The International Dimension of Pietism

The Reformation initiated by Luther initially only affected parts of Germany and Scandinavia. For two hundred years, Lutheranism remained confined to Europe. It was not until Pietism, with its universal orientation, that Lutheranism spread to other continents in an organised way.

Open to other cultures and interested in other religions, August Hermann Francke corresponded with people all over the world and obtained detailed information about their respective circumstances. Already at an early stage, the Halle Orphanage became an astonishingly well-organised communication centre and hub for news from all over the world. Numerous foreign pupils and students were educated here. The Pietist emphasis on the Word also extended to foreign languages and philological studies. On this basis, Bible translations in various languages were produced and printed here. Francke sent staff to Russia as early as the end of the 17th century to work there in the Pietist spirit. From 1706 onwards, theologians from Halle organised the first Protestant mission in the Danish trading post of Tranquebar in south-east India, from which today’s Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church emerged. Later, pastors from Halle were sent to North America and founded there the first Lutheran church system that was independent of the state. Inspired by the Halle mission, the Moravian Church began its own missionary work in 1732.