Global InformationChristian Renatus von Zinzendorf information
Christian Renatus, Count von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf | |
|---|---|
 Christian Renatus von Zinzendorf. The words on the paper he is holding are Gebrochne Augen (Broken eyes), part of a Litany. | |
| Born | September 19, 1727 Berthelsdorf, Upper Lusatia, Saxony |
| Died | May 28, 1752 (aged 24) Dean's Yard, London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Church official, head of the Single Brethren's Choir of the Moravian Church, spiritual leader |
| Spouse | Sidewound of Christ[a] |
| Parent(s) | Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf and Countess Erdmuthe Dorothea Reuss-Ebersdorf |
Imperial Count Christian Renatus von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (September 19, 1727 – May 28, 1752) was the charismatic leader of the Single Brethren's Choir of the Moravian Church and of Herrnhaag (The Lord’s Grove), a Christian religious community built near Büdingen by his father, Count Nicholas Ludwig, head of the Brüdergemeine or Moravian Unity. Christian Renatus, affectionately known as Christel, took his father’s marriage religion (Ehereligion) literally, proclaiming himself to be the living "Sidewound of Christ" in 1748, which meant he was the embodiment of Christ's sacrificial and compassionate love.
The younger Zinzendorf and his co-elder of the Single Brethren, Joachim Rubusch, also proclaimed themselves to be married to the Sidewound. This derived in part from the teaching of Zinzendorf’s father that all souls are female, regardless of gender, so that they may be married to Christ. This image is derived from the fact that "soul" in German, die Seele, is always a feminine noun.[Cassel's German-English Dictionary, entry die Seele.] It was also in 1748 that Christian Renatus von Zinzendorf declared all Single Brethren to be Sisters and therefore Brides of Christ.
The compounding of sexuality and spirituality at Herrnhaag led to virulent attacks from outside and within the church, threatening to undo the goodwill with other denominations that the elder Zinzendorf had sought for decades. He dismissed his son from his positions and brought him to England for the remaining three years of Christian's life.
After his death, Christian's followers in Pennsylvania named a settlement farm after him. Since there was a flowing spring there it was called "Christiansbrunn", Christian's Spring. while church leaders systematically destroyed most of the documents referring to the events at Herrnhaag. Only within the past two decades has a new generation of scholars and historians begun to reexamine that period to determine what happened.
- ^ Peucker, Paul. (2006) “Inspired by Flames of Love”: Homosexuality, Mysticism and Moravian Brothers around 1750, Journal of the History of Sexuality. 15(1). pp 52.
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