A History of the Moravian Church

J. E. Hutton's superb history follows the Moravian Church from its earliest years as one of the earliest founding Protestant denominations, over the centuries as it developed into a mature Christian fellowship. Arranged chronologically, Hutton's history takes us first to the dawn of the Protestant Reformation in the fifteenth century. He details the fraught religious and political situation during the decades prior to the eventual split with the dominant Catholic order. We are introduced to the pivotal figures of the era, such as Peter of Chelci, Gregory the Patriarch and Luke of Prague. The political climate of Prague, Bohemia and the surrounding areas in which the Moravians lived is much-detailed. The pure, simple observance of Christ and his virtues united the Moravian movement - the essential devotion to Jesus and his gospel appealed to Christians, who yearned for community under a common banner and felt distant from the old order. Poland in particular proved a bastion for Moravian brethren.