A History of the Moravian ChurchHutton, J. E. (Joseph Edmund)
Religion
A History of the Moravian Church
Hutton, J. E. (Joseph Edmund)
Moravian Church -- History
industrious, and reminded them that in the better land their troubles
would vanish like dew before the rising sun. For the poorest of all,
those in actual need, they had special collections several times a year.
The fund was called the Korbona, and was managed by three officials. The
first kept the box, the second the key, the third the accounts. And the
rich and poor had all to bow to the same system of discipline. There
were three degrees of punishment. For the first offence the sinner was
privately admonished. For the second he was rebuked before the Elders,
and excluded from the Holy Communion until he repented. For the third he
was denounced in the Church before the whole congregation, and the
loud "Amen" of the assembled members proclaimed his banishment from the
Brethren's Church.
The system of government was Presbyterian. At the head of the whole
Brethren's Church was a board, called the "Inner Council," elected by
the Synod. Next came the Bishops, elected also by the Synod. The supreme
authority was this General Synod. It consisted of all the ministers. As
long as the Inner Council held office they were, of course, empowered to
enforce their will; but the final court of appeal was the Synod, and by
the Synod all questions of doctrine and policy were settled.
The doctrine was simple and broad. As the Brethren never had a formal
creed, and never used their "Confessions of Faith" as tests, it may seem
a rather vain endeavour to inquire too closely into their theological
beliefs. And yet, on the other hand, we know enough to enable the
historian to paint a life-like picture. For us the important question
is, what did the Brethren teach their children? If we know what the
Brethren taught their children we know what they valued most; and this
we have set before us in the Catechism drawn up by Luke of Prague and
used as an authorised manual of instruction in the private homes of the
Brethren. It contained no fewer than seventy-six questions. The answers
are remarkably full, and therefore we may safely conclude that, though
it was not an exhaustive treatise, it gives us a wonderfully clear idea
of the doctrines which the Brethren prized most highly. It is remarkable
both for what it contains and for what it does not contain. It has no
distinct and definite reference to St. Paul's doctrine of justification
by faith. It is Johannine rather than Pauline in its tone. It contains
a great deal of the teaching of Christ and a very little of the teaching
of St. Paul. It has more to say about the Sermon on the Mount than about
any system of dogmatic theology. For one sentence out of St. Paul's
Epistles it has ten out of the Gospel of St. Matthew. As we read the
answers in this popular treatise, we are able to see in what way
the Brethren differed from the Lutheran Protestants in Germany. They
approached the whole subject of Christian life from a different point
of view. They were less dogmatic, less theological, less concerned about
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