This is the story of Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, the Saxon nobleman whose title opened the doors to power in eighteenth-century Germany – and whose calling made him a pilgrim exile from the place of his birth.
This is the only English-language biography in print of the precocious child who grew up to become the spiritual father of the Renewed Moravian Church. Born into a family of rulers and trained from childhood to take his place as a leader, Zinzendorf turned his driving energy from the affairs of the state to matters of the church, becoming first a Lutheran minister and later a Moravian bishop.
This authoritative biography pictures Zinzendorf throughout his entire life. His early association with the German Pietists; the beginning of Herrnhut, an experiment in communal Christian living; his family background, education, and brief state career; his absorption with the Moravian cause and his long struggle to keep the group within the bounds of the Lutheran Church – all are vividly recounted here. We follow the pilgrim count during his extensive travels in Europe and his visit to Moravian colonies in America, where he named the community of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We learn of his interest in hymnology. We see his organization oft he missionary movement within the ranks of Protestantism.
Count Zinzendorf is richly illustrated with line drawings of places and people prominent in the Saxon`s life: the Zinzendorf home in Berthelsdorf, the countess, Herrnhut, Bethlehem, the count himself. Here, for every Christian, is the moving biography of a man who as a small child met God and devoted his entire life to the service of Jesus Christ.