Berthelsdorf Church

In Europe, in the year 1700, Count Nikolaus Ludwig “Lewis” von Zinzendorf was born.

He was a descendant of Maximillian I, who was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519.

Zinzendorf’s father died when he was six weeks old, leaving him an estate in the area of Germany called Saxony.

Raised by his pietist Lutheran grandmother, Zinzendorf became friends with Lutheran Pastors Johann Andreas Rothe of Berthelsdorf and Melchior Schäffer of Görlitz.

They, together with friend Friedrich von Watteville, sought to spread “pietism,” a religious revival movement similar that led by Jan Hus three centuries earlier.

In 1722, at the age of 22, Count Ludwig “Lewis” von Zinzendorf opened up his Berthelsdorf estate to be a place of refuge for persecuted Christians of Moravia and Bohemia (area of the Czech Republic) who were displaced after religious conflicts of the Thirty Years War.

On a corner of his estate, Zinsendorf helped them build a village called Herrnhut, meaning “The Lord’s watchful care.”

Disagreements and discord almost ended this experiment of Christian unity in 1727, but a communion prayer service was held on August 13th bringing forgiveness and reconciliation.

The prayer service continued, with believers taking turns praying, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, uninterrupted for over 100 years!

From American Minute by William J. Federer

Featured Image Credit: Unukorno, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons