Public seminar on Moravian hymn writing

Ilisimatusarfik will host two researchers from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia:

• Miloš Klátik, Bishop Emeritus and Lecturer in Systematic Theology

• Adriana Sekelská, a musicologist and specialist in Slovak church music

They will present some of their research into how Moravian traditions have influenced Lutheran Christianity in Greenland and elsewhere.

The Moravian Church originated in south-eastern Germany in the 1720s, when a group of refugees from what is now the Czech Republic founded the town of Herrnhut as a Christian refuge. The Moravian Church carried out missionary work in many countries and arrived in Greenland as early as 1733, where, until 1900, they had a decisive influence on Greenlandic Christianity and church life.

The German missionaries developed a distinctive style of hymn writing in Greenland, the like of which is not found in their homeland. Adriana Sekelská traces Herrnhut hymn writing from its beginnings in Central Europe to the Greenlandic mission field.

Herrnhut hymn writing reflects an international community of faith that is not tied to a specific territory. Miloš Klátik demonstrates that Moravian hymn writing functions as mobile theology, conveying a coherent Christological message across different cultures and eras.

Following the two lectures, there will be a discussion, coffee and cake.

• When: Monday 1 June at 3.30 pm.

• Where: auditorium at Ilisimatusarfik

• Language: English