Moravianism at its best

Some of the eras of church history are clearly more momentous than others.

The fourth century, for example, saw the resolution of the Arian controversy with the landmark statement of the Nicene Creed; the 16th century witnessed the massive recovery of gospel truth, and the 18th century saw the transatlantic revivals that laid the foundations for modern Evangelicalism.

John Cennick

Now, among those who were vitally used in the establishment of Evangelical roots was the Moravian evangelist John Cennick* (1718–1755). Though largely unknown today to all but students of the 18th-century Evangelical awakenings in the British Isles, in his day he preached (and prayed) with such Evangelical celebrities as John & Charles Wesley, George Whitefield and Howell Harris, and was well regarded by these men. In the words of Arnold Dallimore: ‘(Cennick) was not only one of the greatest preachers of the 18th-century Revival but also one of its greatest saints. In him Moravianism is seen at its loveliest and best’.