Moravian Brethren, the designation of a body of Christians, will be considered under two heads.
1. The Ancient Moravian Brethren, or, more properly, " The Bohemian Brethren," an evangelical Church which flourished before the Reformation of the 16th century, and which was overthrown in the begin- ning of the Thirty- Years' War of German}'.
L History. — John Huss (q. v.) was the precursor of the Brethren. They originated in that national Church of Bohemia into which the two factions of his followers, the Calixtines and the Taborites, were formed at the close of the Hussite War, and which was based upon the Compactata of Paste. These compactata were certain concessions, particularly the use of the cup in the Lord's Supper and of the vernacular in public worship, granted (1433) to the Bohemians by the council which met in that city. In 1456, some m'embers of the Theyn parish at Prague, who recognised the corruptness of the na- tional Church, and wished to further their own personal salvation, withdrew to a devastated and sparsely inhab- ited estate, called Lititz, on the eastern frontier, by per- mission of George Podiebrad, the regent of Bohemia, and through the intervention of John Rokyzan, their priest. He had eloquently inveighed against the de- generacy of the age, but lacked courage to inaugurate
MORAVIAN BRETHREX
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MORA\^AX BRETPIREN
reforms such as these parishioners longed for, although they entreated him to do so, and promised their support even to death. Their ohject in retiring to Lititz was not to found a new sect, but to carry out, on the basis of the Articles of Prague, and of the Compactata of Basic, the reformation begun by IIuss, confining their work, however, to their own circle, and forming a society with- in the national Church, pledged to accept the IJible as the only rule of faith and practice, and to maintain a scriptural disci|)line. Accordingly, in 1457, they adopt- ed a formal declaration of principles, which was commit- ted to the keeping and administration of twenty-eight elders. The association took the name of the " Breth- ren and Sisters of the Law of Christ." But as this title
ordination had Ix-en practiced in tlie times of the apos- tles, but recognised the episcopacy as a verj- ancient in- stitution. It was deemed important, moreover, to secure a ministry whose validity both the I\oman Catholics and the national Church would have to acknowledge. On the other hand, a primitive usage must not thereby be condemned. It was therefore determined to remain true both to the practice of the apostolical Church and to that of the Church immediately following the days of the apostles. Hence the nominees were ordained, on the spot, by the priests present at the synod ; and then three of the latter, Michael Bradacius and two others, were sent to a colony of Waldenses, who were living on the confines of Austria, and who had secured the epi»-
induced the belief that they were a new monastic order. ; copal succession. Tor a history of this succession, see
it was changed into that of " The Brethren." At a la- ter time the expressive name of " Unity of the Breth- ren " came into vogue, and was used indiscriminately both in its Bohemian and Latin forms, namely, Jtdnota Bratrska, and Unitns Fnitium. The latter has re-
Mu MAEi. Bhadacus. The Waldensian bishops con- secrated the three delegates to the episcopacy, who "re- turned to their own with joy," as the old record says. Another synod was called, at which they, first of all, re- ordained Matthias, Thomas, and Elias to the priesthood,
mained the official denomination of the ^Moravians to I and then consecrated Matthias a Ijishop. A well-ma- the present day. At the head of the Brethren stood tured ecclesiastical government was instituted, and the ■ ~ ■ ■" " " ■ .cry part of Bohemia and Mo-
contend with two evils. The
Gregory the Patriarch (q. v.) ; while IMichacl Bradacius j Church soon spread into i (q. v.), and some other priests of the national Church, ravia. But it had to i
ministered to them in holy things. The associatu)n at Lititz soon began to exercise a great influence through- out Bohemia and Mora\^. Its elders disseminated its principles, and received hundreds of awakened souls into its fellowship. The first persecution, which broke out in 1461, did not stop its growth; and in 1404, at a syn- od held in the open air, among the mountains of the domain of Reichenau, three of the twenty-eight ciders
one threatened it from within. This was an extrava- gant tendency to press the discipline to anti-scriptural extremes. It occasioned disputes which continued for fourteen years, from 1480 to 1494, and which were final- ly settled in the interests of the liberal party. Tor an account of these disputes, as well as of the exploratory journeys of the Brethren, see Guegoky, Like of Prague, and Matthias of Kunwalde. The other
were chosen to assume a more special management of [ evil approached from without. Two terrible persecu-
its affairs. In the discharge of this duty they were guided by a document drawn up at that synod, and con- taining the doctrinal basis of the society, as well as rules for a holy life. This document, which is the oldest record of the Brethren extant, opens as follows : " We are, above all, agreed to continue, through grace, sound in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; to be established in the righteousness which is of God, to maintain the bond of love among each other, and to have our hope in the living God. \Vc will show this both in word and deed, assist each other in the spirit of love, live honest- ly, study to be humble, quiet, meek, sober, and patient, and thus to testify to others that we have in truth a sound faith, genuine love, and a sure and certain hope."