Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society, Vol. 13: February 5, 1909; Ephrata Hymns and Hymn Books; An Old Receipt Book; Minutes of February Meeting (Classic Reprint)

This book describes the Ephrata hymns and hymn books of the 18th Century and the Ephrata Brotherhood. The Ephrata Brotherhood were a mystical monastic Protestant society founded in the 1700s. A large section of the book is devoted to the Ephrata Hymn-book, a hymnal influenced by German poet Angelus Silesius, containing approximately 750 hymns, two thirds of which were written by Conrad Beissel, the founder of the Ephrata Brotherhood. Other hymns were composed by Peter Miller, Christina Hoehn and other members of the brotherhood. The author also discusses the broader context of German Separatism and the Ephrata Brotherhood's role within this larger religious movement. This book explores the mystical, Christian socialist, Ephrata Brotherhood and their literary work in a stylistically unique and fascinatingly in-depth way that highlights the Ephrata hymns as an important part of early American Protestantism.