Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "Beisselology: The Cloister's Saron & The Saal" Story

Snow was on the ground when this photo of the Saron (Sisters'
House) and Saal (Meeting House) was taken years ago.

It was an ordinary day. Just left Conrad Beissel's House with my personal guide Sue and headed to what seems to be the main attraction at the Ephrata Cloister. It certainly is the largest of the buildings on the 28 acres of property that at one time was much larger in acreage with many more structures. Wasn't long before we entered what was known as the Saron, or Sisters' House. It was built in 1743 but wasn't occupied until 2 years later.

The Sisters' House before the Saal, or Meeting House, was added.

The three-story Germanic-style building is immense. To the right of the wooden house is another similar building, but much smaller, known as the Saal or Meeting House. Both buildings are where the celibate women of the Ephrata Cloister lived and worshiped. On the outside of the house I noticed that some of the floor joists extended past the siding and were covered with a sloped piece of wood to evidently protect it from the elements.

Exposed joists are protected by overhanging boards.

As I entered I saw a stone sink that was used for washing your hands. I quickly took notice to the very low doors, much like the doors in Conrad Beissel's home. Beissel purposely planned the tiny doors to teach members that "the door to heaven is small." Approximately 40 Sisters lived in the building while the Brothers lived in their own large house.

LDub stands by one of the doors in the Sisters' House.
I had to stoop down in order to pass through doors
throughout the house. Signified humility and servitude.

When the Ephrata Cloister first opened, both men and women were housed in the same building, but on separate sides. Eventually that building became the Saron after a similar building was made for the men. Women came to live in the Saron for various reasons. Some were widows, some entered for spiritual direction while others entered when members of their family arrived at the Cloister. In another show of self-denial, each would have a small closet and the comfort of a bed was exchanged for a wooden bench and a wooden pillow. Mother Maria supervised activities for the Sisters much like the Brothers' activities. Daily life for the Sisters was highly regimented. They slept six hours per night from 9 PM to midnight and from 2 AM until 5 AM, with a two-hour break to "Watch" for the coming of Christ. During that time they would attend a mystical midnight matin that featured Beissel frequently preaching. The time was chosen since he believed that, if Christ should return, it would be in the middle of the night.

This is a photograph showing the room where the Sisters
would learn Fraktur.

They ate one small vegetarian meal a day, but did get to eat lamb during the celebration of communion on Saturday, the Sabbath. One of the activities I had a chance to see was the room where they were taught Fraktur or Frakturscriften artwork; something I taught in high school, but called calligraphy.

A sample of the Fraktur or calligraphy
that was produced at the Cloisters.

The hallways were very narrow throughout the house. This too was planned, since Beissel believed that narrow corridors showed "the narrow way to paradise through ascetic living." At the far right side of the Saron was constructed the Saal or Meetinghouse. It was a half-timbered building constructed in 1741 as a worship hall for Householders (married members of the Cloister) as well as celibate members of the Cloister. It was much like what we would recognize as a small church or chapel. At one end of it was an entrance door while on the other end was a lectern next to a door leading into a kitchen area. Sisters worshiped here every midnight as they awaited the second coming of Christ. The services included scripture readings, lessons and of course music. Conrad Beissel preached, sometimes with sermons that lasted for hours. I did see a large two-hour glass that was used in the Meeting House to try and limit his sermons.

One of the hallways in the house.

The Sisters did have the freedom of officiating at their own midnight "Watch" services as well as officiating at their own "love feasts", or communion meals after services. The Sisters also wrote hymns and in 1745 wrote "Die Rose", a history of their Order which included devotions they wrote. Conrad was well known for writing a cappella music maintaining his own rules for four-part harmony. Beissel learned to play the violin in Europe and taught music at the Cloister and wrote hundreds of songs. During his lifetime he wrote over 1,000 original compositions. The Cloister choir became widely known and over thirty people were involved in writing hymns while the print shop began producing hymnals, especially Die Turteltaube. The Ephrata hymnal (words only) was printed in 1747. Sue and I walked from the Meeting House into the kitchen area where the "love feasts" would be offered. A large fireplace for cooking was on one wall with a cabinet filled with dishes on the opposite wall. On the top of the cabinet were hand-made beehives which were used to attract bees for collecting honey. Well, my trip through the Sisters' House is complete and as I exit through the kitchen, I look forward for my next experience in this remarkable, but very barren place. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The Sisters would have a wooden plank for a bed and a wooden pillow.

This photograph I found online. It shows the garb worn by those living at the Sisters and Brothers Houses. Here the Sisters are entering the Saal for a service.

Heading into the Saal or Meetinghouse. Naturally the doorframe is very narrow and I must stoop to get through the door.

The Meetinghouse showing both levels with benches for seating. The choir would sit on the second floor.

Ephrata community members created illuminated manuscript tune books for use with their printed hymnals. This tune book was owned by Solomon Gorrad, one of the 200 or so Householders. He was also the Cloister’s clock maker.