История моравской миссии на острове Сент-Томас: от контроля до социального лифта

The Rev. Dr. Winelle Kirton-Roberts discusses the history of the Moravian Church in the Danish West Indies at Memorial Moravian Church, St. Thomas, on Wednesday night on the eve of the mission’s founding in the territory. ST. THOMAS — On the eve of the 145th anniversary of the founding of the Moravian mission in the former Danish West Indies, the Rev. Dr. Winelle Kirton-Roberts shared her latest research on the history of the religious movement responsible for one of the highest literacy rates of enslaved Africans before emancipation. That unique education came with its own agenda to justify the reasons for their oppression, she told a full audience Wednesday night at the Memorial Moravian Church, in a lecture titled “New Hernnhut to Norre Gade: Moravian Mission From the Estate to the Street: 1737 to 1882.” Instead, she said, they used what they learned to gain social mobility and empower themselves. The catalyst for the territory’s Moravian mission and their spread throughout the world was Anton “Anthony” Ulrich, a formerly enslaved black man who in 1731 shared the inhumane conditions of slavery in St. Thomas with Count Nicklaus Ludwig von Zizendorf, a German nobleman and Moravian leader visiting Denmark, sparking in him a yearning to minister to the enslaved persons there and throughout the world. Ulrich was later rebuked for refusing to follow Zizendorf’s initial request to come to St. Thomas thereafter, Kirton-Roberts said. “He was not a suffering, passive, needy person,” she said. “He was someone who had agency.” Another key figure for the mission was Rebecca Protten, formerly known as Shelly, who came to St. Thomas as an enslaved young girl from Antigua, got her freedom, and at 17 was evangelizing field workers. Her strong interest in the religion led her to meet daily with missionaries Frederick Martin and Matthew Freundlich — eventually marrying the latter, which led to the interracial couple’s controversial arrest at Fort Christian. Count Zinzendorf personally arrived later to intervene in their release from jail. Protten later became a leader in spreading the faith in the territory, in Germany where she was transferred, and in Ghana where she later died. Within 22 years, they sent persons out to replicate the religious village they had created in Hernnhut, Germany, to places as far as the Danish West Indies, Greenland, the Dutch West Indies, to indigenous people of North America, South Africa, Russia, Sri Lanka, Iran, the British West Indies, and Labrador. Kirton-Roberts said they had a basic template they replicated in the places they settled, to include a chapel for worship, living accommodations consisting of a house each for family, sisters, brothers, and widows, a carpenter’s workshop, shared kitchen, and a burial ground. In the Danish West Indies, homes for the enslaved, a sugar boiling house, a distillery, garden plots, and storage were additional features added. Their daily routine consisted of hourly prayer, sharing of scriptures, hymn singing, brass instruments, and confession. Kirton-Roberts noted that much of the education was designed to “keep you nice, docile, and tranquil, but many of the enslaved realized how empowering it was,” she said. Winifred Anthony Todman, a retired educator, said she felt compelled to attend the presentation as a lifelong Moravian whose roots in the faith stretch back several generations. “I am a born, bred Moravian. My father who hailed from St. John and my grandparents are all Moravian, and as a result of that this was vitally important for me not only as a Moravian but as a Virgin Islander and an Afro West-Indian,” she said. Anthony Todman said she also attended Kirton-Roberts’ lecture a few years ago on how the Moravians used their religion to enslave blacks. “It piqued my interest as an educator in trying to instill pride in not only who we are but our customs, and to merge our education, religion, and our customs as one,” she said, adding that Kirton-Roberts, who used to lead the Memorial Moravian Church, was transferred to Switzerland a few years ago, but keeps in touch daily with former congregants. She said her passion on the subject shone through. The Rev. Dr. Errol Connor agreed, and encouraged those gathered to reflect on the information shared. “Today, recognizing the ban of books and all this stuff in the U.S., it’s really a battle for the minds and the heart in reference to how we understand history,” he said. “That is significant because to know our history, to understand our history, is to live better in the present and the future, and to resist attempts to diminish, or dehumanize, or even to re-enslave.”