomik, Wajomic, and Waimoic were forms of the name Wyoming.
128 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
land road, through thick woods, low swamps, and over unfrequented and steep mountains, and after much fatigue arrived on September 25 in Shamokin, a populous Indian town, where they had the pleasure of meeting the friendly chief Shikellimus, whom Zinzendorf had seen at Weiser's in August.
In another Indian village, Otstonwakin, which was deserted a few years after, they met a French woman, Madame Montour, who had married an Indian warrior, and rested at her house for two clays. Bohler, Weiser and the two Indians now turned back whilst Zin- zendorf and his few companions ventured still farther into the trackless wilderness,57 as far as Wajomik, where
57 Count Zinzendorf gave the following graphic description of this journey : Wir dachten an die Hirtentreu'
Des Jesuah Jehovah, In der betriibten Wiisteney Mit Namen Skehandowa.
Des Zeltes erster Ruheplatz
Das waren Dorn und Disteln, Der dritte ein verborg'ner Schatz.
Wo Blaseschlangen nisteln.
Der viert' ein unwegsame Spitz
Der Susquehanna Ouellen, Der and're und der fiinfte Sitz,
Das waren gleiche Stellen.
Da sassen wir das erste Mai
Acht Tage, zu erfahren Was unsers Lammes Hochzeitsaal
Zum Theil mag offenbaren. ******* Allein das morderische Herz
Der wilden Schawanosen, Verdrosz so wohl der Zeugenschmerz,
Als all' ihr Liebekosen.
Der Konig liebete uns zwar;
Alleine kam's zur Sache, Wo uns urn Trost so bange war,
So that er wie der Drache.
ZINZENDORF S OPPONENTS. I 29
the wild Shawanese received diem rather suspiciously. However, trusting in their Lord and Saviour, they ven- tured to pitch their tent in the midst of this treacherous tribe and remained twenty days among them. lint all their endeavors to make them acquainted with the way of salvation proved abortive, and the savages resolved at last to murder these intruders. This, however, was prevented by the providential arrival of Conrad Weiser who, becoming uneasy at their long delay, had hastened to seek them, and arrived just in time to discover and prevent the execution of the murderous plan.
The return of the Count and his company to the cul- tivated parts of Pennsylvania was very laborious and even dangerous, on account of the late season of the year and the great floods; but by the mercy of God they all arrived safely at Bethlehem on November 8.
11. zinzendorf's opponents.
Tin: appearance of a German Count in Pennsylvania, who came not as a common tourist, merely to see the country, but as an ambassador of Christ ; who attended and even conducted large meetings of the Germans ; who held piublic and private meetings without number, and never hesitated to give his opinion boldly and fear- lessly— naturally not only attracted the attention of everybody, but also provoked opposition and discussion pro and con in the'public papers. To go into details and to take part with either of the contending parties after a lapse of more than a century, when these quarrels have long ago been forgotten, would be useless and in- judicious. On the other hand it does not appear advisa- ble to omit all reference to these matters of history ; since the effects of misrepresentations, even if made one hundred and thirty-six years ago, occasionally mani-
I 30 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
fest themselves here and there, even at the present day and, we apprehend, partly at least because for many years this subject has not be'en touched upon by Mora- vian writers.
Our Christian friends in the Lutheran, German Reformed, Presbyterian and other churches, and all who are friendly inclined to the Moravian Church, will no doubt kindly bear in mind that what we are about to say in strict accordance with the truth, merely stating histori- cal facts, refers to a time passed long ago, and is not in- tended to imply any reflections on the present relation of the Moravian Church to other American sister- churches, which is of the most friendly kind.
The first who opposed Zinzendorf, soon after his arrival in this country, were the Separatists in and near Germantown, who succeeded in entangling him in a controversy which, both as to its contents and to its form, was quite beneath the dignity of his social and religious standing. They called him the beast of Revelation or the false prophet, accused him of intemperance and invented various stories which were printed in the Pennsylvanische Geschieht-Sclireiber^ and went the round of the German newspapers. Some even maintained that Beniofnade Zinzendorf was not his daughter, but the daughter of an officer in the navy, whom he had kid- napped.59 Zinzendorf answered these newspaper articles by several replies inserted in the Pennsylvania Gazette, edited by Benjamin Franklin, as well as by separate German pamphlets, and at last demanded, that his slanderers should come forward and prove their asser- tions, for which purpose he offerred to give them six or
58 Published in Germantown by Christopher Sauer.
59" William Tennent, minister at Philadelphia, preached from the pulpit in New York, that Benigna, Countess of Zinzendorf, is not my daughter, but a child I had taken from a lieutenant of a vessel; and everybody ask'd my child, if it is so?" — Zinzendorf 's Letter to Lord Granville, May, 1753.
ZINZENDORF S OPPONENTS. I 3 I
eight months' time. This, however, as might have been expected, was not done.
These mere personal attacks, which Zinzendorf ought not to have noticed at all, were the towntalk for a short time, but were, of course, soon forgotten in America, though they diverted his opponents in Germany a little longer. Hut it can not he denied that Zinzendorf, in his zeal for the cause of the Redeemer, sometimes exceeded the bounds of prudence and used expressions which gave just cause lor complaint and afforded ample mate- rials for malicious accusations on the part of his oppo- nents, even ten years after."
Of greater consequence, however, was the controversy with the leaders of Puritanism, the effects of which were
60 A great 111. my papers referring to this controversy taken from the American papers, were published, in the Biidingische Sammlungen, of which we mention the following :
" Anerbietungsschreiben an das ganze Land Pennsylvania." See Pennsylvanischer GescAicAl-Schreider, No. 19, 1742. Philadelphia, Febru- ary 1, 174.1. — Z. Vol. II. p. 851.
"Johann Heinrich Schonfelds Beschwerung liber gedachtes Schreiben." — See Pennsylvanischer Gesckicht-Schreiber, No. 20. — Vol. II, p. 854.
"Brief an den Pennsylvanischen Gazettier." March 1 6, Old Style. See Pennsylvania Gazette, No. 692. — Vol. II, p. 860.
" Antwort daraufvon J[acob] W[eiss]." Mertz 22. See Pennsylvania Ga- sette. No. 693.— Vol. II, p. 862.
Zinzendorfs Letter to the Secretary of the Proprietors concerning this Matter, in French; March 27. Vol. II, p. 864.
"Zinzendorfs Privat Erinnerung an Christoph Sauern, Johann H. Schon- felden, Johannes Ecksteinen, Adam ( '.rubern, Theobald Enten und Consorten in Germantown." Philadelphia, Marz 27, 1742. — Vol. II, p- 865.
" Zinzendorfs Brief an Kieter Fende und sein Iran. December 26, 1742. — Biidingische Sammlungen, Vol. Ill, p. 101.
Letter of Zinzendorf to the Pennsylvania Government. November, 174}. — Biidingische Sammlungen, III. p. 183.
Spangenbergs Darlegung richtiger Antwortcn auf mehr als drei Hundert Beschuldigungen gegen den Ordinarium Fratrum, 1751. Apologetische Er- klarung. Erstes Schreiben, p. 21.
It would be more than useless to repeat the harsh expressions used more than a century ago. The curious in such matters may rind them in the works quoted above.
I32 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
felt by the Moravian Brethren when the mere personal quarrels of the Count had been forgotten.
Soon after his arrival in this country, Count Zinzen- dorf had become acquainted with the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, a friend of Whitefield, and had freely expressed his views in condemnation of the Calvinistic doctrine of reprobation. All the English ministers who held this view were, thereupon and very naturally, arrayed against him. Thus ensued a controversy, which was carried on on both sides in terms by no means the most polite or the most charitable.62
Tennent, S. Blair and other Presbyterian ministers preached publicly against Zinzendorf and the "damnable doctrines of the Moravians," calling them " locusts out of the bottomless pit;" "foxes who spoil the vineyard of the Lord;" "heretics which the devil has sent in these last times to delude the earth,"63 etc.
The press also was used against Zinzendorf and the Moravian Brethren, and "A Compendious Extract, * * * * " published, in which Zinzendorf and his partici- pation in the Pennsylvania Synods was severely criticised. This pamphlet of more than thirty pages was answered
62 In the Biidingische Sammlungen, III, p. 308, the following letter is pre- served, which was inserted in the Philadelphia papers, thus attracting the attention of the English population to the German Count and his followers:
"mr. franklin: I have read in a Letter from Philadelphia, dated Jan. 13, 1 741, which is inserted in the Boston Gazette, No. 1042, that Count Zin- zendorf has been in conference with Mr. Gilbert Tennent. I was surprised by reading the 20. Errors which it is said Mr. Gilbert Tennent took down.
" The Count says in very serious terms that he never was in conference with Mr. Gilbert. He remembers, that Mr. Gilbert Tennent gave him a Visit at New Brunswick ; but, besides that the Count could not understand Mr. Gilbert, because he spoke in such Latin as was very strange for a ( Jerman, and that the Count himself could not find expressions which were plain enough for Mr. Gilbert ; he had not a mind to confer with that Gentleman in such a matter, being convinced by long experience, that he must not discourse with any Presbyterian Reprobant, except in a Company of different Principles,"
63 Letter of Peter Bohler to S. Blair, March, 1743.
ZINZENDORF S l >PP< INENTS. I 33
in German by Zinzendorf's private secretary, John Jacob Miiller."
About the same time George Neisser, school-master in Bethlehem, answered another libel against the "Herrnhuter" (the Moravians settled in the forks of the Delaware) written by Ae Rev. |. Philip Bohm, German Reformed pastor in Philadelphia.65 This Mr. Bohm, confirmed in his office by the Classis of Amsterdam and ordained on their order by the Dutch Reformed min- isters of New York, had, by publishing a pastoral letter, written against Zinzendorf by some ministers in Amster- dam in 1735.'' proved plainly what position he would take in reference to Count Zinzendorf.
Though he could not hinder Zinzendorf from preach- ing in the log- meeting-house in which the Lutherans and German Reformed of Philadelphia worshiped alternately, yet the very correspondence67 into which Zinzendorf entered on this account, not asking- his permission, but merely inquiring whether he (Bohm) had a right to hinder him (Zinzendorf) from preaching there, created ill feeling, and Mr. Bohm in his answer gave plainly to understand that he would work against Zin- zendorf with might and main. However, as long as Zinzendorf himself was in Philadelphia, Bohm refrained from taking any decisive steps. But when he had left on a journey to the Indians, an attempt was made to
-1 Extracts in the Biidingisqhe Sammlungen, II, p. 906. Biidingische Sammlungen, II, p.
Biidingische Sammlungen, II, pp. 289-339. Vaterlicher Hirten-Brieff an die bliihende Reformirte Gemeine in Amsterdam, zur Entdeckung von, und Warnung gegen die gefahrliche [rrthiimer von denen Leuten welche unter (1cm Nahmen der Herrnhuter bekannt sind. Geschrieben (lurch die Prei und Aeltesten des Kirchen-Raths von Amsterdam, 1738.
67 Anfrage an den Reformirten Inspector der Hollandischen Conferentz in Philadelphia, (January ,7S, I7J.\) und AntWOIl von Bohm, (January 8, 1742).
— Biidingische Sammlungen, III. pp. ^2-63.
134
exclude the Lutherans and their minister, the Rev. Mr. Pyrlaeus, from the meeting-house. For this purpose, at the suggestion of Mr. Bohm, a padlock was attached to the door, under the pretense of keeping out the cattle. On the next Sunday, when the Lutherans came at the usual time and found the door locked, and the man who had the key had absented himself, they forced the door open. But hardly had Mr. Pyrlaeus commenced divine worship, when a number of ruffians entered the meeting-house, pulled him from the pulpit and kicked him into the street. The whole congregation followed their pastor without offering any resistance. Zinzendorf, however, having heard of this scandalous affair at Tulpehocken, con- sidered it his duty to interfere, and therefore went to Philadelphia and entered the church, which was filled with German Reformed and others to the exclusion of the Lutherans, and boldly and fearlessly told them that he would not suffer himself to be intimidated in his Master's cause by any mob. The whole matter was then referred to the court, which after long delay decided favorably for Zinzendorf.68
Meanwhile the Reformed congregation kept pos- session of the house, and Zinzendorf promised the Lutherans to have another church built for them. But before this plan could be executed the state of affairs in the Lutheran congregation of Philadelphia was materially changed by the arrival of the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.
Mr. Muhlenberg,69 born September 6, 171 1, at Ein- beck, in Hanover, had studied theology in Gottingen, and served for several years as superintendent of the orphan-house at Hennersdorf, belonging to Henrietta,
08 Biidingische Sammlungen, III, p. 579; p. So and p. 91. °9 Evangelical Review, October, 1851.
ZINZENDORF S OPPONENTS. [35
Baroness de Gersdorf, Zinzendorf's aunt, who supported it from private means to the utmost of her ability. When in 1741 want of means compelled retrench- ment, Mr. Muhlenberg endeavored to assist in pecu niary matters by raising collections.
This led him to Halle, where Prof. Franke told him that a Lutheran minister had been urgently demanded lor Pennsylvania by Dr. Ziegenhagen, of London. Muhlenberg declared his willingness to go there, and being satisfied with the offers and conditions made by Dr. Ziegenhagen, left Hennersdorf in December, 1741, and set sail from England for the New World in June, 1742. In September he arrived in Georgia, wrh«re he wished to consult with Pastors Bolzius and Gronau on the affairs of the Lutheran Church in the American colonies. He reached Philadelphia November 25, long after the disturbances mentioned above, with wdiich he had nothing to do. Nevertheless Zinzendorf and his brethren suspected70 at the time,- that jealousy against him and his activity among the Lutherans in Pennsyl- vania might at least have been one of the reasons, if not the sole cause, why the Halle divines suddenly became anxious to supply the wants of their Lutheran
: Spangenherg, who always expresses himself with great caution, ^ays in his " Life of Zinzendorf," |>. [398: "Eskamein Lutherischer Prediger aus Deutschland und fing an gegen den Grafen zu arbeiten. Denn da man bis daherdie Lutheraner in Pennsilvanien, ihres wiederholten Bittens ohnge- achtet, ohne Prediger gelassen hatte; so wurde man anderer Gedanken, als der Graf, ihnen zum besten, si< h hergegeben hatte. Dadurch entstand nun eine Trennung unter den Lutheranern. Der neuangekommene Prediger, ein geschickter und begabter Mann, land bald eine Parthej , die sich zu ihm hiell ; und diejenigen, an denen der Diensl des Grafen gesegnet gewesen war, hiclten wieder iiber demselben. Der Erfolg war endlich dieser, dasz der Graf fur gut (and, besagten Prediger und seine nachherigen Gehiilfen machen zu lassen, weil es ihm genug war, wenn nur Christus geprediget wurde." — See also Naturelle Reflexionen, p. 207; Biidingische Samm- lungen, 111, p. <>\ .
I36 THE BRETHREN'S C< >N< iREGATIONS.
brethren in Pennsylvania, who had been neglected for so many years. Hence it is not surprising that Zinzendorf, being harassed and attacked on all sides, and considering Mr. Muhlenberg an intruder, should freely have expressed himself to that effect, though there could not have been any personal enmity between them, since, as far as known, they met only once, and that shortly before Zinzendorf returned to Europe.71 On the other hand, it is no less natural that Muhlenberg, denying with all the Halle divines Zinzendorf s right to act as a Lutheran pastor, made the best use of these unhappy disturbances in the Lutheran congregation, to gain 9. party for himself, which for a while was the smaller fraction.
We are far from wishing to detract one jot or tittle from the fair fame of Pastor Muhlenberg, whose inde- fatigfable zeal and long; and arduous labors for his Master's cause justly entitle him to the appellation of Patriarch of the American Lutheran Church,72 but his- torical truth compels us to repeat the fact, that Count Zinzendorf was as Lutheran pastor actively engaged in Philadelphia before he could possibly know anything of Muhlenberg's intended arrival, and that the subsequent divisions in this congregation were not brought about by him.
While Muhlenberg built a meeting-house at New Providence, the Moravian brethren erected a church on Race Street for the use of those German Lutherans who wished to continue in connection with the Brethren at Bethlehem. The Lutheran St. Michael's Church was consecrated April 5, 1745.
71 Zinzendorf 's Naturelle Reflexionen, p. 211.
72 Winebrenners's History of Denominations, p. 327.
ZINZENDORFS "PENNSYLVANIA TESTAMENT. 1 37
12. ZINZENDORF'S " PENNSYLVANIA TESTAMENT." RETURN TO EUROPE.
On his return to Bethlehem from his third Indian jour- ney, in November, i 742, Count Zinzendorf found various letters and reports from the European congregations, in reference to the undertakings of his fellow-laborers there, which deeply affected and even irritated him. The bishops and ministers of the Church, making use of the favorable circumstances of the times, had obtained several concessions from the Government for the establish- ment of new congregations, without consulting the Count and in opposition to his well-known views. Zinzendorf not only protested in writing, but resolved to return as soon as possible, and to use all his influence to readjust those matters in which his brethren, in his judgment, had acted too hastily. But there was yet a great deal to be arranged in this country, and he was detained two months longer. On November 13 a "Congregation Day" was held, for the purpose of communicating in public meetings the last news received from the Euro- pean congregations; two brethren were also ordained as ministers, viz., Valentine Lohans, missionary for St. Thomas, and John Martin Mack, Indian missionary ; three traveling ministers, Bryzelius, Kohn, and Schnell, received their commissions, and several brethren and sisters, lately arrived from Europe, were received as members of the Bethlehem congregation.
On November 14, the Lord's Supper was admin- istered, and on November 15 resolutions were passed and plans adopted for the furtherance of the work of the Lord in this country by the "Pilgrim's Wheel" (Pilgerrad) or "Pennsylvania wagon," the traveling ministers, "the fishers" and other laborers.
In the beginning of December Count Zinzendorf, ac- companied by Anna Nitschmann and Andrew Eschm
I38 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
bach, once more visited his friends and acquaintances in Maguntsche, Oley, Tulpehocken, Conestoga, Heidelberg, and Lancaster, returning to Bethlehem on December 12, after he had preached seventeen times at different places. The rest of the month he spent at Bethlehem and Naza- reth making his final arrangements.
On December 31, 1742, Zinzendorf and his company of twenty-one persons took leave of the Bethlehem congregation in a general love-feast, and departed to Philadelphia. Having organized an English congrega- tion here, he once more assembled some of his fellow- laborers in a deliberative meeting on "the Ridge" near Philadelphia, January 7, 1743, of which, however, no minutes have been preserved, and on January 9 de- livered a valedictory address in John Stephen Benezet's house, which he used to call his "Pennsylvania Testa- ment."73 This is a long and very important document, containing his views and ideas in reference to the activity of the Brethren in America, the "Church of God in the Spirit" and the "Church of Pilgrims" at Bethlehem.
"Of two truths," he says, "I am fully convinced in my heart. The first is this : that America as well as Europe must be clipped into the blood of Christ; but — and this is the second — America must be treated in quite a different manner from Europe, for to stretch both over the same last, would spoil everything in the Saviour's cause.
"You know that we have commenced here with the Church of God in the Spirit. This is a great advantage which America has over Europe. It is certainly a great thine, that we could commence thus. And if we in future also watch over it, that the Church of God in the Spirit may remain our abiding-place, then we are on the right track. In Europe, on the other hand, the Moravian
re Biidingische Sammlungen, III, pp. 188-252.
BETHLEHEM AND NAZARETH. 1743-I744. 1 39
Church is that house in which the Saviour dwells with His people, and in which He directs His affairs and dis- poses of His servants with absolute power. But here the Church of God in the Spirit is the factotum, and not the Moravian Church."
These remarks contain important truths, but it seems that not only his fellow-laborers, but Zinzendorf himself forgot in 1755 what he had said in 1743, that America ought not to be treated in the same manner as Europe; for at the latter date European institutions were intro- duced which were not adapted to the American spirit and, though well meant, proved, in the end, detrimental to the cause of the Saviour.
On January 11, 1743 (December 31, Old Style), Zin- zendorf concluded his labors in America with a public sermon in Philadelphia on Matt. 14:7: "She hath done what she could," immediately after which he departed to New York, whence he sailed on January 20, and reached Dover, England, February 28.
13. BETHLEHEM AND NAZARETH. 1743-1744. PETER BOHLER.
Shortly before his departure for Europe, Count Zinzendorf had made the following- interimistic arrange- ments until Bro. Spangenberg should arrive, to whom he wished to entrust the whole management of the work of the Brethren in America: — Bro. Peter Bohler,74 now for the second time in America, was appointed Vice- Inspector of the Lutheran Church in America and Syndic of the Pennsylvania Synod, and also ordinary or pastor of the church at Bethlehem; and was to be assisted by Anthony SeyHert, Vice-Elder of the congre-
■ Peter Bohler, recalled to Europe in 1 741 . had spent nearly a year in England, mostly in Yorkshire. On February 20, 1742, he married Sister Elizabeth Hopson, in London, Spangenberg performing the ceremony.
I40 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
gation at Bethlehem, and Bishop David Nitschmann, Superintendent of the Indian Mission.
Bro. Bohler accompanied Zinzendorf to New York, and remained there, according to his direction, about a month, in order to preach the Saviour to the friends of the Brethren. He did so faithfully, but very soon his daily sermons attracted not only attention but also opposition on the part of the Presbyterian clergy. At their instigation Bro. Bohler was ordered to make his appearance before the Mayor and six Aldermen, January 31, who came to the wise conclusion, that he was a papist ! and thereupon ordered him to leave the city forthwith. He protested, both orally and in writing, against these unjust proceedings, but without effect, and therefore returned to Bethlehem about the middle of February.
In connection with this instance of Presbyterian in- tolerance, a correspondence of Peter Bohler with S. Blair, minister in Londonderry, Chester County, Pa., must be mentioned here, in which a conference was proposed by the Presbyterians between some of their preachers on the one side, and some Moravian brethren on the other, to meet March 30, at Mr. Howard's house in Philadelphia, for the purpose of discussing the doc- trine of the Moravians. Though Bohler had neither time nor inclination for such controversies, he declared his willingness at any time to meet Mr. William Tennent, as the most moderate of these Presbyterian opponents.
Such a conference as proposed by the Presbyterian ministers, regarding the doctrine and the social arrange- ments of the Moravian brethren, seemed superfluous to the latter. They were conscious of the rectitude of their intentions ; they were ready to receive and entertain visiting strangers and to give them a full account of their doings, of their escape from the land of popery, of their
BETHLEHEM AND NAZARETH. 1743-1744. 141
sufferings for Christ's sake, of their missionary under- takings, of their connection with Count Zinzendorf, of their doctrine, and of their ecclesiastical and social arrangements. Bethlehem being settled by German emigrants, the German language was, of course, used exclusively, and hence those who knew only the English language would he apt to misapprehend and misconstrue many things. But were the Brethren to be blamed for this?
Besides, there were the public Synods, open for all servants of Christ ; for it was the wish and desire; of Count Zinzendorf that they might be continued as General Pennsylvania Synods of all denominations. Any Presbyterian minister might attend them and express his views and opinions as freely as the German Reformed, the Lutheran, or the Moravian Brethren, but as the majority of the delegates were Germans, their lan- ouaore, of course, was used.
In 1743 four Synods were held, generally lasting two days, Peter Bohler presiding, which, however, are of less general interest than those of 1742, in which Zin- zendorf presided, and the subsequent ones under Span- genberg's direction. It will, therefore, suffice to mention them in only a few words.
The first was held in Philadelphia in March. The English congregation established there requested to be acknowledged as such by the Church of God in the Spirit, that is, by the General Pennsylvania Synod. In consequence of this recognition there were now two congregations in Philadelphia in connection with the Brethren at Bethlehem, neither of which was as yet a Moravian congregation. The one was the German Lutheran congregation on Race Street, attended to by a Lutheran brother from Bethlehem and separate from the German Lutheran congregation under Pastor Muhlen- berg; the other was this English congregation with
I42 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
laborers from Bethlehem, under the superintendence of the General Synod. These were the elements from which the Moravian congregation of Philadelphia was formed in 1749.
The second Synod of 1743 was held in June at Miihl- bach (Mill Creek, Berks County), not far from Tulpe- hocken, and a congregation "without a name," that is, undenominational, not in connection with any denomina- tion but under the superintendence of the General Synod, was organized there.
The third Synod, held at Bethlehem in September, was occupied with reading and discussing a pamphlet written against the Moravians by the Siebentager at Ephrata.
In December a fourth Synod was held at Philadelphia, in which the latest reports from the Moravian congre- gations in Europe were communicated.
In 1 744 there were two General Synods, one at Oley in March, and the other at Heidelberg in November.
At the former George Nicke, pastor-elect of the Lutheran church at Tulpehocken was ordained by Peter Bohler, as the Lutheran superintendent. Peter Bohler was not yet a Bishop of the Moravian Church, and consequently this ordination must be viewed as a bona fide Lutheran ordination.
At the latter the new meeting-house at Heidelberg was solemnly dedicated to the service of the Triune God.
Besides these Synods there were also other public meetings, in which the Moravian element was more predominant, especially the annual "great love-feast" at Philadelphia. The first meeting of this kind was held in May, 1743, and lasted two days. More than two hundred persons of different denominations and lan- guages were present. Lutherans, Reformed, Tunkers, and Moravian brethren (or according to their nationali-
BOHLER S ACTIVITY, I 744. I 43
ties, emigrants from Moravia, Germany, Sweden, Eng- land, and native Indians) after a public sermon, partook in fraternal harmony of a love-feast, consisting of bread, meat and beer, whilst letters and reports from Europe and America were communicated. One of these letters, from Spangenberg, urged the organization of a society for the Furtherance of the Gospel. Peter Bohler and Henry Antes were the principal speakers.
Such meetings, not of a deliberative nature but of an exclusively devotional character, naturally served to strengthen the bond of love between the members of the Moravian Church and their friends in different parts of the country, and above all increased their love and devotion to their common Lord and Master. But at the same time the antagonistic zeal of their opponents was also augmented thereby, and it is not surprising that the Presbyterians of these days took offense at such meetings, which, as devotional exercises, were perfectly unintelligible to the spirit of Puritanism.
Upon the whole, this was a time of universal excite- ment either for or against the Brethren. Many among the Lutherans and German Reformed, who had desired and written for ministers of the Gospel to their friends in Europe, and had waited in vain from year to year, now joyfully embraced the offer made by the Brethren at Bethlehem, to supply their spiritual wants, without any compensation. Thus many congregations were organized at the time and supplied with the means of grace by the itinerant ministers sent from Bethlehem.
The most active of these itinerant ministers of the Brethren was Jacob Lischy, a native of Switzerland. 1 laving accompanied Count Zinzendorf on his first Indian journey within the borders of the Province of Pennsylvania, he became acquainted with many <>i his German Reformed brethren, and soon received a number
144 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
of vocations75 or calls from various parts, either to organize new conoreofations or j-0 serve as minister for those who for a longer or shorter period had been destitute of Gospel privileges. Willing to serve his countrymen to the utmost of his power, he accepted these calls and preached alternately at eighteen different places, among them Heidelberg, Berne, Mill Creek, Warwick, Coventry, Donegal, and York.76 As his evangelical sermons were gladly received by the people and the number of his hearers increased everywhere, opposition on the part of the enemies of the cross of Christ soon manifested itself, and was augmented by Pastor Bohm who, both in the public papers and in the pulpit, condemned him and his doctrine. This induced Lischy to convene a church council of the different German Reformed churches, at Heidelberg, August 29, t 743, which was attended by fifty elders and deacons, besides by many lay members of twelve different congregations. Many complaints were preferred against him; he was called a Zinzendorfler (a follower of Zinzen- dorf ) ; it was said that he had promised him to try to gain over to his interest all the German Reformed ; and his ordination was declared invalid. To refute these charges, Lischy produced his certificate of ordina- tion, and related candidly how he had become awakened by the preaching of the Moravian Brethren in Switzer- land, and showed that there was nothing in their doctrine to which the German Reformed (who did not hold the doctrine of Reprobation which was defended by the Holland classis) could object.
All these German Reformed congregations, satisfied with his defense, gave him renewed vocations, which he
75 Vocation to Coventry. Biidingische Sammlungen, III, p. 109.
76 Aufrichtige Relation vom Anfang der Reformirten Sache in Penn- sylvanien, December, 1744," written by Lischy for Spangenberg.— Beth- lehem Archives.
BOHLER S ACTIVITY, 1/44- , 1 45
had printed, in order to justify himself before the ene- mies of the Brethren. Nevertheless, the Brethren at Bethlehem did not fully approve of the manner in which Lischy carried on the work of the Lord in these German Reformed congregations, and a few years later it became manifest that their fears had not been unfounded.
Besides Andrew Eschenbach, Bro. Leonhard Schnell was at that time a very active and efficient itinerant minister among- the Lutherans. The first awakenings in Maguntsche (now Emmaus) were produced by his preaching there in 1742. In November, 1 743," accom- panied by Robert Hussey, he undertook a journey from Bethlehem to Georgia, on foot, during which journey he proclaimed the ( rospel in Virginia and North Carolina, in many instances in places where there never before had been any preaching. Here and there he heard very strange reports concerning the Zinzendorflers, which in part at least could be traced to either willful or unintentional misrepresentations in the'letters of Gilbert Tennent and Mr. Muhlenberg. Brownfield, Conrad Fiihrer, and others, rejoiced at his arrival in Georgia. Pastor Bolzius and many of his parishioners opposed him openly, but still he found opportunity of preaching the Saviour's love even among the enemies of the Brethren. In April, 1744, they returned by sea to Bethlehem.
A third itinerant minister to be mentioned here was Paul Daniel Bryzelius, a native of Sweden, who had studied at Upsala. The field of action assigned him was among his countrymen in New [ersey, along the Dela- ware, south of Philadelphia, where there had been no regular pastor for some years. On January 13, 1743,"
Journal of Schnell and Hussey, of their journey to Georgia, November 6, 1743, to April 10, 1744.
78 Bryzelius' Report of his Labors .1111011- the Swedes. MS.. Bethlehem Archives.
I46 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
Bryzelius (Pryzelius) left Bethlehem and traveled directly to Provost Tranberg, at that time the only Swedish pastor in the country, who received him very kindly.79 Having- candidly related the object of his visit, Tranberg not only made no objections, but urgently invited him to take charge of three Swedish and one German con- gregation, on the Jersey shore of the Delaware. Bryze- lius soon found kindred souls who received him joyfully and invited him to preach among them.
On January 26, he did so for the first time in the Swedish language, in the house of Joran Kyn, near Maurice River. Soon after a small church was built in this neighborhood, and Bryzelius received a regular call as pastor, and accepted it. His second preaching-place was in Cohansy, where a neglected German Lutheran congregation gladly availed itself of his services in the church near the so-called Glasshouse, or the Emmanuel Church. Leonhard Schnell afterwards took charge of this congregation until Pastor Muhlenberg's influence became predominant. A third preaching-place was the Swedish church at Penn's Neck, where Bryzelius served as minister for upwards of a year, until Gabriel Falk, a deposed Swedish minister, began disburbances. As occasional preaching-stations the following are to be mentioned : Wicacoa, Manathanim, Ammas' Land, Potomack and Kalckenhucken ; but the principal station was the church at Racoon, near which Bryzelius resided with his family, after having received a regular call from thirty-three members of the congregation. Here he was to all intents and purposes the regularly installed pastor, and his name outrht, therefore, not to be omitted in the list of the Swedish ministers on the Delaware.
79 Evangelical Review, Vol. I., No. 2, The Swedish Churches on the Delaware, by Prof. W. M. Reynolds.
BRYZELIUS AND TTIE SWEDES. 1 47
That the faithful ministration of Brother Bryzelius, and especially the preaching of Christ and Him crucified, was not without the blessing of the Lord, no one can deny, who will attentively consider the circumstances connected with some unpleasant affairs which at last induced him to give up his charge. Nearly a year had he performed all the pastoral functions, clear])' beloved by the greater part of his congregation, when Magister Naesman arrived from Sweden. His first public act was on December 23, 1743, forcibly to enter the church at Racoon, and to preach against Bryzelius. In his polem- ical harangue he produced his diploma as Magister, and maintained that Bryzelius could not be an orthodox teacher without such a diploma. One of the people exclaimed : "We do not believe this, for to-day we have both seen and heard, that in spite of your bio- paper, you are not sent by God, for you are angry and uncon- verted, and tell lies." Another said : "We do not want you, for we are afraid you are a son of old Falk," who, when his people could not answer his scriptural questions, is said to have pulled them by the hair. Magister Naesman became exceedingly angry, and threatened publicly to excommunicate Bryzelius. The latter did not answer, but looked at him in a friendly way, whereupon one of his opponents exclaimed: "You are a Satan, for you laugh in church," to which Bryzelius replied: "But what are you, that you get angry in church?" As might bo expected, the meeting dissolved in great tumult, but the majority sided with Bryzelius. On Christmas-day he went to the church as usual, but found that it had been locked, probably at the instigation of Naesman. The door was forcibly opened, and he preached to a large congregation.
Two weeks after this, fifteen stout men, Swedes, Germans and Irish, were ordered to guard the door,
148 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
one of whom even attacked Bryzelius, who found great difficulty in prevailing upon his people to refrain from resorting to violent measures. The consistory imme- diately reported this disgraceful proceeding to the Gover- nor, who ordered the fifteen men to be lodged in jail.
Bryzelius left for a time, visiting Pastor Nyberg at Lancaster, and afterwards at Bethlehem. Upon his return he found a warrant against him "as a common breaker of the King's peace," because his sermons had caused disturbances. On March 13, 1744, a constable, with fear and trembling, took him prisoner and led him to a tavern. The Swedish landlord was his bitter enemy, because owing to his preaching, his traffic in ardent spirits had been seriously diminished during the past year. For formerly the Swedes had been accustomed after sermons to frequent taverns, and to spend whole nights in drinking and dancing, but since Bryzelius had preached of the sufferings and death of Christ, many had been awakened, and even those who would have liked to stop at the tavern, were often ashamed to do so, because the rest passed by. In this place he had to pass the night, and he himself relates the following circum- stances : "The wife of one of my accusers accidentally came into the room, and when she saw me a prisoner, she began to weep, and publicly affirmed, that I was persecuted without' a cause, for she had felt that I preached the truth. My adversaries, both men and women, assembled, abusing and reviling me in the most absurd manner. I remained silent. At last they became ashamed, and would have set me free, had I promised never to return; but I said: T shall not go away on account of your persecutions ; you have cited me before the judge, and to the judge will I go.' '
Judge Hingsman, of Gloucester, before whom Bryze- lius had his first hearing, treated him very kindly, and
BRYZELIUS AMi Till: SWEDES. 1 49
soon perceiving how matters stood and that he was not the disturber of the King's peace, but rather that his adversaries were, cheerfully gave him permission to con- tinue his ministerial service at Maurice River and Penn's Neck until the next term of the Court, satisfied that his mere verbal promise would be sufficient to insure his appearance before the Court. And so it was. At the ap- pointed time, on April 17, Bryzelius entered the court house at Gloucester, unattended by any legal adviser (although his adversaries had employed three lawyers against him), trusting alone in Him who can bring to naught the counsels ot the worldly wise.
His enemies insisted upon his being examined by some ministers, of course, of their own selection. This he refused, not acknowledging their jurisdiction over him. As the grand jury found no bill against him, he was dismissed the same day, with the friendly advice, however, not to preach in the church at Racoon, until the arbitration ordered by the Court had taken place.
The Society of Friends offered him a meeting-house, in which he continued to preach before larger audiences than ever, and with the manifest blessing of the Lord. Many became awakened, and Magister Naesman, at a later period, made an apology for what he had done.
Magister Naesman was not satisfied with having shown his ill-will against Brother Bryzelius, but en- deavored to array the whole Lutheran clergy against the Moravian Brethren. For this purpose a meeting was convened at the house of a Swedish merchant ot Philadelphia, in May, 1744, which was attended by the Swedish pastors Tranberg of Christina, Nyberg ol Lancaster, Naesman of Wicacoa, and the ( ierman pastors Muhlenberg and Wagner. \\<rr the question was discussed "whether the Moravian Brethren should be acknowledged to be in the same communion with them
I 50 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
according to the Augsburg Confession." This question had been decided affirmatively in Germany again and again, and, therefore, a negative decision of five Lutheran ministers in America would not in the least have affected the standing of the Moravian Church. But even here the opponents of the Brethren could not have it all their own way, for one of these five Lutheran pastors, Laurentius Theophilus Nyberg, of Lancaster, unex- pectedly stepped forth as a defender of the Brethren, with whom at that time he had no further connection except an acquaintance with his countryman Bryzelius. But in Sweden already he had heard favorable reports of the Moravian Brethren and Bishop Benzelius had warned him to beware of the Hallensians, and hence the proposed union of the .Swedish and German Lutheran churches, defensive and offensive against the Moravians, was not brought about.
While the itinerant ministers sent out from Bethlehem and supported by the congregation there, were actively engaged in making known the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, the brethren at Bethlehem were not idle. Be- sides some smaller buildings, the mill was finished in June and the clergy-house, which already had to be enlarged, was completed in August. In September, as many brethren as could be spared from the framework went to Nazareth to assist the masons, who had to be pro- cured from Germantown, in finishing" the laree house there, which task was accomplished in December, just in time to accommodate a part of the brethren and sisters lately arrived from Europe. This second "Sea Congregation" landed at New York in December, 1743, and consisted of one hundred and twenty persons. Among these were thirty-three young couples who had all been married in Herrnhaag on one day, May 27, and were destined for Pennsylvania. The more promi-
THE SECOND "SKA CONGREGATION. I 5 I
nent among the newly arrived brethren who were after- wards more or less engaged in the service of the congregation were : Matthew Schropp, George Ohne- berg, Matthew Reuz, John Wolfgang Michler, George Nicke, Anton Wagner, and the English brethren, Richard Utley, Jasper Payne and James Greening.
After having refreshed themselves at Bethlehem and partaken of the Lord's Supper with the congregation there, a part of these newcomers (among them twenty- five young married couples) set out for Nazareth on Jan- uary 2, 1744, the brethren walking ahead with axes and cutting out a new road through the woods. Having arrived there in the evening, they were welcomed by the Brethren Peter Bohler, Anthony SeyfTert, Nathanael Seidel, and Bishop Nitschmann, and the meeting-hall in the "big house" was consecrated to the service of the Triune God. Brother Adolph Meyer was the superin- tendent of this colony, and Brother J. C. Franke his assistant, especially in all spiritual matters. For the present, at all communion services and special festival days of the Church, the Nazareth brethren and sisters went to Bethlehem, both congregations being considered as one church.
In Bethlehem the choir of single brethren constantly increased. Though twenty of the thirty-six single brethren sent from Europe, had married by the end of 1744, twenty-four young men from Oley, Philadelphia, Staten Island, and other places, had in- creased their ranks, and therefore a separate building for them seemed indispensable. Brother Nathanael Seidel, the Elder of the single brethren, laid the corner- stone for the Brethren's House (now the Sisters' I [ouse) on August S, 1744. Within sixteen weeks it was read) for the reception of its inmates and was solemnly con- secrated on December 6 by Bishop Spangenberg, who
152 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
had arrived in Bethlehem a few days before, accompa- nied by his wife. Brother Abraham Rein eke and his wife, and some other brethren and sisters.
Brother Spangenberg now came to Pennsylvania for the second time and remained until October, 1749. Since his return from Pennsylvania in 1739 he had been employed in the service of the Church in various ways in Germany and England, for some time acting as steward of the great "church of pilgrims" in Marien- born, where, on March 5, 1 740, he was married to the widowed sister Eva Maria Immigf, late Zie«"elbauer. In 1 74 1 he went to England, founded in London the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen, assisted in the deliberations of the Synodal Conference in September, took charge of the General Diaconate, that is, the economical affairs of the whole Church, sent several companies of pilgrims to Penn- sylvania, organized congregations in London and York- shire, held several important interviews with the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, and in short, was indefatigable in his service of the Church while he remained a pattern of Christian humility and childlike simplicity for all men.8"
He now entered a new sphere of labor and became the ruling spirit in the American Moravian Church until 1748. Brother Bohler returned to Europe in April, 1745.
80 Compare his famous hymn :
" Heil'ge Einfalt, Gnadenwunder ! Tiefste Weisheit, grosste Kraft ! Schonste Zierde, Liebeszunder ! Werk das Gott alleine schafft." A very inadequate rendering of some of the thoughts is found in the attempted translation : "When simplicity we cherish," etc.
CHAPTER III.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BRETHREN'S CHURCH IN PENNSYLVANIA, 1744-174S.
I. SPANGENBERG, VICARIUS GENERAI.IS. 1/44-
It was one of the favorite ideas of Count Zinzendorf, to endeavor to bring about a union of the Evangelical Churches. His attention had already been directed to this subject while a student at Halle and Witten- berg, but though he did not succeed in his well-meant attempts at bringing about a reconciliation of the faculties of these two universities, and though he was in later years constantly opposed and even slandered and persecuted by man)- members of high standing, both in the Lutheran and in the Reformed Church, still he repeatedly turned his thoughts to this subject.
After his return from America and after his appoint- ment as minister plenipotentiary of the Unity, as expressed in the title, " Advocatus et Ordinarius Fratrum," when his brethren had solemnly declared "that henceforth nothing of any importance should be undertaken in the external or internal arrangements ot the Moravian congregations, without his consent," and he had thus, de facto, become the head and ruler ol the Church, he thought the time had come for the realization of his favorite idea.
Looking at the different congregations of the Brethren (Niesky, Gnadenberg, Gnadenfrei, Neusalz and Fulneck were commenced at this time?) and the almost daily
154 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
increase in their membership from other denominations, he found "in their totality," that is, in the Moravian Church, as it now developed itself, "a realization of an ancient idea of the Brethren, as expressed by the Consensus Sendomiriensis" when in 1570 the Lutheran, Reformed and Moravian Churches of Poland, by common consent at a Synod in Sendomir, brought about a temporary union of these three denominations. And looking still farther back into the history of the Refor- mation and examining the characteristic peculiarities, whether of doctrine or church-o-overnment, as set forth in the Church of the Bohemian Brethren, in the Lutheran Church and in the Reformed Church, he found that what others were wont to consider merely "marks of distinc- tion and points of dispute," were really "successive and distinct conceptions of one and the same gospel truth and of the apostolic ideal of the Church as portrayed in Holy Scripture" ; and that the apparent divergence was due to the fact that parts of the whole truth had become unduly prominent, by being urged singly and without due reference to other parts which were of equal necessity to a complete view. Herein he acknowledged the direction of divine wisdom, and felt convinced, that this must be so, from many declarations of Holy Writ in reference to "the household of God" (Eph. 2: 19-22), or "the preparatory education for Christ" (Gal. 3 : 24). Regarding the Reformation as a renewed instruction in righteousness (naidsia ev 61- KaioGvvr\, 2 Tim. 3 : 16), the successive rise of the three Evangelical Churches of the Continent of Europe was considered by him as so many different modes of instruc- tion [rpoitoi 7t aide las) for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till all should come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man (Eph. 4 : 1 1-16).
SPANGENBERG, VICARIUS GENERALIS. 1 55
Meanwhile it became more and more his favorite idea, (applying the rponoi rtaideias to the Moravian, Lutheran and Reformed Churches), to look upon them theoretically not as a separate organization, but as tropes (t/jottoi) or branches of the One Evangelical Church ; and he rejoiced to see a commencement of this Unity in the Brethren's Church. Hence it was his sincere desire and earnest endeavor, especially at the different Synods held at Marienborn in 1743, 1744 and 1745, to induce his brethren to accept his standpoint, in order to keep them in intimate connection with the Evangelical Church, and to counteract the Moravian spirit of independence. He hoped that the time would come, when this idea would be universally acknowledged as biblical, true and also practicable for the whole Church.' For the present, at least in German)-, he saw in the Brethren's Church alone a field for the practical application of these ideas. He, therefore, made a distinction between the members of the strictly Moravian, of the Lutheran and of the Reformed Tropus, each of which might retain the doc- trinal preferences of his own Church, especially in reference to the Lord's Supper, and thus join the Breth- ren's Unit)' and enjoy her peculiarities of ritual and constitution, without separating from his former denomination. This idea was accepted and reinforced by succeeding General Synods.
However, a farther application to the then existing congregations, according to which some, tor example.
1 More than one hundred years Inter .1 < ommern emenl was made tow ards the realization of these ideas by the German Kirchentag, which met at Wittenberg, September 21-23, l,s45. '>> which an Evangelical Church confederaey was to be established. This confederal \ was to contain (see Resolution, 'i 3): "All those denominations which stand on the basis of the confessions of the Reformation, namely, the Lutheran, Reformed, United Evangelical and Herrnhut Brethren."
F. W. Kolbing, deputy on the part of the (Jnitas I'ratrum, declared that the brethren, though not inclined to join a mere outward confederacy, would acknowledge the idea of .1 spiritual union of all believers.
156 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
Herrnhut, were to be considered con ere rations of the Lutheran Tropus, others (like Herrnhaag) as belonging to the Reformed Tropus, could not be practically carried out in Europe. In Pennsylvania, on the other hand, this idea was apparently already being realized. The Moravian, the Lutheran, the Reformed Churches were as yet in the most incipient states of their existence ; there was no distinct organization or connection of the different congregations of one confession. By far the greater part of the Lutheran and German Reformed congregations of Pennsylvania, as well as the "Pilgrim Church." at Bethlehem and the Moravian colony at Nazareth, were joined under one General Synod, which, as "the Church of God in the Spirit," had theoretically an independent position, though practically it was under the indirect influence of Count Zinzendorf. Spangenberg was now sent to America, not only to super- intend the affairs of the Bethlehem congregation and the Moravian Missions among the Indians, but also to con- tinue the work commenced by Count Zinzendorf during the Pennsylvania Synods, and to be, as it were, the center for the three united Churches. Therefore, at Herrnhaae, on June 15, 1744, he was consecrated a Bishop, by Bishops Zinzendorf and Frederick de Watteville. Under the influence of the current mode of thought, it was becoming the custom to consecrate Bishops for each Tropus, as, for instance, Frederick de Watteville for the Reformed Tropus, and John Langguth for the Lutheran Tropus ; but Spangenberg's consecration was as Vicarius Generalis Episcoporum in America (or Vicar General of the three Tropoi) in puncto ordinationis. That is, he received from the Unitas Fratrum ecclesiastical power and authority to ordain, not only ministers of the Moravian Church, but also Lutheran and Reformed pastors. It must be noted, however, that this power
SPANGENBERG, VICARIUS GENERALIS. I 57
was not acknowledged by the Lutheran or Reformed opponents of the Brethren's Church.
Besides this ecclesiastical office, Spangenberg held another peculiar office which, however, referred only to a certain time and to the peculiar situation of the congregation at Bethlehem. According to a decision of the London Conference of 1741, which was confirmed by Lot, he was appointed Chief Elder for the " Church of the Pilgrims" at Bethlehem and of all real Moravian Brethren scattered over the; country. For though Leon- hard Dober had resigned the office of General Elder of the Church and the Brethren assembled at London (September 16, 1741) had felt that no one could comply with the requirements of this office but He who is the Lord and Head of His Church ; though that which justly may be considered the Magna Charta of our church- government, that Christ, and He alone, is the General Elder, the Head and Ruler of the Moravian Church, had been published to the European congregations, still Spangenberg, the Vicarius Generalis Episcoporum in America, was — by an especial decision of the Lot — for the time being appointed per Americam in Pres- byterio Vicarius. That is, the Chief Eldership of Jesus, though known and appreciated by the European brethren and sisters, was for the present not to be published in America. Strange as this may appear, subsequent events fully justified this decision ; for the promulgation of these ideas to people who had never before had any connection with the Moravian Church, and therefore could neither understand nor appreciate them, might have done more harm than good.4
4 Even now, while we write, we are doubtful whether all our readers, especially those not belonging to, or not knowing the Moravian Church, will fully understand our meaning. But we refer them for further infor- mation to historical documents, namely, the Memorial Days of the Renewed Church of the Brethren, pp. 184-222. See also many of our hymns and Crceger's Brethren's History, II, p. 62.
158 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
Spangenberg had a very faithful and efficient assist- ant in his wife, Mary. She was one of the most extra- ordinary women of the olden times, of lively tempera- ment and great energy of character. Born in Dresden in 1696 (February 25), she had married a Dr. Immig and, on their becoming acquainted with Count Zinzen- dorf, had gone to Herrnhut in 1727, where her husband died the next year. She was one of the first female elders of the congregation, and served for twelve years as spiritual laboress of the widowed sisters, at the same time assisting Brother Martin Dober in the outward concerns of the congregation in Herrnhut. She had too practical a mind ever to become senti- mental ; was serious, faithful, sometimes rather severe and imperious to those under her authority ; well versed in domestic affairs, especially since she had had the charge of the housekeeping* of the "pilgrim congregation" at Marienborn, and was therefore peculiarly adapted to direct the Bethlehem Economy. She was also an efficient and tiuent speaker, at any time ready to keep a meeting for the sisters. Generally esteemed, she was more feared than beloved. She was usually called " the Mother," and acted as such with great fidelity in Beth- lehem until 1748. She died at Herrnhut in 1 75 1 .
2. SYNODS IN 1745.
Having landed at New York, Spangenberg first visited the Indian Mission in Checomeko, where the missionaries, harassed and persecuted by their English neighbors, were not a little comforted by his judicious counsels. He then proceeded to Bethlehem, where he arrived on November 30, 1744, and at once entered upon the discharge of his manifold official duties. The amount of labor performed by Bishop Spangenberg is
SYNODS IN 1745. 159
almost incredible, for his activity was directed to a variety oi subjects, each of which would seem sufficient for an ordinary man.
1. Being sent to America by the Directing Board of the Unity, which was centered at that time in Count Zinzendorf and his immediate assistants, one of his duties was to conduct the correspondence with his Euro- pean brethren. This correspondence was very important in the earl)' times of the Church, when the whole con- nection of the work of the Brethren in America with their European brethren depended thereon.
2. To him, as Chief Elder of the Moravian Brethren in America, was committed the especial care of souls of all the European colonists settled at Bethlehem and Nazareth, and man)- a time, especially at communion seasons, all the brethren and sisters of these settlements had private religious conversation with him or his wife. Thus he was the confidant and adviser of all, in the most important concerns of the soul.
3. He was also the pater-familias (the* father of the family), the chief steward of the rapidly extending Family Economy of Bethlehem and Nazareth, ably and faithfully assisted by his wife, especially in the first years <>l great poverty. Well acquainted with the financial affairs of the Church, and knowing what great expenses had to be met in all the new settlements of the Brethren in Europe, he was loath to demand funds from Europe, and preferred to sacrifice his own private property, without, however, demanding the same from any of his brethren.
4. As superintendent of the missionary affairs of the Brethren in America, he had not only to care, outwardly and inwardly, for the Indian Missions, but the Mis sions in the West Indies and Surinam were also, to a great extent, committed to his charge. To procure the
l6o THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
necessary means, he proposed in August, 1745, the establishment of a "Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel," which was organized at a Synod in Lancaster in December and existed for about ten years.
5. Lastly, the General Synods demanded a good deal of his time and labor. He not only presided at these meetings, but generally wrote the very compendious re- ports of the proceedings.
Three Synods of this kind were held in 1745. The first met in Frederick Township, probably in Henry Antes' house, on March 21 and 22, and was attended by one hundred and four members. Among these are named three Elders of the Brethren's Church, namely, Spangenberg, Anthony SeyrTert, and Nathanaet Seidel, ten brethren who served as Lutheran pastors in different congregations, three ministers of Reformed congrega- tions, twelve wardens and trustees of congregations in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Tulpehocken, Philadelphia, German- town and Oley, eight missionaries, and others. Pastor Laurence Theophilus Nyberg, sent by the Swedish Con- sistory to the Lutheran congregation at Lancaster, at- tended this Synod, and was received as a member of it. The following passage contains the spirit of the report :
"As the Synod still adheres to its original plan of af-. fording to all the children of God, though of different denominations, an opportunity, not only of strengthening the bond of Christian fellowship, but of assisting each other in the mutual prosecution of the work of God in this country ; therefore, be it resolved, in order to avoid confusion and to prevent disorderly men from entering into the ministry, that all the Lutheran and German Re- formed ministers of the congregations in connection with this Synod, be ordained only by Bishop Spangenberg."
The second Synod convened at Bethlehem, August 18 and 19. About two hundred members attended,
SYNODS IN 1/45- l6l
among: whom there were seventeen ordained ministers of the Gospel, twenty-eight assistant ministers and teachers, and nine missionaries. Anew it was resolved : "We will continue to preach the Gospel at all those places where the Saviour grants us open doors, and we are ready to supply with ministers all such congre- gations as desire teachers from us." Heidelberg, for instance, was acknowledged as a free congregation under the superintendence of the Synod, and was sup- plied with ministers from Bethlehem.
The third Synod of this year assembled at Lancaster, December 8 and 9. Henry Antes had preached here in 1743, and quite lately the Swedish Lutheran pastor, the Rev. Mr. Nyberg, had joined the Synod. But there were not a few, especially among Pastor Nyberg' s congregation, who opposed the work of the Brethren, and who looked with very suspicious eyes on these assemblies. On this very account it was important to hold a Synod here and in as public a manner as pos- sible. Justice Smout courteously offered the court- house for the public sessions of the Synod, which, however, so enraged some of the more bitter enemies of the Brethren that they threw mud and stones at Spangenberg, when he rose to preach on the word of Jesus: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." His perfect composure, his meek and friendly deportment, but above all his fervent prayer for all the enemies of the cross of Christ, made a deep and lasting impression upon Justice Smout and many others. It is related that one man in particular, who had filled his pockets with stones to join in the premeditated attack, was so much struck by the fervency of Brother Spangen- berg's prayer, that he not only emptied his pockets, but with tearful eyes confessed his evil intentions, and him- self became a follower of the meek Lamb of God.
1 62 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
The one hundred and eighty members of the Synod are thus classified : sixty-two Lutherans, seventy-seven German Reformed, eleven English Reformed, six Mora- vian Brethren, eleven Mennonites, seven Taufer (Tunker), two Siebentager, one Separatist, three Indians, and one without denominational name, that is, Spangenberg. They had come from twenty-four different localities. The following is the most important resolution: "We will carefully guard against any one favoring the idea that this or that denomination, this or that Church, is the Church of Christ to which he must belong in order to be saved ; for though we cheerfully acknowledge the happiness of our times, in which the Saviour col- lects His children into conorecjations here and there, still we firmly believe that there are children of God among the different denominations of various nations, of whom but few may possibly be known to us."
This and many other similar passages prove plainly that Spangenberg, evidently the master-mind of these Synods, had firmly resolved to continue the work of the Lord in Zinzendorf's liberal spirit, not suffering himself to be bound and tied down by any outward forms, but endeavoring to promote the welfare of his fellow-men and to advance the Kingdom of Christ in Pennsylvania by all and every means in his power.
Thus he went on in the strength of the Lord, actively engaged one clay in the affairs of the Bethlehem Economy, the next morning surprising the colonists at Nazareth at their morning devotions, having walked thither before breakfast. His wanderings frequently extended to the scattered Christian settlers of the Province, or even beyond its boundaries to the savages of the wilderness. But wherever he went, whatever he did, his sole aim and object was to win souls for Christ and to promote the cause of His Kingdom.
BETHLEHEM — "THE CHURCH OF PILGRIMS." 163
3. BETHLEHEM THE "CHURCH OF PILGRIMS,"
i 744-1 745.
It would have been quite impossible for Brother Spangenberg to accomplish all that was expected of him, if the same courage, the same spirit of disinter- ested devotion to the cause of the Lord, the same steady endurance and persevering willingness amidst difficulties, toil and embarrassments of various kinds had not animated by far the greater part of the colonists, and above all if there had not been willing" and implicit obedience to their leader. This period, especially from 1744 to 1748, may, in truth, be called the heroic age of our American Church. A careful perusal of the diaries, journals and other papers, preserved in the Bethle- hem Archives, proves abundantly that it was not love of ease or the desire for the treasures of this world that induced our ancestors to leave their own country, and to settle in the wilds of Pennsylvania ; but that it was their sincere and ardent desire to proclaim among Christians and heathen the Saviour's love, and to com- mend the cross of Christ, the saving power of which they had experienced in their own hearts.
More especially was this the case with that part of the Church at Bethlehem which constituted the "Church of Pilgrims," and consisted of such only as had voluntarily dedicated themselves to the service of the Lord. Spangenberg remarks in one of his letters : "When the congregation in Bethlehem heard the news of the departure of our brethren in St. Thomas, all burned with desire to be permitted to venture their lives, and if I had called for volunteers to go to this pestilential spot, twenty or thirty brethren or sisters would at once have been willing to go."
This spirit of devotion, this willingness to be spent in the service of the Lord, this readiness to undertake the
164 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
most arduous enterprises, almost at a moment's warn- ing, was nourished and strengthened not only by their regular daily devotions at morning, noon and evening, but also by their peculiar manner of social life. The whole Church at Bethlehem, which numbered in 1 747 about three hundred persons, was considered and treated as one family, eating at one common table. Partly from necessity, for want of house-room, partly from religious conviction, they were separated and divided into the different rooms of the clergy-house, and afterwards into different houses, according to their ages and sexes, which separation of the sexes and classification into different "choirs" was carried out to a much greater extent than in any of the European congregations.
While in most of the settlements of the Brethren in Germany and England, separate houses (choir-houses) were erected for the single brethren, single sisters and widows, in Pennsylvania, from 1 744 to 1 748, all the single brethren (numbering in 1 747 with the older boys more than eighty souls) were assembled at Bethlehem under the spiritual superintendence of Nathanael Seidel and Gottlieb Pezold, while the single sisters (twenty in number) found their temporary abode at Nazareth. In 1 748, after the single brethren had built a larger house for themselves — the present middle building of the Young Ladies' Seminary — the single sisters took perma- nent possession of the former Brethren's House, which has ever since retained the name of Sisters' House. The older girls were collected in Bethlehem, the smaller ones (from four to eleven years of age) in Nazareth, and the little boys in Henry Antes' house in Frederick Township. Even the married people lived separately in two buildings, where the present church is located. The mothers generally retained their children till they were about eighteen months old, when they were taken in
BETHLEHEM — KAMI I ,Y ECONOMY. 1 65
charge by the authorities of the Church and placed in the nursery at Bethlehem, and after 1749 at Nazareth.
All this was an extension of the European choir-ar- rangements of a quite peculiar kind, and naturally led to more or less arbitrary, if not despotic rule, and could not be continued nor be recommended for imitation. Similar in some respects were the Ephrata convents, with this difference, however, that there the "solitary state " was considered the most holy and acceptable to God, while the Moravians not only esteemed and honored married life, but endeavored to sanctify it in a peculiar manner. Many verses, used at that time, referred directly to conjugal duties, or rep- resented the felicity of the children of God in terms taken from matrimonial life, exceeding sometimes those to be met with in Holy Writ, and were therefore liable to misconstruction and afforded abundant material for malicious and slanderous attacks from the opponents of the Brethren. Nevertheless, they were happy in the Lord and went on cheerfully in their works of duty and of love.
4. BETHLEHEM. — FAMILY ECONOMY. 1/47-
In commune oramus, In commune laboramus, In commune patimur, In commune gaudemus.
This favorite motto of "Dr. Anton, in reference to the orphan-house and other institutions in Halle, was justly applied by Spangenberg to the external and internal affairs of the Moravian colonies at Bethlehem and Nazareth; for not only in a general or spiritual sense was the word of the Apostle applicable: "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Cor. 12: 26); but actual!) and literally all
1 66 the brethren's congregations.
their joys and griefs, their labor as well as their worship was the joint affair of all and each. They formed but one family ; had but one house-keeping.
In the "Life of Spangenberg," written by Jeremiah Risler, as well as in other German publications which refer to this time, only the general principles are pointed out by which this singular Family Economy was governed. A full detail has never been published, and without such a detailed account, the full extent of this Economy can not be appreciated. Therefore, we take from Bishop Cammerhof's letters the following statements, which, though referring particularly to the year 1747, show what expenses devolved at that time already upon this Economy, increasing, of course, from year to year, and what were their principal resources.
To the annual expenses belonged the following items :
1. Board and clothingf of the brethren, sisters and children in Bethlehem (about 300 in 1747), in Nazareth (100), Gnadenthal (20), Gnadenhutten (15, besides presents to the Indians), Frederickstown (40 boys and 18 brethren and sisters who managed Henry Antes' mill and farm), and Germantown (about 12 persons) — in all about 500 persons, among whom there were many non-producers. Though the board was at first very plain and scant, meat being put on the table but twice a week, still the weekly consumption of wheat amounted to between forty and fifty bushels. In 1747 there were consumed: In Bethlehem, 2,307 bushels of wheat, 12,- 832 eggs, 15,586 pounds of meat; in Nazareth, 1,011 bushels of wheat, 6,875 eggs> 4-992 pounds of meat, inclusive of 576 pounds of venison ; for which purpose 60 sheep, 7 oxen, 7 steers, 16 cows and 20 calves were slaughtered ; not to mention many other not inconsider- able items.
BETHLEHEM — FAMILY ECONOMY. I 67
Besides, there were distributed 450 shirts, 150 pairs of stockings, and many other pieces of apparel, for ex- ample, 145 pairs of shoes, and none had to complain of the superabundance of his wardrobe.
To the annual expenses belonged further:
2. The support of the congregation-schools at Oley and Maguntsche, and of the Philadelphia ministerial laborers.
3. Nearly the whole support of the two married couples who lived among the Indians at Shamokin.
4. The clothing of all the brethren and sisters who were sent out on missionary tours, as well as of those who were stationed at various places as ministers or school-masters — about fifty persons in all.
5. Traveling expenses for the itinerant ministers in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New England.
6. Various expenses in connection with the Indian Mission, and for presents in the negotiations with the Six Nations.
7. Boarding of many visiting friends, especially during Synods.
S. Expenses for the transportation of the brethren and sisters traveling in missionary service to and from St. Thomas and Berbice.
9. There was annually a not inconsiderable item of expense for building purposes. For instance, in 1 747 the following houses were erected for the Society ; a dwelling-house and blacksmith-shop at Shamokin, a minister's dwelling at Philadelphia, two barns and several stables at Bethlehem ; a new fiat-boat for the Lehigh River; a wash-house at Nazareth, a <rrist- mill and saw-mill at Gnadenthal, a farm-house at Christian's Spring, a grist-mill, saw-mill, blacksmith-shop, barn, stables and some Indian houses at Gnadenhiitten- on-the-Mahony. Much was yet to be done and was postponed for the following years.
1 68 the brethren's congregations.
To meet all these expenses the Brethren had the fol- lowing resources or capital :
I. The most important, and in later times a valuable source of revenue was the land which was gradually bought up, having been selected very judiciously. Here they found building materials in abundance and in later years these very fertile acres yielded an abundance of all the necessaries of life. For the present, however, only a small part of these thousands of acres were cleared and in a state of cultivation, not nearly enough to raise sufficient grain for the rapidly increasing number of consumers. Belonging to the Bethlehem plantation there were only about 200 acres of arable land and 20 acres of meadow-land ; at Nazareth, 250 acres were cleared, 20 acres meadow; at Gnadenthal, 125 acres of cleared land, 4 acres meadow ; on the new farm near Gnadenthal (afterwards known as Christian's Spring) there were as yet only 15 acres in cultivation, but it was hoped that much meadow-land might be obtained there ; the farm at Gnadenhlitten beyond the Blue Mountains contained 450 acres, of which only 50 were in a state of cultivation.
Besides these farms which belonged to the Brethren, there were some others, which they cultivated and used, by agreement, without paying rent, namely: Widow Ysselstein's farm on the south side of the Lehigh ; Henry Antes' farm and mill in Frederick Township, and John Bechtel's house and garden in Germantown.
Under the careful and judicious cultivation of these German practical farmers, these lands, orchards and gar- dens yielded a considerable amount for the support of the Family Economy, but not enough for home consumption ; hence the needful cash for Mass, iron, sugar, blankets and many other articles, all which were brought from Philadelphia, had to be procured by other means.
BETHLEHEM FAMILY ECONOMY. I 69
II. A second source of support and also of income were the following trades, carried on at different places :
1. The grist-mills at Bethlehem, Gnadenhiitten, Gna- denthal, and in Frederick Township.
2. The saw-mills at Bethlehem, Gnadenthal and Gna- denhiitten.
3. The oil-mill at Bethlehem, under Father Nitsch- mann's superintendence.
4. The tannery at Bethlehem — by far the most lucra- tive business.
5. The smitheries at Bethlehem, Nazareth, Gnaden- hiitten and Shamokin (the; latter especially for the Indians).
6. The locksmith shop at Bethlehem.
7. The pottery.
8. The joinery and glaziery.
9. The turnery, under Father Bechtel.
10. The wheelwright shop of Henry Antes.
11. The linen weaving in Bethlehem and Nazareth, under the special charge of Mary Spangenberg and Anna Cammerhof. There were six looms in Bethlehem, on which 3,30cS yards of linen were woven.
1 2. The stocking weaving and fulling-mill.
13. The rope-making, under Henry Antes.
14. The tailoring and furriery.
15. The dyers' trade, under M. Weiss.
16. The shoe-making at Nazareth, Frederick Town- ship, Gnadenhiitten and at Bethlehem under I). Tanne- berger.
17. Father Demuth's box and spindle-making. iS. The cooper)-.
19. The distiller)-, the products of which, however, were not for sale.
20. The bakery.
2 1. The butcher)-.
I70 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
22. The medical and chirurgical business in the hands of die brethren Adolph Meyer, Otto, Owen Rice, Christian H. Ranch and Sisters Mary Spangenberg and Huber. Brother Otto had his own garden for medical herbs, where the eastern building- of the Young; Ladies' Seminar)' now stands.
23. The soap boiling.
24. The chimney sweeping.
25. The mason-work, in which more skillful men would have been needed.
26. The carpenter work.
27. The brick-making, under L, Hiibner.
28. The pewterer-work, under S. Powel and A. Bom- per.
29. The tavern on the other side of the Lehigh, and the Ferry.
30. The shoe cleaning.
31. The tar-making at Gnadenhutten.
32. The button making.
Thirteen of these trades yielded in 1 747, besides what was consumed at home, a clear profit of ^221 14.S. 4c/. Pennsylvania currency, equivalent to about $591.
III. A third source of income was the Society for the* Furtherance of the Gospel, founded by Bishop Spangen- berg, and consisting mostly of friends of the Brethren. From August 13, 1745, to December 31, 1747, this Society collected for missionary purposes, ^454 13^. 5c/., a not inconsiderable sum for those times. This was a material assistance to the Economy, on which the whole expense of the Indian Missions would otherwise have de- volved.
According to a very low estimate, the annual ex- penses of this Family Economy exceeded $10,000, which would have required a very considerable capital, if all male and female members had been only con-
BETHLEHEM FAMILY ECONOMY. I 7 I
sinners and not producers. But though young and old worked diligently and faithfully, still it was often apparent, that the Lord had helped where human wisdom failed.
"Well may we exclaim," says Cammerhof, astonished at the results of another year, "The Almighty Himself has managed for us; for if we. had not tin's comfort, we would often not know how to act ; but as the Saviour's credit is our proper stock, we leave the; management to Him."
At the close of the year 1 747, there was about £200 cash in hand and about ^150 available assets in account current debtors. But the liabilities amounted to 7^4400, mostly occasioned by the purchase of land near Bethlehem and Gnadenhutten. The money for the Whitefield Tract, or the Nazareth lands, had been paid in Europe from the general funds of the Church, and the Bethlehem Economy was only to pay the interest thereon, as soon as they would be able to do so. In the debt of /4400 there were several items, which according to Cammerhof \s expression were "canceled by a draft on the Saviour's Conto," that is, a sum of ^1082 which Brother Spangenberg received as a personal legacy from Thomas Noble's estate, but which he gave to the Family Economy, hiding his disinterested liberality by saying that he lent it. There were many smaller sums belonging to the members of the Economy or to friends of the Brethren (for instance, Timothy Horsfield, of New York, and Captain Garrison), which could be re- claimed at an)- time, but for which no interest was demanded.
Though there was a great deal of ill-will against the Brethren among many of their ungodly neigh bors, and main stories concerning their social and re
172 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
ligious organization were freely circulated, still no one doubted their honesty, and they might have raised almost any amount of money to increase their landed property, if this had been the end and aim of their Family Economy.
Honor to whom honor is due ! Therefore we mention the names of those who ably and faithfully assisted the pater familias, Brother Joseph and his wife, "Mother Mary," in these outward concerns. Besides Bishop Cammerhof, the general assistant of Bishop Spangen- berg since 1 747, these were the brethren Adolph Meyer, David Bischoff, Nathanael Seidel and, above all, the indefatigable and practical Henry Antes. Jas- per Payne was a well-informed and diligent book-keeper, who was succeeded by John Brownfield, formerly secre- tary of General Oglethorpe. Abraham Bomper and Timothy Horsfield were faithful agents in New York, especially in expediting brethren and sisters to St. Thomas and Berbice, and were succeeded a few years later by Brother Henry van Vleck (father of Bishop Jacob van Vleck, and grandfather of Bishop William Henry van Vleck), merchant in New York.
Under the superintendence of these agents a vessel' was built in New York, the snow Irene, which was launched May 29, 1748. Henry Antes, as a naturalized citizen, was the nominal proprietor, while Spangenberg bore the greater part of the expenses from private means. On September 8, 1 748, the Irene, Captain Garrison, cleared for her first voyage to Europe, and served the Brethren for ten years, bringing many colonists to Pennsylvania and for North Carolina, until taken by a French privateer in 1758.5
5 See Bricder-Blatt, April 1S57.
NAZARETH "THE PATRIARCHAL PLAN." I 73
5. NAZARETH, "THE PATRIARCHAL PLAN." I 744— I 748.
The Family Economy of the Brethren was not con- fined to Bethlehem, hut also comprised the settlements on the Nazareth tract ; hut while there was at Bethle hem a "church of pilgrims," and all brethren and sisters, capable in any way of spiritual labor, were re- tained in that "school of the prophets," the practical farmers were mostly sent to the Nazareth settlements, which were intended to raise the necessary means for carrying on the work oi the Lord by agricultural labor. Therefore, they called this colony the " Patriarchen Plan," (the Patriarchal Economy). Hut here also it was the main object of Spangenberg and his assistants, to promote the spiritual growth of the colonists and by every possible means to increase their love; to the Saviour. The sweat of the brow and faithfulness in business ; yea, all their labor of body and of mind was to be hallowed unto the Lord ; they were not to entangle themselves with the affairs of this life, but to work for the Lord, and always to be conscious of the fact that whether they worked in the field or in the stable, they were servants and handmaidens of the Lord as fully as the pilgrims of the Bethlehem Economy. Eor this purpose Brother Spangenberg and his wife visited them fre- quently, encouraged the brethren and sisters in their toil and labors, and endeavored in various ways to make the outward activity itself a means for spiritual edifica tion. Besides the regular love-feasts on every Saturday afternoon, commenced January 30, 1745, and continued for many years, there were others for smaller or larger companies on particular occasions. Thus, on February 5, nine brethren had a love-feast, before commencing ploughing for that year. Love-feasts for the milkers, the washers, the threshers, and others, became very frequent. ( )n August 1 * there was a general love-feast, after the
174 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
greater part of the farmwork had been done, and a large stable for the sheep had been finished. It was quite a lively and edifying meeting and Mary Spangen- berg spoke very feelingly concerning child-like faith, especially referring to the corn crop in Gnadenthal, which for a long time had appeared very unpromising (these German farmers seeing the growth of this crop prob- ably for the first time). The spinning business among the sisters was properly organized and "Mother Mary" closed the service with prayer.
From the latter part of 1 745 these love-feasts served also for the cultivation of the poetic talent, Brother Spangen- berg giving the impulse by composing a hymn on spinning for the spinning sisters, on October 27, in which he says :
" Know, ye sisters, in this way Is your work a blessing, If for Jesus' sake you spin, Toiling without ceasing.
Spin and weave ; compelled by love ;
Sew and wash with fervor, And the Saviour's grace and love
Make you glad for ever."
Other brethren and sisters followed this example, not only those of a more liberal education, such as Abraham Reincke and his wife Sarah, but also common farmers, and though their productions are by no means poetic master-pieces, still they all breathe a spirit of fer- vent piety and entire devotion to the Lord, and are in themselves the best proof, that it was their sincere en- deavor to devote to the Lord all their powers of body and of mind, and that these pious farmers, though bur- dened with work and exposed to privations6 of many
6 March 13, 1746, Brother Reincke, minister at Nazareth, received a visit from Mr. Hughes, Presbyterian minister at Long Island, and after preach- ing, invited him to dinner, which consisted of mush, bread and salt and good spring water. The English gentleman was somewhat astonished at this entertainment, having expected that the minister at least would have better fare. But all ate at one table.
NAZARETH "THE PATRIARCHAL PLAN. I 75
kinds, had a mine of wealth in their love to their
Saviour :
" [f we can serve our Lord And King Ev'n in the verj meanest thing, It is indeed to us so sweet, That we do feel it drink and meat.7"
Spangenberg remarks in one of his letters concerning the Nazareth colonists: "They connect the Saviour and His blood with all they do or say : they highly esteem their patriarchal economy; they grow in spiritual matters, while working bodily. Nowhere else have such beautiful and edifying hymns for shepherds, ploughers, threshers, reapers, spinners, knitters, washers, sewers, and others been composed as among them and by them. They would fill a whole farmer's hymn-book."8
'Sung on September 28, 1746. Most of these hymns are in German, ol which the following are specimens:
Du siisster Herzbezwinger,
Die Melker, Wascher, Schwinger,
Die sehen jetzt auf Dich ; Und warten mit Verlangen, I in Segeitzu empfangen Aus Deinem blut'gen Seitenstich.
Du bist bei alien Dingen Beim Melken, Wa.sch.en, Schwingen, Das einz'ge Augenmerk,
Dir leben wir auf Erden, Bis wir Dich sehen werden, Dir Unit man jedes Tagewerk.
8 Spangenberg himself composed many of these hymns; for instance, a hymn for a prayer-meeting in January, 1744, of which the following is the conclusion :
Schlafen, Wachen, Ruhen, Machen,
Essen, Trinken, Botschaft geh'n, Denken, Schweigen, Singen, Zeugen
Lasz durch Gnad' im Blut gescheh'n. Thue, Lamm, was Dir beliebct, Deine Gnadenhand, die giebet Mehr, als wir begreifen konnen. O, wer wollte alles nennen !
176 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
In Nazareth as well as in Bethlehem, the special choir and class meetings were introduced, besides which there was also an especial day of festive remembrance for the original colonists, namely, the Twenty-seventh of May, on which day most of the married people, who were now living in one house and formed one family, had been married.
Though their mode of housekeeping will naturally appear strange to us, still it can not be denied that much more labor could be performed by these concen- trated powers, than under the present system of separate housekeepings, and visitors often expressed their astonishment at the rapid growth of the colony and their excellent arrangements, especially in barns and stables. Yet before the end of their first year, 1744, preparations were made for the erection of extensive barns and stables at a spring not far from the "stone- building" which, with some dwelling-houses, one of which afterwards contained the meeting-hall of the congregation, is now called "Old Nazareth.9 In January, 1 742, a second farm was opened about a mile and a half to the west in a well-watered valley and was called Gna- denthal.10 In 1747 a mill was built there. In 1748 a third farm was commenced, near a spring," half a mile farther south, which for many years was managed exclusively by single brethren. It was called Christians- brunn, in honor of Christian Renatus, the son of Count Zinzendorf.
Most of the first colonists of Nazareth came from Silesia and Upper Lusatia in Germany, and had all belonged to the Lutheran Church before they joined the
9 After more than a century the first house was sold and removed in 1849, being for many years in a very dilapidated condition.
10 Now the site of the Almshouse of Northampton County.
11 Called Albrecht's Spring, later Christian's Spring.
NAZARETH "THE PATRIARCHAL PLAN.' I 77
congregation at Hcrrnhut. Now, as it was Zinzendorf's desire above all to build up the Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania, Nazareth, where the Lutheran element prevailed, for several years was counted among the Lutheran congregations connected with the General Synod of Pennsylvania. Accordingly the ministers oi this congregation, Brother Reinhard Ronner and, after him, Brother Abraham Reincke, took their seats in the Synod as Lutheran pastors, and wished to be considered as such. But the peculiar arrangements of their choirs and the whole outward organization which resembled that of the Church of Pilgrims at Bethlehem, was vastly dif- ferent from any other Lutheran congregation in the country, and especially after the introduction of the new hymns from Germany, in 1746, which deviated greatly from old orthodox Lutheranism, it became plain that it would be an absurdity any longer to call Nazareth a Lutheran congregation in the common acceptation of the term. Therefore, on January 25, 1747, a re-organization of the congregation in Nazareth was made by Bishop Spangenberg and his assistant. Bishop Cammerhot, five years after the organization of the congregation at Beth- lehem, whereby this congregation was duly declared a Moravian congregation, throwing off all further con- nection with the Lutheran Church. Brother Abraham Reincke returned to Bethlehem, after Brother Ohneberg had been introduced as Elder and Brother Schropp as Warden of the congregation. Both received a truly apostolic blessing from Brother Joseph.
Bishop Cammerhof addressed the congregation in general and expressed the idea that the congregation at Nazareth, as the " Patriarchal Economy," ought to imi- tate, and, as it were, represent in a practical manner the lite of our blessed Saviour up to His thirtieth year, when Me lived in retirement at Nazareth, occupied with the
178 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
every-day affairs of domestic life, while die Church of Pilgrims at Bethlehem would find their pattern especially in the ministerial life of our Saviour and imitate Him in going about from place to place and doing good. Thus both conprepations would serve the Lord in their peculiar ways, and it might be plainly seen, that not only by direct preaching of the Gospel, but also by the walk and conversation of pious and devout farmers, the truth as it is in Christ Jesus our Lord, might be proclaimed.
6. J. C. F. CAMMERHOF. HIS INFLUENCE. 1747-
Brother Spangenberg, to whom was entrusted the management of all the affairs of the Brethren in America, though able to accomplish a great deal and always willing to perform any kind of work, gradually be- came convinced that, without an able and efficient assistant, he could not do justice to the multifarious demands on his time and strength, and, therefore, in 1744, urgently desired that his brethren in Europe might send him an assistant. Even before his letters arrived, the Synod of the Brethren assembled at Zeist in Holland, in May, 1746, had appointed Brother John Christian Frederic Cammerhof for this office, who arrived in Pennsylvania, January, 1747, and labored there for four years. By his influence considerable changes were brought about both in the spirit of the congregation and in the external arrangements.
Schrautenbach characterizes him as a young man of amiable and affable disposition, well versed in the meta- physical and ecclesiastical sciences, of much spirit, great courage and untiring energy in the service of the Saviour and the Brethren's Church. He was born on July 28, 1 72 1, near Magdeburg, and studied theology in the Uni- versity of Jena, where he became acquainted with the
CAMMERHOF. 179
Brethren and especially with Brother John Nitschmann (afterwards his colleague at Bethlehem), lie became teacher in Kloster Bergen, a Protestant school under the direction of Ala Steinmetz, who highly esteemed him and his fellow-student, Theophilus Shumann. Acquainted with the pietistic methods of edification, and not find- ing therein peace for their souls, Cammerhoi and Shu- mann left the ranks of the Lutheran Church and went, in 1743, to Marienborn, where they were received into the Seminary of the Brethren and for a time assisted in transcribing missionary reports under the immediate superintendence of Count Zinzendorf. This was an im- portant school for their future practical usefulness, lor both were called to the missionary service — Cammerhoi to North America ; Shumann to South America, where he became the apostle of the Arawacks in Surinam from 1 748 to 1760.
Brother Cammerhof, having been married in July, 1 746, to Anna de Pahlen, a Livonian baroness, was con- secrated in London, September, 1 746, by Zinzendorf, Mar- tin Dober and Steinhofer, as Bishop of the Brethren's Church, for the country congregations of North America [XGapsTtiffK07tos). Soon after his arrival in Pennsylvania he commenced his epistolary correspondence with the Directing Board of the Unity in Europe, which probably has never been carried on with such minuteness, lor some of these letters, of which copies have been preserved for the Bethlehem Archives, contain more than a hun- dred closely written pages, giving- a full insight into the work of the Brethren, even to its most minute details.
From these letters of the youthful Bishop it appears plainly that the enthusiastic love lor the Saviour which was cherished by Cammerhof and that band of disciples with whom he was associated, bordered on fanaticism. 1 le had left the new settlements of the Brethren in Wet-
l8o THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
teravia (Herrnhaag, Marienborn, etc.) at a time, when the most sober-minded Brethren began to talk " senti- mental nonsense," and the whole Church was in immi- nent peril of being led away from the very substance of the Gospel by a puerile and often silly mode of expres- sion, and of embracing- fatal delusions. For more than a century the Brethren's Church has acknowledged that this was the period of "sifting," the time in which much chaff was separated from the wheat, the time in which much wood, hay and stubble was built on that foundation (i Cor. 3 : i i ), than which no other can be laid — a super- structure which but a few years later was consumed in that fiery persecution, by which Herrnhaag, the most numerous of all the conorecrations, was scattered to the winds. We would not revert to these times at all, if the assertions made now and then, that these delusions had not found their way to America, were perfectly correct. Bishop Cammerhof introduced them,12 fostered them, and was praised for it. With his death all vestiges of these delusions ceased at once.
And wherein did these delusions consist? Bishop Holmes13 crives the following concise and sufficient answer : " In their zeal to root out self-righteousness, the Brethren were not sufficiently on their guard against levity in expression. The delight they took in speaking of the sufferings of Christ, which arose from the pene- trating sense they had of their infinite value, by degrees degenerated into fanciful representations of the various scenes of His passion. Their style in speaking and writing lost its former plainness and simplicity, and be-
1 See Cammerhof s Epistola Tertia, where he speaks of himself in the fol- low-in- strain : "Cammerhof und seine Anna sind bekannt, sind Kreuzluft- Vogelein, verliebt in seine vier Nagelcin, krankelnd vor Liebespein nach Jesu Seitcnsc hrein ; wol zwei junge Kinder, aber doch Kinderlein und Siinderlein, und nicht ohne gute Hoffnung."
13 History of the Protestant Church of the United Brethren, Vol. 1, p. 399.
CAMMERHOF. 1 S I
came turgid, puerile and fanatical, abounding in playful allusions to Christ as the Lamb, the Bridegroom, etc., by which He is described in Holy Writ, and in fanciful representations of the wound in His side. In describing the spiritual relation between Christ and His Church the highly figurative language of the Canticles was substi- tuted in the place of "the dignified simplicity, used by our Saviour and 1 lis Apostles, when speaking on this sub- ject. Some less experienced preachers even seemed to vie with each other in introducing into their discourses the most extravagant and often wholly unintelligible expres- sions. This kept the hearers in a state of constant ex- citement, hut was not calculated to subject every thought of the heart to the obedience of Christ. Religion, in- stead of enlightening the understanding, governing the affections, and regulating the general conduct, became- a play of the imagination.
"This species of fanaticism first broke out at Herrn- haag in the year 1 746, and from thence; spread into several other congregations. Many were carried away by it, for it seemed to promise a certain joyous perfec- tion, representing believers as innocent, playful children, who might be quite at their ease amidst all the trials and difficulties incident to the present life. The effect produced was such as might be expected. The more serious members of the; Church (and these alter all formed the major part) bitterly lamented an evil, which they could not eradicate. Others, considering the malady as incurable, withdrew from its communion. The behavior of such as were most infected with this error, though not immoral and criminal, was yet highly disgraceful to their Christian profession."
Pictorial representations of the sufferings of Christ, illuminations of the church and other public buildings, birthday celebrations, connected with expensive love
1 82 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
feasts, were manifestations of the unnaturally excited poetic spirit of the congregation, which, in its practical consequence led to extravagance — and to debts. Peter Bohler, at that time in England, as superintendent of the monetary affairs of the Church there, was fully aware of the fearful increase of their liabilities, and raised a warning voice, but his protest was not heeded. Neither was any attention paid to the wise counsels of Spangen- berg who, in a letter to Count Zinzendorf in 1746, expressed his forebodings in reference to the lavish expenditures in the European settlements and their inevitable consequences. This letter was not answered, and Spangenberg, the most faithful and indefatigable of all the Brethren, had reason to suppose that some of the most influential of his fellow-laborers in Europe looked upon him with a suspicious eye, considering him as having become lukewarm, because he, the man of good common sense, could not appreciate their extrava- gant religious notions, nor approve of the sentimental nonsense, which in a flood of hymns was pouring over to America also. He rejoiced to receive in Cammerhof a faithful and able assistant, but was inwardly grieved, when he perceived, that the latter had received secret in- structions, according to which he acted in such a manner, that the original idea of Zinzendorf of a Church of God in the Spirit was gradually but entirely set aside. The hymns of the twelfth addition to the German hymn- book — set aside long ago as puerile in the extreme — were eagerly received, and Cammerhof s addresses, in the same perverted style, found many willing listeners.14
14 It is almost impossible to translate into English the religious jargon, which for a time — happily only a short time — took the place of sober Gos- pel language. The following short extracts from Cammerhof s letters may serve as a specimen:
Im Juny 1747 wircl ein besonders gesegnetes Abendmahl in Bethlehem so erwahnt :
CONGREGATIONS CONNECTED WITH THE BRETHREN. l8
J
7. PENNSYLVANIA CONGREGATIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE BRETHREN, 1744-J74X.
Besides the two colonics of the Brethren, the Church of Pilgrims at Bethlehem and the Patriarchal Economy at Nazareth, there were organized in Pennsylvania in
this period quite a number of congregations, all more or less in connection with the General Synod and thus also with the Brethren, some of which afterwards
" Uns alien war's vor Kreuzesfreuden weinerlich, Und Brustblattjungermasziglich Und Jesu Schweisz theilhaftiglich." Im Februar 1748 schreibt Cammerhof, Epist. X : " Ms schmeckt der Gemeine nichts als die blutige Kost aus des Lammes Seite, unci was nicht den blutigen Strich hat, das ist ekelhaft, und das Lammlein thut uns audi die Gnade, und liiszt unsern Gemeinbau immermehr zusammensinken, so das alles, was nicht blutig und ins Blut gelegt ist, herausgedrangt und zuriick- gewiesen wird. Un's Herzel, dies Lammlein in's Herzelhafte spielerliche Fachel hineirigebracht.damitwirauch andern wasvorspielen konnen, bis alles Volk, einjedes nach seiner Art, doch harmonisch mitspielen kann, vordem der uns erwahlet hat, hat er in einem seligen Liebesbunde erhalten, und noch mehr zusammenrilcken lassen, sodasz unser Arbeiter-Haiiflein den blutigen Siinder-Character zu seiner einigen Schone hat, und die Mutter (d. h. Geist) ist geschaftig, es noch lieblich scheinender und allgemeiner zu machen."
5 Mar/ '48 wurden 2 Kindlein getauft, geboren den 4ten : " lis sah sehr niedlich aus, da die beiden Vater mit einander ihre Kinder in die Gemeine brachten, just da ihnen die Gemeine entgegensang : Hi r sel'gen Kreuzluft-Kiichelein, Willkommen in der Kreuzgemein', In unsere freien Kin henluft, u. s. w.
und darauf wurde dann zuersf die kleine Anna Miksch und dann der kleine Joachim Senseman mit Hint und Wasser aus der Pleura bestromt, und dann gesungen :
Du Kreuzluft-Magdlein bleibe Braut,
Dem Marterlamm durch Blut vertraut, Auf e\\ 'ge Zeiten.
Du Kreuzluft-Knablein zeige dich
Recht Jesuskinderhaftiglii h,
I "nd wachs <\\u< li alle deine Zeil
Fort in der Jesushaftigkeit,
Und so bleibt alle beide
Des Kreuzvolks ew'ee Freude.
184 the brethren's congregations.
became Moravian conoreeations. As was the case in Europe, so also in Pennsylvania Moravianism gradually developed itself and was finally separated from Luther- anism and Calvinism, and Zinzendorf's idea of bringing about a union of the three Churches has not been realized Yet this idea gives a peculiar stamp to the his- tory of the times, and it would be impossible fully to describe the development of the American Brethren's Church without reverting at least briefly, to the organiza- tion of the Lutheran and German Reformed Churches in America. Accordingly we will have to make a distinc- tion among those congregations which at that time were more or less in connection with the Brethren, and will for brevity's sake call those churches Lutheran or Reformed, in which the one or the other element pre- vailed, to which, however, a third class is to be added, namely, the free or mixed congregations.
A. LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONS.
When Zinzendorf left Pennsylvania in 1743 there were five organized Lutheran congregations :
1. Philadelphia, organized by Count Zinzendorf ; but in consequence of the riot mentioned before, split into two parties, for and against the Brethren.
2. Tulpehocken, attended to by ministers sent from Bethlehem.
3. Lancaster, since 1743 supplied with a Swedish pastor.
4. New Hanover, and
5. New Providence.
Both these latter neighborhoods had never been in any connection with the Brethren, and here the Rev. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg found his first field of labor. In 1743 he built a new church in New Hanover, minis-
LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONS. 185
tered in this congregation and also in New Providence, and gradually also gained a party in the Philadelphia congregation. He had been sent to America from Halle for the purpose of organizing congregations here and there, in which by the faithful preaching of the Gos- pel and the administration of the Sacraments, Chris- tian life was to be awakened gradually ; while on the other hand the Brethren never commenced with outward organizations of conoreiiations, but endeavored rather to gain souls for the Saviour, and to assist in the further development of the Christian life already mani- fested, leaving it to the Lord and the leadings of His providence, whether such small companies of truly awakened souls should organize into congregations or not. Add to this, that among these awakened persons many regulations were introduced, which were con- sidered important at the time, but untenable on Scrip- tural grounds, and it is certainly not surprising that Muhlenberg's congregations soon surpassed those of Zinzendort's in numbers and in influence.
In 1 745 Pastor Muhlenberg welcomed three assistants, sent to him from Germany, the Rev. Mr. Brennholz, who had been ordained by the Consistory of Wernigerode, the candidates of the ministry, Schaum and Nicholas Kurtz, and thus was enabled to extend operations to Germantown and to Cohansey in New Jersey, and occa- sionally also to visit in Tulpehocken.15
(In the part of the Brethren about this time eight or ten Lutheran ministers could be counted, but there were not as many Lutheran congregations. Besides Naza- reth, which till 1747 was reckoned as Lutheran, there were but three in connection with the Brethren.
1. Philadelphia. — Since 1743 there was in this city a
1 I [azelius I listory, p. 53.
1 86 the brethren's congregations.
German Lutheran congregation, to which also some German Reformed and a few Separatists belonged, and an English congregation, formed partly of English brethren and sisters of the first " Sea Congregation " of 1742 and partly of members of the Society of Friends. Both congregations had been acknowledged as such by the General Pennsylvania Synod, and received their ministers from Bethlehem. Matthew Reuz and after him Abraham Reincke were the German Lutheran pastors ; and James Greening, Thomas Yarrell, Owen Rice and Hector Gambold served as their assistants and kept the English meetings, so that generally two, sometimes three ministering brethren resided at Philadelphia.
The peculiar regulations of the Moravian congrega- tions were at that time not yet introduced, as there was rather an anti-Moravian spirit manifesting itself, the Eng- lish congregation especially taking a very independent position, which was fostered by national jealousies. They would not let the Germans "lord it" over them, com- plained that their children were "dutchified," and took offense at the simple word of the cross. The influence of Whitefield became very evident, especially in the case of Edward Evans and others, who kept their own private meetings in and near Philadelphia, in which more stress was laid on "many exercises," prayers, etc., than on the "free erace in the blood of the Lamb." Even after Evans had been excluded from church-fellowship by a Synod in 1748, the effects of these disturbances were felt for a long while.
2. Tulpehocken. — From the Church Register (Kirchen- buch) of this congregation, deposited in the Bethlehem Archives, it plainly appears that there was here a regu- larly organized Lutheran congregation. Count Zinzen- dorf before his return to Europe had installed John Philip Meurer as minister of this congregation. In
LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONS. I 87
February, 1744, Peter Bohler, as Vice-Inspector, "held a church-and school-visitation, and with the consent of the trustees (Kirchen-Vorsteher) introduced George Niekeas assistant minister and ordained him in a Synod at Oley in the Lutheran manner, assisted by Pastor Pyrlams and Pastor Meurer. He also made some new regulations for the parochial school at Tulpehocken.
In 1 745 the trustees resolved to build a new church of free-stone, and invited the Lutheran Vice-Inspector, Spangenbeg, to conduct the religious ceremonies of the laying of the corner-stone. This was done April 1, and a hymn composed for the occasion was sung, which found a place in the appendix to the Moravian hymn-book of
1 735-
From the documents placed in the corner-stone it ap- pears that the congregation consisted of thirteen fami- lies and seventy-seven children. On December 1 of the same year, the church was solemnly dedicated to the ser- vice of the Triune God by Spangenberg, the Lutheran Vice-Inspector, the Swedish pastor Abraham Reincke and Pastor Meurer, who concluded the solemnities by admin- istering the Holy Communion to twenty-two persons. In January, 1746, Pastor Meurer was recalled, and John Brucker sent there as school-master. Meanwhile the I lallensian Kurtz had gained a party for himself, and dis-
16 Zugaben, No. 2249. Briider-Gesangbuch, 404: 10, 11 : Wollt's Gott, wir bauen cin Hiittlein her, Da fort zu pred'gen die reine Lehr, Von dern Opfer Jesu, darin zu linden Gnade und Rettung von alien Sunden, Fur alle Welt.
Da legen wir nun den ersten Stein, Lamm, das geschehe inn Namen Dein ; Spricb Du : sei gesegnet! zu diesem Werke Gib mis Gnade und Geistes Starke, S<> eehl es fort.
sensions arose in the congregation. Qn fals account the trustees preferred a request to the Synod that a brother who had studied theology in Germany might be sent to them. This request was not complied with, and Count Zinzendorf made use of this opportunity in a long letter, dated London, September 1 3, 1 746, formally to re- nounce17 his superintendence of the Lutheran Churches in Pennsylvania.
This letter of Zinzendorf was discussed in a session of the Lutheran Consistory at Bethlehem, January 27, 1747, twelve Lutheran brethren being present, who could not agree with the view taken by Zinzendorf, and especially protested against the idea that their preaching among the Lutherans would produce a schism in the Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania. For as yet the Lutheran Church was not organized. On the other hand, Zinzen- dorf's former ideas of Church Union were far from realization, and the Brethren became more and more convinced that they could hardly expect to be permitted to preach in many Lutheran pulpits, partly because the number of Lutheran ministers was increasing, partly be- cause their present mode of expression was not calcu- lated for the great mass of unconverted souls. There- fore, in Tulpehocken as well as elsewhere, the people would have to decide for themselves either for or against the Moravians.
17 Zinzendorf says : " Ich will kein Religions-Schisma haben. Wenn es nur um den Naracn, oder gar nur darum zu thun ist, dasz der point d' honneur des Bruder Ludwigs gegen den Pfr. Muhlenberg behauptet werde, den gab ich hiemit von Herzen los, und ein solcher kann zu den Schwe- dischen oder Hallischen Theologis, ohne deswegen von mir einiger Untreue und Unbestandigkeit oder Unbefugniss schuldig geachtet zu werden, jetzt und allemal iibergehen nach kurzer Anzeige. Und das ist der gegenwartige casus, wafum ich meinem Amt bei dieser Religion in Pennsylvanien in tantum renuntiire. Denn meine Vocation griindet sich auf die absolute Noth, und eine giinzliche Eutbloszung der sammtlichen Lutheraner von allem verniinftigen Gottesdienst, als voriiber im Monat Marz, 1742, in aller Vorsteher Gegenwart ein Instrument errichtet worden."
LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONS. 1 89
3. Lancaster. — The circumstances and outward rela- tions of the Lutheran Church at Lancaster were of a different character. In 1743 Laurentius Theophilus Nyberg, who had studied at Upsala, Sweden, and had been ordained by the Swedish Archbishop Jacob Benze- lius, had arrived here and labored faithfully and success- fully. From far and near people came to hear his edi- fying discourses and many entreated him to preach also at other places. In 1744 a small log church called St. lames' Church, was built eight miles from Lancaster in Warwick Township, on George Klein's land. Here Pastor Nyberg preached at stated times, commencing July 25, 1744. In 1745 he became a mem- ber of the General Pennsylvania Synod and soon also a faithful friend and bold champion of the persecuted Moravians, in consequence of which two parties were formed in his Lutheran congregation. The larger of these, which was not favorably inclined towards the Brethren, kept the old church. The smaller one in 1 746 built a new church, which, being dedicated on St. Andrew's Day, November 30, was called St. Andrew's Church. On account of these dissensions Pastor Nyberg resigned his office, but on February 8, 1747, he accepted a new voca- tion to St. Andrew's Church, in which call was inserted the special clause, that he might have connection with the Brethren in Bethlehem and visit their Synod, without thereby being considered a member of their Society. Meanwhile his enemies sent formal complaints concerning him to the Swedish ecclesiastical courts, his Swedish fel- low-ministers publicly condemned his "heresies," the Hallensians stirred up the fire in his congregation, and Pastor Nyberg, expelled by his own communion, felt himself more and more drawn to the Brethren. Altera long delay he at last received permission to move to Bethlehem, whereon August 13, 1 74S. he was formally received as a member of the Brethren's Church.
I9O THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
Those amonor the Lutherans in Lancaster who were favorably inclined to the Brethren and who had sent their children to a school, commenced by Brother J. G. Nixdorf, now requested the authorities at Bethlehem to send them a minister ; which request led to the organi- zation of a Moravian congregation at Lancaster, at a somewhat later date.
B. REFORMED CONGREGATIONS.
There were not many ministering brethren of the Reformed Tropus, that is, Moravians who for a while served as German Reformed ministers, but there was a great number of congregations and preaching-places, of which, however, the greater number never desired a closer connection with the Moravian Church.
Thus it was, for instance, in Germantown. Here John Bechtel had served his countrymen for many years as minister and by the advice of Count Zinzendorf had been ordained by Bishop Nitschmann in 1742, and thus this German Reformed congregation had been regularly organized. But Germantown was at that time a hot-bed of Sectarianism, and hence it is not surprising that the peace of the Reformed congregation was soon disturbed. The enemies of the Brethren did not rest until Bechtel was dismissed from his ministerial office, February 9, 1 744, and expelled from the Reformed congregation. In September, 1 746, he removed to Bethlehem, where, abstaining from all spiritual labor, he served the Econ- omy as turner, and died in 1777, eighty-seven years old. The connection of the Brethren with the Reformed con- gregation in Germantown was never renewed. Brother Bechtel's house was used for a time for school purposes.
Among the German Reformed congregations under the charge of Jacob Lischy there were several which were only preaching-places, and never afterwards were
REFORMED CONGREGATIONS. I 9 I
served by the Brethren, that is, Heme, Cocalico, Coventry Town, Erlentown and Cushehoppen. In other neighborhoods Lischy made the commencement of a lasting connection with the Brethren, though his own relation to the Brethren was for a time of rather an am- biguous nature, until he became an open opponent and severed his connection with the Moravian Church. Al read\- in 1 744 misunderstandings and distrust are observ able, most probably occasioned on the part of Lischy, by his endeavors to appear at Bethlehem as a devoted Moravian brother, while elsewhere his aim was to be considered only a Reformed pastor. On March 21, 1745, a second grand church council oi the Reformed congregations was held at Muddy Creek, attended by sixty elders and trustees of twelve different congrega- tions. Lischy was asked whether he was a "I Icrrn- huter? " At first he evaded the question, " carrying the church around the village," as Henry Antes expressed it. Being more closely questioned by the other Re- formed ministering- brethren, J. H. Ranch, Bechtel and Antes, he publicly avowed that he was in connection with the Brethren at Bethlehem. In answer to a question of one of the trustees, how their con<>-recrations were to be provided for, if Pastor Lischy should die, Antes gave a brief statement in reference to the Reformed Church College (or Consistory) at Bethlehem and Spangenberg's authorization to ordain Reformed pastors, vested in him by his ordination as Bishop ; to him, therefore, they would have to apply in such a case. Everybody seemed satisfied with this declaration, except Lischy, who was afraid that his ministerial dignity might suiter thereby. Meanwhile he labored on in his own way, and the differ- ences between him and his brethren at Bethlehem became more and more apparent, until the Synod of May, 1 747, resolved that he should give a written declaration,
I92 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
whether he wished to be considered a member of the Moravian Church, and hence accountable to their Gov- erning Board, or a Reformed pastor under the direction of the Reformed Consistory of the Brethren, or an inde- pendent German Reformed pastor. Lischy refused for some time to give any declaration by which his position might be defined, but at last decided for the third alterna- tive by joining the Rev. Michael Schlatter, who arrived from Switzerland in 1 746, and by becoming a member of the Reformed Pennsylvania Coetus, organized by Schlat- ter, Bohm and Weiss, September 9, 1747, as the nucleus of the present German Reformed Church of North America.18
Inasmuch as the greater portion of the Reformed Church people, that is, "such who coute qu'il coute will maintain verbis et, si opus fuerit, verberibus that they are such" — as Cammerhof put it — did not desire the Brethren, the Reformed Brethren's Consistory was, of course, dissolved. In many of the neighborhoods, however, where the Brethren had preached, small companies of awakened souls gradually associated themselves to- gether, and at a later period were organized as Mora- vian congregations. As such are to be named :
1. Warwick, now Lititz. — Here a school-house had been built for the Brethren. In 1747 Daniel Neubert moved there as the first Moravian minister.
2. Muddy Creek or Moden Creek. — Here also a school-house had been built, and several brethren labored here, until Pastor Conrad Tempelman forcibly took possession of it.
3. Tonigall, now Donegal, near Mount yoy. — In 1 745 Lischy had dedicated a German Reformed Church, which became a bone of contention.
18 Nevin on the Catechism, p. no.
FREE CONGREGATIONS. I 93
5. Quittopehille, in later times Hebron, near Lebanon. — In February, 1747, a Synod was held here.
5. Swatara, afterwards Bethel.
6. York. — Mere and on die Crice Creek (or Grist Creek) man)- had been awakened by Lischy's evangel] cal testimony, who were afterwards, by his hostile be- havior towards the Moravians, again led away.
C. — FREE C( >NGREGATIONS.
Besides the Lutheran and German Reformed con- gregations mentioned above, there were yet some others, composed of members of different denominations, which at first would not submit to any formula, but applied for admission to the Synod as "free congregations" or " congregations without name." Most of these became Moravian conoreQfations.
1. Oley. — The first commencements at Oley have been mentioned already, as well as the disturbances in 1742. Henry Antes had been installed there as minister, instead of Andrew Eschenbach, but he was not able fully to reconcile the embittered minds, and was at last obliged to leave this once promising field to a Separatistic minister, by the name of Bennville, who gained over the greater part of this congregation, and openly opposed the Brethren. However, forty-five souls remained faithful in their connection with the Brethren at Bethlehem. They resolved to build a school-house, which was finished in 1744. From 1745 to 1751 a kind of boarding-school was established there, and in connec- tion with it a small Moravian congregation, which, how- ever, was dissolved before 1770.
2. Heidelberg. — According to a desire expressed by several awakened persons in Heidelberg, Brother Anton Wagner was sent there in January, 1744, to visit and en-
194 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
courage them. In November of the same year a Synod was held in a school-house which had just been built and was then solemnly dedicated for religious worship. The awakened of this neighborhood applied to the Synod to be permitted to enter their connection as a congregation without name.
On April 9, 1745, Brother Spangenberg organized this congregation, and kept the Lord's Supper for eight per- sons according to the ritual of the Brethren's Church. Friedrich Bockel was the first elder. The "Congre- gation days " were also introduced, that is, days on which, in connection with singing and prayer, reports and letters from the different Moravian congregations and missionary stations were communicated.. Thus Heidelberg was the first and oldest of the "country congregations."
3. — Miihlbach [Mill Creek). — Already in 1743 a free congregation had been organized here, which was ac- knowledged as such by the Synod held there in June, 1743. Wendel Lautermilch was elected elder, Michael Brecht teacher. In 1 745 a school and meeting-house was built, in which the Brethren officiated now and then, but their visits ceased entirely before 1760.
4. Machkunschi {Makuntsche, Macungie = Emmaus.) — Most of these small congregations in connection with the Brethren were at some distance from Bethlehem ; but also in the immediate neighborhood there were to be found friends of the Moravians, who desired to par- ticipate in their religious blessings. A number of these lived beyond the Lehigh Hills in a south-westerly direc- tion, but too far off to be able to visit the meetings at Bethlehem regularly. These, and more especially Sebastian Henry Knauss, Jacob Ehrenhardt and Andrew Schaus, had, already in 1472, while Count Zinzendorf visited Pennsylvania, preferred the request,
FREE CONGREGATIONS. I 95
that the Brethren might attend to their spiritual wants. This request was granted, on condition, however, that this congregation was to be organized as a Lutheran congregation. Accordingly Brother Leonhard Schnell commenced regular preaching in a small log church, built in 1742, somewhere near the old Moravian burying- ground at Emmaus, and also administered the Lord's Supper according to the Lutheran ritual, though some German Reformed and others participated. In 1746 a school-house was built, in which Christopher Demuth, a native of Moravia, served as first school-master. In 1 747 this day-school was enlarged to a boarding- school and according to the desire of the friends of the Brethren a Moravian congregation was formally organized, on July $0, 1747, consisting of forty-four persons who, for this purpose, had assembled at Beth- lehem. Anton Wagner was the first pastor of this congregation.
To give permanency to this undertaking and secure the support of their minister, facob Ehrenhardt and Sebastian Henry Knauss made a liberal donation of one hundred acres of excellent land, on which in later years the village of Emmaus has been built. To the present day these two worthy men are kept in grateful remem- brance as the grandfathers of a considerable number of the Emmaus congregation.
There is yet one place to be named, beyond the boundaries of Pennsylvania, in which at this time the first steps were taken for the formation of a Moravian con gregation, namely, the city of
5. New York. — The commencement of this congre- gation can be traced to the year 1736, when Bishop Nitschmann and Brother Spangenberg became ac- quainted with some awakened persons. This acquaint- ance was cultivated by other Brethren, in passing through
I96 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
New York, especially by Peter Bohler, who in January, 1 74 1, enjoyed the friendship and hospitality of the Noble and Horsfield families. Zinzendorf also became acquainted with them, and the visits of the Brethren were regularly continued since 1 742. In February, 1 748, Abraham Bomper was commissioned to make an ar- rangement with the trustees of the Lutheran or any of the Reformed Churches in New York, to obtain permis- sion for Moravian worship at stated times. This request was not granted, and in consequence the Brethren built a church of their own, in 1752.
Beyond the boundaries of Pennsylvania there was yet another neighborhood, in which the services of the Brethren were desired at this time and where at a later period the country congregation of Graceham was organized, namely :
6. Monocasy in Maryland. — The first acquaintance with the Brethren was occasioned by Pastor Nyberg, who in 1745 kept the funeral of the Lutheran Pastor Canzler. By his powerful testimony of the sufferings and death of the Saviour many became awakened and requested Pastor Nyberg to procure for them a minister or school- master or lector. Upon his application to the Brethren at Bethlehem, J. H. Herzer was sent there as Bible- reader, and was succeeded in 1 746 by the ordained Brother George Nieke, who for a while was in blessed activity there as a Lutheran pastor, until dissensions arose and he had to be recalled. Thereupon fifteen English families requested ' a minister, and Daniel Dulaney, of Annapolis, made a present of ten acres of land for church and school purposes, which tract, called " Dulaney's gift," was secured to the Brethren by law in 1 75 1, a school-house having been built upon it in 1749. A number of years elapsed, however, before a congrega- tion was organized.
MORAVIAN SCHOOLS. 1 97
8. MORAVIAN SCHOOLS.
A peculiar feature of the Brethren's Church from its earliest times, and retained to the present day, lias been their solicitude not only to preach the Gospel to the adults among Christians and heathen, but to suffer little children to come to the Saviour and for this purpose to conduct their schools in such a manner, that not only the faculties of the mind might become developed and strengthened by judicious training, but the affections of the heart be drawn in early years to the best Friend of children. Before Count Zinzendorf left America he said in his " Pennsylvania Testament :" " It is one of my greatest hopes and desires that Bethlehem may become a pattern of the education of children."
This desire was remembered and acted upon by those brethren to whom the superintendence and di- rection of all congregational affairs was entrusted, and a system of education was introduced, the like of which may probably never be found in any other community. The peculiar situation of the Bethlehem congregation, forming one very extended Family Economy, connected with their peculiar religious tenets, led to a system which we, a century later, would hardly wish to imitate, but which nevertheless, was a most judicious arrangement under the peculiar circumstances of the times. The infants were hardly weaned from their mother's breast when the Church as'sumed all further care for their support and early training. With very rare exceptions all the infants of the colonists at Bethlehem and Nazareth were placed by their mothers in the "Nursery," when hardly sixteen or eighteen months old, where widowed or unmarried sisters devoted all their time to nursing them. And as it was not considered the main object of educa- tion to aim at a ripe scholarship for all their children, but to nurse and train them for the Lord and 1 lis King-
I98 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
dom, their tutors and nurses endeavored to make them acquainted with the Saviour, and their infant lispings and their juvenile plays were governed and biased by this one and all-important idea.
Cammerhof remarks in one of his letters : "The dear little ones are very lively, playful and unaffected. The wounds and the blood are their favorite theme, and their parents rejoice when they hear of the life and sufferings of the Saviour. Now and then some five or six sit to- gether on a bench and have a meeting. They sing a hymn, and one or the other tells of the Saviour's blood, how many wounds He had, etc., or they keep a love-feast." J. C. Franke, a man peculiarly adapted for such a station, was the superintendent of this school. In May, 1747, there were in this nursery more than fifty infants, all under five years of age. Hence it may justly be called the first infant school that ever existed.
On January 7, 1749, the Nursery was transferred from Bethlehem to Nazareth and found its dwelling- place in the so-called Whitefield House, which gradually was devoted entirely to this purpose. On June 5, 1758, the little girls were removed to Bethlehem, but the little boys remained till 1764, when the remaining seven were transferred to Nazareth Hall and this Nursery came to an end.
When five or six years old, the boys were trans- ferred from the Nursery to the Boys' School, which was commenced in Nazareth in July, 1743, and was removed to Frederick Township in May, 1745, where Henry Antes had ofTered his own house for this pur- pose. Besides the sons of the colonists at Bethlehem and Nazareth, some children of friends of the Brethren were admitted, and in November, 1 747, there were about forty boys in this school, including seven Indians and a few negroes. Brother Adolph
MORAVIAN SCHOOLS. I 99
Meyer was the superintendent of this school. The plantation and mill of Henry Antes, and for a time also the farm of William Frey, a Baptist, were man- aged for the benefit of this school, around which a small con erection was collected.
"Such a company of white, brown and black children, as was assembled here, who were singing and speaking of the wounds of the Saviour," could not fail to make a deep impression on the hearts of all visitors. Brother Spangenberg always found time to keep up a regular correspondence with the larger boys. In 1750 this school was connected with that in Oley.
The school for the little girls, of five to eleven years of age, was commenced in Bethlehem in 1743, trans- ferred to Nazareth in June, 1745, and afterwards again removed to Bethlehem. In 1 747 it contained about thirty girls, among whom there were some Indians, for in- stance, one adopted by Spangenberg and called Mary Spangenberg. Amongst themselves these children elected a spiritual elder, Elizabeth Horsfield, of New York, who, though young in years, was a faithful hand- maiden of the Lord. There was a great work ot grace among these children and many impressions were made on their youthful hearts which lasted for life.
On July 27, 1746, Mr. Whitefield paid his first and only visit to Nazareth, accompanied by Henry Antes : " He was very friendly and polite, and when he heard the name of Brother Abraham Reincke he remembered that he had seen him formerly in London. He admired our whole arrangement, and especially the order prevailing everywhere. He was pleased to observe the industry of the children, especially in spinning. The Indian girls greatly attracted his attention and enlisted his most lively interest, and he was pleased to sec his original plan ot a school executed in this way." Amongst the children he
200 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
found one whom he six years before had baptized in Georgia — Rebecca Burnside. Soon after she died of the small-pox, after a great deal of patient suffering. Besides her some ten or twelve girls were suffering from the same disease, and it was a great comfort when Brother Pyrlaeus had his spinet19 brought into their sick-room and kept a singing-meeting there. Two little Indian girls also died from this sickness — one commonly called "Little Chicken," baptized Beata, the other, "Little Worm," and in baptism called Sarah. When they were buried on the old grave-yard (once a desolate spot in the fields) a brother had to precede to point out the way through the dense forest.
As a peculiar feature of this first American Moravian Female Academy must be mentioned the industry of the little girls in spinning, which was not only a regular branch of instruction, considered needful for a complete female education,. but also a source of income for the chil- dren themselves and a means by which they were enabled to assist in repaying, in part, the expenses of their educa- tion. And when, from time to time, these little spinners had their special love-feasts, the extra toil was fully com- pensated by this additional pleasure and the conscious- ness of having learned in early years to do their duty.
From these schools the larger boys and girls, at the age of twelve or fourteen years, entered the choir-houses of the unmarried brethren and unmarried sisters, where they remained under the spiritual and temporal superinten- dence of the "laborers of the congregation" or the "choir elders," until they entered the service of the Church either as members of the " Church of Pilgrims " or as economists, or settled in some other place where the Family Economy system was not introduced.
19 Spinet, an old-fashioned piano ; probably the first musical instrument of this kind in these parts of Pennsylvania.
MORAVIAN SCHOOLS. 201
In this manner the idea which at that time prevailed among the Brethren, that it is the duty of the Church to care for the education of the rising generation, was carried out at Bethlehem and Nazareth to such an extent, that very little scope was left for parental training or maternal home influences.
Nevertheless, though fully occupied with the care of their own children, the Brethren also tried to assist their countrymen in this respect, by opening here and there both day-schools and boarding-schools, the com- mencement of which we can trace to Count Zinzendorf. In a sermon preached at Manatawny in April, 1742, he suggested the necessity and usefulness of a General Boarding-school. In consequence of this suggestion some applications were made to Zinzendorf concerning the education of children of friends of the Brethren in Germantown, and the young Countess Benigna de Zin- zendorf undertook the care of a school for little girls, which numbered twenty-five pupils and to which she at- tended for some months, endeavoring to lead these chil- dren to the Saviour, whom she had found in early years.
Count Zinzendorf wished to benefit, if possible, all the children of his German countrymen in Pennsylvania by the establishment of such a General Boarding-school, and in his "Pennsylvania Testament" (in which he fully acknowledges the skill of the Hallensians with regard to education) he once more proposed the establishment of a General Boys' School at Philadelphia and a General Girls' School (ein Madchenhaus furs Land) at German- town or elsewhere. This project of erecting a General Boardine-school for the whole Province was, of course' impracticable, but gave the first impulse for diffusing more knowledge amon£ the scattered German settlers. Ten years later, Michael Schlatter,'0 the founder of the
Deutsche Kirchenfreund, 1849, p. 13.
13
202 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
German Reformed Church in America, proposed to erect free schools for the pious education of German youths of all denominations, but this proposition also did not succeed.
Meanwhile the Brethren established and for about ten years maintained day-schools and boarding-schools at various places. In 1743 Brother Lischy commenced a day-school at Muddy Creek, for which a house was built and finished in six days by Lutherans and German Re- formed. The enemies of the Brethren called it "Little Bethlehem." Brother Adam Luckenbach was the first school-master here. Similar schools were commenced at Lancaster, Oley, Mill Creek (Muhlbach), Warwick, Heidelberg, Maguntsche and Walpack, beyond the Blue Mountains. All these schools were kept by married brethren from Bethlehem, who received the principal part of their support from the Bethlehem Economy.
In 1746 a Boarding School was commenced at Ger- mantown in Bechtel's house " shining as a light into all directions." This being quite a new undertaking, it attracted a great deal of attention and called forth both friendly and censorious remarks from the neighborhood. Brother and Sister Greening, Jasper Payne and John Leighton had charge of this school, which in 1748 counted eleven boys and eighteen girls as boarders. The boys were transferred to Oley and the number of girls increased to twenty-seven by some newcomers from Nazareth.
Still larger was the school at Oley, commenced in 1745. Henry Antes built a house for this purpose on John Leinbach's plantation, and in 1748 a second larger one. Thus room was gained for the reception of the boys from Germantown and Frederick Township. Brother John Wolfgang Michler and Brother Robert Hussey were the first teachers, in 1745. In 1749 the number of boarders was thirty-eight — twenty-one girls and seventeen boys.
HOME MISSIONS. 203
Apart from the great expense of conducting this school on account of its distance from Bethlehem, the Brethren became fully convinced that the main object was not gained, as the good impressions made upon the hearts of the children were generally obliterated after their return home, and thus no abiding fruits of right- eousness were obtained. In 1 75 1, therefore, this school was given up. The boys were transferred into the strictly Moravian Boys' School at Maguntsche, com- menced in 1747, and the girls into a house near Beth- lehem beyond the Lehigh. In 1754. these two schools were also given up, and the Brethren confined them- selves to the education of their own children.
The present Boarding-schools at Bethlehem, Naza- reth, Lititz, Pa., and Salem, N. C, are of later date.
9. HOME MISSIONS IN PENNSYLVANIA AND OTHER
COLONIES.
Besides the Lutheran and Reformed congregations which were served regularly by the Brethren, there was a large field open for cultivation among those who as yet belonged to no church organization whatever. This required, besides the settled ministry, a number of itin- erant preachers and visitors, who were ready and willing to go and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all who wished to hear it or were indifferent about it. thus devel- oping a Home Missionary activity of a novel kind, and not without blessed results. Time and space would not permit a detailed account of all the journeys of the itinerant preachers, or the joys and sorrows of these evangelists. It will suffice briefly to sketch the field of their activity.
204 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS. A. IN PENNSYLVANIA.
In Brother Bohler's time in 1743, the commencement was made of ministerial itinerancy, which seems to have flourished most from 1746 to 1749.
At the Synod at Bethlehem in February, 1 746, Brother Leonhard Schnell was appointed to preach to all the Lutherans within the Province, and he visited sixteen places, whilst Christian Henry Rauch, sent to the Ger- man Reformed, preached at fifteen places. David Bruce, a Scotchman, preached to the English and Irish in ten different neighborhoods. Everywhere these itinerant ministers were gladly received, and the only complaint was that their visits were too few and far between. Bishop Cammerhof greatly encouraged this kind of activity, as being well calculated to counteract the plan pursued hitherto of supplying Lutheran and Reformed congregations with ministers, thus putting pseudo- Lutheran and pseudo-Reformed ministers into a wrong position, or at least a situation which, being liable to mis- construction, was not tenable for any length of time. The intinerant ministers had no system to maintain, no ecclesiastical rules to observe, but merely preached Christ crucified, and could, therefore, often reach those who, filled with denominational prejudices, would not have listened to Lutheran or Reformed pastors. Cam- merhof himself undertook such a circuit from October 1 to November 5, 1747, extending it beyond the southern boundaries of Pennsylvania and preaching at twenty-nine different places. In Allemangel (Lynn Township) he renewed acquaintance with those who, formerly awakened by the Tunkers, had been visited by Count Zinzendorf. They now entered into closer con- nection with Bethlehem, which led to the formation of a small Moravian congregation in 1 749.
Brother Nathanael Seidel and Brother John E. West- man undertook a similar journey in December, 1747,
HOME MISSIONS. 205
which was attended with much bodily hardship and dan- ger, especially their crossing- the Susquehanna on very thin ice. In general it is to be remarked, that the state of the road or the weather, heat or cold, were never taken into account when starting on foot for their mis- sionary trips — and in this respect they undoubtedly underwent greater hardships, than their less hardy descendants would be willing to bear.
In February, i 748, Brother Spangenberg made a longer visit amongst the Mennonites of Lancaster County, where eleven of their teachers and ministers received him in a very friendly manner. Trusting mostly to their own righteousness, they would not exactly contradict the doctrine of the free grace of Christ, but seemed not to appreciate it very much. Still some of their number became members of the Brethren's Church.
The Society of Friends was visited by John Wade and Ludwig Hiibner, who were received very kindly, but made very little impression with their Gospel-mes- sage. The intercourse with the Schwenkfelders and Tunkers had ceased almost entirely.
B. BEYOND PENNSYLVANIA.
Beyond the boundaries of Pennsylvania the Brethren had found a large field of usefulness among the Swedes on the east side of the Delaware. Here Bryzelius had preached for more than a year, until driven away by Magister Naesman. Since then the Brethren had visited here regularly both among the Swedes and the English. Abraham Reincke, Thomas Yarrell, Owen Rice, Joseph Powell and Sven Roseen (all Swedish or English brethren) stayed there for a longer time. In 1746 a church was built for the Brethren near Maurice River, which was dedicated to the worship of God by the Brethren Reincke, Rice, Nyberg and Reuz. Here the
206 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
Brethren were at liberty to preach as often as they pleased. Also at Oldman's Creek and Penn's Neck they were always welcomed and permitted to preach in the Swedish churches.
In Maryland and Virginia the Brethren had many ' friends, who were not deterred from listening to the ser- mons and addresses of Leonhard Schnell and Matthew Gottschalk by a proclamation of the Governor of the latter colony. Cammerhof visited Maryland in i 747, but found Frederickstown occupied by Schlatter and Muhlen- berg since Schnell had been there.
In July and August, 1748, Brother Spangenberg, ac- companied by Matthew Reuz, made a longer journey through Maryland and Virginia to near the boundary of North Carolina, preaching, wherever an opportunity offered, to Germans and English.
In 'the northern part of Pennsylvania, beyond the Blue Mountains, in the " Minisink Country," as well as in the adjoining counties of New Jersey, English breth- ren were actively engaged both as itinerant preachers and as settled school-masters. Though they were not welcome every where, especially where Presbyterian influences prevailed, still there were many who heard them gladly and rejoiced whenever their visits were re- peated. In Dansbury,21 beyond the Blue Mountains, where Shaw and Burnside had visited for several years, Brother Nathanael Seidel found the people, in Janu- ary, 1748, making preparations for building a church for the Brethren ; in Walpack, fifteen miles east of Dans- bury, beyond the Delaware, Brother Bruce had erected a school-house in 1 746, which served also as a meeting- house for the Moravian itinerant preachers. Still farther north along Pawlins Kill, in New Jersey, some .Ger- man families were visited occasionally.
21 In the present Monroe County.
HOME MISSIONS. 20"J
According to a resolution of a Synod held at Bethle- hem in 1 743, the visits of the Brethren were extended to Long Island and the New England provinces. Staten Island was visited about this time ; on Long Island lived Timothy Horsfield, a friend of the Brethren ; in New- port, R. I., the Brethren were introduced by two mission- aries— M. Reuz and G. Kaske — who sailed from this port for Berbice in South America in 1747, after having spent some days in the house of Richard Hayward. In 1748, Jasper Payne and Christian Frohlich, having returned from a visit to the negroes in Maryland and Virginia, undertook a longer journey to New England, walking through snow and ice even beyond Boston. They visited Saybrook, New London, Providence, Boston, Newport, and New Haven, and found many awakened souls, who would have liked to see Bethlehem. Sixty miles be- yond Boston, in Durham, they found a new sect of quite a peculiar kind. The religious exercises of these people consisted in dancing and yelling, clapping of hands, and especially cursing, since they maintained and probably firmly believed that it was their special commission from the Lord to curse Satan in man. In other respects they seemed truly awakened people, ready to receive the Gospel of Christ.
In February, 1 747, Leonhard Schnell and Burnside paid a visit to the Germans settled in Canatschochary (Canajoharie), beyond Albany, N. Y., most of whom were Lutherans, but destitute of a regular ministry and, therefore, very glad once again to hear the sweet sound of the Gospel in their own language.
At the close of 1747 there were altogether thirty-one localities in which the Brethren or friends of the Mora- vian^Church were to be found, exclusive of the mission- ary stations among the heathen.
208 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
IO. INDIAN MISSION, GNADENHUTTEN. I 746.
The missionary stations in the Danish West Indies and Berbice (South America) being under the immedi- ate supervision of Brother Spangenberg, the Church of Pilgrims at Bethlehem took a lively interest in these Missions, partly by sending pecuniary aid and still more by furnishing missionaries. Some of the first colonists of Bethlehem and Nazareth finished their pilgrimage in the Danish West Indies, for instance, Abraham Meinung (died 1749), and Joseph Shaw (perished on the voyage, 1747). Others, as Christian Frohlich, John E. Westman, George Ohneberg, J. Reinhard Ronner, Abraham Biininger, hav- ing spent a number of years there in the service of the Lord, returned to North America ; Christian Henry Rauch and Nathanael Seidel made repeated visitations ; W. Zander, G. Kaske and M. Reuz went from Bethlehem to serve on the Mission amono- the Arawack Indians; all of which served to increase the missionary spirit of the congregation.
The main activity of the Brethren in Bethlehem, how- ever, was manifested in the Indian Mission. Brother Christian Henry Rauch had commenced this Mission in 1745 among the Delawares and Mohicans in Cheko- meko. In 1 747, John Martin Mack commenced a second station twenty miles farther east in Pachgatgoch, Conn., and visited also in the Indian village Potatik, about seventy miles off, where he was very kindly received. A few years later we find flourishing Indian congregations at Checomeko, Pachgatgoch and Wechquadnach, which were well calculated to awaken the most pleasing antici- pations. But already the powers of darkness were ac- tive to undermine this work of the Lord. White neigh- bors, enemies of the Gospel and of vital religion, began to harass the missionaries in 1744, by enticing the Indians to indulge in strong drink and by spreading evil
INDIAN MISSION. 2O0
reports concerning the Brethren. The most dangerous of all their insinuations was that the Brethren were in secret alliance with the French in Canada, and that they fomented the disturbances which took place, and in- tended to furnish the Indians with arms to fight against the English. This falsehood was spread about with such boldness, that at last the whole country was alarmed and filled with terror. The missionaries were, therefore, cited before the magistrates, were ordered to drill with the militia and were required to take the following oaths: first, "That King George being the lawful" sovereign of the kingdom, they would not in any way encourage the Pretender;" the other: "That they rejected transubstantiation, the worship of the Virgin Mary, purgatory," etc. The missionaries cheer- fully assented to every point contained in the oaths, but begged for conscience' sake to be excused from swear- ing as well as from bearing arms. Impartial magistrates and all who, not blinded by prejudice and fanatical zeal, could appreciate their motives, were fully convinced of their innocence and spoke of them in the most honor- able terms, and even Governor Clinton took their part. But their enemies succeeded in having an Act passed in the Colonial Assembly, September 21, 1744, by which they were forced to leave the country or to act against their consciences. In this Act — " An Act for Securing of his Majestie's Government of New York" — the following passages occur:
"Whereas, an Invasion hath been lately attempted against his Majestie's kingdom and government in favor of a popish Pretender :
"Be it enacted — that it shall be lawful for any of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas with any two Justices of the Peace, to summon any person, whom they shall suspect to be disaffected to the government, to appear before them to take the oath of Allegiance."
2IO THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
The Society of Friends, however, was excepted from this enactment, and their simple affirmation that they were faithful subjects of King George, and detested the damnable doctrine of the Pope, was to be received in- stead of an oath. But in reference to the Moravians we read :
" And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid ; that no Vagrant Preacher, Moravian or Disguised Papist should preach or teach either in public or private without first taking the Oaths appointed by this Act, and ob- taining a License from the Governor or Commander-in- Chief for the time being, and every Vagrant 'Preacher, Moravian or Disguised Papist, that shall preach without taking such Oaths, or obtaining such License as afore- said shall forfeit the sum of £40 with six months Im- prisonment without Bail or Mainprize, and for the second offence shall be obliged to leave the Colony, and if they do not leave this Colony or shall return, they shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted by the Justices of the Supreme Court, not extending to Life and Limb.
" And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that no person or persons whatsoever shall take upon them to reside among the Indians under the pretense of bringing them over to the Christian Faith, but such as shall be duly authorized so to do by License from the Governor or Commander-in-Chief for the time being, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Council, and every Vagrant Preacher, Moravian, Disguised Papist or any other person presuming to reside among and teach the Indians without such License as aforesaid shall be taken up and treated as a person taking upon him to se- duce the Indians from his Majestie's Interest and shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted by the Justices the Supreme Court, not extending to Life and Limb.
"Provided always and be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that nothing in this Act contained shall be con-
INDIAN MISSION. 2 I I
strued to oblige the Ministers of the Dutch and French protestant reformed Churches, the Presbyterian Minis- ters, Ministers of the Kirk of Scotland, the Lutherans, the Conoreo-ational Ministers, the Quakers and the Ana- baptists to obtain Certificates for their several places of public worship already erected or that shall be hereafter erected within this Colony, anything in this Act to the Contrary notwithstanding.
"This Act to be and remain of force from the publica- tion hereof for the term of one year and no longer.
"Third reading, September 13, 1744.
Adolph Philipse, Speaker.
" Signed by Gov. G. Clinton, New York, September 21, 1744."
It is pretty evident that the sole aim and object of this Act of the Colonial Assembly of New York was, if pos- sible, to destroy the work of the Brethren among the Indians at one stroke. Of this Bishop Spangenberg was fully convinced when he visited the persecuted band of missionaries after his arrival in New York in November, 1744, and presently all were recalled to Bethlehem. One of them, however, Brother Gottlob Biittner, finished his pilgrimage in Chekomeko. Being of a weak constitution, the hard life which he led among the Indians, and above all the persecutions at- tended with frequent and troublesome journeys in bad weather, increased his infirmities and hastened his disso- lution. He gently fell asleep in Jesus, February 25, 1745, and his grave was for a long time — until the plough passed over the spot — a continual remembrance of the blessed work of the Brethren, but also of the bitter enmity of their fellow-Christians. How intense this hatred was, soon became manifest by the imprisonment of C. Frederick Post and David Zeisberger. The)' had gone to Canatschochary (Canajoharie), beyond Albany, not for
2 I 2 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
the purpose of preaching, which they could not do under existing laws, but in order to improve in the Maqua language, and thus to prepare themselves for farther usefulness among the Six Nations. On the mere sus- picion of treacherous views they were taken prisoners, brought to New York, February 22, 1745, and were confined in the City Hall. Here they were required to take the oath of allegiance and to abjure the Pope. They declared again and again that they were faithful subjects of King George, but refused to take any oath, for conscience' sake, which besides could hardly be required from mere travelers. This affair created not a little stir and the City Council was at a loss what to do with these refractory "vagrant preachers." Many Christians came to visit them in prison and kindly cared for their bodily wants, among whom are especially to be noticed : Mr. Thomas Noble, a respectable merchant of New York, and his clerk, Henry Van Vleck.
As no charge against them could be proved and Gov- ernor Thomas, of Pennsylvania, cheerfully signed a testimonial to their faithfulness as citizens of that colony, they were dismissed, April 10, after an imprisonment of seven weeks.
Under these circumstances it was not to be expected that the Indians themselves would be left at rest at Chekomeko for any length of time, and the Brethren at Bethlehem were of opinion that it would be best for them to remove entirely from the neighborhood of the white people and settle near their countrymen at Wajomik (Wyoming) on the Susquehanna. In order that no difficulty might be made on the part of the Six Nations, to whom this part of the country belonged, Bishop Spangenberg himself, accompanied by Conrad Weiser, David Zeisberger and Shebosh, undertook a tedious and fatiguing journey to Onondaga, May to
INDIAN MISSION. 213
July, 1745, where the great council of the Six Nations, with great solemnity, renewed with T'gerhitonti (Spangenberg) the covenant made three years before with Count Zinzendorf, granting the believing Indians permission to remove to Wajomik.
Contrary to all expectation the Indians at Chekomeko refused to accept this offer and remained until they were expelled by the white people by main force. Having taken refuge on Pennsylvania soil, they tarried for a while at Friedenshutten, near Bethlehem, whence they removed to a tract of land purchased by the Brethren beyond the Blue Mountains, at the junction of the Mahony Creek and the Lehigh River. Here the Mission- station Gnadenhiitten was founded in 1 746 by Brother John Martin Mack, who soon became one of the most prominent servants of the Lord in the Mission cause, in which he was active until 1 784, both among the Indians in North America and the negroes in the West Indies. He died in 1784, a Bishop of the Brethren's Church.
While the greater part of the believing Indians re- moved to Pennsylvania, there were still some left in Connecticut, both at Pachgatgoch and Wechquadnach. These were also supplied with missionaries, until they gradually followed their brethren westward.
According to the wish of the Indian Chief Shikellimus, a blacksmith shop was established at Shamokin (now Sunbury, Pa.), which was considered an outpost, from which, as soon as opportunity should offer, the Gospel- message might be brought to the headquarters of the Six Nations. Bishop Cammerhof visited here in Janu- ary, 1 74S, performing one of the most dangerous and adventuresome journeys, exposed to hardships of all kinds, but trusting the protecting hand of his Lord and Saviour, by whom he was graciously preserved through snow and ice and flood.22
Moravian Church Miscellany, 1855, p. 41.
214 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
I I . PERSECUTIONS
The persecutions of the Moravian missionaries in the Colony of New York induced Count Zinzendorf to apply for protection to the Board of Trade in England. By this Board Governor Clinton was ordered to state the reasons why a law had been passed against the Mo- ravians residing- among- the Indians. In the official answer, dated May, 1746,23 the following passages occur which we insert here, as an exposition of the popular feeling of .the English part of the population against the German Brethren :
"This Count & his Moravian Brethren have by many Prudent People been lookt upon with a Jealous Eye, ever Since his Arrival in these Parts. He is called a German Count, & as Many of his Countrymen have for several years Successively been imported into and Settled in Pensilvania, Roman Catholicks as well as Protestants Without Distinction, Where it Seems by the Indulgence of the Crown, their Constitution Granted by Charter, all Perswasions Roman Catholicks as well as others are tollerated the free Exercise of their Religion ; the Increase of the People in that Colony has been so Great that they are Computed to be Already much an Overbalance to the English Subjects there ; And from the Priviledge given them of Settling in Bodys by themselves, they are like ever to Remain a Distinct People ; and this seems to be their Aim, for they are fond of keeping up the [German] Language by Retaining Clergy, School- masters & even Printers of their own Country; and Language ; nor, as is credibly reported, will they Suffer any of their People to Intermarry with the English, so that by these means & the Privi.ledges the Government of Pensilvania Admits them to upon Importation, in
23 Documentary History of the State of New York, by E. B. O'C'allaghan, Vol. Ill, p. 1022.
PERSECUTIONS. 2 15
Common with the English Subjects, they may in a Short Time bear the Chief Say in the Government of that Colony, which from the aforegoing observations may Probably be attended with Dangerous Consequences not only to Pensilvania, But his Majesty's other Colonies in North America.
"These Moravians have Compassed Sea & Land to make Proselytes, & have so far Succeeded as to Gain in Pennsilvania, this and other Colonys ; And the house at the Forks before-mentioned, [/. e., the house built for and afterwards bought from Whitefield at the forks of the Delaware — Nazareth] is the principal place of Rendezvouz & Quarter of the Chiefs of them ; 'tis kept according to Whitefield's Scheme as a Seminary for Con- verts, & house of Support to their deluded Votaries, and many have Resorted thither ; from thence they dis- patch their Itinerant Emissarys, Teachers or Preachers, Simple, illiterate persons, who were wont to be Content to busy themselves in their Native Country in the Or- dinary & humble Occupations they were bred to, viz1, Bricklayers, Carpenters, Woolcombers, Taylors, and Such like Mechanical or handy-Craft Trades, 'till they were infatuated with a certain decree of Enthusiasm or Folly, Sufficient for Qualifying them for the plantation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ; of whose Delusions, It seems, the Count has laid hold & thought them proper Tools to be Employed in his Service, perhaps with views unknown to these Creatures themselves, though at the same Time they are forwarding his Schemes."
These extracts show sufficiently the spirit of the times ; the national jealousy of the English against the Ger- mans ; the hatred of ungodly people against sincere dis- ciples of the Saviour, the scorn of the proud and worldly- wise against the humble lovers of their fellow men. That poor and illiterate mechanics should travel about
2l6 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
through forests and swamps, in heat and cold, for no purpose whatever than to gain souls for Christ, who would believe that? And that these men "though un- qualified as to the knowledge of the Indian language or any other but their own mother-tongue," should live among the Indians, to convert, to Christianize and civilize the untutored sons of the forest, seemed so un- likely, that the most absurd notions would sooner be be- lieved than this. They may be emissaries from the Pope, they may be secret allies of the French ; they refuse to swear allegiance to the King, will not participate in mili- tary exercise. Why should we suffer them among us ? Who are these Moravians ? Where do they come from ? Why do they assume such an unintelligible name ? That questions of this kind were really pro- posed and discussed publicly is evident from the follow- ing answer of Peter Bohler, written in March, 1745, in New York, before his return to Europe :
" I suppose that the Author means by Moravians that Protestant People of God, which these several centuries past was called the United Brethren, of which a Congre- gation lives in the Forks of the Delaware, and suppos- ing that, I must say :
"That this is a denomination altogether improper and quite out of the way, to call the United Brethren Mora- vians : for Moravia is a marquisate in Germany, belong- ing to the Queen of Hungary : And tho' some natives of Moravia belong to the United Brethren, yet they are by far the least part of the United Brethren. For we consist of all nations almost, namely, Germans, English, Scotch, Irish, Low Dutch, Danes, Swedes, Welsh, Livonians, Esthonians, Gronlanders, Hottentots, Mala- bars, Negroes, Indians, and others — and under what pre- tence can they be called ' natives of Moravia,' for that is, what ' Moravian ' signifies ?
PERSECUTIONS. 2 I 7
" But if one would say : We don't mean Natives of such a Marquisate, but such as belong to that Religion. But in this sense is the denomination as improper for the United Brethren as in the above sense. For the United Brethren do not only consist of properly such-called ' Moravian Brethren,' but also of Lutherans, Calvinists, Church of England-men, Independents, Baptists, and other Protestant Denominations. And indeed the properly so-called Moravian Brethren are the very least part of the United Brethren. And therefore as logically a miuori nunquam Jit denomination it is very improper to use the word Moravian for a distinguishing denomina- tion for the United Brethren ; and we can never allow of it, to call us so in general."
In conformity with this declaration of Peter Bohler, the Synod at Germantown, May, 1747, protested against the appellation " Moravian Brethren," as being a sectarian name. Nevertheless this name has maintained itself, and is now — and justly so — considered the most honorable ap- pellation for all true members of the Unitas Fratrum ; for though, even at the present day and among those where it should be least expected, much ignorance prevails in refer- ence to the origin and the religious views of the Moravian Brethren, still neither ignorance nor malice will confound them with "vagrant preachers" or "disguised Papists." Thus they were designated in the Commonwealth of New York more than a century ago ; as such they were perse- cuted and driven beyond the boundaries of the Colon)-.
A few years later the following Proclamation was pub- lished in Virginia :
" Whereas it is represented to me that several Itinerant Preachers have lately crept into this Colony and that the suffering those corruptors of our faith and true religion to propagate their shocking doctrine may be of mischievous consequences :
2l8
" I have therefore thought fit, by and with the advice of his Majesty's council, to issue this proclamation, strictly requiring all Magistrates and officers to discourage and prohibit as far as legally they can all itinerant preachers, whether New Lights, Moravians or Methodists from teaching, preaching or holding any meeting in this Colony and that all persons be enjoined to be aiding and assisting to that purpose.
" Given under my Hand at Williamsburg, this 3d day of April, 1747, in the 20th year of his Majesty's reign. God save the King, William Gooch,
His Majesty s Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in- Chief of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia." By this proclamation of the governor of the estab- lished High Church, all Episcopalians were warned aeainst Moravians, Methodists and New Lights. The last were an ultra-Puritanic sect, who maintained and proved by many arguments that God was a great tyrant, plaguing people with His unmerciful cruelty. They hated and detested the "Free-grace preachers" and warned people against the Moravians by public placards. One of these, attached to the church door in Penn's Neck, was worded thus :
"Read the 16th Chapter of Luke, and you will find whole households in a damned condition without they repent before it be too late. So therefore consider this, Ye Moravians, lest a curse come upon You when it is too late to help it : Therefore depart ye Flatterers from hence, for You tell all the promises but not the threaten- ings. Therefore begone, Ye Deceivers, which put no
charge to your , but say : Come to Christ, but how
Ye tell us not ; therefore, begone, we want none of Your sort here — Amen."
Among the Swedes in New Jersey, where these fanatical New Lights seem to have been most numerous,
PERSECUTIONS. 2IQ
the Swedish Lutheran ministers, Naesman, Sandin, and even Tranberg, openly or secretly opposed the Breth- ren, as "the followers of the Count" (die Grafischen), hut could not hinder their labors altogether. For a sea- son the Brethren were kept out of the church in Penn's Neck by an English minister in Salem, but after his death the people there requested the Brethren to come again, and more especially Owen Rice, who exerted a very blessed influence among the Swedes. The Swedish Church at Maurice River was placed under the trusteeship of the Brethren A. Reincke, O. Rice and Nyberg, and when Pastor Sandin tried to take posses- sion of this church, he was told that he must first get a letter from Brother Spangenberg, for him they had asked for a minister. Pastor Sandin died in 1 748, de- serted by his own people, and nursed by the Moravians. Pastor Tranberg and Brother Greening kept his funeral in Christian fellowship.
While in the neighboring Provinces the persecutions to which the Moravian Brethren were exposed originated in ignorance and misconception of their true motives, we might suppose that in Pennsylvania, among their own countrymen, who spoke the same language and could more closely observe their whole walk and con- versation, all unfriendly feelings would gradually dis- appear. This was, however, not yet the case. On the contrary, the jealousies brought across the Atlantic Ocean from the German mother-country were nourished for a while and led to some unjust actions. In Tulpe- hocken, for instance, the Hallensian Kurtz had gained a party for himself, and, a funeral occurring in the neighborhood, he forcibly took possession of the church built by the friends of the Brethren. " It is a Lutheran church," he reasoned ; " I am a Lutheran pas- tor, and therefore entitled to the use of this church."
2 20 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
He was assisted by Conrad Weiser, who had been a friend and faithful counselor of the Moravian Brethren ; but after Pastor Muhlenberg had married his daughter this friendship gradually cooled off and by his influence those who had no legal right or claim to this church, kept possession of it.
In a similar manner the German Reformed Pastor Tempelman took possession of the school-house at Mode Creek, [Muddy Creek] January 13, 1748, forcibly expelling the brother who was living there, on the plea that he, as Reformed pastor, had the first right to a school-house built by and for the Reformed.
In Lancaster, the Brethren were expelled from their burying-ground and obliged to lay out a new one.
But as Brother Spangenberg, on the part of the Brethren, refrained from retaliating and preferred to suffer injustice rather than increase the unhappy state of enmity between his fellow-ministers in the Gospel by controversy, Pastors Muhlenberg and Schlatter also refrained from personal participation in those acts of injustice which their followers committed.
It thus became more and more manifest that Zinzen- dorf's original idea of a union of the German churches had to be altogether abandoned, and hence the Synods also gradually assumed a different character.
12. THE SYNODS OF I 746, I 747, AND I 748.
The Synods held by Brother Spangenberg in 1745 were, in spirit and in outward arrangements, not materially different from the General Pennsylvania Synods at which Count Zinzendorf had presided in 1742. The same also may be said in reference to the Synods of 1 746, though we already find some traces of the increas- ing opposition of the Lutheran clergy, which as yet was
SYNODS OF I746, 1747, AND 1 748. 22 1
met by a very conciliatory spirit on the part of the Brethren.
There were four Synods in 1746: The first met at Bethlehem, February 4 to 8, and consisted of one hundred and thirty-nine members from twenty-five different places. In the voluminous minutes the following passages occur :
"If the Saviour will take our part and defend us against the calumnies heaped upon us, He can do it easily and effectively. We, however, will not enter on any defenses for the present, for we have no time." (§30.)
" We would like to see in Pennsylvania both Lutheran and Reformed congregations, maintaining not only their doctrine, but also their church government." (§49-)
"In reference to those ministers, who storm against us, to detain people from us, or who speak our language to draw people to themselves, we will act as hitherto. We suffer them to go on and wait on the Lord." (§61.)
The second Synod was convened at Philadelphia, April 5 to 7.
In the minutes we read :
"It is not right to call this Synod a Moravian Synod. It is an assembly of persons from different denomina- tions for the purpose of caring for their own and their neighbors' real well-being, according to the maxims of the doctrine of Jesus and the general plan of love of the children of God."
The third Synod of the year also met at Philadelphia, August 11 to 14, numbering sixty-seven members.
The following are extracts from the minutes :
"The Brethren are accused of enticing people from their religion by pretending to be Lutherans or German Reformed, which they are not." This current accusa- tion was met by the Synod by the following statement : " Those amontr Us who adhere to the Confession of Augfs-
222 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
burg, as Leonhard Schnell and others, are Lutherans, while those who subscribe to the Synod of Berne, as Rauch, Lischy and others, are Reformed. It is a wrong imputation, as if we intended to draw away people from their own denominations. The truth is this : As soon as any one begins to strive after godliness in Christ Jesus in his own denomination, he is rejected by the ministers and members of his own Church as an errorist, and set down as a Moravian Brother, even if he should never have seen one."
The fourth Synod assembled at Grist Creek (Kreuz Creek), and was probably the first meeting of the kind ever held west of the Susquehanna. One hundred and sixty members had come together from twenty-two different places.
There it was again publicly declared: "The aim and object of the Synod is, that that religious animosity which is but too common in this country, may cease amongst awakened persons, who live in different denominations. It is no Moravian Synod, but a General Religious Con- ference. No Church in the world dare pretend to be the only true and real Church of God. Religion and faith are not the same, though they are continually confounded. The Church of the Brethren in our days is no new religion, no new sect, but is an institution (Anstalt) established by the Saviour, for the salvation and preservation of souls. He Himself collects those souls, whom He will not only save, but also use for His holy purposes ; these He baptizes with His own Spirit into one body."
In 1747 these Synods began to assume a different character, caused probably by the arrival of Bishop Cammerhof, and the new manner of teaching which he introduced. Even the outward arrangement Gf the Synod became different, as a distinction was made
SYNODS OF I746, 1747, AND 1 748. 223
between the proper members of the Synod and the in- vited guests. Pastor Nyberg, for instance, always a regular attendant and a full member of the Synod, is mentioned at the second Synod of 1747 as one of the guests, which, however, may have been caused by his peculiar situation in the Lancaster congregation.
The first Synod of 1747 assembled at Bethlehem, January 26 to 29. Brother Spangenberg said in his opening address : " We are still in our novitiate ; we are yet tender plants, which are not deeply rooted ; we are exposed to many dangers, which we cannot meet in our own strength ; but we are the novitiate of the Saviour."
" Our Synod is and shall remain a general (ocumen- ische) Synod."
Accordingly the discussions referred first to the state of religion in Pennsylvania in general. As a new sect mentioned the New-mooners (Neumonder), who had lately separated from the Mennonites, and kept their meetings only at the time of new moon. By far the greater part of the discussions, however, referred to the different spheres of activity of the Moravian Brethren, their congregations, schools, missions, etc.
The second Synod of 1 747, consisting of fifty-two brethren, twenty-five sisters and thirty-nine guests, met in Germantown, May 10 to 14. The Trustees of the German Reformed Church had been asked to allow the members of the Synod to assemble in their meeting- house, but refused. A suitable place, however, was found at the house of Engfelbert Lack, a baker. When the time for the Synod arrived, the rain poured down incessantly, and the enemies of the Brethren openly triumphed at their supposed disappointment. But their exultation was premature. At the appointed day the brethren and sisters from Bethlehem and many other places arrived at Germantown in spite <>t rain und mud and mire.
2 24 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
While their enemies maintained that the elements of heaven had opposed them, and ascribed their arrival to their obstinacy and stubbornness, Cammerhof and his brethren said : " We know it was the strength and grace of the Lamb."24
Such synodical meetings of the Brethren, convened in the midst of their most bitter opponents, were surely powerful testimonies to their cheerful reliance and confi- dence in the Lord, and if men of high standing, like Justice Smout, of Lancaster, Recorder Brockden, of Philadelphia, and Mr. Brodhead, Indian-trader at Mini- sink, participated in these meetings, their testimony in favor of the Brethren would surely have had weight with many, whilst others were perhaps still more favorably inclined to them on beholding the Christian Indians, who by their instrumentality had been led from darkness to light, and freely took part in these meetings.
The Synod again protested against the name " Mora- vian Brethren," as being sectarian.
"We are no sect, but free servants of Christ. There is but one true and saving religion, which consists not in written formulas and confessions of faith or outward ceremonies, but is exclusively a matter of the heart, and depends only on this, that the individual soul may be- come truly acquainted with Christ the Lamb of God, as his Saviour, and find grace, and forgiveness of sin in His blood, and thus enter into communion with Him and with all His children. This is our aim and object."
In the third Synod, however, held at Bethlehem in September, quite a different spirit prevailed and the influence of Cammerhof had evidently gained the ascendency.
" By grace we have received the great privilege, that we can say : Where is a people to be found on earth,
24 Cammerhof's Letters, No. 4.
SYNODS OF 1746, 1747, AND 1 748. 225
among whom the presence of our God may be found and felt as sensibly as among- us. If you seek the king- dom of the cross — here it is." (Wir diirfen hier be- zeugen : Wer's Kreuzreich sucht — Ich bin's.)
The Synod was held in two divisions. The first (September 14 and 15) was attended exclusively by members of the Brethren's Church, to which the congre- gations of Nazareth and Maguntsche now belonged, and many resolutions were passed in direct opposition to the principles professed at former Synods.
The second division (September 16 to 19) was attended besides by ninety-four friends of the Brethren's Church from twenty different localities. These public meetings, however, can hardly be called synodical meetings, as they were not so much of a deliberative, but rather of an edifying character. They were opened by singing and an address on the daily word, whereupon reports from the different congregations and missionary stations were communicated. Now and then some of the friends would make proposals or prefer their wishes, but in these public meetings no resolutions were passed.
In 1756 Spangenberg said in reference to this and the next Synod : "At these Synods the meetings of other denominations ceased. Thus far it had been our inten- tion: 'We would have healed Babylon' (Jer. 51: 9), but now it became evident that ' she will not be healed.' '
The first Synod of 1748, held in Ouittopehille (Hebron, Lebanon County), February 11 to 14, is still called a Pennsylvania Synod, but it is the last time that this term occurs in the Synodal Acts. It had to be acknowl- edged, that "in certain respects the Synod which we used to hold in Pennsylvania, has assumed another type than had been intended at first."
And this could hardly be otherwise after the Lutheran Church had become fully and independently organized
2 26 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
by the formation of a synodical body by Dr. Muhlenberg, convened at Philadelphia, August 14, 1748,25 and after the German Reformed Church, under Schlatter's influence, had entered into a closer connection with the Classis of Amsterdam. The natural consequence was, that all those congregations, which had hitherto been served by the Brethren — if they did not join one or the other of these new church organizations — now entered into closer connection with the Moravian Church. This organization of the American Brethren's Church was brought about at the twenty-seventh Synod, the third of the year 1 748, held in October at Bethlehem, at which Bishop John de Watteville presided.
Before this, however, there was yet one Synod, the second of 1748, held at Bethlehem, June 13 to 16, which may be called the transition Synod.
In his opening address Brother Cammerhof stated the object of this meeting to be ''the renewal and sealing (Versiegelung) of our covenant of grace, the common (gemeinschaftliche) joy and recreation by a new view of our election of grace and the blessed calling of the Church."
Brother Cammerhof remarks in one of his letters in reference to this Synod: "We see more and more plainly every day, that among no denomination in this country we can act successfully and with blessing except by taking an independent position as free servants of the Lord.'' The separation from the other denominations had taken place already, and it was only necessary to give a public declaration of this fact. This was done by John de Watteville.26
25 Hazelius' History of the Lutheran Church, p. 66.
26 Die ausfuhrlichen Erklarungen iiber das Kreuzluft-Vogelein und dessen Lebenslauf beweisen deutlicher als alles andere, dasz auch die Synode bereit sei, neue Blicke zu thun in den seligen Gemeinberuf.
Spangenberg sagte, 1756, von dieser Synode : " Bei dieser Synode hat das Versel regiert : Seitenhohlchen, du bist mein, u.s.w. — Ein schones Versel ! "
VISITATION BY JOHN DE WATTEVILLE. 22 7
13. VISITATION 15V JOHN DE WATTEVILLE. 1 748.
On September 19, 1748, Bishop John de Watteville arrived in Bethlehem, accompanied by his wife, Benigna, oldest daughter of Count Zinzendorf. Having informed himself as to the internal state of the congregation in Bethlehem, he visited, in company with Brother Spangen- berg, in Maguntsche, Frederickstown, Germantown, Philadelphia, Nazareth and Gnadenthal. In October, ac- companied by Brother Cammerhof, he undertook a jour- ney to the Indians, in whom he took great interest. They went to Gnadenhtitten, Wajomik (Wyoming) and Shamokin; and rejoiced to find the very spots where Count Zinzendorf had pitched his tent six years ago, which could be recognized by the "J " (Johanan being Zinzendorf's Indian name) cut on many trees.27 He became ac- quainted with the Chiefs of the Shawanese, Chickasaws and Nanticokes, and renewed the covenant with Shikel- limus which Johanan (Zinzendorf) had entered into.
Immediately after his return from this Indian journey, a Synod was held at Bethlehem, October 23 to 27, which must be considered the first properly Moravian Synod, being that assembly in which the Brethren's Church in America was organized.
All the ministers and laborers of the congregation, about one hundred and ten brethren and eighty sisters, and about one hundred guests from twenty-one different places assembled in a large room of the newly-erected Single Brethren's House (now the " old building " of the Young Ladies' Seminary). Brother Spangenberg opened the Synod, but John de Watteville was the principal speaker and evidently the ruling spirit. In reference to the Church and doctrine of the Brethren he made the following statements :
27 Des Zeltes dritten Ruheplatz, Wo Blaseschlangen nisteln.
2 28 THE BRETHREN'S CONGREGATIONS.
" Our doctrine of the Lamb and His wounds is a power of God, and contains a certain something which all must feel, who come near us. The description of the pleura and the nail prints of the Lamb shines power- fully into the hearts and eyes, leaving something behind, which cannot be erased. And this power of God be- longs to the doctrine of the pleura exclusively, com- pared to which all other methods of doctrine, be they arranged ever so ingeniously, are dry and empty, nor can they leave a real blessing for the heart."
Intimately connected with this new manner of doc- trine was the sectarian idea : "We are the visible body of the Lord."
" By His wounds and His blood, and by the Spirit from His pleura and His Philadelphia, the Saviour has formed and sealed the Brethren's Church, and whoever is seeking the kingdom of the cross, to him we say: Here it is ! Therefore we believe that all those who are born out of the pleura, and therefore are children of God, will love us, and appreciate our doctrine of the Lamb."
After this the different plans of usefulness and insti- tutions of the Brethren were considered, not, as ex- pressed formerly, as being under the direction of the " Church of God in the Spirit," but as being under the superintendence of the Brethren's Church and in con- nection therewith.
The position of the congregations having been thus defined, it became necessary to regulate the service of the Church (Kirchendienst) according to the resolutions of the Synod of 1745 at Marienborn, by the introduc- tion of the different ecclesiastical grades or degrees of Presbyters and Deacons. Not all the ' Ordinati ' (which thus far had been the only grade under the Bishops) were declared Presbyters, as had been the case
VISITATION BY JOHN DE WATTEVILLE. 229
in Europe, but some were ranged among the Deacons " because they had been ordained merely for the service of other denominations."
On October 27 solemn ordinations took place, and thus the following were the ordained brethren of the Brethren's Church of America :
John de Watteville, Bishop. Spangenberg and Cam- merhof, Co-episcopi.
These three brethren ordained Henry Antes Consenior chilis or Senior politicus, because he, as Justice of the Peace, had charge of the political affairs of the con- gregation, which, however, amounted to very little, as the Brethren abstained from meddling with the politics of the country.
Ordinati, now declared to be Presbyters, were the fol- lowing : B. A. Grube, C. H. Rauch, J. C. Pyrkeus, J. M. Mack, A. Reincke, G. Weber and R. Utley.
Besides these there were ordained as Presbyters the Brethren : N. Seidel, A. Meyer, M. Reuz and L. Schnell.
The following- Ordinati were declared to be Deacons : J. Bechtel, P. Meurer, J. Bonner, J. Brucker, J. R. Ronner, G. Nieke, J. Brandmuller and G. Geitner.
The following were ordained Deacons : O. Rice, G. Neisser, S. Roseen, M. Schropp and G. Pezold.
Furthermore the rule was laid down: "Those who have received ordination in the Lutheran and Reformed Churches, we of the Brethren's Church can hardly acknowledge to be more than Deacons." But even this was not done in the only case of the kind which came before the Synod, namely, that of Pastor Nyberg, since 1745 a faithful friend of the Brethren, and persecuted on their account in his own Church. He had studied at Upsala, Sweden, had received ordination as presbyter by the laying on of hands of the Swedish Archbishop, Jacob Benzelius, and now — probably to show other Churches
23O THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
how independently the Brethren's Church could act — Pastor Nyberg, ordained by a Lutheran Bishop in regular form, was not even acknowledged as a Deacon, but was only received as an Acolyte of the Brethren's Church. In 1752 he was ordained a Deacon, in 1754 a Presbyter of the Brethren's Church, both ordinations taking place in London.
We would by no means defend the Synod of 1 748 in this irregular ecclesiastical action, but merely remark that the many unjust attacks of their fellow-servants in other Churches and the prevailing enthusiastic view — "we are the Church" — blinded their better judgment for the time.
In honor of the Lutheran Church we would here state, that P. D. Bryzelius, when he entered the ranks of the Lutheran ministers in 1760, was, as far as we know, not re-ordained, his ordination in 1742 being considered valid, as it ought to be among sister-churches.
We believe that the case of Pastor Nyberg is the only one to be found in the annals of the Brethren's Church, in which regular ordination in another established Church has been set aside in the Moravian Church.
14. NOVEMBER I 3, I 748.
In the gradual development and final organization of the Church of the Brethren in America we can plainly trace the wonderful direction and providential guidance of the Lord. The Moravian Brethren had come to this country not with the view of extending their peculiar church-organization, but for the sole purpose of gaining souls for Christ. They had taken active part in the Pennsylvania Synods, which gradually came under their exclusive influence and control ; they had sent out itinerant ministers and collected small bands of disciples of the Lord here and there ; they had met opposition
NOVEMBER 13, I 748. 23 I
and persecution in various ways, hut these very persecu- tions served only to connect them more closely, and were one of the means in the hand of the Lord, to con- vince them that in this country an ecclesiastical organi- zation, independent of all other churches, was absolutely necessary for the furtherance of the work of the Lord. For if Bethlehem and Nazareth had only been and remained colonies of the Brethren in America, as Sarepta is to this day a German colony in Russia, we might possibly as little be able to speak of an American Brethren's Church, as we can speak to-day of a Russian Brethren's Church. But the Lord in His wis- dom overruled all the errors of His servants and led to the organization of the American Brethren's Church, which though intimately and at times very closely con- nected with the other parts of the Unitas Fratrum in Europe, and especially with the Supreme Governing Board of the Unity in Germany, in many respects has from the very commencement assumed and maintained "in local matters" a more or less independent position. There is yet one feature to which particular attention must be directed in connection with the final ecclesiasti- cal organization of the Moravian Church in America. Brother Spangenberg had been sent over from Europe to guide the spiritual and temporal affairs of the Brethren both in their relation to other Christians and denomina- tions within the borders of the English colony of Penn- sylvania, and in regard to their connection with the Ger- man mother country. He had come to Pennsylvania as
Vicarins Gcneralis Episcoporum in America and, as Moravian Bishop, he had been the universally acknowl- edged presiding officer at the Synods. At the same time he had been appointed Agni per Americam in Presbyterio
I "icarius, that is, the chief elder and spiritual head of the Moravian congregation. It is true, this office could
232 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
only have reference to those who claimed to be "the Moravians " in this yet undefined union of congregations in connection with the Brethren, as those only of the colonists at Bethlehem and Nazareth who had lived for some time in the European congregations, could under- stand and appreciate the idea of " Chief Eldership." But since a number of congregations, composed of persons who in Germany had not been connected with the Moravian Church, had become American Moravian congregations, and had adopted more or less the new doctrinal views which Bishop Cammerhof had introduced with great zeal, and since the plan of union with the other German denominations had been dropped entirely, and Spangenberg's General Episcopacy was, therefore, of less moment than before, his chief eldership, as it be- came better known and understood among the new members of the Church, might have given an hierarchi- cal form quite incompatible with the ideas of true Mora- vianism. But the Lord preserved him and preserved the Church from this danger. Brother Spangenberg re- signed his office as " Chief Elder" of the American con- gregations. Even without this peculiar office, we should suppose, he might have remained the presiding Brother in the Executive Board of the Province, but at the sug- gestion and by the counsel of John de Watteville, who had instructions from Count Zinzendorf to that effect, Brother Spangenberg suffered himself to be sent to Philadelphia, where he spent nearly a year in retirement and great discontent. There must have been some difference be- tween him and his fellow-laborers, concerning which, however, no documents are extant ; but whatever er- rors he may have committed, and however salutary for his inward man this, as we believe, unbrotherly action may have been, the events of the following years showed plainly, that no one was as able and as well
NOVEMBER I 3, I 748. 233
qualified to guide and direct the American work as Brother Spangenberg. He returned to Europe in Feb- ruary, 1750, where his wife died in March, 1751. When her memoir was communicated to the congrega- tion at Herrnhut, Count Zinzendorf remarked: "The great things which she has done, were not always appre- ciated at the time, nor has she always received the thanks which she deserved." This was certainly the case;, when Brother and Sister Spangenberg, in return for their faithful and self-denying labors in Bethlehem and Nazareth, were sent for a season into retirement and almost complete inactivity in Philadelphia.
Nevertheless, it was good for the American Church that he resigned his chief eldership, which he did in a written communication to the Elders' Conference, No- vember 5. This resignation was accepted, and the members of the Conference felt at once that it was time now to publish in the American congregations, what seven years before had been a cause of rejoicing in the European congregations, namely, "that the government amongst us belongs not to man, but that the Saviour is the Chief Elder of our brotherly covenant."
This was solemnly communicated to the congregation of Bethlehem, on November 13, by John de Watteville. He said among the rest, that the doors were now opened for any one either to leave or to re-enter the congrega- tion ; and if there should be any one who had been hitherto in connection with the Brethren, but had no in- clination to belong to that Church of which Jesus Christ is Elder, he was at full liberty to follow his own inclination and leave. No case of this kind occurred, however, while not a few who had been excluded from church-fellowship, applied for readmission. In the after- noon there were separate meetings for the ditlerent
Life of Spangenberg, ]>. 25''.
'5
234 THE BRETHREN S CONGREGATIONS.
choirs of the congregation and in the evening a general love-feast connected with the adult baptism of the Siebentager J. F. Lesley.
On November 14, three Indians and a mulatto from Berbice were baptized by Cammerhof and John de Watteville, and in the afternoon three hundred and thirty-four communicants (including those from Nazareth and other places) participated in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. This latter meeting was held in the prayer-hall of the Single Brethren's House. On the same day one hundred and ten brethren and boys moved into this house. Spangenberg devoted these days, to private meditation and prayer.
In the following weeks similar festival days were cele- brated in all the other congregations : At Maguntsche, November 20 ; at Fredericktown, November 21 ; at Oley, November 22 ; at Heidelberg, November 24; (at the latter place the brethren and sisters from Tulpe- hocken, Muddy Creek, Miihlbach, Warwick and Lan- caster were present) ; at Nazareth and Gnadenthal, November 23 ; at Gnadenhiitten, November 26 ; at Shamokin, December 11.
In December Bishop de Watteville, accompanied by Bishop Cammerhof and Nathanael Seidel, visited the Indian congregations in the East and promulgated the Eldership of the Saviour at Wechquadnach, December 19 ; at Pachgatgoch, December 21, and at New York, December 27.
In January, 1749, de Watteville and Spangenberg visited Philadelphia for the same purpose and, as had been done at all the other places, kept a love-feast with ninety-six persons, and the Holy Communion with thirty-one. In all these places about six hundred communicants were counted, among them fifty-five Indians.
NOVEMBER I 3, I 748. 235
From January 23 to 26, 1749, a second Moravian Synod was held at Bethlehem at which all those who had participated in the celebration of the Lord's Supper at the above-mentioned places, were recognized as mem- bers of the Brethren's Church. During this Synod twenty persons were baptized, among them an Indian seventy-six years old, several negro boys, one Tunker and six Mennonites.
In February, 1749, John de Watteville once more- visited all the country congregations and left Pennsyl- vania in April to make a visitation in St. Thomas.
Since November 13, 1748, all those congregations which were now recognized as Churches of the United Brethren had increased rapidly, no less than one hundred adults having been received into church-fellowship by baptism during the time of his visitation ; and when Bishop de Wateville left for the West Indies, there were in connection with and forming the American Brethren's Church, 630 communicant members; 125 adults, not communicants ; 245 children — a total of 1000 members of the Brethren's Church in America.
INDEX.
Allemangel, congregation organized, ..... 204
Antes, Henry, as preacher, . . . . . . 6l
call for Pennsylvania Synod, . . . .97
appeal for church union, . . . . 1 1 1
ordained Consenior civilis, .... 228
Baptists, the German, ...... 37
the Seventh-day, ...... 40
Bechtel, John, preacher in Germantown, .... 33
" " ordination of, ..... 108, 115
" expelled from Reformed Church, . . . [90
Becker, Peter, supervisor of Tunker congregations, . . 39.4'
Beisel, John Conrad, ...... 40
Berks County, Pa., establishment of, ..... 13
Bethlehem, first house built, . . . . .82, 88
" congregation organized, . . . . 1 1 < >
a family economy, . . . . . 105
Holder, Peter, sketch of, . . . . . . 7 3
return to Europe, . . 152
in defense of missionaries, .... 216
Bohm, Rev. J. P., ordination of, . . . . 33
" ." " opponent of Zinzendorf, .... 133
Brethren's House, erection of, in Bethlehem, ... 151
Brownfield, John, acquaintance with the Brethren, . . .79
Urine, Rev. David, arrival in Pennsylvania, . . . 96
Bryzelius, Rev. Paul Daniel, ..... 145, 230
Bucks County, Pa., boundaries of, ..... 13
Buttner, Rev. Gottlob, ordination of, ..... 104
Burnside, James, acquaintance with the Brethren, . . 70
Cammerhof, Bishop J: C. F., sketch of, .... 178
Canajoharie, founding of, ...... [9
Schnell and Burnside's visit to, .... 207
Checomeco, visited by Rev. C. H. Rauch, .... 58
Indian mission at, ...... 208
" abandoned, . . 212 Chester County, I 'a., boundaries of, . . . . .12
Choir Houses in Bethlehem and Nazareth, . . . [64
Chrisriansbrunn laid out, . . . . . Y]&
" Chronicon Ephratense," ...... 40
238 INDEX.
PAGE.
Dansbury, church built at, ...... 207
Donegal, church built at, . ... . . 192
Eckerling, Israel, career of, . . . . . 44. 49
Emmaus, Pa., congregation organized, .... 195
Ephrata, the hermits of, . . . . . . .40
Eschenbach, Andrew, arrival in Pennsylvania, . . . 61, 80
" preacher at Oley, . . . .81
ordained, ..... 104
h " recalled from Oley, . . . .116
Fort Christina, Swedish settlement, . . . . 25
Frankfort Land Company, . . . . . .15
Frohlich, Christian, arrival in America, .... 86
Georgia, Brethren's colony in, . . . . . .62, 76
German, settlements in Pennsylvania, . . . . 14
immigration under Queen Anne's Grant, . . .15
Germantown, incorporated, . . . . . . 15
first Moravian settlers in, . . . .68
Gnadenthal laid out, . . . . . . 176
Gruber, J. Adam, the Separatist, .... 49, 60
Goetschy, Rev. Henry, Reformed Pastor in Pennsylvania, . 32
Heidelberg, Pa., congregation organized, .... 194
Hiibner, Ludwig, as itinerant preacher, .... 205 Hussey, Robert, teacher at Oley, ..... 202
Indian Confederacy, tribes of the, ..... 53
converts baptized at Oley, ..... 104
" traditions, . . . . . . . 55
" C. H. Rauch's first visit to the, . . . . .58
mission at Checomeco and Pachgatgoch, . . . 208
" abandoned, . . . .212
" " at Gnadenhiitten, Pa., .... 213
Irene, the ship, . . . . . . . .172
Itinerant preachers, ....... 204
Lancaster County, Pa., establishment of, . . . .13
" town of, laid out, . . . • . . 13 " congregation organized, ..... 189
Leinbach family at Oley, Pa., . . . . . 81
" received by the Moravians, . . . .123
Leutbecker, Rev. Casper, pastor in Tulpehocken, . . 28, 29 Lighton, John, teacher in Germantown, .... 202
Lischy, Rev. Jacob, . . . . . . . 145
" as opponent to the Brethren, . . . 191
Lititz, first Moravian pastor in, . . . . . I92
INDEX. 239
PAGE.
Long Island, Moravian work in, . . . . . 207
Luckenbach, Adam, teacher at Muddy Creek, . . . 202
Lutheran congregations served by Moravian pastors, . . .184
Mack, Alexander, ....... 37
Mack, Rev. J. Martin, at Shccomeco, . . . . .90
Maguntche (Macungie) congregation organized, . . . 195 Mail service, first in Pennsylvania, ..... 122
Maurice River, church built at, .... . 205
Mcnnonites, origin of, . . . . . . . 35
immigration of, . . . . 36
Miller, Rev. J. P., preacher at Tulpehocken, . . . .34
" " " convert to the Siebcntager, ... 42
death of, ...... 47
Minnisink Country visited by the Brethren, . . ". 206
Missionaries persecuted by Government, . . . 210, 214
Monocacy, Md., Moravian work at, .... 196 Muddy Creek, school-house built, ..... 192
Miihlbach, meeting-house built, ..... I94
Muhlenberg, Rev. H. M., sketch of, . . . . 134
" Pennsylvania congregations organized by, . 184
Nazareth, building of, . . . . . . 173
Newtown, Lancaster County, Pa., laid out, . . . . 13
Newport, R. I., Moravian work in, ..... 207
New Born, the sect at Oley, ...... 49
" " assailed by Spangenberg, . . . . .71
New England towns, Moravian labors in, .... 207
New Hanover, old church at, . . . . . .26
New York City, church built, ..... 196
Nitschmann, Anna, ....... 85.
Nitschmann, David (Bishop), sketch of, ... . 82
Nitschmann, David, {Sen. civ.) sketch of, . . . .84
Northampton County, Pa., establishment of, ... 13
Nyberg, Rev. I.. Thcophilus, arrival of, . . . .30
" " labors at Lancaster, Pa., .... 161
received by the Brethren, . . . .189
" ordination of, ..... 230
Oley, Pa., church built at, . . . . . .116
" " " and school at, . . . . . 193
Palatinate immigrants into Pennsylvania, . . . .20
Pastorius, F. 1)., . . . . . . . 15
Payne, Jasper, arrival in Pennsylvania, . . . .151
" teacher in Germantown, .... 202
Penn, William, landing of, ...... 12
Pennsylvania, Charter of, proclaimed, . . . . ti
24O INDEX.
PAGE.
Philadelphia, County, boundaries of, . . . .12
" rirst German services in, ... . 26
Lutheran church built by the Brethren, . . 136, 185
" Moravian congregation organized, . . . 142
Pyrlaeus, Rev. J. C, arrival in America, . . . .89
" " " ordination of, . . . . . 104
Queen Anne's Grant, . . . . . . .15
Racoon, N. J., Swedish settlement at, . . . 25
Rauch, Rev. C. H., first visit to the Indians, . . . .58
" ordained, ..... 104
Reformed, German, first congregation in Pennsylvania, . . 32
Reincke, Rev. Abrm., arrival in Pennsylvania, . . . 152
" " " preacher to the Swedes, . . . 205
Reuz, Matthew, arrival in Pennsylvania, . . . . 151
Rhinebeck, N. Y., founding of, . . . . . .16
Rice, Owen, preacher to the Swedes, .... 205
Sabbatarians, the, ....... 40
Sauer, Christopher, Printer, . . . ... . 23
" opponent of Zinzendorf, . . . .49
Schnell, Rev. Leonhard, . . . . . . 145
Schoharie, German settlers of, . . . . . .17
Schools, infant, boys' and girls', ..... 198, 199
in Germantown, ...... 201
at Muddy Creek, ...... 202
Lancaster, Oley, etc., ...... 202
Schropp, Matthew, arrival in Pennsylvania, •. . . 151
Schwenkfelder, origin of the, . . . . . .51
" visited by Spangenberg, .... 52
Sea-congregation, the first, ...... 109
" " the second, ..... 124, 150
Separatists in Pennsylvania, . . . . . .48
Siebentager, sketch of the, ...... 40
Spangenberg's opinion of the, . . .47
Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel, . . . . 170
Spangenberg, Rev. A. G., sketch of, . . . . .68
visit to Georgia, ..... 65
" consecrated as Bishop, . . . . .156
second visit to America, . . . 152, 156, 157
return to Europe, 1750, . . . . . . 233
Stiever, Rev. J. Casper, at Philadelphia, .... 26
" " " at Lancaster, . . . . .30
" at Tulpehocken, .... 28
Swedish Lutheran settlements, ...... 25
Swedes in New Jersey, visited by the Brethren, . . . 205
Synod, first Pennsylvania, . . . . . .96
INDEX.
24I
Synod, second and third Pennsylvania, " fourth, fifth and sixth Pennsylvania, " seventh and eighth, . " of 1743, .... " of 1744, ....
" of 1745, ....
of 1746-7-8, ....
Tschoop, awakened by Rauch's testimony, Tulpehocken, Palatinates occupy, .
early German services at, visited by Spangenberg, visited by Zinzendorf, church built by the Brethren, church seized by the Lutherans, Tunkers, origin of the,
" immigration of the,
Warwick, first Moravian minister at, Watteville, Bishop John de, visit to America, Weiser, Conrad, as Mohican scholar,
settles in Penna., Wesley, John, connection with Moravians, . Whitefield, J., in Pennsylvania, . " in Georgia,
" purchase of the Nazareth tract, " dismisses the Moravians, " sells the Nazareth tract, . " only visit to Nazareth, house at Nazareth, Wicacao, Swedish settlement of,
York County, Pa., establishment of,
Zeisberger, David, imprisonment in New York, Zinzendorf, Count Ludwig von, arrival in Pennsylvania,
testimony of the Tunkers,
banished from Saxony,
at Oley, Pa., .....
declares his preference to the Lutheran Church,
labors among Lutherans and Reformed,
as Lutheran Pastor in Philadelphia,
sermons in Pennsylvania,
first visit to Bethlehem,
journeys into the Indian country, " opponents in America,
advocates Boarding Schools, " return to Europe, ....
PAGE.
103
106, 108,
IO9, I 12
141
142
. 158
220
59 20 28
7i 115
187
219
37
39
192
227
17 20 66, 74 61 77
• 78 86 88
199
72, 79
25
"3
212 29, 91
39
• 63 96
107
i'3 114 116 117 125 129 201
• '39