Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-05

sioraries and was so deeply impressed by 1t
that he followed the count to Lancaster and,
upon hearing him preach in the court house
there, at once became converted to the Mo-
ravian faith.
The first place of Moravian worship here
was built by him in 1T44 A portion of the
structure, which was composed of logs, still
stands His subsequent donations in behalf
of the unity were made in 1854. and consist
ed of the GOO acres upon which the town
proper is laid out, and an additional place of
worship-a two-story stone building.
The unity embraces three provinces-Ger-
many, England and America. Each prov
ince has its own government by synod and
provincial elders conferences The minis
tiers are bishops, presbyters and deacons.
1t has no formal creed, but its doctrine, as
found in the catechism Easter morning
Litany and Synodal Results, embraces,
among other things, the belief in the total
depravity of human nature, the love of God
the Father, the doctrine of the Holy Ghost.
the second coming of the Lord in glory and
the resurrection Of the dead into life or
unto condemnation. The worship is liturgi-
cal, and in many respects identical with that
Of the Episcopal Church. The litany of
both churches is the same, word for word.
Feet Washing Ceremony.
The feet washing and use of the Tot In
the election of. ministers and in marriages,
once prominent features Of the sect, have
fallen into disuse. The use Of the lot was the
peculiar privilege or authority, among va
rious others, that the elders had of deciding
upon the especial minister who was to look
after the spiritual welfare of the brethren,
and the exceptional and extraordinary pre-
rogative which they arrogated to themselves
of selecting from the sisters the helpmate
who was to share the worldly comforts and
Gales of the brother. The custom of plac-
ing the brethren on one side of the church
and the sisters on the other has also been
abolished The love feastS are, however,
still kept up. Toward the end OF the service,
which lasts about an hour and consists for
the NEST part, in the chanting of various
hymns by the choir and congregat ion girls
just budding into womanhood make their
appearance, bearing in their arms baskets
filled to overlooking with sweet buns an
inch thick and about as large round as a
saucer. Mugs Of coffee are also handed
about.
Curious Burial Custom.
In the cid portion of the Moravian bury
ing ground. whose moss-laden. century,
stained toulbs date back as far as the year
175S, the now obsolete Moravian custom Of
burial seems to have been rigidly adhered
to. There the departed married brethren
and sisters, each sex by itself, lie buried
in one portion Of the cemetery; the urmar-
RED brothers and sisters in another; the
widows and widowers in two other sep
arate sections. and the children, those ur-
der twelve years of age. by themselves.
| and those over twelve, the girls in one
place, the boys In another. mus the mem
bers Of a single family may be found
| buried in half dozen different places
in the cemetery. There are no tomb
| stones proper, but over each grave
| is placed fiat stone or marble slab en-
| graved with the name, time of birth, date
| of death and the age of the person buried.
The slabs are numbered IS members die,
and for adults are larger in size than those
| provided for children. In the new eN-
| tended portion of the cemetery this curious
custom has not been followed.
! In a field near by 100 of General Wash.
| irgton's soldiers Re buried. They died OF
G.; mp fever, contracted during his occu.