A short introduction
to the history and
calling of Herrnhut

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Bohemian Brethren were seeking a place where they could freely live out their faith. They sent the carpenter Christian David to Germany in search of such a place of refuge. He took his request to one of the German nobility, Count Zinzendorf, who said, »When such people want to come to me, I will gladly give them a place to settle. If they want to seek God, that is even more precious to me.« So in the spring of 1722 the Brethren began to emigrate to Count Zinzendorf’s estate. On the 17th of June, 1722, the village of Herrnhut was founded. There are several testimonies which speak of God’s guidance during Herrnhut’s historic beginning. They also tell of the dedicated people who consecrated this place to God.

When the first house was about to be built in Herrnhut, the carpenter Christian David drove his axe into a tree with the words: “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God” (Psalm 84:3, ESV). On another occasion he said, “This place will be called the Watch of the Lord, and you who dwell within it shall keep watch over it day and night, so that the work of grace which began here will continue unhindered.” (The word “Herrn” means “the Lord’s” in German, and the word “Hut” is an old word for “watch.” See Isaiah 62:6–7 “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen ...”)

Magistrate Schäfer from the nearby city of Görlitz spoke about Herrnhut on the 30th of August, 1722: “God will set upon these hills a light which will shine into all the land; of this I am deeply assured through faith.” Even Zinzendorf’s steward, Mr. Heitz, spoke forth a word at the dedication of the first house in the village, using the text of Revelation 21:2–3. He prayed that God’s dwelling would be in the midst of their town.

These excerpts from the early history of Herrnhut show that God has laid His hand on this town. His callings are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Out of this call, the early residents of Herrnhut set in place life-giving spiritual structures, many of which were unheard-of in that day. A few examples include “the bands”, which were a sort of cell group; the morning “watchword”, which functioned as a “rhema” word; the 24 hour prayer watch; the mission to unreached people groups; the daily worship meetings and much more. Herrnhut became synonymous with a place where God was at work. The sisters and brothers truly expected God’s speaking and intervention in their everyday lives, and they simply obeyed Him. God worked in amazing ways in and through their tiny congregation. This is also possible today — and not only in Herrnhut — when we lay hold of God’s calling with that same level of dedication and trust in Him.

Out of the old Bohemian Brethren church and the Pietist movement God brought forth a new fellowship which eventually called itself the “Renewed Unity of the Brethren” (Unitas Fratrum). It exists to this day as a world-wide Protestant denomination, known in many nations as the Moravian Church. You can find further information abut the current Moravian congregation in Herrnhut at bruedergemeine-herrnhut.de and archiv.ebu.de/index_e.html. Here at Christliches Zentrum Herrnhut, we desire to be in good relationship with our brothers and sisters in the present-day Moravian congregation. We appreciate them and their spiritual roots and believe that the entire world-wide Body of Christ can receive blessings and strength from their history and the spiritual heritage God has entrusted to them.

Literature

on this subject is available in Herrnhut at: