"4. The doctrine of the atonement and satisfaction of Jesus Christ for us: that he 'was delivered for our of- fences, and was raised again for our justification;' and'
MORAVIAN BRETHREN 588 MORAVIAN BRETHREN
that in his merits alone we find forgiveness of sins and peace with God.
"5. The doctrine of the Holy Ghost, and the operations of his grace: that it is he who worlcs in ns llie lvuo\\'ledj,'e of sin, faith in Jesus, and the witness that we are children of God.
"6. The doctrine of the fruits of faith: that faith must manifest itself as a living and active principle, by a will- ing obedience to tlie commandments of God, prompted by love and gratitude to him who died for us.
"In conformity with these fundamental articles of faith, the great theme of our preaching is Jesns Christ, iu whom wehuve the grace of the Lord," the love of the Fa- ther, and the communion of the Holy Ghost. We regard it as the main (.aliiiiL,' of tlie Brethren's Church to pro- claim the Lord's death, and to |)oint to him, 'as made of God unto ns wisdom, and righteousness, and eauctitlca- tiou, aud redemption.'"
An authorized manual of doctrine is bishop Spangen- bcrg's Exposition of Chiistiun Doctrine m tuufjhl in the Church of the U. B. (Lond. 1784); a systematic work for theologians, although not authorized by the synod, is Evangelische Glauhenslehre nuch Schrijl iind Erfuhrung (Gotha, 18G3), by Dr. Plitt, president of the German theological scminarj'. See also Zinzendorfs Theologie (Gotha, 18(59-74, .3 vols.), by the same author.
A'l, Ministry, Ritual, und Usages. — TIic ministry con- sists of bishops, presbyters, and deacons. The episco- pal office is not provincial, but represents the whole Uni- ias Fratrum. Hence bishops have an oflicial seat, not merely in the synods of the provinces iu which they are stationed, but also in the General Synod; hence, too, they can be appointed only by this body, or by the Uni- ty's Elders' Conference, althougli the American Prov- ince has secured the right of nomination. From all this it is evident that the Moravian episcopacy is not diocesan, and tliat bishops are not rulers of the Church ex officio, as was the case among the ancient Brethren. They are, however, almost invariably connected with the government by election to the Unity's Eiders' Con- ference, or to the Provincial Boards. The president of the former is always a bishop ; the presidents of the lat- ter arc, as a general thing, the same. The contrary is the exception. In the episcopate is vested exclusively the power of ordaining ; it constitutes, moreover, a body of men whose duty it is to look to the welfare of the entire Unitas Fratrinn, in all its provinces and missions, and especially to bear it on their hearts in unceasing prayer before God. At present there are eleven bishops in active service: four in America, two in England, and live in (Germany. Of these, seven are members of the governing boards.
The ritual is liturgical in its character. A litany is used every Sunday morning ; free prayer is allowed iu connection with the litany, and at other times. There are prescribed forms for baptism, the Lord's Supper, confirmation, ordination, marriage, and the burial of the dead : sjiecial oilices of worshi|) for parochial, boarding, and Sunday schools; liturgical services for the various festivals of the ecclesiastical year, such as Advent, Christmas, Ei)iphany, etc., which are all observed ; and a particular litany for Easter morning, prayed annually at sunrise, and, wherever practicable, amid the graves of them that sleep. Certain days commemorating im- portant events in Moravian history are celebrated, and in those churches in which the division of tlie mem- bership into "choirs" has been retained, which is the case not only in the exclusive settlements, each class observes an annual day of praise and covenanting, the festival closing with the Holy Communion. Lore-feasts are held, in imitation of tlie ancient "agapw," prepara- tory to the Lord'.s Supper, and on other occasions. At all liturgical services sacreil music forms a prominent feature. Foot-washing (pedilavium) was formerly prac- ticed on certain occasions witliin tiie limited circles of some of the "choirs," but has been universally discon- tinued since the beginning of the jireseiit century. The statement in this Ci/clopitdia, vol. iv, p. ()1(>. taken from Herzog's Ji<(d-Enci/Llojiddie, iv, (ioO, tliat the Moravians still practice foot-washing, is therefore incorrect. At one time the lot was employc<l iu the aiiiioiiitiiunt of I
ministers, and in connection with marriages. Its use in the former case has been greatly restricted, and is left to the discretion of each provincial board. In the American Church it is scarcely ever resorted to, except when a minister receiving an appointment re(|uests its use. Touching marriages by lot, they were abolished, as a rule, by tiie General Synod of 1818. Since that time they have been almost unknown in the American Province. Tliis usage, which has been so generally mis- understood and ridiculed outside of the Church, was a legitimate result of its controlling influence in all the relations of its members, and constituted, moreover, a wonderful example of the childlike faith of the early Moravians. They gave themselves entirely into the hands of God. He was to lead them in all respects. In view of the loose ideas that prevail in our day with regard to the marriage contract, an intelligent mind cannot but admire such a spirit. That (iod did not put the confidence of the Brethren to shame is evident from the results of this practice. While it continued, there were fewer unhappy marriages among them than among the same number of people in any other denomination of Christians. This is a well-known fact, which can be established by statistics. Not a single divorce ever oc- curred. Without going into the details of this usage, we will morcly add that any woman was at liberty to reject an olFer of marriage even when sanctioned bv the lot.