Moravian Church in America Alaska Province
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province is a mainline Protestant denomination. It originally was known as the Unitas Fratrum or Unity of the Brethren, or the Bohemian Brethren.
The Moravian Church began ministry in Alaska in 1885. The Reverend Sheldon Jackson, who was a Presbyterian minister, accepted the call from God to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Yup’ik native people.
The first missionaries from the Moravian Church arrived at the Kuskokwim River and held the first worship service on June 21, 1885. The Reverend John Killbuck was a Native American who established the use of the Yup’ik as the language of the Moravian Church in Alaska. The Reverend Ferdinand Drebert was another of the Moravian missionaries who went to southwestern Alaska from 1912 to 1954.
The headquarters for The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province is in Bethel, Alaska.
History
The Moravian church is a historic church that originated in ancient Bohemia and Moravia, modern day Czechoslovakia. These countries converted to Christianity in the mid ninth century. Gradually Bohemia and Moravia was taken over by the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Rome. There were some of the people who protested and held on to the traditional Protestantism.
The Moravian Church established its own ministry using its own hymnal and catechism. They published the entire Bible in 1593. The Moravian Church spread into Poland because of persecution that occurred in 1557. The Thirty Year War brought more persecution to the Moravian church from 1618-1648. The Protestants of Bohemia were defeated.
There was a renewal of the Moravian church in the 18th century with the encouragement of the Imperial Court Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf. Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf lived from May 26, 1700 to May 9, 1760 and was a German religious reformer and Bishop of the Moravian Church.
The Moravians arrived in America and unsuccessfully attempted to establish a Moravian settlement in Georgia from 1735 to 1740. They then settled in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey and spread the Gospel principally to the American Indians.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province established a settlement in North Carolina in 1753 and soon became the headquarters of the North and South provinces of the Moravian Church of America. The Moravian Church in America Southern Province became established as a self-governing body after the Unity Synod of 1848. The Southern Province added churches in Winston, Salem, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
The first missionaries in Alaska from the Moravian Church arrived at the Kuskokwim River and held the first worship service on June 21, 1885. The Reverend John Henry Killbuck was a Native American who established the use of the Yup’ik as the language of the Moravian Church in Alaska.
The Reverend John Henry Killbuck (sometimes spelled Kilbuck) and his wife Edith Killbuck, from the Moravian Church, were missionaries serving in southwestern Alaska from the 1800 to the 1900. John Henry Killbuck was born in Kansas May 15, 1861. His family was Christian Munsee, a band of the Delaware Indians. He left his home and went to the Moravian center of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he obtained his education at the Nazareth Boys School. He went to the Moravian College and Seminary and became the first Delaware ordained Moravian minister in 1884. His wife Edith Romig was born in Kansas on April 16, 1865. She was the daughter of a Moravian minister among the Munsee from Ottawa, Kansas. They were married in 1885. John and Edith Killbuck was part of the first group of missionaries that were sent to southwestern Alaska. They learned the Yup’ik language and became the most influential missionaries for the Yup’ik people. John Henry Killbuck died in 1922 in Akiak Alaska and Edith died in 1933.
John Henry Killbuck is the great grandson of the Delaware Indians Chief Gelelemend. Gelelemend was one of the first signers of the American Indian treaty with the United States in 1778.
The Reverend Ferdinand Drebert was another of the Moravian missionaries who went to southwestern Alaska from 1912 to 1954.
Belief
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They believe and confess that God has revealed Himself in His son Jesus Christ. They believe Jesus Christ is the Lord and Redeemer of the whole of humanity by His death and His Resurrection. They believe there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe in the Covenant for Christian Living. They proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord. They believe their Christian life depends on their effort and upon God the Father, who in Jesus Christ accepts all as heirs of God.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe God has called many and that it is possible to have disagreements within the Church. They believe it is their responsibility to demonstrate within the life of the congregation the unity that is created by God to make them one under the control of God. They believe this shows the validity of their faith.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe in mutual respect with all other children of God in other Christian Churches. They believe it is imperative to avoid all disputes and respect others opinions as well as other ceremonies from other churches. They believe it is through the grace of Jesus Christ that the different denominations have received their gifts, also from God. They believe the Church of Christ should enrich their lives and welcome the contributions from other church.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe in accepting other creeds of the Christian Church. They honor the Apostles’ Creed, Augsburg Confession and the Nicene Creed. The motto of the Moravian Church is “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love.”
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe in Baptism that unites all with the death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. They believe they have died to sin and should walk in a newness of life. They believe their Christian faith must be nourished in order to live fundamental lives. They believe they must grow as Christian through faith, family devotions and study, personal prayer and accepting spiritual development provided by the Church.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe in Baptism by sprinkling in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They do infant baptisms, giving the responsibility to the parents, and the congregation. They believe it is through Baptism the individual receives the pledge of forgiveness of sin and the admission into the covenant of God through the blood of Christ. They believe Baptism is the symbol of the inner cleansing from sin and is received only by faith in Jesus Christ. The Board of Elders must approve all Baptisms in advance of the Baptism.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe the Holy Communion is a sacrament. In comparison, The Moravian Church in America Southern Province does not believe in characterizing the mysteries of the presence of Christ in the communion elements. They believe that the believers are participates in the covenant with Christ as the Savior and with other believers in Christ. It is a Church service of praise and prayer using the singing of hymns as the elements of the Communion is being distributed. They believe the Holy Communion is a time of fellowship and a special covenant with Christ and with each other.
The Moravian Church in America Alaska Province believe their lives are a sacred trust. Their focus is on being faithful stewards, a position that is imperative to their faith, and the giving of their time, talents and their financial resources.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Moravian Church in America Alaska Province:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2006.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2745,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006, January) “Moravian Church in America Alaska Province:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2745,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006) “Moravian Church in America Alaska Province:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2745, (accessed).
