2021 Daily Photos

October 3, 2021 -- The Cloister

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The Ephrata Cloister, also known as Ephrata Community was a religious community, established in 1732 in today’s Ephrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was established by a group that separated from the Schwarzenau Brethren movement of Alexander Mack of Schwarzenau in Germany. Originally, Ephrata was a retreat from worldly distractions where devoted members followed a disciplined life designed to prepare them for a heavenly existence.

In 1732, Johann Conrad Beissel arrived here from Germany with a group of followers at the banks of Cocalico Creek in Lancaster County and established a semi-monastic community, a convent and a monastery and called it "Ephrata". The members of the order had to be celibate, to believe in self-discipline and strict interpretation of the Bible. At its height, the Ephrata community owned 250 acres and had about 80 celibate men and women. The last resident of the Ephrata Cloister died in 2008. The grounds of the community are now owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. More detailed information here for anyone interested: https://ephratacloister.org/about/history/

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