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Fulneck Moravian heritage revealed
One of the longest terrace streets in England is in Pudsey, and it can trace its roots back to mainland Europe in the 1400s.
It is no ordinary street.
It includes a church, a school, a 'choir house' and a Parsonage. There is a row of pretty cotttages. Two of the buildings were once used as separate accommodation for men and women. The church congregation celebrates shared meals called "Lovefeasts."
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The street is the heart of the Fulneck Moravian religious community in Pudsey.
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The Moravian Church will be opening its doors to the public from September 9 to 12 as part of Leeds Heritage Open Days – an annual celebration of the rich heritage of architecture, parkland, footpaths and industry of Leeds.
On display at the Moravian Church will be rare documents dating back to the 1700s – the Moravians kept a written account of daily life in their simple community.
The Moravians were founded as a Protestant group in Bohemia in Czechoslovakia – now the Czech Republic – in 1457.
The church suffered persecution and its followers fled to Moravia
(today part of Saxony near the German border with Poland) where they found sanctuary.
They spread from there as missionaries in the early 1700s.
Communities were founded around the world, and the first Moravians arrived in Britain in the 1730s.
There were initial links with Methodism, and the two churches still have much in common.
In Britain today there are 31 Moravian congregations.
Fulneck is one of the most developed, one of only two with its own
school. The community has its own golf course and restaurant.
Its church is a Grade 1 listed building completed in 1748.
The Moravians have a policy of openess and friendship, and a commitment
to unity.
Since the foundation of the Fulneck community, its life has been
recorded in minute detail.
"The earliest documents are written in archaic High German, covering accounts of everyday life, from births and deaths, to the punishment handed out to miscreant children," states the church in its invitation to the public.
"The layout of the Church is different to many churches in the fact that it is wider than most.
"Originally, the sisters (females) and brothers (males) would sit on separate sides of the church," the church says.
"While we still maintain some traditions of that time, such as the Moravian Hymn Book and Liturgy and also, the female Chapel Servants will wear traditional dress at certain occasions, we now all sit and worship together."
The Moravians' Lovefeast is the simple sharing of food.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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