Nikolaus Ludwig Graff
von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 in Dresden- 9 May 1760 in Herrnhut) (Nicholas Count Zinzendorf)
Nicholas, Count
Zinzendorf was born in Dresden
in 1700. He was very much a product of
his time. Nicholas found the Lutheran Church (Dresdener Landes Kirche) to be
rather dry. Influenced by his pietist
grandmother, he found a joy in Christianity that seemed to be lacking in the
Lutheran church of the time. Even in
childhood he had a deep faith, and in adolescence struggled with whether to
follow the Gospel or to fulfill his responsibilities to the king of Dresden as Count. At this time he established the Order of the
Grain of Mustard Seed, a group in which the young men involved promised to use
their position to further the Gospel. He
later reordered the group as an adult, and such men as the King of Denmark, the
Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Paris joined.
During his grand tour,
he saw the painting ecce homo by
Domenico Fette. The legend below the
painting stated: "This have I done for you - Now
what will you do for me?"
Count Zinzendorf felt that Christ himself
was speaking to him and dedicated himself to the cause of Christ.
He married Erdmuth Dorothea von Reuss and
took upon his duties at the royal court of Dresden. During this period, a group of Moravian
Christians asked for refuge which he granted, and they formed the village of Herrnhut (the Lord’s Watch) on his
land. Count Zinzendorf read about the
early Unity movement and was impressed.
His Moravians went through some serious divisions, and in 1727 Count Zinzendorf
retired from public service to reunite them. Through daily Bible readings, they
developed the Brotherly Agreement in which all secular activities were
subordinated to spreading the Gospel. His
communities were unusual in promoting equality of women, and having nobles and
peasants working side by side. August 27, 1727 also marked another mile
stone. They committed to pray 24 hours
per day, 7 days per week for mission.
That prayer group continued for more than 100 years and probably is the
reason Moravian missions were so successful.
Confirming the call through such luminaries
as the Archbishop of Canterbury, The King of Denmark and the Elector of
Brandenburg, Zinzendorf was consecrated bishop by Bishops Daavid Nitschmann and
Daniel Ernst Joblanski in Berlin
in 1737.
Hernnhut, under the leaderhip of Bishop
Zinzendorf sent out missionaries to slaves in the west Indies, to South
America, to the US Amerindians, to the Inuit of Greenland and Labrador, to Suriname, South
Africa, Lyvonia, and Egypt. Bishop Zinzendorf’s missions often had an
interesting twist. For the most part they worked in areas with no Christian
presence. Once having developed the
mission, they would often hand it over to another church, such as the Baptists
or Methodist. In fact, while John Carey
is called the father of modern missions, that name really should go to Count
Zinzendorf.
In addition to managing Herrnhut, Bishop
Zinzendorf had a wide ranging ministry and infected many people with a true
love of God, dedicated to helping others, and helping men of means to dedicate
themselves to proclaiming the Gospel.
Readings:
Heavenly Father, you raised up Ludwig
Count Zinzendorf to build up your church and to send out missionaries. Grant that, like Ludwig, we would love you
not just with our minds, but with our hearts as well, seeking to build your
kingdom with the tools and position you have given each of us. Remind us daily
that we live not for ourselves, but for you.
This we ask in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Yeshuah ha
Moshiach. Amen.
