Moravians have often been noted for their intense emphasis on the Easter Festival, earning the nickname "Easter People." For centuries, Moravians have instituted various practices and traditions to show their devotion to Christ and His Passion. We, at Bethabara, carry on these traditions, proudly embracing our Moravian heritage while celebrating the joy of our risen Savior. 

All of our Holy Week/Easter Services will be streamed live on YouTube (@BethabaraMoravian).

For more information and the schedule for this year's Holy Week and Easter services, see below:

Holy Week

​Zinzendorf, the great leader of the renewed Moravian Church, summarized his faith as devotion to "Christ, and Him crucified." It is in this spirit of intense devotion that Bethabara observes Passion week, a celebration of Christ's crucifixion and atoning death.

Starting Palm Sunday and ending Good Friday, Bethabara holds nightly Holy Week services at 7pm. During these nightly meetings, we gather for prayer and worship, using the Moravian Readings for Holy Week book. This excellent, musically minded text follows an old Moravian tradition of recounting Christ's Passion during the week, combining all four gospels into a comprehensive narrative, mixed with great hymns of the church.

In addition to these readings, we hold communion at 7pm on Maundy Thursday (see below), a death hour service at 2:15pm Friday afternoon, and a Good Friday Lovefeast at 7pm Friday evening.

Inside Bethabara's 1788 Gemeinhaus

Maundy Thursday Communion at the Gemeinhaus

​On Maundy Thursday, we are fortunate to hold communion in our 18th century Gemeinhaus, located just down the road in Historic Bethabara Park. Built in 1788, the Gemeinhaus served as a community meeting place and house of worship until 1957. This simple, yet beautiful building harkens back to the piety of our Moravian forebears, appropriate for a service dedicated to fixing our eyes on Christ and His atoning blood.

This musically focused service begins at 7pm and consists of both Holy Week readings and Holy Communion. All are welcome to join for this beautiful service!

For more information on the Gemeinhaus and Historic Bethabara, click here to visit Historic Bethabara Park's Website.

Easter

History of Easter at Bethabara

"The Lord is Risen!"

Perhaps one of the most well known Moravian traditions is the Easter Sunrise Service - The celebration of the risen Christ at dawn in the church graveyard. The tradition began early on an Easter morning in the Moravian town of Herrnhut (Germany), when a group of Moravians gathered in the town graveyard as the sun rose, praising Christ through prayer and song. This event was so powerful that it set the foundation for the Moravian Easter worship we know today!

At Bethabara, we've been carrying on these same Moravian traditions since 1754, holding the oldest annual Easter service in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. According to the April 14th, 1754 entry into Bethabara Diary, the first Easter at Bethabara was an eventful one:

"Early in the morning we greeted our risen Lord with an Ave, and read the story of His resurrection. At noon we had preaching; then some of our Brethren had to go to the woods after our horses, which had strayed away. Toward evening a couple of strangers brought in two of our horses, which they had found nine miles away on the Yadkin. It is a difficult time, for the horses wander off, and many people have lost them that way. In the evening we had service, ending with the Litany, which was precious to our hearts. Then we went to our rest."

Easter at Bethabara Now

271 years later, we still praise Christ, our risen Lord in a similar way!

At Bethabara, our Easter begins at approximately 2 am (yes, two in the morning!), when our band begins playing "rounds" - waking up our community for Easter with hymns of praise!

While we no longer hold our own sunrise service (we participate in Salem Congregation's sunrise service), we hold a similar "Resurrection Service" at 10:30 am. This service uses the same Moravian Easter Morning liturgy, while also providing time for a sermon and additional scripture readings. Like a traditional Moravian Sunrise Service, our Resurrection Service includes a procession to the graveyard (God's Acre). The service then concludes at our graveyard, as we are led in song by our traditional Moravian band, praising our risen Savior.

Prior to the Resurrection Service, we hold a Easter fellowship breakfast beginning at 9am. All are welcome to join!

Bethabara God's Acre

Music is an important part of Moravian worship, especially during Holy Week and Easter! For more information about music at Bethabara, click here!