Walking in their footsteps

Walking in their footsteps

'Walking in their footsteps we were touching our past and our future'. One speaker said this, and it felt so true on a recent visit to Suchdol nad Odrou in southern Czech Republic. Lorraine Parsons and myself had travelled to Suchdol to attend the 10th International Moravian History Conference organised by the Moravian Natural History Association, with the main topic as the emigration to Herrnhut.

Suchdol nad Odrou, a small town not too far from the Polish border, is the spiritual home of our Church. If the brave men, women and children had not become migrants to escape religious persecution there would most likely have been no Herrnhut and no Moravian Church. At the conference we were immersed in the story of over five hundred people who left their homes, their farms, families and friends for an unknown future.

We heard about the walk to Herrnhut, now commemorated by the Via Exulantis, which follows the first route from Suchdol nan Odrou. We even met one person who had walked the 500 miles, plus one pastor and some of his congregation who had completed the journey on their motorbikes.

We heard about three women from Mankovice: Anna Stach, the youngest daughter, had to hide from soldiers and jump from a window to join her mother, Rosina, and the family escaped. This village has links going back to the ideology of Jan Hus and many villagers were members of the Unity of Brethren.

A family from Bernartice nad Odrou, a few miles from Suchdol nad Odrou, had to emigrate for similar reasons. The impact of leaving in such traumatic circumstances clearly had a significant effect on the mother. It is recorded that she cried for eight days once in Herrnhut and was visited by Zinzendorf, who prayed with them.

Not everyone escaped: 280 people from Suchdol nad Odrou and 167 from Kunewald (now Kunin) were interrogated and put on trial. Jan Moravek and his six year old sister were imprisoned by Jesuits who were searching for copies of a Kralitz Bible and books by Comenius.

The talks also followed local folk who later moved out from Herrnhut as missionaries, from 1732 onwards. Jan Moravek was released from prison: as an adult he went to Berlin, taught in Herrnhut and was a missionary, with his wife Suzanne, in Serepta in Russia.

Lorraine Parsons delivered an interesting talk about John Heckewelder. His father David and grandfather George were both born in Suchdol nad Odrou. John grew up in England where his parents had moved from Herrnhut to work for the church. After being educated at Fulneck, he became a missionary spending much of his life among the Delaware in America.

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Lorraine and I had the privilege of unveiling a plaque to Mathaus Kunz on the wall where it records those who left the area to serve the Moravian Church far and wide. Kunz left Suchdol nad Odrou at the age of 21. Having worked as a carpenter in Hernnhut he moved to London and then Bethlehem, America. He returned to London and there met four others. They travelled together on a ship called 'Hope' to Labrador where Kunz met and worked alongside the indigenous people.

As well as talks which gave fascinating personal details about the people and the hardships they faced, we visited many interesting places. There were tours of local villages where emigrants had left for Herrnhut. In Suchdol nad Odrou, we saw the Comenius statue that states 'to become a man he must be educated'. Also, we saw the Comenius lime (or linden) tree and commemorative plaques to Martin and Samuel Schneider.

Before emigrating, the only safe way to worship together was in the dark of the night, deep in a local forest. We went to the one set up by Martin Schneider. He would have led folk there in quiet and with very little light, fear always at their back. We walked noisily together across rough ground, with laughter and lots of help as we crossed a stream in full spate. We then fell silent as we entered the space that truly looks like a church, with tall trees bending over to offer protection and a sense of being held. Here we had a short service and remembered those who had gone before us and thought of those who will come after us.

Near this forest is a Rose Garden that has been created to mark the spot where it is said the five men of Suchdol nad Odrou prayed before their difficult journey. Here is a quote describing that event, taken from the sermon delivered at the Evangelical Church, Suchdol, on the Sunday of the conference.

David Nitschmann, David Nitschmann, David Nitschmann, Johann Teltschik, Melchior Zeisberger. The five pillars of the church. Five young men who escaped from Suchdol. Three hundred years ago. Eleven days later, they reached Herrnhut. A detailed description of the journey has been preserved to this day.

In his diary, David Nitschmann Syndikus writes: 'Around ten o'clock at night we knelt in the fields at the end of the village of Suchdol, prayed for the surrounding area, especially for Suchdol, and asked the dear God to lead us as the nation of Israel, by day through the clouds, by night through the pillar of fire, to show us the land which He had sought and chosen for us according to His heart, where our feet would rest in peace'.

Overall, this was an unforgettable experience full of fellowship, learning and fun. On a personal note, I am grateful to those who took us to Fulnek after the conference. This allowed me to visit the namesake of my church and to visit the Comenius Museum. The visit to Suchdol nad Odrou was so well organised by the local Moravian Natural History Association and I wish to extend a grateful thanks to them for their warmth and generosity: we met many people that are interested in our shared history and keen to build connections.

Sr Mary Holmes

Fulneck

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