Being Zinzendorf
A few years ago Area Dean Andy Griffiths had a sabbatical in Herrnhut, in Germany, where in the early-mid eighteenth century the Moravian movement found new life on the land of Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf. Here are some reflections on his return.
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Today, I suppose these experimental mission communities might be called ‘new monastic communities’.
Yes, I think they might – and some Christians may feel more affinity with Zinzendorf than with the Celtic Saints or Francis of Assisi. And maybe the two poles of ‘church’ (easy to join) and ‘experimental missional community’ (entered by those who take a vow to live by a certain rule of life) are helpful – as long as we insist, with Zinzendorf, that those in the vowed community are not in any sense superior or more holy than those who don’t join. I’m certainly going to try to model some of my approach to mission on this. Where else can we get in touch with Zinzendorf’s heritage? There are two streams. The first is the Moravian Church. Zinzendorf never wanted to create a new denomination, but he effectively did, albeit one which looked back into Czech history for its forebears. There are three quarters of a million Moravians worldwide today, with significant numbers in Tanzania and the West Indies, and including over 25 congregations in the UK (www.moravians.co.uk). Herrnhut in Germany is still the worldwide headquarters and I loved visiting it – see www.wikitravel.org/en/Herrnhut for English-language tourist information. If you go, don’t miss the Sculpture Trail, which conveys Zinzendorf’s theology visually. Many people follow the Moravian ‘watchword’ scheme of daily Bible texts (see www.moravian.org/faith-a-congregations/moravian-daily-texts.html). Some read a daily Bible passage from the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection (see www.zinzendorf.webs.com/the-afflictions), after Zinzendorf’s model. From the 1720s to the 1820s, and from the 1950s to the present day, the Moravian church has mounted a 24/7 ‘prayer watch’ (see www.mcsp.org/index). Anglicans may be interested to know that since the 1998 signing of the Fetter Lane Declaration, the Moravian Church and the Church of England have been formally committed to sharing as much of their life as possible. The second stream is those who look to Zinzendorf without themselves being Moravians. This can feel uncomfortable. There are organizations claiming Zinzendorf as spiritual parent without supporting major aspects of his theology. However, I can wholeheartedly recommend www.mustardseedorder.com, which started me on my own journey, and www.24-7prayer.com, a prayer movement which draws much of its inspiration from Herrnhut. |
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