Make The Beds – Synod Is Coming

At Fulneck we have a glass vase that is put out for the first Sunday of March, but who presented this to Fulneck, when and why? With the help of others, I have explored these questions.

In July 1957 Fulneck would have been buzzing. Over seventy people were arriving for a special synod to be held at Fulneck; hence, catering and beds needed to be arranged for folks. Seven were coming from abroad: Tanganyika (today Tanzania), USA (both North and South Provinces), Germany (both east and west), and Czechoslovakia (today Czechia/ Czech Republic). It is also worth noting that Br John McOwat attended this Synod as one of the two Fulneck deputies.

Imagine the discussions, questions about why, and who and what would happen? Here are some answers, drawn from articles written just after this special synod.

Why, what was the purpose? The 1956 Provincial Synod at Hornsey (London) had agreed that in 1957 there would be a special Synod. Its main purpose would be to celebrate the quincentenary of the Moravian Church: it would be 500 years since the Unitas Fratrum was established in Kunwald, Czechia. The Kunwald community was set up by Br Gregory, with the aim of living according to the beliefs of Jan Hus. The special Synod would be a fitting prelude to the Unity Synod which was to take place a month later in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: the first worldwide Synod since 1931, and the first to meet anywhere except Herrnhut in over two centuries of the Renewed Moravian Church.

Who was coming from abroad? The seven Synodals making the long journey from abroad included three from behind the Iron Curtain, a brave move indeed at that time. These included Bishop J Vogt from Herrnhut and Bishop Karel Reichel. Bishop Reichel was descended from an old Herrnhut family. In 1920 he had started a private bookshop in Prague and published many works by famous brethren. In 1939 he was ordained, by Bishop Shawe; horror then followed when both he and his wife were imprisoned by the Nazis and sent to Germany. Following their release, they returned to Czechoslovakia and by 1957 were working in Prague. The second person from Czechoslovakia was Br Radim Kaifus.

What was said? Br Linyard, then of Gomersal and Heckmondwike congregations, wrote about the opening service. Based upon Revelations 2 verses 6-9, Br Foy delivered a sermon titled ‘The Ground of the Unity – Jesus Christ’. He spoke of three things the church had learned from our Lord:

• how to establish a unity of brethren. Here he spoke of the newness of the Kunwald community, saying it was ‘beyond our imagination, the spiritual equivalent of the splitting of the atom’.
• how to revive and renew the Unity of the Brethren, especially by bringing peace and unity to Herrnhut in 1727, heralding the first Lovefeast service in August 1727.
• then, he said, the church realised it could not just be a cosy group. The church learned that the previous steps set the scene for to the expansion of a worldwide unity.

Br Foy concluded by posing the question of how the church in 1957 could maintain and extend this gift of the Unity, in what was such a divided world. This is surely a relevant and pertinent question for us today.

Will anyone remember this event in the future? The answer is a resounding YES.

During the Synod Bishop Reichel presented Fulneck with a glass vase, inscribed with ‘1457-1957’. On 1st March the Moravian Church celebrates the Memorial Day as the forming of the Unitas Fratrum in 1457. On the first Sunday after this Memorial Day the glass vase is on display during our Lovefeast and Holy Communion service. Thanks to Bishop Reichel, at Fulneck we have a visual reminder of this first step in the creation of our unity.

And now for a final question: look around, do you have any items in your church that tell an amazing story. If so, why not share this story?

Sr Mary Holmes

Fulneck

I trust I have done justice to this amazing event and those who attended. My sincere thanks to Br John McOwat who first told me the story of the vase and to Sr Lorraine Parsons for the archive material about the Synod.