The Moravians of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania The term Moravian and the Moravian church have interesting beginnings. "The name Moravian identifies the fact that this historic church had its origin in ancient Bohemia and Moravia in what is the present‐day Czech Republic. In the mid‐ninth century these countries converted to Christianity chiefly through the influence of two Greek Orthodox missionaries, Cyril and Methodius. They translated the Bible into the common language and introduced a national church ritual. In the centuries that followed, Bohemia and Moravia gradually fell under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rome…A Czech reformer, John Hus protested many of the practices of the Roman Catholic clergy and hierarchy…accused of heresy he was burned at the stake in 1415." In 1457, the Moravian Church (or Unitas Fratrum) Unity of Brethren was organized near Prague, then eastern Bohemia. This took place 60 to 100 years before Martin Luther's reformation and the establishment of the Anglican Church. By 1467, the Church had an established ministry and within 50 years their membership was over 200,000 in 40 parishes including a bible in their own language. Persecution followed and during the Thirty Years War (1618‐1647) caused many people go into hiding for their safety or even exile. During the 1700s Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700‐1760) became the patron for the renewal of the Moravian Church. Refuge was found for those persecuted at Zinzendorf's estate. In 1722 the Herrnhut community was founded on his estate. The name Herrnhut (present day Saxony) translated into "the Lord's Watch." Years later missionaries began to be sent out to the West Indies. In 1735, Moravians first came to America in Georgia as part of General Oglethorpe's venture, however the colony failed. In 1741, the Moravians moved northward and settled in Pennsylvania purchasing 500 acres on the estate of George Whitefield. "Soon they bought the 5,000 acres of the Barony of Nazareth from Whitefield’s manager, and the two communities of Bethlehem and Nazareth became closely linked in their agricultural and industrial economy." Bethlehem became the center of Moravian activity as they established other settlement congregations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland and communities such as Nazareth, Lititz and Hope besides congregations in Philadelphia and Staten Island in New York. In 1742 the Moravian College was founded. The college is associated with Moravian Theological Seminary. Its campus is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania with an enrollment of nearly 2,300 students. "The Moravian Church is sometimes confused as its own religion, one that is similar to the Mormon or Amish faiths, but in fact it's not a separate religion. The Moravian Church is a denomination within the Protestant religion and Moravians share the same core beliefs, including that Jesus Christ was born, died, and resurrected. The main differences that set Moravian Protestants apart from other Protestant Christians is in how they practice their beliefs in church." "Today there are more than one million members of the Moravian Church in the world. Most of them live in eastern Africa. Other major Moravian centers are the Caribbean basin (U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua, Jamaica, Tobago, Surinam, Guyana, St. Kitts, and the Miskito Coast of Honduras and Nicaragua), South Africa, Winston‐Salem, NC and Bethlehem, Pa. There are now 24 provinces of the Unity."
The Moravian star originated in Saxony, Germany, in the two towns of Niesky and Kleinwalka in the 1830s. The stars were used as craft projects to help demonstrate geometry lessons to young boys attending Moravian school. The stars were quickly adopted by the Moravian Church as a symbol of the birth of Jesus and represented the star of Bethlehem. Traditionally, the star is hung the first Sunday of Advent and remains up until Epiphany, January 6, or the time of coming of the Magi…Moravian stars range from six points to over 100, but the traditional Moravian star has 26 points." Long before Christianity, plants and trees had special meaning to people in the winter. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness. The history of Christmas trees goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome and continues with the German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees first brought to America in the 1800s. To the right is a Moravian Christmas decoration during the 1740s in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Left to right Unmarried Sister Pink bow
Married Sister Blue bow
Widowed Sister White Bow
Inside the Moravian Museum
Sources: https://www.moravian.org/2018/07/a‐brief‐history‐of‐the‐moravian‐church/, https://www.moravianhistory.org/, https://www.moravian.edu/research/quick‐facts, https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/zinzendorf‐and‐the‐moravians/, https://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/moravians‐protestant‐beliefs‐christians/2015/04/02/id/636022/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravian_College, https://www.christmascity.org/visit‐bethlehem/city‐of‐bethlehem/, https://www.moravian.edu/about/college‐history, https://www.bethlehem‐pa.gov/, http://bdhp.moravian.edu/bethlehem/bethlehem.html, https://historicbethlehem.org/about/historic‐moravian‐bethlehem‐a‐national‐historic‐landmark‐district/, http://monroehistorical.org/articles_files/120408_moravianstart.html, https://www.whychristmas.com/customs/trees.shtml and https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/history‐of‐christmas‐trees. acuri.net John R. Vincenti Moravians in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania