Zinzendorf's “Seventeen Points of Matrimony”: A Fundamental Document on the Moravian Understanding of Marriage and Sexuality

Abstract

Tins article presents a bilingual annotated edition of an important, yet previously unknown source document related to the Moravian view of marriage. The text, written by Zinzendorf in 1740, outlines his understanding of marriage in seventeen points, covering both theological questions and practical issues such as the relationship between husband and wife, the role of bodily sensations, and the conception of children. While the document was never published by Zinzendorf himself the fact that several copies of it have been preserved both in Europe and America suggests its importance for the Moravian community. Possibly it was used as a guide for the instruction of married couples. The article also includes a pertinent passage on marriage from Zinzendorf's 1742 Manual of Doctrine, which takes up many similar themes and offers an interesting point of comparison between public and non-public modes of Moravian discourse on this sensitive topic. Both source texts reflect Zinzendorf's concern to articulate a sound theological rationale for the practice of marriage within the Moravian community. In addition, the “Seventeen Points of Matrimony” can be considered to mark the transition from the focus on marital holiness, which was characteristic for the practice of marriage in the early Herrnhut congregation, toward the development of Zinzendorf's radical theology of marriage during the 1740s, known as “Ehereligion.”