Part IV of Tucker’s “From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya” Book

Compared to the missionary activities of the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant movement in the Middle Ages faced greater challenges for a number of reasons. According to Tucker, adherents of this religious doctrine did not have the same resources as Catholics, which made it difficult for them to educate potential proponents. However, closer to the 18th century, Protestants formed their missionary strategy based on the ideas of Lutheranism. While rejecting the idea of ​​promoting their religion in the West, Protestants concentrated on the eastern direction, in particular, India. The Moravian movement that emerged in Bohemia reached its zenith in the 18th century. As Tucker states, it proved its strength by establishing settlements in the Americas, Africa, Greenland, and some other regions far from the Old World. Protestants’ focus on the fact that any Christian could be a missionary and an ambassador of the faith allowed them to attract followers globally.

Some outstanding representatives of the Moravian Church contributed to the spread of Protestantism in the world. Tucker provides examples of the educational work of such missionaries as Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf and his wife, George Schmidt, Christian David, and Hans Egede. The key strategies that united their activities were the devotion to the ideas of Protestantism and a personal desire to promote their religion in the face of limited resources. The result of their work was the emergence of Protestant missions in Africa, Greenland, and other regions. Moreover, having enlisted the support of individual monarchs, the enlighteners of the Moravian Church devoted all their efforts to rooting religious ideas in different parts of the world and often did not spare their lives for the good of the ultimate goal. This commitment allowed Protestantism to take root as a distinct Christian branch.