Johann Leonhard Dober
Encyclopedia
Johann Leonhard Dober was, along with David Nitschmann
, one of the two first missionaries of the Moravian Brethren (Herrnhuter Brüder) in the West Indies in 1732.
. On July 24, 1731, he heard a talk given by Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf about missions to the slaves of the Caribbean. In his talk, Zinzendorf described a former slave from the Danish island of St. Thomas
named Anthony Ulrich, who believed that the slaves would be very receptive to Christian missionaries. Dober, along with his friend Tobias Leupold, felt called to go to the Caribbean, and they began to prepare for this work. Although they initially met with opposition from the Moravian Brethren, the doubts were eventually settled by drawing lots. Dober's lot read, "Let the lad go, for the Lord is with him," but Leupold's said that he must wait. Instead, David Nitschmann was chosen to go with Dober to help start the Caribbean mission.
“We shall work,” replied Nitschmann, “as slaves among the slaves.”
“But,” said Von Plesz, “that is impossible. It will not be allowed. No white man ever works as a slave.”
“Very well,” replied Nitschmann, “I am a carpenter, and will ply my trade.”
“But what will the potter do?”
“He will help me in my work.”
“If you go on like that,” exclaimed the Chamberlain, “you will stand your ground the wide world over.”
Although the Danish West Indian Company refused to grant them passage, the two men eventually found sympathy at the Danish court, and with the help of a court officer they obtained berths on a ship bound for the West Indies. Leaving Copenhagen on Oct 8, 1732, they arrived in St. Thomas two months later on December 13th. While in St. Thomas, they lived frugally and preached to the slaves, and they had a certain amount of success. Dober returned to Germany in 1734 (David Nitschmann had only gone to help Dober get settled and had left after only a few weeks), but other Moravian missionaries continued the work for fifty years afterward, establishing churches on St. Thomas
, St. Croix, St. John’s, Jamaica
, Antigua
, Barbados
, and St. Kitts. Moravian missionaries baptized 13,000 converts before any other missionaries arrived on the scene.
from 1745. Throughout this period he made several trips to England, Holland, and Silesia. After Count Zinzendorf died in 1760, he returned to Herrnhut, where he served on the directing board of the Moravian Brethren and spent his last years. He died on April 1, 1766 and was buried in Hutberg, Germany.
David Nitschmann der Bischof
David Nitschmann der Bischof was with Johann Leonhard Dober one of the two first missionaries of the Moravian Brethren in the West Indies in 1732, and the first Bishop of the Renewed Unitas Fratrum, the Moravian Church...
, one of the two first missionaries of the Moravian Brethren (Herrnhuter Brüder) in the West Indies in 1732.
Early Years in Germany
Dober learned the trade of pottery from his father. He was converted at age 17 while visiting the Moravian church at HerrnhutHerrnhut
Herrnhut is a municipality in the district of Görlitz, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.It has access to Bundesstraße 178 between Löbau and Zittau...
. On July 24, 1731, he heard a talk given by Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf about missions to the slaves of the Caribbean. In his talk, Zinzendorf described a former slave from the Danish island of St. Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
named Anthony Ulrich, who believed that the slaves would be very receptive to Christian missionaries. Dober, along with his friend Tobias Leupold, felt called to go to the Caribbean, and they began to prepare for this work. Although they initially met with opposition from the Moravian Brethren, the doubts were eventually settled by drawing lots. Dober's lot read, "Let the lad go, for the Lord is with him," but Leupold's said that he must wait. Instead, David Nitschmann was chosen to go with Dober to help start the Caribbean mission.
Mission in St. Thomas
On August 20, 1732, Count Zinzendorf blessed the two young men, and after a prayer meeting sent them on to Copenhagen, where they were to find a ship bound for St. Thomas. In Copenhagen, they again met with opposition to their plans. Even Anthony Ulrich, who had originally proposed the idea, began to have second thoughts. Von Plesz, the King’s Chamberlain, asked them how they would live.“We shall work,” replied Nitschmann, “as slaves among the slaves.”
“But,” said Von Plesz, “that is impossible. It will not be allowed. No white man ever works as a slave.”
“Very well,” replied Nitschmann, “I am a carpenter, and will ply my trade.”
“But what will the potter do?”
“He will help me in my work.”
“If you go on like that,” exclaimed the Chamberlain, “you will stand your ground the wide world over.”
Although the Danish West Indian Company refused to grant them passage, the two men eventually found sympathy at the Danish court, and with the help of a court officer they obtained berths on a ship bound for the West Indies. Leaving Copenhagen on Oct 8, 1732, they arrived in St. Thomas two months later on December 13th. While in St. Thomas, they lived frugally and preached to the slaves, and they had a certain amount of success. Dober returned to Germany in 1734 (David Nitschmann had only gone to help Dober get settled and had left after only a few weeks), but other Moravian missionaries continued the work for fifty years afterward, establishing churches on St. Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
, St. Croix, St. John’s, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, and St. Kitts. Moravian missionaries baptized 13,000 converts before any other missionaries arrived on the scene.
Later Years
Dober returned to Europe since he had been chosen to serve as Chief Elder of the Moravian Brethren. As the work began to spread across the world, he realized that he could not do the job any more and it was his 1741 offer to resign that occasioned the Moravian Unity's realization that Jesus Christ is the only Head and Chief Elder of the Church. He married Anna Schindler on July 13, 1738, but she died during childbirth on December 12, 1739. In 1743 he remarried, this time to Anna Gertrude Engel. Thereafter he was consecrated a bishop, and served in LivoniaLivonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
from 1745. Throughout this period he made several trips to England, Holland, and Silesia. After Count Zinzendorf died in 1760, he returned to Herrnhut, where he served on the directing board of the Moravian Brethren and spent his last years. He died on April 1, 1766 and was buried in Hutberg, Germany.
The Story of the Moravian Slaves
A popular misconception is that Dober and Nitschmann sold themselves into slavery in order to gain access to the African slaves of St. Thomas. In fact, although they expressed willingness to do this, white slavery was not allowed in any of the West Indian islands, so they plied their individual trades to support themselves.External Links
- http://books.google.com/books?id=oUVDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA438&lpg=PA438&dq=john+loenhard+dober&source=bl&ots=b3RjP93Zt7&sig=XQzt5a1HITxP3pxqjNviT3iyLLk&hl=en&ei=2d7KTqfOFtS-2AXIpfXGDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=john%20loenhard%20dober&f=false/The Christian Treasury: Containing Contributions from Ministers and Members of Various Evangelical Denominations, pages 438-442]
- The Missions of the Church of the United Brethren, pages 241-246