Attending service on Easter Sunday is a time honored practice for millions in the South, but nowhere is this tradition more enduring than in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The city is home to the oldest continuous sunrise service in America, the Moravian Easter Sunrise Service held in the Old Salem historic district. The service takes place in the pre-dawn hours of Easter Sunday annually, continuing a Moravian tradition that dates to 1772.
Sunrise Service Through The Ages
In modern times, a sunrise service on Easter is a widely practiced custom, but it wasn’t until 1732 that the first documented pre-dawn liturgy was celebrated in Herrnhut, Germany, by Moravian Christians. Moravians are a Protestant faith community known for their dedication to missions, craftsmanship, faith, and humility. Their roots can be traced to Central Europe 600 years ago and fleeing religious persecution, they arrived in America in the early 1700s. In 1753, Moravian leaders moved South, purchasing 100,000 acres in North Carolina, in an area they called Wachovia–what is now known as modern day Winston-Salem.
Winston-Salem is still home to the largest population of Moravians in the South and their heritage and traditions are an integral part of the city. “The Moravians didn’t just found a town—they shaped the culture here, ” says Michael Breedlove, a lifelong city resident and practicing Moravian. “Their emphasis on craftsmanship, community, and equality really helped define what Winston-Salem became. And even though the city has changed over the years, you can still feel those values in a lot of ways.”
Today, more than 254 years later, the sunrise service continues in much the same way, attracting anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 worshippers annually, making it the longest running and largest Easter Sunday service in the nation.
God’s Acre
The Easter sunrise service is officially celebrated by 13 Moravian congregations, but all who wish to attend are welcomed. The service begins at 6:15 a.m. on the northeast corner of Salem Square in front of Home Moravian Church, but the celebration actually starts the day before when Moravian families gather in God’s Acre, the community cemetery, to clean more than 8,000 white marble graves and lay flowers. Unlike traditional cemeteries, Moravian graveyards are laid out by stage of life rather than family plots, and every grave is identical, a reminder that all are equal under God’s eyes.
Shrouded in darkness on Easter morning, thousands will gather in Salem Square for the service, led by the Rev. Joe Moore, chair of the Salem Congregation Board of Elders. It begins with Rev. Moore proclaiming to the crowd, “The Lord is risen!” before they respond, “The Lord is risen indeed!”…