Join us and the Kelpius Society for a close look at rare materials in the library’s collection including various writings by Conrad Beissel and others, to explore the relationship between the Kelpius settlement and the highly significant historical site at Ephrata.

Georg Conrad Beissel emigrated from Germany in early years of the 18 th century, intending to join Johannes Kelpius and his utopian community at their settlement alongside Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia. Beissel was unaware that Kelpius had died some years prior, but he stayed on for a time, associating with surviving members of the Kelpius community before moving on to establish Ephrata Cloister on the Cocalico Creek in Lancaster County. The two communities –Ephrata Cloister and The Chapter of Perfection – are spiritually interrelated, with Ephrata also the repository for the compositions and hymns written by Kelpius and his followers, along with related archival materials.

Please register here for this free event.

Image: detail of lithograph illustration by Cornelius H. DeWitt of The Story of the Pennsylvania Dutch, 1943.