Beth-El: A House for the Community
Ludwig decided to build a mansion on the grounds, which he named Beth-El (House of God), so that he and Erdmuthe could live in the middle of the Christian community whenever they were on leave from Dresden. Once it was completed, the Zinzendorfs opened their home to everyone in the area, nobles and peasants alike, for evening Bible studies. To Ludwig’s delight, his boyhood friend, Friedrich von Watteville, left his Switzerland estate and moved to Berthelsdorf to join Zinzendorf in fulfilling his vision. The first settler who arrived at the Berthelsdorf estate was Christian David, a believer from Moravia (currently located in eastern Czech Republic).
A Door Opens for the Persecuted
As a Protestant, David had been relentlessly persecuted by the ruling Catholics of Moravia and Bohemia; and, although he had safely escaped the region, he wanted to return and lead other persecuted Protestants out of the country. When he heard about Ludwig’s vision for a Christian community, he asked if the Moravian refugees would be welcomed in Berthelsdorf; and, Ludwig answered with a resounding “Yes!” Unknown to either of the men, Christian David’s request was the very thing that brought life to Zinzendorf’s Christian vision.
Smuggling Moravian Refugees
Sneaking back into Moravia in spite of personal danger, David returned to Berthelsdorf with the first refugees – the two Niesser brothers, their wives, and four children. On a small hill on the estate, just one mile from the Berthelsdorf village, David felled a tree for the first house and declared that the Moravians had finally found their home. On that day, June 17, 1722, a new Christian community was born. David made ten more secretive trips to Moravia to smuggle his persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ to freedom.
Herrnhut: The Lord’s Watch
Johann Heitz, the steward at Berthelsdorf, named the new community “Herrnhut” meaning The Lord’s Watch. In a letter of explanation to Zinzendorf, he wrote, “God grant that Your Excellency be able to build on the hill a town which may not only itself abide under the Lord’s Watch, but all the inhabitants of which may also continue on the Lord’s Watch, so that no silence (of prayer) may be there by day or night.”
To be continued…
Tale Tuesday 106
Date: 26th November, 2024
Title: : COUNT NIKOLAUS LUDWIG VON ZINZENDORF (The Founder of The Moravian Community) (Part 2)
Source: God’s generals- The Missionaries
Author: Roberts Liardon
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Discover how Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf welcomed persecuted Moravian refugees to Berthelsdorf, leading to the birth of Herrnhut, the Moravian Christian community.
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