One of the most unique and innovative traditions Moravians have is the celebration of the Holy Spirit as Mother of the Church, called “Mutterfest.”
In the mid-18th century, Moravians in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania composed hymns and liturgies praising God the Holy Spirit as “Mother” at a time when the church also ordained hundreds of women for ministry. But later generations were scandalized by these “radical” practices and attempted to cover them up. Fortunately, historians like Dr. Craig Atwood have helped to uncover this inspiring legacy.
The Moravians in 1748 were so committed to the idea that the Trinity includes God the Mother that they literally wrote it in stone and placed it on the front of one of their largest buildings at the intersection of Church St. and Main St. However, later generations of Moravians became so embarrassed by the theology of their ancestors that the message and this stone were hidden. They were restored only recently.” 1
Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf, who is perhaps the most creative Moravian theologian and leader, cited Holy Scripture in defense of his Trinitarian theology. Just as the Nicene Creed had described the Holy Spirit as the “Giver of Life,” Zinzendorf pointed to Jesus’s discussion with Nicodemus in which Jesus said, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:6) This is part of the reason why, for Zinzendorf, the Trinity was a family: God the Father, God the Mother, and God the Bridegroom.
Today, not only are we not scandalized by this inclusive approach to trinitarian theology, we celebrate it as a powerful witness. Women are made in the divine image (imago dei) just as men, and God compares Godself to a mother in the Hebrew Bible: [God said] “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13) So, why would it be scandalous to see the feminine and motherly in the divine? We contend that it is important and long past due.
That is why for the month of May, Roots Moravian is celebrating Mutterfest by honoring God the Holy Spirit as our divine Mother: Comforter, Counselor, and Creator.
