Moravian History

Brief History of the Moravian Church*

Organized in Bohemia in 1457

The name "Moravian" started out as a nickname in Eastern Germany in the 1720's, associated with the many refugees belonging to the church who came from Moravia to the estate of a walthy Saxon nobleman named Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf.

Moravian's in America

Moravian churches can be found clustered in eastern Pennsylvania as well as the area of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. There are churches in the northeast United States, the mid-west, California, and active ministries in Alaska. In addition to congregations in 13 states there are congregations in the Edmonton and Calgary Alberta Canada area.

A Worldwide Christian Church

For over five centuries the Moravian Church has proclaimed the gospel in all parts of the world. Its influence has far exceeded its numbers as it has cooperated with Christians on every continent and has been a visible part of the Body of Christ, the Church. Proud of its heritage and firm in its faith, the Moravian Church ministers to the needs of people wherever they are.

Today there are more than one million members of the Moravian Church in the world. Most of them live in eastern Africa. Other major Moravian centers are the Caribbean basin (U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua, Jamaica, Tobago, Surinam, Guyana, St. Kitts, and the Miskito Coast of Honduras and Nicaragua), South Africa, Winston-Salem, and Bethlehem, Pa. There are now 24 provinces of the Unity.

Though the Moravians played an important role in colonial American history, the church in North America numbers only about 60,000 (including Canada, Alaska, Labrador). One of the reasons for the difference in membership between the United States and the rest of the world is that Moravians saw their distinct calling as bringing the good news of God’s infinite love to the poorest and most despised people of the world.

*From The Moravian Church Website