Page:Gregor The story of Bohemia.pdf/344

 growing coldness in the Church. This preaching made a deep impression upon the mind of a poor peasant named Gregory, who could not rest until he had a personal interview with the preacher, hoping to find more instruction and comfort for his troubled soul. Rokycan gave him some of the books of Čelčicky; but this only served the purpose of awakening his enthusiasm and curiosity, and he determined to visit the author himself. The result of the visit was that Gregory became a zealous disciple of the new teaching; and not keeping the good news for himself, he soon won others to his views, and this was virtually the beginning of the sect known as the Moravian Brethren.

The news of the proselytizing work of Gregory placed Rokycan in a very difficult position. He was not willing to go to such extremes in doctrine, and yet he could not attempt to tear down what he himself had helped to build up. Finally, he solved the problem by inducing King George to give Gregory and his followers a tract of land known as the Kunwald District, beyond Zamberg. This was a desolate region, made almost uninhabitable by devastations in the late wars. Thither Gregory and his friends moved in 1457, and here they were soon followed by people of similar beliefs from Bohemia and Moravia. Soon the population increased to such an extent that a regular form of government was established; and later, when people began to cause trouble by discussing religious questions, a form of belief and a ritual were also adopted.

The chief characteristics of the teachings of the Brethren were, that they laid more stress upon a good, moral life than upon any doctrine, that they taught that reason and piety go hand in hand, and that the