Just half an hour north
of Belfast by motorway, you
come to the outskirts of Ballymena. Once off the
modern motorway, a maze of small roundabouts flanked
by recent
red bricked houses. However,
as you turn off the Galgorm road into Cennick road,
you are greeted with a beautifully
preserved, picturesque, Moravian village. More than
200 years peel away and you instantly feel affected
by the atmosphere of the place.
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| Sketch from @1800 showing how the square of
Gracehill was formed. - copyright Dr David Johnston |
Although not the oldest of the Moravian congregations
in Northern Ireland, Gracehill is regarded as the "Mother
Church" because it was the only full scale Settlement built by the Moravians in Ireland.
The Moravian settlement at Gracehill had its beginnings
in the 15th Century. Inspired by the writings of
Wycliff - the English theologian, John Hus, the then
Rector of Prague University, preached fearlessly
for reform in the Catholic Church. Because of his
outspoken views he was condemned at the Council of
Constance and died at the stake in 1415.
Hus could be described as the first Protestant,
as it would be 100 years later until Martin Luther
nailed his thesis to the church door in Wittenberg
(Germany) demanding similar changes.
The followers of Hus kept the Unitas Fratrum (United
Brethren) teachings alive, and their beliefs spread
to the Americas, the Carribean, Africa, eventually
landing in England, where John Wesley and his associates
took interest. One of John Wesley`s associates -
John Cennick, was to become instrumental in founding
the
Moravian church
in Ireland.
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John Cennick
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While preaching in Dublin in 1746, Cennick
inspired a Ballymena merchant called Joseph Dean, who asked the preacher
to speak
in his hometown.
The initial audience in Ballymena- just a few dozen, grew to over 2000
in the days that followed. Although the majority greeted the new thinking
with
an open mind, some in the neighbourhood were far from happy. Cennick
had his life threatened and had to leave hastily. Two years later in
1748,
with the support of the Bishop of Down and Conor, Cennick began to preach
to hamlets in and around the Ballymena area, making a family home in
Craigbelly (Crebilly). A year later in 1749, he settled in Gloonen, a
townland between
Ahoghill and Gracehill.
However John Cennick`s relentless preaching,
travelling and working on the land, took its toll - "he laboured
until dusk and wrote at starlight"- and a violent
fever took his life, aged just 39. |
The untimely death of John Cennick was a devastating blow, but as always in
the history of the Moravian church, the seeds sown were nurtured and, in time,
a thriving and successful settlement was formed.
It was on land leased from Lord O`Neill that the
Ballymena brethren built their dwellings similar
to the grid-like
pattern of
villages in Europe. It consisted of a centrally
situated church - with a separate door for the men
and women
- surrounded by homes for the congregation, which
spread out in a large square. The square included
brethren
houses, communal houses for the single sisters, single
brethren and widows,
and also day and boarding schools for boys and
girls.
 For
Moravians, the burial ground was known as "Gods
Acre" and had a strict layout. Men were buried
to the left and women to the right of a central
path. All the headstones were of the same shape
and design - the Moravians believe that everyone
is equal in death - and were laid almost flat on
the ground.
Jim Kelso explored the Moravian
burial ground or "God's Acre" in Gracehill
along with William Roulston (Ulster Historical Foundation),
Dr David Johnston & Roberta Thomspon (tour
guides).
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From left to right: Jim Kelso,
David Johnston,
Roberta Thompson and William
Roulston
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In the audio clip below you can listen to Roberta
explaining how many of the bodies now buried in Gracehill
were exhumed from their previous graves in nearby
Gloonen
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