Daily Gleaner 1942 March 21 p6 

 
Jamaican Elected Bishop Of Moravian Church In Atnerica

The Rev. W. V. Moses, Dean of the Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., has been elected a Bishop of the Northern Province of the Moravian Church in the United States. The date for the consecration has not yet been fixed, but no doubt it will take place shortly.

Dr. Moses was born at Newport, Manchester, Jamaica, B.W.I, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Moses. In 1909 he was called to a Professorship at the Moravian College, where he had earned his M.A. and Ph.D. Degrees. In 1930 he became Doctor of Divinity, and Dean of the Theological Seminary. He is a member of the American Association of Theological Seminaries and the Classical League ol the Middle Atlantic States. He has books on "The Why of Latin" and "Outlines of the Old Testament" and has published numerous articles in religious papers.

His son, Ensign V. H, Moses is stationed with the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbour, and his daughter is a student at Wilson College.

Bishops of the Moravian Church are not necessarily Executive Officers, but are spiritual leaders. The office of Bishop is international in character, and a Bishop of one province may be recognised in another. This accounts for the Latin title, "Episcopus Fratrum" - Bishop of the Moravian Unity.


The above extract from a recent issue of the Bethlehem Times, published in Bethlehem, Penn, U.S.A. will be of great interest to many of our readers. Moravians in this Island have followed the brilliant career of Dr. Moses with great interest, and will be much gratified to learn of his election as a Bishop. Dr. Moses visited his sister Mrs. H. Helwig, of Tiverton, Manchester, a few years ago. It will be recalled that he gave several stirring addresses at the Mandeville Convention, and many non-Moravians will join in congratulating his relatives on his new office.

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Walter Vivian Moses Lectures in Moravian Studies

Since 1995, the Walter Vivian Moses Lectures in Moravian Studies have been held annually on the last Thursday in April at Moravian Seminary. In 2000, the lectures expanded to include sites in North Carolina (2nd Monday of October) and the Western District of the Moravian Church (1st Sunday of November). These lectures, devoted to Moravian topics, are supported by a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

The lectureship honors the memory of the late Bishop Walter Vivian Moses, who was an Old Testament scholar, dean of Moravian Theological Seminary, and a leader in the Moravian Church’s response to the social issues of the 20th century. Bishop Moses (1879–1975) was a member of the faculty of Moravian Theological Seminary from 1910 until his retirement in 1946. He taught Old Testament, and in 1930 he was appointed the first dean of Moravian Seminary as a separate institution from Moravian College.

Earlier in his career he had served pastorates in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and after his retirement he was the founding pastor of Schoenbrunn Moravian Church, New Philadelphia, Ohio. He was one the architects of the Moravian Church‘s response to the social issues of the 20th century, and was active in promoting civil rights in St. Augustine, Florida, where he retired in 1950. 

This summary of the later career of Bishop Moses can be found at

http://www.moravianseminary.edu/center/moses.htm