Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/836

 818 MORAVIANS MORAVIANS, United Brethren, or the luitas Fratrnm, a church of evangelical Christians, historically and ecclesiastically distinct from the society of the " United Brethren in Christ," with whom they are often confounded. Their history proper begins with the year 1457 ; but their preparatory history extends back as far as the 9th century, when Christianity was in- troduced into Bohemia and Moravia by Cyril and Methodius, who gave the people a Slavic version of the Bible, and built up a national church. (See CYRIL AND METHODIUS.) Hence for several centuries the people of Bohemia and Moravia manifested the spirit of what was afterward Protestantism, holding fast to eccle- siastical principles opposed to the injunctions of the Roman Catholic church, and submitting to the Bible as the only rule of faith and prac- tice. Eventually, however, they were brought under the sway of the papal see. The most celebrated of their reformers was John Huss, who was burned at the stake in 1415. As soon as the news of his death reached his native country, fierce disturbances broke out. A powerful party arose, called the Hussites, who waged war for several years with great fury against the imperialists. After a time the Hussites separated into two factions: the Calixtines, who insisted principally on the res- toration of the cup to the laity in the Lord's supper ; and the Taborites, whose aim was a general reformation of the whole church. In 1433 the council of Basel granted the cele- brated "compacts" to the Bohemians, by which the most essential of their demands were nominally conceded. The Taborites refused to receive these compacts ; whereupon the Ca- lixtines turned their arms against them, and totally defeated them in 1434. The Calixtines now became the national church of Bohemia, and hostilities ceased. But a party among the remnant of the Taborites, dissatisfied with what they regarded as corrupt practices in this church also, withdrew more and more from the communion of the Calixtines, and through the instrumentality of Rokitzana or Rokyzan, the Calixtine candidate for the archbishopric, who at first favored the movement, received permission from George Podiebrad, then regent and subsequently king of Bohemia, to settle on one of his estates, known as the barony of Litiz or Liticz. This was in 1456. A considerable number of persons under the leadership of Gregory, a nephew of Rokitzana, took up their abode on this estate. In 1457 they organized a religious society, elected 28 elders, and took the name of "Brethren and Sisters of the Law of Christ," which was afterward changed to the simpler one of " Brethren." At a later period the title Unitas Fratrum or " Unity of the Brethren " was adopted. Their pastors were Calixtine priests who entertained evangelical views, and who had joined the society. Such was the beginning of the Moravian church. In 1461, at the instigation of Rokitzana, who had become their inveterate enemy, a fierce per- secution burst upon the Brethren, many of whom suffered martyrdom. This persecution only served to increase their number, and in 1467 a synod was held at Lhota, on the estate of Litiz, to effect a more complete organiza- tion. After protracted deliberations the Breth- ren resolved to separate entirely from the na- tional establishment, and to change their socie- ty into an independent church. Being anxious to secure a ministry whose validity the Calix- tines and Roman Catholics would be compelled to acknowledge, they sought the episcopal suc- cession from a colony of Waldenses, settled on the confines of Bohemia and Austria, who had obtained this succession. The Waldensian bishop Stephen, and his assistants, consecrated three men sent to him by the synod of Lhota to the office of bishop. As soon as these events became known, new persecutions broke out, but the Brethren continued to increase. To- ward the close of the 15th century they had more than 400 churches in Moravia and Bo- hemia, had published several confessions of faith, owned two printing establishments, and were preparing a catechism and hymn book for publication. In the 16th century they sent several deputations to Luther, but there were differences of opinion between them and him in respect to discipline, on which the Breth- ren insisted very strongly. They established churches in Poland, and at length the Unitas Fratrum was composed of three provinces, the Bohemian, Moravian, and Polish, each governed by its own bishops, but all confed- erated as one church, holding general synods in common. In the beginning of the 17th century the Unitas Fratrum became one of the legally acknowledged churches of the land, A remarkable work, completed some time be- fore, was the celebrated Bohemian Bible of Kralitz, translated from the original by a com- mittee of bishops, after a labor of 15 years, In 1621 Ferdinand II. began a series of per- secutions directed against all the Protestant denominations in Bohemia and Moravia, and known as the anti-reformation. His plans were successful. Protestantism was totally overthrown in these countries, more than 50,- 000 of whose inhabitants emigrated. The Brethren's church ceased to exist in Bohe- mia and Moravia, but continued in Poland about 30 years longer, as a church in exile. This church, too, was destroyed in the war with Sweden (1656), the remnant uniting with the Reformed denomination. In this way the Unitas Fratrum, as a distinct organization, disappeared for 66 years. But John Amos Comenius, the last bishop of the Moravian line, not only published several works by which the history, doctrines, and discipline of the Brethren were preserved, but also pro- vided for the continuance of the episcopate. (See BOHEMIAN BRETHREN.) Many families in Moravia still secretly entertained the views of their fathers. Among these an awakening took place in the first quarter of the 18th cen-