The History of Salem
The Beginning of the Church
The people who built Salem belonged to the worldwide organization known as the Unitas Fratrum, or Unity of the Brethren. The Unitas Fratrum traces its beginnings to the preaching of the Roman Catholic priest John Hus. John Hus was born in 1369 in the town of Husinec which today is in the modern day nation of the Czech Republic. John Hus was ordained as a priest in 1402 and was soon chosen to be the preacher at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague. Through his study of the scriptures and his interest in the writings of the English reformer, John Wyclif, he came to see that some of the practices of the Roman Catholic church were not in harmony with the teachings of the Bible. John Hus began to preach these truths from the pulpit, not to start a new church or religious movement, but to try to reform the existing one.
Because of his unwillingness to renounce the truths that had been revealed to him, he was sentenced to death by the church authorities. On July 6, 1415 John Hus was burned at the stake in the city of Constance. After his body had been consumed by the fire, the soldiers that were present gathered his ashes and cast them into the Rhine river so that there would be nothing left of him. Although they could silence the man only by death the truths that he taught lived on in those that had heard and believed him.
As time passed, more and more people began to see that the teachings of John Hus were true and began to join his followers who were being called "Hussites". By the year 1419 their numbers had grown to the point that they were considered a threat to the established church. On July 30, 1419 a revolt against the church began in the city of Prague. Thus, the Thirty Year War began. During the years of the war the Hussites began to divide into two parties. The first group began to teach that the differences that separated them and the Catholics were minimal and that by each side "giving in" a little, peace could be obtained. This party of Hussites became known as the Utraquists. The other group of Hussites, known as Taborites, knew that the differences were great and that there could be no compromise with the truth. The Utraquists made an agreement with the Catholics, known as the Compactata of Basle, and on May 30, 1434 a combined army of Utraquists and Catholic warriors attacked the Taborites in the battle of Lipan. Defeated, but not wiped out, the Taborites were forced into the underground.
Many of the defeated Taborites began to see that armed resistance was not the way to be followers of the Lord Jesus. They began to establish little communities of their own in which they could practice their faith apart from the established church. In the year 1457 these peace loving brethren formally organized themselves as the Jednota Bratrska or Unity of the Brethren (Latin, Unitas Fratrum).
The Renewal of the Church
For over two hundred and fifty years this little band of faithful followers of Jesus Christ faced persecution and exile. Many were killed, and others were driven out of their homelands because of their beliefs. On June 8, 1722 a group of these refugees found a place of safety on the estate of the German nobleman Nikolaus Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf and Pottendorf, Lord of Freydeck, Schoeneck, and Thuernstein. Here these exiles from Moravia began to build a city. They called it Herrnhut meaning the Lord's Watch, or Guarded by God.
In time, other members of the Unity began to join their brethren in Herrnhut, along with members of other persecuted groups of Christians. Along with these different groups came different beliefs and opinions. By May of 1727 the divisions and quarreling threatened to destroy the town. To assure that the quarreling would cease Count Zinzendorf drew up a set of rules that the people were to abide by. Those that wished to continue to live on the Counts' land were required to sign the agreement. Throughout the summer of 1727 the Count continued to stress unity among the people of Herrnhut. The strife that threatened to destroy them began to disappear and their love for the Savior began to bind them together.
On August 13, 1727 the people of Herrnhut came together in the Lutheran church at Berthelsdorf for the celebration of holy communion. During this service the presence of the Holy Spirit was felt by all that were there. From that day forward the community was united in heart and purpose.
Into All The Earth
Beginning in the year 1732 missionaries were sent to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those that had not heard. The missionaries went to such places as the West Indies, Greenland, South America and to South Africa. Mission work to the American Indians was begun in 1735 when a party of Moravians, under the leadership of Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg, arrived in Savannah, Georgia to begin a settlement. For a few years this settlement prospered, but by 1740 the Moravian brethren were ready to leave the area due to the wars that were raging between the English colonies and Spanish Florida. The settlement in Savannah was abandoned and the brethren which were there headed north to Pennsylvania where they were joined by others who had come from the continent.
The efforts of these Moravians in Pennsylvania bore fruit. Towns were built and missionaries were sent out bringing the good news of Jesus Christ. By the beginning of the 1750's an opportunity for establishing another Moravian settlement, in the Carolina wilderness, came from England.
