A Moravian Creed from 1731

Abstract

abstract:In December 1731, Zinzendorf wrote a creed for the Herrnhut congregation. In a way, the creed can be considered a response to the Augsburg Confession, but it also deals with issues that were of concern to (radical) Pietists of the time. A close reading of the 1731 creed, which has not been published in English before, will reveal that the theology of the Herrnhut community differed from the orthodox Lutheran position in important points. This is all the more significant, as the 1731 creed was written at a time when Zinzendorf was trying to convince the public that the community at Herrnhut adhered to the Augsburg Confession.