Peter Boehler’s Universalist Letter

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although the belief in universalism has been attributed to Peter Boehler since the eighteenth century, the matter has not been clearly documented. However, a letter, written by Boehler and preserved in the Moravian Archives, provides greater clarity as it contains a defense of a future “restitution of all things.” Possibly sent to George Whitefield, the letter detailed in this article not only provides evidence of Boehler’s restorationist beliefs, but also points to the role that universalism may have played in the Moravians’ 1740 schism with Whitefield.