Bach, Jeff
Voices of the Turtledoves

The Sacred World of Ephrata.

Drawing on manuscript ressources and archaeological investigations, the author presents an overarching look at the radical Pietist community founded in 18th century, arguing that the key to understanding all the various aspects of life at Ephrata - its architecture, manuscript art, and social organization - is the religious thought of Beissel and his co-leaders. The Ephrata Cloister was a community of radical Pietists founded by Georg Conrad Beissel (1691–1768), a charismatic mystic who had been a journeyman baker in Europe. In 1720 he and a few companions sought a new life in William Penn's land of religious freedom, eventually settling on the banks of the Cocalico Creek in what is now Lancaster County. They called their community "Ephrata", after the Hebrew name for the area around Bethlehem. This volume provides a fascinating look at the sacred world that flourished at Ephrata. XIX,282 Seiten mit drei Karten und 26 Abb., Leinen (Pennsylvania German History and Culture Series; Vol. 3/Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society; Vol. 36/Arbeiten zur Geschichte des Pietismus; Sonderband/Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht/Pennsylvania State University Press 2003)