Nicolaus Zinzendorf

Nicolaus Zinzendorf, born on May twenty-sixth, seventeen hundred in Dresden, was a prominent German religious and social reformer. He served as the bishop of the Moravian Church and was the founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine. His influence as a Christian mission pioneer marked him as a significant figure in the landscape of eighteenth-century Protestantism.

Known affectionately as Ludwig or Brother Ludwig among his close associates, Zinzendorf was characterized by his strong emotional responses, easily moved by both sorrow and joy. His natural oratory skills and simple dress belied a personal presence that exuded distinction and force. He was deeply committed to providing refuge for German-speaking Moravian exiles at Herrnhut, a mission inspired by the Pietist ideas of his Lutheran upbringing.

In addition to his reformative efforts, Zinzendorf was a vocal critic of slavery. He played a crucial role in initiating the Protestant mission movement by supporting Moravian missionaries Johann Leonhard Dober and David Nitschmann. These missionaries ventured to the Danish colony of Saint Thomas to minister to the enslaved population, despite facing numerous challenges, including opposition from some Moravians, the Danish West India Company, and the risk of malaria.

Throughout his life, Zinzendorf's projects were often met with misunderstanding. In seventeen thirty-six, he faced banishment from Saxony, but by seventeen forty-nine, the government reversed its decision, inviting him to establish more settlements like Herrnhut. His lasting impact on the Moravian Church is still felt nearly three centuries later, and he is commemorated as a hymnwriter and renewer of the church by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on its Calendar of Saints on May ninth.