In the preface of the 1569 Polish edition of the Brethren's hymnal, Bishop Andrew Stefan (1528–77) of the early Unitas Fratrum wrote, “Our fathers have taught us not only to preach the doctrines of religion from the pulpit, but also to frame them in hymns. In this way our songs become homilies.” When we consider the tens of thousands of hymns and single stanzas that Moravian writers have composed since 1457, the truth of Stefan's statement becomes obvious. As the Moravian Church has spread around the world and the need for worship materials in additional languages has been realized, new hymns have multiplied, so that any study of Moravian hymnody must acknowledge that it will be limited and incomplete. Yet a broad survey is possible. After an overview of hymnals produced by the Moravians beginning in the early sixteenth century, we will first consider five reasons that Moravians have continued to write new hymns. We will then present a chronological survey of Moravian hymn text writers and composers.

An Overview of Moravian Hymnal Publications

Moravian hymnody itself had already begun with the dawn of the sixteenth century. What has been hailed as the “first Protestant hymnal,” containing eightynine hymns, was printed in 1501 in Prague. It has long been claimed as a hymnal of the Unitas Fratrum, but its connection with the Unity is tenuous, although it did contain eleven hymns by Lukáš of Prague, the most influential theologian of the Unity. In his History of the Unity of Brethren, Rudolf Rícan asserts: “More definitely belonging to the Brethren, and more safely associated with Lukáš, were the hymnals of 1505 and 1519.” The 1505 hymnal is reported to have contained some four hundred hymns, but no surviving copy is known to exist today. The 1519 hymnal was actually edited by Lukáš; but again, no copy is known to survive. In these hymnals, Lukáš incorporated into the Unity's repertoire some Latin hymns of the Catholic church, translating them into Czech; thisis but one example of his position that not everything from the Catholic church was harmful and deserving of rejection.