Lovers of the Truth

Title: Lovers of the Truth
Author: Naomi Rosenberry
Major Themes: Anabaptists, Greece, Moravia, Ottoman Empire
Synopsis: When Stefan is kidnapped by the Turks and taken to Greece as a slave, he learns that there are true believers there as well as in his homeland of Moravia, where the Anabaptists are a growing movement.

Did you know that the original letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica (either 1st or 2nd Thessalonians; maybe both) was still in existence in the 1500s? Did you know that the original church he founded was still strong, and faithful to the practices and beliefs he taught them, in the 1500s? Did you know that there was contact, at least once, between the Thessalonican believers in Greece, and the early Anabaptists, in Moravia, during the 1500s? I had heard just a mention once upon a time about the letter to the Thessalonian believers still being in existence, so many years ago when I saw Lovers of the Truth advertised I knew it was a book I wanted to read.

Lovers of the Truth is a fictitious story which presents one possible way in which the Moravian Anabaptists and the Greek believers could have learned about each other. The first chapter opens with a raiding party of Turks from the Ottoman Empire suddenly appearing in the streets of the village of Pausram. They are looking for young men to sell as slaves. Justin escapes, but his brother Stefan is never seen again. We follow the lives of both young men as the one is taken to Greece and sold as a slave, while the other, with his family, search for peace and answers to the questions they have. Along the way, we learn a lot about family, village and religious life in Moravia, as well as in Greece shortly after the beginning of the Reformation, as well as about the general history of the times in frequent sidebars. This well-researched story will bring the time of the early Anabaptists to life, as well as introduce you to a little-known account recorded in The Martyrs Mirror.

No warnings!