Our Beliefs

The Moravian Church (officially named the Unitas Fratrum) embraces the basic doctrines affirmed by the wider Christian Church through the ages. Our theological statements are in general agreement with “mainline” Protestant churches. Two of the most widely accepted Christian doctrinal statements, the Apostles’ and the Nicene creeds, are employed in our liturgies.

From its early years in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries our church has lived by the principle: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, love.”

Our early leaders stated that the essentials on the part of God are the goodwill of God the Father for our salvation, the saving work of Christ, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. To these we humans respond in faith, love and hope. In these we are united; in such matters as the amount of water used in Baptism or the sort of bread used in Holy Communion we acknowledge that there may be differences in opinion and practice among Christians without harming the unity of the church.

A more detailed, though still brief, Moravian doctrinal statement, approved for use in the worldwide Moravian Church, is The Ground of the Unity. Two significant passages from this read:

• The Triune God as revealed in the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments is the only source of our life and salvation; and this Scripture is the sole standard of the doctrine and faith of the Unitas Fratrum and therefore shapes our life.
• With the whole of Christendom we share faith in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe and confess that God has revealed Himself once and for all in His Son Jesus Christ; that our Lord has redeemed us with the whole of humanity by His death and His resurrection; and that there is no salvation apart from Him. We believe that He is present with us in the Word and the Sacrament; that He directs and unites us through His Spirit and thus forms us into a Church. We hear Him summoning us to follow Him, and pray Him to use us in His service. He joins us together mutually, so that knowing ourselves to be members of His body we become willing to serve each other.

Moravians have not written lengthy volumes of theology, but prefer to emphasize more the living out of our faith in our words and actions. This emphasis is highlighted in another official document, The Covenant for Christian Living, which outlines standards for our conduct with one another and with the world.

On the basis of these theological foundations we may say in echoing the closing words of The Ground of the Unity: In this spirit we await the appearing of Jesus Christ, go forward to meet our Lord with joy, and pray to be found ready when He comes.