Description
In this volume, Katherine Faull provides an annotated, translated version of the Moravian “Instructions for the Choir Helpers,” which gave detailed advice for a congregation’s spiritual counselors on how to address concerns about one’s body and soul.
In monthly “speakings” – conversations between the choir helper and individual church members to determine whether the congregant could be admitted to communion-men and women received guidance on topics as varied as puberty, sexual attraction, frequency of intercourse, infant care, and bereavement. Moravians were remarkable for their positive evaluation of the body, believing that natural manifestations of masculinity and femininity were integral to spiritual consciousness. The highly confidential “Instructions for the Choir Helpers”-which were passed on only by permission of church leaders-reflect that philosophy, providing insights into an interpretation of the body as a holistic system that should be cared for as a vessel for the spirit.
A unique resource for scholars of religious history, gender studies, and colonial American church history, “Speaking to Body and Soul” provides an invaluable look into Moravian thought on the most intimate matters.
