Christian David (1692–1751) was a German Lutheran missionary, writer and hymnwriter. He travelled as a missionary of the
Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, the
Moravian Church
, image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
, main_classification = Proto-Pr ...
, to
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...
and to Native Americans. He is known as the author of hymn stanzas that were included in "
Sonne der Gerechtigkeit" in 1932.
David was raised in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He worked as a carpenter and a soldier. He was impressed by the
pietist
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...
movement and
converted
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
in 1714. In 1722, he helped refugees from
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
Th ...
to escape the
counter reformation to Saxony. There, he was a co-founder of the
Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, working closely with of
Nikolaus Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf. David went as a missionary of the
Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine to