Chapter 5 - Life and Character of the Old Unitas Fratrum

This is part five of the book about the history of the Moravian church. Parts 1-4.

In chapter 4, we left the Unitas Fratrum struggling with their birth and organizational pains.

This is rather a hodge-podge chapter. Few great names, few things to nail down. So it's difficult to retell. I think I'm going to start in bullet form and see where that goes. The next chapter is on John Amos Comenius. Wow! Now he is someone I think will be easy to write about, but in the meantime . . .

Chapter 5

Theology

• The emphasis of the Brethren was on Christian living.


• They were not made up of theologians, but were often forced to defend themselves and their beliefs


• In writing letters and tracts, they often did become theologians.


• A focus was placed on Matthew 5:21-28 which in many ways necessitated a separation from the world.


• There is no true church. God has children in every church.


• Essentials - faith, hope, love. Faith includes basics of Christianity.


• Things merely useful - outer differences in churches.


• Subscribed to Apostles' Creed, The Athanasian Creed and the Nicene Creed.


• Lord's supper has been described in chapter 4.


• Baptism - position unclear. They tended to prefer the voluntary baptism of adults, but were ok with infant baptism and still baptized most of their babies.


• During/After Reformation, sacraments were baptism and the Lord's Supper. Whittled down from those associated with the Church.


• There must have been some confusion over works-based salvation. Luther questioned their writings on this .


• Made contact with Luther, Calvin and Bucer. Sent a delegation to Luther in 1522.


• They thought Luther extreme on his salvation by faith to the exclusion of works. (I'm thinking this odd as in they will lean toward the reformed in just a bit. This must have been a Catholic holdover they were having a hard time relinquishing.)


• Luther helped them write two official statements of faith - 1533 & 1538.

Church organization - beginning

• Highest authority is Synod.


• Synod is made up of ex0officio reps from the congregations.


• Synod actions administered by council.


• Clergy - bishops, presbyters, deacons.


• Deacons was an assistant cleric.


• Acolytes were trained through apprenticeships.


• Ministers expected to earn living in whole or at least part. They were unmarried until mid 1500s.


• At first ministers were not formally trained, but later they went to Lutheran and Reformed unis.


• Unity secondary schools did offer wide educations and offered university level studies.


• Synod wrote rules for membership that were pretty specific.


• Ministers with laymen assistants kept a close eye on the flock.


• They took care of their own and if their own were blatantly sinful, they could be dismissed.


• Church services were plain. Preaching, Bible reading, prayer.


• Bibles were scarce, so entire books were memorized as were hymns.


• Always a singing church, they published a hymnal in 1501 and in the next 70 years published 10 more in three languages.

Church organization - emerging

• Increasingly difficult to stay separate.


• Members of nobility allowed to join without renouncing of titles.


• They were no longer strictly pacifists.


• Bishop Luke changed the worship to one that was more liturgical.


• Silver vessels reappeared.


• The strict rules were usurped by a more lenient understanding of man's nature.


• Literacy was stressed. Schools grew.


• 1539 - a Czech Bible (Kralitz) was translated. New Testament was work of John Blahoslaw.


• Intellectual development meant a decline in the spiritual.

Protection from the feudal system

• Stronger nobles mainly independent from king and each other.


• Brethren enhanced estates because they were faithful, hardworking, farmers, craftsmen.


• Many nobles chose to protect the Brethren rather than turn them in to the church as heretics.


• Many nobles were so impressed with the Brethren that they joined them.


• Nobility was, however, still subject to pressures and at times changed (marriage, conversion, succession).


• Life was more difficult in Bohemia than Moravia.

Persecution and flight

• 1548 - persecution increased.


• Bishop John Augusta jailed until 1564.


• Brethren move to Protestant East Prussia.


• Difficulties there with ultra-Lutherans kept the congregation numbers small. (1500 Brethren)


• Most left to return home or to Poland. Many were absorbed into Lutheran churches.


• In Poland, the Brethren fared better.


• Polish citizens were receptive to Protestantism, and the Brethren were invited to stay in various parts.


• Ten years saw 40 congregations established which eventually grew to 80.


• Protestants cooperated out of need due its precarious situation - Brethren, Lutherans, Reformed.


• Consensus of Sendomir (1590) almost saw the three churches merge into one.

Numbers

• Pinning the size of the church down was difficult. They were almost always an unrecognized group (if not heretical).


• 1517 - Bohemian and Moravian Brethren are thought to have numbered 200,000 in 400 congregations.


• That was their peak and after that, they lost members to the Lutherans and Reformed.


• Brethren participated in the overthrow of King Frederick that triggered the Thirty Years War.


• Half of the 27 nobles executed for that event were Brethren.


• The Brethren became virtually extinct in Bohemia and Moravia.


• The Treaty of Westphalia outlawed all churches except RCC, Lutheran and Reformed in the Holy Roman Empire.


• Poland was not mentioned in the treaty, so the Brethren stayed there.


• They merged somewhat with the Reformed church, but managed to keep their identity by keeping Brethren together in congregations.


• Some clergy were consecrated as Unitas Fratrum.