The Moravian Church is a Protestant denomination of Christianity. Moravians began moving to North Carolina in the mid 18th century and settled in a large tract of land in the northern part of the state called Wachovia (around present-day Winston-Salem). In 1757 Christopher Thomas Benzien submitted a petition to Governor Arthur Dobbs on behalf of the Wachovian Brethren requesting his assistance in guarding their settlement from American Indians in the area.