Girl Talk: The Role of the "Speakings" in the Pastoral Care of the Older Girls' Choir

Abstract

Abstract In marked contrast to contemporary eighteenth-century cultural and political inscriptions of the body, the Moravians articulated a radical body dialectic in which the natural manifestations of manhood and womanhood were considered to be integral elements of manifested spiritual consciousness. However, the positive corporeality of eighteenth-century Moravian faith attracted fierce criticism to the group, as the hyper-realistic linguistic and artistic depictions of the significance of the crucified Christ gave rise to virulent attacks on the ethical practices of the Moravian Church. From Goethe's age until now, both the parties of reason and religion have been fundamentally threatened by the intertwining of faith and the body and the concomitant spiritual and religious enactment in the Moravian Church. Tire Principia and the Instructions that were compiled by the synods directly after Zinzendorf's death constitute unique examples of a codification of what had been a tradition and rite within the renewed church since its very inception in 1722. This article examines the implementation of the Instructions specifically within the older girls' choir, the content of the Instructions, and explores the memoirs of eighteenth-century Bethlehem sisters for evidence of their efficacy.