Conference on the Moravian Movement As a Factor of Religious and Cultural Innovation in the 18Th Century

H-Announce Conference on the Moravian Movement as a Factor of Religious and Cultural Innovation in the 18th Century

Announcement published by Peter Vogt on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 Type: Call for Papers Date: November 18, 2021 Location: Germany Subject Fields: Early Modern History and Period Studies, Religious Studies and Theology, Cultural History / Studies, German History / Studies

The conference will take place in Herrnhut, Germany, Nov. 18-21, 2021. It is organized in cooperation between the Theological Faculty of the University of Mainz, the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Gothenburg, and the Director for Theological Education of the Moravian Church in Germany.

Scholars of all disciplines are invited to submit papers that address topics outlined below:

The Moravian Church (Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine) is probably the most important church formation within the international reform movement of Pietism in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Brüdergemeine, as founded under the leadership of Reichsgrave Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), owes its persistent influence to a large extent to the high degree of activity and mobility on the one hand and to a number of attractive theological, liturgical and organizational innovations on the other. These include an innovative, trans-confessional concept of the church, the formation of distinct structures of social organization together with a redefinition of gender relationships, the radicalized articulation of particular theological positions in the debate with Enlightenment ideas, a concept of mission that showed an unprecedented measure of intercultural understanding, and the development of a large number of new religious practices and forms of worship. The conference is intended to connect and to bring into conversation the diverse interdisciplinary research of the past decades. It will specifically address the following topics.

Topics

1. Ecclesiology and the formation of a distinct tradition

More than other Christian groups of the 18th century, the Moravians sought contact and connections with other denominations, churches, and movements. Thus, one focus of the conference is the question of underlying theological and ecclesiological concepts and influences (e.g. the ancient Moravian Unity, radical Pietism, Halle Pietism, Lutheran theology), as well as encounters and exchange with various movements and groups (the Enlightenment, Halle, radical Pietism, Evangelicals, Methodists). It is of interest how these factors contributed to the formation of a distinct identity of the Moravian community and to the development of their own customs and traditions (historiography, culture of remembrance, archives).

1. Theology and Piety

The attractiveness of the Moravian Church in the 18th century resulted largely from its innovative character, apparent in distinct accentuations in theology and piety. Here, the focus is on central topics such as Christocentrism and emotional devotion to the Savior, biblical hermeneutics (including the practice of daily watchwords), the concept of religion, as well as the knowledge of God. Additional topics are the question of piety and self-reflection (memoirs, letters, travel diaries and travelogues), the concepts of worship and liturgical celebration, as well as the use of language in hymns, prayers and speeches.

1. Cultural change and the formation of distinct social and religious practices

Many innovations in theology and piety expressed themselves in new forms of community organization (e.g. choir system), new offices (e.g. “Streiter”, female elders), institutional structures and practices (e.g. decision making by lot). Of particular interest are new concepts of gender, forms of communication, and burial practices. Equally important are the founding of Moravian settlements and their architecture, economic activities, medical practices, education, music, arts and crafts, especially in connection to the Moravian goal to establish a comprehensive model of an ordered Christian life.

1. Mission, Diaspora, and the formation of a global network

The “global community” of the Moravian Church (G. Mettele) and their high mobility form another important topic to be examined, both with regard to their underlying theological concepts (both for mission and diaspora work) and with regard to actual

Citation: Peter Vogt. Conference on the Moravian Movement as a Factor of Religious and Cultural Innovation in the 18th Century. H- Announce. 03-17-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/6019756/conference-moravian-movement-factor-religious-and-cultural Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2 H-Announce practices and experiences. Of interest are both the Moravians’ “interspersed global presence" (H. Lehmann) through their mission activities and the European focus in Scandinavia and the Baltic States, in Switzerland and Hungary, as well as in the Orient and Orthodox countries. It will be possible to explore how the Moravian community functioned as a network (e.g. issues of communication and organization) and to address the question of intercultural contacts (e.g. from an ethnographic or linguistic perspective).

1. History of Reception

Finally, it is a goal of the conference to deepen the understanding of the reception of Moravian theology, piety, and practice. In addition to the influence on well-known figures of European cultural history (J.W. v. Goethe, J. Wesley, F. Schleiermacher, William Blake, S. Kierkegaard and others), topics of interest are the Moravian contribution to the formation of the national culture of particular countries (e.g. Estonia, Latvia) and to the rise of religious revival movements in the 19th century. Further topics in this category are questions of preservation and education with regard to the cultural heritage of the Moravian Church, especially in light of the recognition of the Moravian settlement Christiansfeld in Denmark as a UNESCO world heritage site.

The length of each paper is 25 minutes. Pending available funding, costs for travel and accommodation in Herrnhut will be covered by the organizers within the framework of the applicable rules. We request proposals for papers and a short CV by April 26, 2020 at [email protected]. Decisions on the proposals will be made by Mid-June.

Christer Ahlberger, Göteborg ([email protected]) Wolfgang Breul, Mainz ([email protected]) Peter Vogt, Herrnhut ([email protected])

Contact Info:

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Breul

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät

Seminar für Kirchengeschichte

Wallstraße 7, 55122 Mainz (Tel. 06131/39-20735) [email protected] http://www.ev.theologie.uni-mainz.de/1905.php

Contact Email: [email protected] URL: https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/termine-42740?title=die-herrnhuter-bruedergemeine-als-faktor-fuer -religioese-und-kultur...