Conrad Beissel
Encyclopedia
Johann Conrad Beissel was the German
-born religious
leader who in 1732 founded the Ephrata Community in Pennsylvania
.
in Germany
, and came to Pennsylvania
in 1720. Beissel had arrived in America with the intention of joining the commune of hermits founded by Johannes Kelpius
, but Kelpius had died in 1708. Beissel met with one of Kelpius' associates, Conrad Matthaei, who became his principal spiritual confidant. The group around Kelpius had arrived in 1694. They settled on a ridge above the Wissahickon Creek
. There they prayed, meditated, watched the stars looking for signs of the coming kingdom of Christ, and they educated children. Some were celibate until death; others married.
In 1732 Beissel established a semi-monastic community called the Camp of the Solitary, with a convent (the Sister House) and a monastery (the Brother House) at Ephrata
, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
. Celibacy was considered a virtue, but not obligatory. Each member adopted a new name, and Beissel was called Friedsam, to which the community afterward added the title of Gottrecht. Believing families settled near the community, accepted Beissel as their spiritual leader, and worshipped with the community on the Sabbath. They were influenced by Baptist thought.
Beissel served as the community's composer as well as its spiritual leader. He devised his own system of musical composition intended to simplify the process by relying on pre-determined sequences of "master notes" and "servant notes" to create harmony. This was mentioned in Thomas Mann
's Doctor Faustus
as a precursor to serialism
.
Beissel's colony was noted for its printing facilities. After Beissel's death and the disruption of the war years of the American Revolution
, the utopian community declined in population. Failing to attract sufficient members, its people assimilated into the general Baptist community.
Beissel was one of the first vegetarians
in North America who was motivated by Christian religious belief. The entire Ephrata community reportedly abstained from meat eating, which Beissel considered spiritually undesirable.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
leader who in 1732 founded the Ephrata Community in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Background
Beissel was born in EberbachEberbach
Eberbach can refer to:* Eberbach , city on the river Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Eberbach Abbey, Cistercian monastery in Germany* Eberbach-Seltz, commune of the Bas-Rhin département in FrancePeople:...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and came to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 1720. Beissel had arrived in America with the intention of joining the commune of hermits founded by Johannes Kelpius
Johannes Kelpius
Johannes Kelpius , a German Pietist, mystic, musician, and writer, interested in the occult, botany, and astronomy, came to believe with his followers in the "Society of the Woman in the Wilderness" that the end of the world would occur in 1694...
, but Kelpius had died in 1708. Beissel met with one of Kelpius' associates, Conrad Matthaei, who became his principal spiritual confidant. The group around Kelpius had arrived in 1694. They settled on a ridge above the Wissahickon Creek
Wissahickon Creek
Wissahickon Creek is a stream in southeastern Pennsylvania. Rising in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, it runs about 23 miles passing through and dividing Northwest Philadelphia before emptying into the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia...
. There they prayed, meditated, watched the stars looking for signs of the coming kingdom of Christ, and they educated children. Some were celibate until death; others married.
In 1732 Beissel established a semi-monastic community called the Camp of the Solitary, with a convent (the Sister House) and a monastery (the Brother House) at Ephrata
Ephrata, Pennsylvania
Ephrata is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, south east of Harrisburg and about west by north of Philadelphia. It is named after Ephrath, a biblical town in what is now Israel. Ephrata's sister city is Eberbach, Germany, the city where its founders originated. In its...
, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
. Celibacy was considered a virtue, but not obligatory. Each member adopted a new name, and Beissel was called Friedsam, to which the community afterward added the title of Gottrecht. Believing families settled near the community, accepted Beissel as their spiritual leader, and worshipped with the community on the Sabbath. They were influenced by Baptist thought.
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
's Doctor Faustus
Doktor Faustus
Doctor Faustus is a German novel written by Thomas Mann, begun in 1943 and published in 1947 as Doktor Faustus. Das Leben des deutschen Tonsetzers Adrian Leverkühn, erzählt von einem Freunde Doctor Faustus (in German, Doktor Faustus) is a German novel written by Thomas Mann, begun in 1943 and...
as a precursor to serialism
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
.
Beissel's colony was noted for its printing facilities. After Beissel's death and the disruption of the war years of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, the utopian community declined in population. Failing to attract sufficient members, its people assimilated into the general Baptist community.
Beissel was one of the first vegetarians
Christian vegetarianism
Christian vegetarianism is a minority Christian belief based on effecting the compassionate teachings of Jesus, the twelve apostles and the early church to all living beings through vegetarianism or, ideally, veganism...
in North America who was motivated by Christian religious belief. The entire Ephrata community reportedly abstained from meat eating, which Beissel considered spiritually undesirable.
Works
ed. Peter C. Erb, Johann Conrad Beissel and the Ephrata Community. Mystical and Historical Texts, Lewiston, NY: 1985 (contains selected works)External links
- "Beisel, Johann Konrad (1690-1768)", Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online