The Moravian missions in Greenland (; ; ) were established by the
Moravian Church
The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...
or
United Brethren and operated between 1733 and 1900. They were operated under the auspices of the
Royal Danish College of Missions until its dissolution in 1859 and were finally surrendered to the Lutheran
Church of Denmark
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church ( , or unofficially ; ), sometimes called the Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The supreme secular authority of the church is composed of ...
in 1900. Missionaries were allocated to the region and sometimes even sent wives who had been chosen for them and approved by the
drawing of lots, a form of
Cleromancy
Cleromancy is a form of sortition (casting of lots) in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice ( astragalomancy), but that are sometimes believed to reveal the will of a deit ...
.
List of missions
*
Neu-Herrnhut
Old Nuuk may refer to several neighborhoods of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
The Lutheran mission was originally based on Hope Island at the head of the fjord but was moved to the mainland and christened Godthaab by the royal governor Claus P ...
(settled by
Matthäus Stach
Matthäus Stach (sometimes anglicized to Matthew Stach) (March 4, 1711, Mankovice – December 21, 1787, Bethabara) was a Moravian missionary in Greenland.
Life
Matthäus Stach was born in Mankendorf in Moravia (today Mankovice in the Czech Repu ...
,
Christian Stach, and
Christian David
Christian David (; 17 February 1692 – 3 February 1751) was a German-Czech missionary, writer and hymnwriter. He travelled as a missionary of the Moravian Church to Greenland and to Native Americans. He is known as the author of hymn stanzas th ...
in 1733
and formally established in 1747
at modern
Nuuk
Nuuk (; , formerly ) is the capital and most populous city of Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the territory's largest cultural and economic center. It is also the seat of gove ...
)
*
Lichtenfels (founded by
Matthaeus Stach,
Jens Haven, and
Peter Haven in 1748,
[ Lüdecke, Cornelia.]
East Meets West: Meteorological observations of the Moravians in Greenland and Labrador since the 18th century
". ''History of Meteorology'' 2, 2005. 1754,
[Cranz, David & al. ]
The History of Greenland: including an account of the mission carried on by the United Brethren in that country
'. Longman, 1820. 1757,
[American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.]
Biography: Life of Matthew Stach
. ''The Missionary Herald'', #19. Samuel T. Armstrong, 1823. or 1758
[Mission in Greenland]
. ''The Christian Library: Comprising a Series of Standard Works in Religious Literature.'' Key & Biddle, 1833. at modern
Akunnat)
*
Lichtenau (founded by
Gotfried Grillich in 1774
at modern
Alluitsoq
Alluitsoq, formerly spelled Agdluitsok, is a former settlement in southern Greenland, located on the Alluitsoq Fjord, Alluitsoq or Lichtenau Fjord near Kap Farvel, Cape Farewell. It is about 13 kilometers from Ammassivik (Sletten), located on th ...
)
*
Friedrichsthal (founded by
Conrad Kleinschmidt (1768–1832)
[Del, Anden.]
''Grønland som del af den bibelske fortælling – en 1700-tals studie''
" Greenland as Part of the Biblical Narrative – a Study of the 18th-Century" in 1824
at modern
Narsarmijit
Narsarmijit, formerly Narsaq Kujalleq and Frederiksdal (Anglicised: Frederiksthal), is a settlement in southern Greenland. It is located in the Kujalleq municipality near Cape Thorvaldsen. Its population was 62 in 2024. There has been a slow but ...
)
*
Umanak (founded in 1861
and located
upfjord from
Neu-Herrnhut
Old Nuuk may refer to several neighborhoods of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
The Lutheran mission was originally based on Hope Island at the head of the fjord but was moved to the mainland and christened Godthaab by the royal governor Claus P ...
[Hodge, Frederick Webb. ]
Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico
', Vol. 4. Smithsonian Institution, reprinted by Digital Scanning Inc, 2003.)
*
Idlorpait (founded in 1864
between Lichtenau and Friedrichsthal)
History
A large factor in their favor despite the Danish Mission College's having already named
Hans Egede
Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary priest who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a succes ...
as the director of mission work in the territory was the failure of Egede's own
Bergen Greenland Company and a costly debacle involving the royal colony under Major
Claus Paarss
Major Claus Enevold Paarss (18 February 1683 – 26 May 1762) was a Danish military officer and official. Retired from service,Marquardt, Ole"Change and Continuity in Denmark's Greenland Policy"in ''The Oldenburg Monarchy: An Underestimated Emp ...
. Considering Greenland's sparse population, particularly after a smallpox epidemic from 1733 to 1735 brought by an
Inuk
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...
youth returning from Denmark, ironically, one of the very same who so inspired Count Zinzendorf to begin the Moravian Church's missions in the first place the missions were, after a settling-in period, very successful. The United Brotherhood delivered the timber and erected the first church in 1747.
[Brown, William. ]
The History of Missions: Or, Of the Propagation of Christianity Among the Heathen, Since the Reformation
'. B. Coles V.D.M., 1816. Lichtenau was for a time the largest settlement in Greenland. However, the missions were forced to pay for their freight after the Greenland monopoly was granted to the
General Trade Company and the
Royal Greenland Trading Department
The Royal Greenland Trading Department (, KGH) was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company managed the government of Greenland from 1774 to 1908 through its Board of Manag ...
's
Instruction of 1782 discouraged further urbanization or acculturation of the
local Inuit, whose hunting the company depended upon for its income, and greatly hindered further mission work.
Neu-Herrnhut.jpg, A portrait of the New Herrnhut mission around 1770
KRABBE(22) Greenland. The Herrnhut mission station Lichtenfels (11943529563).jpg, Lichtenfels
KRABBE(23) Greenland. The Herrnhut mission station Uummannaq at the bay of Nuuk (11727305740).jpg, Uummannaq at the bay of Nuuk
See also
*
Danish College of Missions
*
Island of Hope (),
Hans Egede
Hans Poulsen Egede (31 January 1686 – 5 November 1758) was a Denmark–Norway, Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary priest who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a succes ...
's trading-post-cum-Lutheran-mission which developed into
Godthåb
*
Moravian Brethren Mission House
*
Old Nuuk
References
{{reflist, 2
History of Greenland
Moravian Church in Greenland
Christian missions in North America
Settlements of the Moravian Church