The Brotherly Agreement.....of the Moravian Church

I'm presently reading The Forgotten Ways, (Hirsch, 2006) and the author made a comment about Count Zinzendorf and the Moravian church. He was referencing a spiritual renewal movement borne out of unity that occurred in 1727, and it piqued my interest enough that I went "googling" this morning. What I found was fascinating, at least to me! I have long wondered how the church of Christ on Earth, in all it's varied and wondrous forms, truly achieves unity and what would happen when that unity is actually achieved (and considering Jesus prayed for our unity His last night on Earth, it will indeed be achieved)!

The story of the Moravians and Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf gives us a unique view into the possibilities. I'll reference some websites later, but first, some quick background. John Hus (1369 - July 6, 1415), was a Czech priest and philosopher who proclaimed his protest against untrue doctrines of the Roman Catholic church more than a century before Martin Luther nailed his 95 arguments on the door of the church in Wittenburg. Huss was burned at the stake for heresay but left a legacy of what could properly be called the first Protestant church, a remnant that took hold and grew in Bohemia and Moravia. Despite several persecutions and even a papal crusade against Naples, the "Hussite" movement would later grow and merge into the full fledged Protestant reformation that would follow Luther a hundred years later. Out of this was borne the Moravian church.

In 1700 Count Nicholas Zinzendorf was born in Dresden. He was raised by his grandmother who was a Protestant Pietist, that group of true believers who sought personal relationship with Jesus Christ and lived a life of piety. Zinzendorf was deeply spiritual as a child but was said to have undergone a significant and personal revival when, as an adult, he beheld Dominico Feti's painting "Behold the Man", while in a museum on his Grand Tour. The painting was of Christ's passion, and the caption read "This have I done for you, now what will you do for Me?". From then on Zinzendorf dedicated his life to service of Christ and His people.

Zinzendorf was married and went to Court, as was expected of a young noble. In 1722 a group of persecuted Protestant Moravians's sought refuge on Zinzendorf's vast lands, and the Count agree to allow them to settle on his lands and build themselves a village. He became intrigued by the story of the Moravian church and people and began to read about some of their values, including their deep held value of "unity". By 1727, the Moravian believers living on his land had come into sharp dispute with one another, and almost went to war against each other. They obviously were not united! Zinzendorf left the court and public life to return to his home, where he then began to live among the Moravian's in their village at Hernnhut. Zinzendorf began conducting daily bible studies with the Moravians and out of these bible studies, there grow an understanding of brotherly love and unity. The group, together with Zinzendorf, developed a written covenant document called "The Brotherly Agreement" and each Moravian in Hernnhut was required to read and understand what was being asked of them, and once they agreed to the covenant, they were required to sign it. Almost immediately after everyone agreed to the covenant, "there followed an intense and powerful experience of renewal, often described as the Moravian Pentecost. During a communion service.....the entire congregation felt a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit and felt their differences swept away. This experience began the Moravian renewal, and led to the beginning of the Protestant World Mission Movement". (see http://www.zinzendorf.com/)

Note the flow of events. Everything that happened flowed out of bible study (discipleship). It brings to mind 2 Peter 5-8, where we are extoled to make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self control, and self control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (ESV, 2002) Discipleship is the key to unity, and unity is the key to the kind of love that keeps us effective and fruitful!

"The Brotherly Agreement" can now be found as a document called "The Moravian Covenant for Christian Living" (see www.moravian.org/believe/covenant) According to the preface, it is a modern English translation of the original covenant written in 1727. The following articles of agreement are my particular favourites:

13. Personal Relationships Since disciples of Jesus are to be known by the love they have to one another (John 13:35) we will cherish Christian love as of prime importance

14. We will be eager to maintain the unity of the Church. Realizing that God has called us from many and varied backgrounds, we recognize the possibility of disagreements or differences. Often these differences enrich the Church but sometimes they divide. We consider it to be our responsibility to demonstrate within the congregational life the unity and togetherness created by God who made us one. How well we accomplish this will be a witness to our community as to the validity of our faith.

15. We will endeavour to settle our differences with others in a Christian manner (Galatians 6:1), amicably, and with meditation, and if at all possible, avoid resort to a court of law (Matthew 15:15-17)

Under a section of the covenant entitled "The Unity We Seek" the Moravian church sought to include all denominations and churchs of the day. Remembering that this document was written at the tail end of one of the darkest times in Christendom (Catholic v Protestant reformation and Protestant v Protestant divisions) these agreements were radical!

19. We will have fellowship, in all sincerity, with children of God in other Christian churches, and will carefully avoid all disputes respecting opinions and ceremonies peculiar to one or another church. In this fellowship we will co-operate with other churches in the support of public charities or Christian enterprises, which have a just claim upon us as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

20. We realize that it is the Lord's will that the Church of Jesus Christ should give evidence of and seek unity in Him with zeal and love. We see how such unity has been promised us and laid upon us as a charge. We recognize that through the grace of Christ the different denominations have received many gifts and that the Church of Christ may be enriched by these many and varied contributions. It is our desire that we may learn from one another and rejoice together in the riches of the love of Christ and the manifold wisdom of God. We welcome every step that brings us nearer the goal of unity in Him.

and concerning "church discipline" the Brotherly Agreement says:

35. We make it a duty of the board of Elders which is charged with the spiritual welfare of the congregation, to see that this Moravian covenant be adhered to and faithfully observed; and we will co-operate with the board of Elders in its efforts to maintain the discipline of the congregation. As a redemptive community we will be much more concerned in aiding than censuring those who falter, being conscious of our own need for correction and forgiveness.

What would happen I wonder, if denominations in Christ's church, the world over, undertook a similar covenant in unity? If the unity and love displayed by this little band of Moravian believers sparked the first protestant missionary movement, which included feeding and tending to the poor and disinfranchised in their own backyard as well as sending the first (and only) Protestant missionaries specifically to the slave colonies of St Thomas and St Kits, imagine the possibilities if we all "signed on" to such a brotherly agreement.