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Handout 212# |
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Nicolas-Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760 A.D.) |
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Count Zinzendorf, brought up in Pietism,
revived the Moravian Brothers, the heirs of the Hussites. In an
authoritarian way he made them into a community in which emotionalism and
missionary zeal had pride of place. The Count's piety had a very special
place for Jesus. Here he is talking to children.
It was always my good fortune to feel my Savior constantly in my heart ... I have lived for many years after the fashion of a child with him; I have spoken with him for hours, like a friend with his friend ... In my conversations with him I was very happy and I expressed my gratitude for all the good that he had done through his incarnation . . . I did what I could to be happy until that extraordinary day on which I was so deeply moved by what my Creator had suffered for me that I began by shedding a thousand tears and attached myself to him ever more firmly and was united with him in tenderness. I continued to talk to him when I was alone, and I believed with all my heart that he was very close to me. . . So it is that I have lived for more than fifty years with my savior and I find myself happier every day. |
