Tuesday, 19 March 2024

M Moravian Worship

Sign up for our News Magazine

News Magazine

If you want to be kept up to the latest news from the Moravain Church in the British Povince, simply enter your email address

Moravian Worship

Worship in the Moravian Church, like many other aspects of the Church’s life, allows a great deal of flexibility.

The reading and interpretation of the Gospel is central to Moravian worship but there is much more to that worship than preaching. Traditionally, the Church has been a liturgical church with a variety of liturgies for use on ordinary Sundays with special Orders for Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Trinity. There are also Orders for the sacraments and Offices of the Church, including Holy Communion, Baptism, Confirmation, Marriages and Funerals. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper has a central place in the Church’s worship but Moravians have always rejected any over speculative theology. The words of Jesus at the Last Supper, without the imposition of any one theological interpretation, remain central.

There has been constant revision of the liturgy over the years but there are clear links between contemporary worship and that of the Church in its earliest days. However, worship leaders and congregations are not required to use these liturgies and may decide to use a freer form of service with extempore prayers or prayers taken from a variety of sources.  “New expressions” of church and experimental forms of worship are also in use. The Christingle Service, with its roots in the 18th Century, has been a much used contribution to the wider Christian Church.

Hymn singing has played a great part in Moravian worship since the publication of a first hymn book in 1501. The Church’s hymn books draw on the great treasury of hymns coming from all branches of the Christian Church, in addition to hymns by Moravian writers, including Zinzendorf, James Montgomery and John Cennick. Today, along with the Church’s own hymn book, most congregations will use Mission Praise and hymns by contemporary writers.

Social Share this article
Pin It

Church House is the Headquarters of the Moravian Church in the British Province and is located in London at:
Moravian Church House, 

5 Muswell Hill, 
London 
N10 3TJ

Tel:

020 8883 3409

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.