The Ephrata Cloister or Ephrata Community was a

religious community Religious community may refer to: * Church (congregation), a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location * Confessional community, a group of people with similar religious beliefs * Institute of consecrated life, a ...

, established in 1732 by Johann Conrad Beissel at Ephrata, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The grounds of the community are now owned by the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West ...

and are administered by the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of Pennsylvania's heritage. The commission cares for hist ...

Marie Kachel Bucher Marie Elizabeth Kachel Bucher (November 21, 1909 – July 27, 2008) was an American school-teacher and the last surviving resident member of the German Seventh-Day Baptists religious congregation of the Ephrata Cloister, a United States Nat ...

, the last surviving resident of the Ephrata Cloister, died on July 27, 2008, at the age of 98.

History

The community descended from the

pietistic 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. Although the movement is aligned with Luth ...

Schwarzenau Brethren The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkard Brethren, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches ...

movement of

Alexander Mack Alexander Mack ( 27 July 1679 – 19 January 1735) was a German clergyman and the leader and first Minister (Christianity), minister of the Schwarzenau Brethren (or Schwarzenau Brethren, German Baptists) in the Schwarzenau, Kreis Siegen-Wi ...

of Schwarzenau in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The first

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

from the general body occurred in 1728—the Seventh Day Dunkers, whose distinctive principle was that the seventh day was the true

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

. In 1732, Beissel arrived at the banks of

Cocalico Creek Cocalico Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Conestoga River in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, Lebanon and Lancaster County, Pennsy ...

in Lancaster County. Around this charismatic leader a semi-monastic community (the Camp of the Solitary) with a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

(the Sister House) and a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

(the Brother House) was established, called "Ephrata" after Biblical

Ephrath Ephrath or Ephrathah or Ephratah () is a biblically referenced former name of Bethlehem, meaning "fruitful". It is also a personal name. Biblical place A very old tradition holds that Ephrath refers to Bethlehem, as the first mention of Ephrath o ...

. The members of the order were celibate. Members were required to sleep on wooden benches wide, with wooden blocks for pillows. They slept six hours per night, from 9 P.M. to midnight, and from 2 A.M. until 5 A.M., with a two-hour break to "watch" for the coming of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. They ate one small

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

meal a day. The only time the followers of Beissel were permitted to eat meat was during the celebration of communion when lamb was served. The members of the cloister spent much time at work or praying privately. Services every Saturday were led by Beissel, often being several hours long. During the time that this group formed, there was a hint of dissatisfied intellectualism of churches. Many wanted to be away from state established churches. Strict religious lives caused these brothers and sisters to come together to worship God in other ways. Instead of practicing their religion, they applied it by helping others to become more spiritual and celibate. Among the sisterhood and brotherhood there included a married order of householders, which were families who supported and engaged in the everyday activities. Other than practicing quiet lives by praying and doing charity work, the Cloisters had a duty to keep up with the tasks of living at Ephrata. Farming and industrial work were the typical workload on a daily basis. Although the Cloisters often practiced their religion by interpreting Biblical works, they also engaged in

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. C ...

and

papermaking Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is Pulp and paper industry, made using industrial machinery, while handmade pape ...

. Other tasks included gardening, preparing meals, and mending.Ephrata Cloister
/ref> Not only were the cloisters famous for their writings and hymns on the printing press but they became very busy people especially when it came to chores. They manufactured clothing on a mill and kept their lives busy by creating duties and obligations. The Cloisters had a positive outlook on life; they respected their neighbors, land and environment. Education was also important in their society. It was important that every child maintain their education. Children that came from families were also encouraged to be educated in the German school. Educating the young was one of the charity works that the Cloisters accomplished. They also helped the poor by passing around bread to the poor families. Other believing families settled near the community, accepted Beissel as their spiritual leader and worshipped with them on

. These families made an integral part to the cloister, which could not be self-sustaining without them. The brothers and sisters of Ephrata are famous for their writing and publishing of

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s, and the composition of tunes in four voices. Beissel served as the community's composer as well as spiritual leader, and devised his own system of composition. The Ephrata hymnal (words only) was printed in 1747. The Ephrata Cloister had the second German printing press in the American colonies and also published the largest book in Colonial America. The book, ''

Martyrs Mirror ''Martyrs Mirror'' or ''The Bloody Theater'', first published in Holland in 1660 in Dutch by Thieleman J. van Braght, documents the stories and testimonies of Christian martyrs, especially Anabaptists. The full title of the book is ''The Blood ...

'', is a history of the deaths of

Christian martyrs In Christianity, a martyr is a person who was killed for their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In the years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake, or ...

from 4 B.C. until 1660. Before the publication began at the request of a group of

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

from

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

, it had to be translated from the original Holland

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, which was completed by Peter Miller of the Ephrata Community. Work began in 1748 and was finished about three years later. Many of the books were purchased by the Montgomery County Mennonites who had initiated the process. Beissel died in 1768, and this contributed to a declining membership. The monastic aspect was gradually abandoned, with the last celibate member dying in 1813. In 1814, the Society was incorporated as the ''German Seventh Day Baptist Church'' (or ''The German Religious Society of Seventh Day Baptists''). Branches were established in other locations; two of them still exist today. In 1941, a Ephrata tract of land with remaining buildings was conveyed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for use as a state historical site. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission led excavations there which, among other things, uncovered the Cloister's use as a hospital during the Revolutionary War (1775–83). Of special note, the only

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

of its kind in North America was unearthed by archaeologists in 1998 at the Cloister. The trumpet, which likely came from Germany, was found in excellent condition which led archaeologists to believe it was intentionally buried. The mouthpiece was the only part missing from the trumpet, so it is unknown if it has ever been played. At its height, the Ephrata community grew to inhabited by about 80 celibate men and women. The married congregation numbered approximately 200.

Gallery

File:2003.09.20 42 Ephrata Cloister Pennsylvania.jpg, Buildings at Ephrata cloister File:2003.09.20 47 Ephrata Cloister Pennsylvania.jpg, Tombs with inscription in German File:2003.09.20 50 Ephrata Cloister Pennsylvania.jpg, Living quarters File:2003.09.20 52 Ephrata Cloister Pennsylvania.jpg, Praying room File:Ephrata_WPA_poster.jpg, WPA poster, 1936–1941

Footnotes

External links

* *
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
– Ephrata Cloister

– information on the community at Church of the Brethren Network
German Seventh-Day Baptists
– congregations tracing their origins to Ephrata {{authority control 1732 establishments in Pennsylvania 1934 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Celibacy Cemeteries in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Christian monasteries established in the 18th century Churches in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Ephrata, Pennsylvania German-American culture in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania Intentional communities in the United States Museums in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Open-air museums in Pennsylvania Radical Pietism Religious museums in Pennsylvania Religious organizations established in the 1730s Rural history museums in Pennsylvania Seventh Day Baptist movement Utopian communities in Pennsylvania Vegetarian communities Historic house museums of the Pennsylvania Germans

History

Gallery

See also

Footnotes

Further reading

External links