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.BACON'S "SECRET SOCIETY": THE EPHRATA CONNECTION
SECTION II — SLIDES AND RESEARCH ON EPHRATA
by Linda S. Schrigner, et al
20
SECTION II — SLIDES AND RESEARCH ON EPHRATA
by Linda S. Schrigner, et al
20
| During my tour at Ephrata, I heard some amusing
stories about the early stages of development. One story involves
Beissel’s doctrine of celibacy, and how it happened that this building,
the brother house, or Bethania, came to be built. The first
dormitory to accommodate the celibate men and women had been called the
Berghaus
or Big House. As an experiment, they were allowed to live there—separated,
including those who had been married before coming to Ephrata. The
men lived in one part of the building, and the women in another.
Well, Beissel realized after giving repeated warnings— that the arrangement
just wasn’t going to work! The members had been traveling back and
forth at night! The women, it seems—particularly missed the comfort
and security of being with their husbands. As a result, this building
was built for the men. It was torn down early in the 20th Century.
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