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Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
The Moravian College and
Theological Seminary
In 1743, a Moravian boys’ school was established
in Bethlehem. Due to space constraints, it moved
to Nazareth in 1759, where it remained until
its eventual closing in 1929. This Nazareth
Hall Academy initially educated primary and
secondary students. By the early 1800s, the aging
European-trained ministers of the Moravian
Church in America were dwindling in number
and young ministers were not arriving to replace
them due to the Napoleonic Wars. Additionally, it
was felt that seminarians could be best trained in
the country they would eventually serve. Church
leaders began campaigning to establish the first
Moravian theological seminary in the United
States, and the headmaster of Nazareth Hall, Jacob
Van Vleck, offered his school as a place to begin
such instruction. On October 2, 1807, the Moravian
Theological Seminary began as a tiny department
within Nazareth Hall School with two teachers and
just three students (Moravian College 2007:3,6-7;
Myers 1982:160; Weinlick 1977:1-2).
The Moravian Theological Seminary grew slowly.
Its curriculum included both liberal arts subjects
and theological studies, which was standard fare for
American divinity schools. In this period there was
no clear separation between theological and college
studies at Moravian or other colleges and divinity
schools of the period. Students often entered as
young teens, and younger graduates typically
followed their education with several years of
teaching at Nazareth Hall or another Moravian
school before assuming the duties of a minister.
This training both to teach and to minister not only
provided clergy, but also reinforced the Moravian
beliefs in the benefits of education by providing a
source of American teachers (Weinlick 1977:2).
During its early years, the school led a peripatetic
life. In 1830, the Moravian Theological Seminary
left its original location at Nazareth Hall and moved
to a nearby building called The Cottage. It later
moved to Bethlehem and was housed on Broad
Street from 1838 to 1851, then returned to Nazareth
where it occupied the Whitefield House (see figure
2-2). It operated for a short time in Philadelphia
during 1855 and 1856 before returning one last time
to the Whitefield House. In 1858, it moved to the
former Nisky Hill Seminary on East Church Street
in Bethlehem (figure 2-37), where it remained for
almost 35 years. At this point, the Provincial Synod
of the Moravian Church decided that the school
should expand its curriculum into a full four-year
college program offering degrees. The school was
also renamed to reflect its college program. In
1863, it was accredited by the State of Pennsylvania
as Moravian College and Theological Seminary.
Eventually, the standard program for theological
students became a four-year college course plus
two years of theological study (Myers 1982:160-161;
Reker and Reid 1992:15; Weinlick 1977:2-3).
Once the school was settled in more secure
quarters, it entered a period of stability and growth.
Eventually, it outgrew its facilities. Concurrently,
the Moravian Church was beginning to realize that
improving the school and increasing the numbers
of graduates would contribute to the success of the
overall denomination.
In 1888, the Moravian Church decided to create
a larger permanent home for the Men’s College
and Theological Seminary. Several locations were
considered, among them sites offered by Moravian
congregations in Bethlehem, Gnadenhuetten,
Ohio and Watertown, Wisconsin. The Bethlehem
congregation offered a large parcel of vacant
farmland along Main Street at the northern edge
of the developing city, and this site was chosen to
become the new campus. The land was felt to be
beautifully situated on a hilltop and advantageous
as a site for the school. Keeping the Seminary
in Bethlehem was important to members of the
building committee, who felt that the longtime
history of the school in the area would help it flourish
in its new location. The large size of the Bethlehem
congregation, and the availability of positions for
college graduates in Bethlehem schools and local
businesses, also contributed to the decision. Part
Figure 2-37. Moravian College and Theological Seminary on
East Church Street, ca. 1880s (Moravian Church Archives).
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 2 • Historic Overview • 24