Olketa Luk Aotem Datfala Smolfala Road

KLOSAP 550 year go finis, samfala smol grup pipol wea sei olketa Christian stap long Prague, Chelčice, Vilémov, Klatovy, and olketa nara taon long ples wea distaem olketa kolem Czech Republic lusim hom bilong olketa. Olketa go stap klosap long Kunwald vilij, insaed valley long northeast saed bilong Bohemia, wea olketa buildim haos, wakem garden, readim Bible, and kolem olketa seleva Unity of Brethren, or Unitas Fratrum long Latin languis.

Planti difren kaen pipol nao insaed grup hia. Samfala olketa man nating, bigman, university student, rich and poor, man and woman, widow and olketa pikinini wea no garem dadi or mami, bat evriwan garem sem goal. “Mifala prea nomoa long God,” olketa raetem, “and begim Hem for showim mifala wanem nao will bilong Hem long evriting. Mifala laek wakabaot followim olketa wei bilong Hem.” Tru nao, disfala Unity of Brethren, or Czech Brethren, olsem hao pipol kolem disfala grup, luk aotem datfala ‘smolfala road wea lead go for laef.’ (Matthew 7:13, 14) Wanem truth long Bible nao olketa faendem? Hao nao biliv bilong olketa difren from pipol wea stap long datfala taem, and wanem nao iumi savve lanem from olketa?

No Raf Fasin—Hol Strong

Tu-thri muvment bilong religion long mek-15 century nao help for startim Unity of Brethren. Wanfala nao hem Waldenses, wanfala muvment wea start kam long mek-12 century. Firstaem, olketa Waldenses brek

awe from Roman Catholic, main religion bilong Central Europe. Bat, bihaen, olketa iusim moa samfala Catholic teaching. Nara strong muvment hem olketa Hussite, wea followim Jan Hus. Diswan hem main religion bilong Czech pipol, bat olketa nating garem wan mind. Wanfala sekson raoa abaotem samting saed long living, taem narawan iusim religion for saportim politik nomoa. Olketa wea biliv long millenium, and olketa Bible savveman from datfala ples and from nara ples affectim biliv bilong datfala Brethren.

Peter Chelčický (c. 1390-c. 1460), wanfala savveman long Bible and leader long Czech, hem savve gud long olketa teaching bilong olketa Waldenses and Hussite. Hem rejectim olketa Hussite from olketa start for raf, and hem rejectim olketa Waldenses from olketa no hol strong long teaching bilong olketa. Hem tok againstim war olsem samting wea no fitim Christian wei. Hem ting hao “law bilong Christ” shud leadim wanfala Christian, nomata wanem nao kamaot from diswan. (Galatians 6:2; Matthew 22:37-39) Long 1440, Chelčický raetem olketa teaching bilong hem long buk Net of the Faith.

Olketa teaching bilong Chelčický barava muvim Gregory bilong Prague, young wan long taem bilong savveman Chelčický, gogo hem lusim datfala Hussite religion. Long 1458, Gregory pullim tingting bilong samfala smol grup bilong olketa wea Hussite bifor for lusim hom bilong olketa long difren part long Czechia. Olketa hia insaed grup wea followim hem go long Kunwald vilij, wea olketa startim niufala community saed long religion. Bihaen, samfala grup bilong olketa Waldenses long Czech and Germany joinim olketa long there.

Long Taem Bifor

From 1464 kasem 1467, disfala niu grup wea grow hem garem tu-thri synod insaed area long Kunwald and olketa acceptim samfala niu tingting wea explainim klia disfala niu religion. Olketa barava recordim gud evri niu tingting bilong olketa insaed samfala buk, wea distaem olketa kolem Acta Unitatis Fratrum (Acts of the Unity of Brethren), wea stap yet. Olketa buk hia helpem iumi for minim taem bifor, and minim gud wanem datfala Brethren bilivim. Olketa buk hia garem olketa leta, toktok, and record bilong olketa raoa tu.

Abaotem olketa biliv bilong Brethren, buk Acta hem sei: “Mifala agree for waka followim nomoa wanem mifala readim long Bible and followim example bilong Lord bilong iumi and olketa holy aposol long wei for ting raonem, hambol and long-safaring, for lovem olketa enemy, duim and hope for gud samting for olketa, and prea for olketa.” Olketa buk hia showimaot tu hao long start Brethren duim preaching. Olketa go tu-bae-tu, and olketa woman kamap gudfala missionary long hom taon. Brethren no joinim politik waka, no tek-promis, no join long army waka, and no karem samting for faet.

Lusim Wan Mind

Bihaen planti year, Unity of Brethren lusim nao wan mind wea followim nem bilong olketa. Raoa abaotem hao for barava followim olketa biliv bilong olketa kosim wei for divaed for kamap. Long 1494 Brethren brek ap long tufala grup—Major Party and Minor Party. Major Party mekem isi lelebet olketa biliv bilong olketa, bat Minor Party talemaot hao Brethren shud hol strong long olketa biliv for no tek saed long politik and disfala world.—Lukim box “Waswe Long Major Party?”

Olsem example, wanfala Minor Party member raet olsem: “Pipol wea wakabaot long tufala road bae hard tumas for followim God, bikos bae for lelebet taem and long smolfala samting nomoa olketa laek followim Hem, bat long olketa bigfala samting olketa followim tingting bilong olketa seleva. . . . Mifala laek insaed witim olketa wea garem strongfala tingting and gudfala conscience—wea evriday followim Lord Christ long smolfala road witim cross bilong olketa.”

Olketa member bilong Minor Party ting long holy spirit bilong God olsem paoa bilong God, “finger bilong hem.” Olketa minim ransom bilong Jesus olsem hao datfala perfect man Jesus hem pei witim human laef bilong hem for samting wea datfala sinner Adam hem lusim. Olketa no mek holy long Mary, mami bilong Jesus. Olketa duim moa wei wea evriwan wea biliv hem wanfala priest bat olketa no need for stap singol olowe. Olketa encouragem evri member bilong kongregeson for preach long pablik and aotem olketa sinner wea no repent. Olketa barava stap klia from waka bilong army and politik. (Lukim box “Wanem Brethren bilong Minor Party Bilivim.”) From Minor Party hol strong long tingting bilong datfala Acta, hem tingim hem nao tru wan wea kamaot from firstfala Unity of Brethren.

Tok Aot and Kasem Persecution

Datfala Minor Party tok againstim olketa nara religion, and datfala Major Party tu. Olketa raet abaotem religion wea duim olsem: “Iufala sei mas baptaesim olketa pikinini wea no garem faith yet, and from diswan iu followim samting wea bishop wea olketa kolem Dionysius, wea mekhae for baptaesim baby followim tingting bilong samfala krangge man . . . Sem biliv tu kasem klosap evri teacher and bigman long lotu, Luther, Melanchthon, Bucerus, Korvín, Jiles̆, Bullinger, . . . datfala Major Party, evriwan semsem for followim.”

Iumi no sapraes, datfala Minor Party kasem persecution. Long 1524 olketa whipim and bonem wanfala long olketa leader bilong hem, Jan Kalenec. Bihaen olketa bonem thrifala Minor Party member long post. Luk olsem Minor Party hem start for finis maet long 1550, bihaen last leader bilong olketa hem dae.

Nomata olsem, olketa wea biliv long Minor Party putim mark long saed bilong religion long taem bilong Middle Ages long Europe. Hem tru, from “trufala savve” no mas big yet long taem bilong Minor Party, olketa nating win for finisim spiritual darkness wea stap kam for longfala taem finis. (Daniel 12:4) Nomata olsem, strong bilong olketa for luk aotem datfala smolfala road and for followim nomata pipol againstim olketa hem wanfala samting wea fitim olketa Christian distaem for luksavve long hem.

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Fifti long 60-fala Bohemian (Czech) buk wea olketa printim from 1500 kasem 1510 wea olketa sei hem bilong olketa member bilong Unity of Brethren

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Waswe Long Major Party?

Wanem nao happen long Major Party? Bihaen Minor Party hem finis, Major Party go ahed olsem wanfala religion, and still keepim nem Unity of Brethren. Gogo, disfala grup changem olketa firstfala biliv bilong hem. Long end bilong mek -16 century, datfala Unity of Brethren join witim olketa Ultraquist from Czechoslovakia,a wea really olketa Lutheran. Bat Brethren go ahed strong for transleitim and printim Bible and nara buk bilong religion tu. Interesting samting, title page insaed olketa firstfala buk garem Tetragrammaton, wea hem fofala Hebrew leta bilong nem bilong God.

Long 1620, Roman Catholic tek ova moa long Czechoslovakia. From diswan, planti Brethren bilong Major Party lusim kantri and duim waka bilong olketa long difren ples. Long there, datfala grup kamap datfala Moravian Church (Moravia hem wanfala ples long Czechoslovakia), wea still stap yet.

[Footnote]

Utraquist (difren kaen grup bilong olketa Hussite) givim bred and wine long olketa tu.

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Wanem Brethren Bilong Minor Party Bilivim

Olketa toktok hia wea kamaot from mek-15 and mek-16 century Acta Unitatis Fratrum showim samfala biliv bilong Minor Party. Olketa toktok hia, wea olketa leader bilong Minor Party raetem, hem againstim nao datfala Major Party.

Trinity: “Sapos iu luk insaed full Bible, bae iu no faendem eniwea hao God hem divaed olsem wankaen Trinity, thrifala difren man, olsem pipol mekap nomoa long mind bilong olketa.”

Holy spirit: “Holy spirit hem finger bilong God and wanfala present from God, or wanfala samting for givim comfort, or Paoa bilong God, wea Dadi hem givim long olketa wea biliv from gud samting saed long Christ. No eniwea Bible kolem holy spirit olsem wanfala God or wanfala Man; olketa teaching bilong olketa aposol no showim olsem tu.”

Priest: “Olketa konim iu witim title “priest”; sapos iu aotem spesol hair kat and holy wata bilong iu, iu sem olsem evriwan nomoa. Saint Peter askem evri Christian for kamap priest, taem hem sei: Iufala nao olketa holy priest wea givim spiritual sakrifaes. (1 Peter 2)”

Baptism: “Lord Christ talem olketa aposol: Go long full world, preachim datfala Gospel long evri creation, long olketa wea savve biliv. (Mark, chapter 16) And only bihaen diswan finis: and olketa fit for baptaes, olketa savve sev. And iu laek for baptaesim olketa smol pikinini wea no garem faith yet.”

No Teksaed: “Wanem olketa brata bifor lukim olsem nogud and dirty, hem nao for joinim army and killkill and for wakabaot witim samting for faet, evriting wea iu ting hem gud . . . So mifala ting iu, witim olketa nara teacher, lukluk nomoa witim wan eye long Bible toktok wea sei: So hem brekem paoa bilong bow, olketa shield and naef and wei for faet. (Psalm 75) And tu: Insaed full holy maunten bilong mi olketa bae no spoelem or distroem, from earth bilong Lord bae kamap full witim savve bilong God, and kaen olsem. (Isaiah, chapter 11).”

Preaching: “Iumi savve gud hao, firstaem, olketa woman nao pullim moa pipol for repent winim evri priest and bishop. And distaem olketa priest sidaon gud long waka and haos bilong olketa. Diswan nating stret! Go aot long full world. Preach . . . long evriwan.”

[Olketa Map long page 10]

(For formatted text, lukim pablikeson)

GERMANY

POLAND

CZECH REPUBLIC

BOHEMIA

Elbe River

PRAGUE

Vltava River

Klatovy

Chelčice

Kunwald

Vilémov

MORAVIA

Danube River

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Left: Peter Chelčický; long daon: page from “Net of the Faith”

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Gregory bilong Prague

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All images: S laskavým svolením knihovny Národního muzea v Praze, C̆esko