1528 · event
Community of goods in Moravia
A community of Anabaptist refugees in Moravia began sharing their possessions. This practice became a defining feature of Hutterite life.
Anabaptists who had found refuge near Nikolsburg faced a division over participation in war and the payment of war taxes. Those who held that Christ’s followers should refuse violence left rather than defend the settlement by force. Their departure made the provision of food, shelter, and other necessities an immediate concern.
In 1528 the group gathered what they had brought with them and placed it on a cloak for common use. The supplied overview and the Hutterite history present this act of mutual provision as a beginning of community of goods, following the shared life described in Acts.
The believers settled at Austerlitz and were joined by further refugees. Jakob Hutter later helped organize and lead the communities. The event therefore connects the debate at Nikolsburg, the practical care of displaced people, and a form of shared Christian life that became central to the Hutterite tradition.
Sources for this history: [1] [2] [3]
