When the Shepherd Turned His Face Toward Herrnhut

In the summer of 1727, the small community of Herrnhut in Saxony was tearing itself apart. Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf had welcomed Moravian refugees onto his estate, but the settlers fractured into bitter factions — Lutherans against Reformed, old guard against newcomers. For months, accusations and resentments multiplied like weeds. Zinzendorf later described a people who had been fed on nothing but the bread of their own tears.…