In 1844, with approval and support from Frederick William IV, Wichern launched the Inner Mission, an effort to recapture the lost hearts of German Christians who had been baptized but had fallen away from the faith.
Frederick William IV supported the Pennsylvania system enthusiastically and wanted to implement it throughout Prussia.
Frederick William IV accepted Wichern's recommendations and three days later decreed that the Pennsylvania system had to be instituted throughout Moabit by the beginning of 1857.
With the Brothers installed in Moabit, Frederick William IV approved Wichern's appointment to the Prussian civil service on December 3, 1856.
On October 6, 1857, Frederick William IV suffered a stroke, paralyzing him and rendering him unable to govern.
(76) During the 1840s, religion had become an increasingly political issue, as Frederick William IV, a pious man, embarked on a concerted effort to revitalize Christianity and strengthen the ties between monarchical power and religious belief.
In January 1861, Frederick William IV died, leaving Wichern without his greatest source of support.
The removal of the Brotherhood from the Prussian prisons thus signaled a temporary end to Wichern and Frederick William IV's "religious revolution." In 1857, with Frederick William IV active and the conservatives in power, Wichern and his Brotherhood seemed unstoppable.
(29) The best account of Frederick William IV and his reign is David Barclay's Frederick William IV and the Prussian Monarchy 1840-1861 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995).
21st: Frederick William IV issues his proclamation `To My People and the German Nation'.
8th: Frederick William IV regains control of Berlin.
3rd: Frederick William IV rejects the offer of the imperial crown.