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In light of COVID-19, the Moravian Archives has adopted new policies and procedures to be followed by all visitors to the archives. These policies are viewable here, COVID_19_2.0_reopening
The Moravian Archives is the official repository for the records of the Moravian Church in America – Northern Province. The Northern Province covers the Moravian churches in the United States (excluding congregations located in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Virginia) and Canada.
The Bethlehem Moravian Archives also holds records from the Moravian Church in Alaska, Labrador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Eastern West-Indies. For records from the Moravian Church in the Southern Province (North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Virginia) contact the Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem, NC, www.moravianarchives.org. Information on other Moravian collections can be found on the Moravian archives portal.
The Moravian Archives is affiliated with the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth, PA.
The Moravian Archives collects and preserves records and historical materials of Moravians in North America and makes them available to the public.
It is the official repository of the records of the Moravian Church in America, Northern Province.
The Archives fulfills its mission through archival processing, research services, education, publications, and public programming.
The Moravian Archives is located on the campus of Moravian College, across the street from the Moravian Theological Seminary.
There is parking reserved for visitors of the Moravian Archives in the lot behind the Archives building (north side of lot P). Please ask our staff for a parking pass upon your arrival. We are also glad to send you a parking pass by email ahead of time.
The Moravian Archives
Hours
The Moravian Archives is open on select Saturdays during the year. You can find these on our calendar.
The Moravian Archives will be closed for visitors on holidays or during special programs. Please check our calendar for more details.
For more information on scheduling your visit, see plan your visit.
The Moravian Archives follows Moravian College regarding inclement weather closings. Notice of closings will be posted on this website, our social media accounts, and on Moravian weather phone line at 610.625.7995.
The Moravian Archives offers a variety of internship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Previous interns have completed internships focused on:
Read about recent student projects at the Archives:
Those interested in completing an internship at the Archives are encouraged to contact processing archivist, Kaitlin Trainor at kaitlin@moravianchurcharchives.org.
The Moravian Archives offers a variety of volunteering opportunities for students, retirees, and anyone else interested in history and the community.
Currently, we have the following volunteer positions available:
Those interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact assistant archivist Thomas McCullough at tom@moravianchurcharchives.org.
The Moravian Archives greatly appreciates all of its volunteers. Volunteers are honored at our annual “Volunteer Party.”
President: Thomas Bross
Vice-President: Diane Windham Shaw
Treasurer: Karl Butz
Secretary: Alice Mosebach
Representative for Bethlehem Area Moravians (BAM):
Emeriti:
Paul Peucker studied history at the Rijksuniversiteit at Utrecht (1988) and received his Ph.D. from the same university in 1991. The topic of his dissertation is the first Moravian settlement outside Herrnhut: Heerendijk in the Netherlands.
He holds a degree in archivistics from the Rijksarchiefschool in The Hague. Paul was archivist at the Unity Archives in Herrnhut, Germany, from 1996-2004. In March 2004 he became the archivist of the Moravian Church in America, Northern Province, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Paul is the founding editor of the Journal of Moravian History and has published on various topics. His recent book, A Time of Sifting: Mystical Marriage and the Crisis of Moravian Piety in the Eighteenth Century was published in 2015 (Penn State University Press).
He is currently finishing a book on the early years of the community of Herrnhut, 1722-1732, that is expected to be published in English and German in the fall of 2021.
books:
edited volumes:
articles:
Thomas provides research and references services for the Moravian Archives. He completed his undergraduate studies in history, anthropology, and European studies at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in May 2011. He received a master’s degree in applied history from the same university in May 2013, focusing his graduate field work in archival studies. In December 2019, he received a master’s degree in library and information science, with an archives concentration, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Thomas previously worked at the Shippensburg University Fashion Archives and Museum, the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center, and the Cumberland County (PA) Archives. In August 2013 he became assistant archivist at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Thomas teaches German script to adult classes, and to local middle/high school German language classes. He is the editor of The Archival Spirit, a newsletter published three times per year by the Archivists of Religious Collections Section of the Society of American Archivists, and also serves as editorial assistant of the Journal of Moravian History.
Kaitlin completed her undergraduate studies in Political Science at Susquehanna University in 2014. She received her master’s degree in Library & Information Sciences from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in December of 2017. Previously, Kaitlin worked at the Bethlehem Area Public Library and the Bangor Public Library.
In January of 2018 Kaitlin became processing archivist at the Moravian Archives. Her main responsibility is to process collections from the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She also oversees the library collection and is the contact person for our congregations.
Kelly is the office manager. She works at the front desk and is the first point of contact for anyone visiting or calling the Moravian Archives. Kelly oversees our gift shop, schedules volunteers, processes payments, and coordinates the many events taking place at the Moravian Archives.
During the past years, the Moravian Archives has received grants for the following projects.
Annual Reports to Bethlehem Area Moravians
Reports to the Synod of the Moravian Church in North America, Northern Province
The Official Newsletter of the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem. Voices from the Vault is published twice a year and is sent to all the Friends of the Archives. Want to receive news and updates from us? Join our mailing list today!
To download the latest issue, click below:
issue 32: June 2020
issue 31: November 2019
issue 30: July 2019
issue 29: November 2018
issue 28: July 2018
issue 27: November 2017
issue 26 June 2017
issue 25: November 2017
issue 24: July 2016
issue 23: November 2015
issue 22: June 2015
issue 21: November 2014
issue 20: June 2014
issue 19: November 2013
issue 18: June 2013
issue 16: May 2012
issue 15: November 2011
issue 14: June 2011
issue 13: November 2010
issue 12: May 2010
issue 11: November 2009
issue 10: July 2009
issue 9: November 2008
issue 8: July 2008
issue 6: June 2007
issue 5: November 2006
issue 4: July 2006
issue 3: October 2005
issue 2: April 2005
issue 1: October 2004
The Vernon Nelson Fund provides grants to researchers as a contribution toward their expenses relating to their research at the Moravian Archives.
Funding may be given for research projects using material held by the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem. In 2019 three projects were awarded with a total of $1,200.
Rev. Vernon H. Nelson (1933-2010) was archivist of the Moravian Church, Northern Province from 1961 until 2004.
deadline: February 28, 2021
The Moravian Archives, Bethlehem (MAB), supports teaching, research and learning in its mission to preserve and provide access to the records of the Moravian Church in North America, Northern Province. To that end, the MAB makes freely available its collection of archival records and publications of local, national, and international origin and interest. These resources include archival and printed materials, digital surrogates, online catalogs, and descriptive metadata. These resources are made available for educational and research purposes.
By requesting access to archival records and publications made available at the MAB, the user agrees to abide by the Rules of the Archives. In support of the dissemination of scholarship, the MAB welcomes requests to reproduce materials held by the Library; however, in fulfillment of the user agreement, the user agrees to submit a permission-to-publish application to the MAB in order to notify MAB staff about of his or her intent to publish any material, in any format, from the collections of the MAB.
It is the responsibility of the requester to secure permission from the copyright holder. If the MAB is identified as the copyright holder, the MAB will give a non-exclusive right to publication upon review of the submitted permission-to-publish application. Further republication will require reapplication to the MAB. Users are encouraged to consult US Copyright Law. Regardless of whether the MAB is the copyright holder, all published materials from its collections should contain the following credit: Used with permission of the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem.
Note: Users may need to obtain other permissions for their intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy or moral rights may limit how materials may be used.