Church History · 1525

The Anabaptists and Believer's Baptism

On January 21, 1525, in Zurich, Conrad Grebel and his friends baptized one another as believing adults. Hunted by Catholics and Protestants alike, these Anabaptists gave rise to the Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites.

Read it in the Bible: Acts 2:38-41 Acts 8:36-38 Romans 6:3-4 Matthew 5:9 Matthew 5:33-37

On the evening of January 21, 1525, a small group met in the home of Felix Manz in Zurich, Switzerland. George Blaurock, a former priest, asked Conrad Grebel to baptize him on his confession of faith in Christ. Then Blaurock baptized the others. They had all been baptized as babies, but they believed baptism was meant for people old enough to believe. Their enemies called them Anabaptists, which means rebaptizers. Within a few years thousands had joined them, and thousands were killed for it. Their spiritual children include the Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites of today.

Who Were the First Anabaptists?

Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz and their friends were students of Ulrich Zwingli, the reformer of Zurich. Zwingli taught them to read the Greek New Testament and to test everything by Scripture. They took that lesson very seriously. Reading the New Testament, they saw people hearing the gospel, believing and then being baptized.

Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day. Acts 2:41

They also saw a church made of people who chose to follow Jesus, not a church that included everyone born in a certain town. Zwingli agreed with some of this at first. But he believed reform had to move with the city council, and the council wanted infant baptism to stay. In January 1525 the council ordered all unbaptized babies to be baptized within eight days, and told the Grebel group to stop meeting. Days later, they held their first adult baptism.

What Did the Anabaptists Believe?

The Anabaptists agreed with Luther and Zwingli on a lot. But they pushed some things further. In 1527, a group led by a former monk named Michael Sattler wrote the Schleitheim Confession, which summed up their convictions in seven points. Here are the main ones:

Believer's baptism. Baptism is for those who repent and believe, not for infants.
A free church. The church is a community of committed disciples, separate from the government. No one should be forced to believe.
Discipleship. Following Jesus means living differently every day, not just holding the right beliefs.
Peace. Most refused to fight in wars or use the sword, following the Sermon on the Mount.
No oaths. Jesus said let your yes be yes, so they would not swear oaths.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9

Why Were the Anabaptists Persecuted?

In the 1500s, church and state were tied together. Baptizing babies was how you became a citizen as well as a Christian. So rejecting infant baptism looked like rejecting society itself. Rulers also feared that refusing oaths and military service would lead to chaos.

Sadly, Catholics and Protestants both killed Anabaptists. On January 5, 1527, the Protestant authorities of Zurich drowned Felix Manz in the Limmat River, a cruel joke about his views on baptism. A few months later Catholic authorities burned Michael Sattler. George Blaurock was burned in 1529. Grebel escaped that fate only because he died of the plague in 1526.

The stories were gathered in a huge book called the Martyrs Mirror, first printed in 1660. One of the best known is Dirk Willems. In 1569 he was escaping across a frozen pond when the man chasing him fell through the ice. Dirk turned back and saved him. He was then arrested and burned. Many Amish homes still keep that story close.

What Happened at Münster?

It would not be honest to leave this out. From 1534 to 1535 a radical group took over the German city of Münster, declared it the New Jerusalem, and ruled it by force. The city was retaken and the leaders killed. Most historians see Münster as an exception. The peaceful Anabaptists rejected it, but for years their enemies used it to paint them all as dangerous.

Who Are the Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites?

After Münster, a Dutch priest named Menno Simons joined the movement in 1536 and became its gentle, steady leader. His followers became known as Mennonites. In 1693, a Swiss leader named Jakob Ammann called for stricter discipline and split off, and his followers became the Amish. Jakob Hutter led communities that shared all their goods, and they became the Hutterites.

Many fled persecution to Pennsylvania, Russia and later Canada and South America. Today there are hundreds of thousands of Amish in North America alone, and Mennonite and Brethren churches are growing fast in Africa and Asia. If you have ever bought a quilt or a whoopie pie in Lancaster County, you have met the great great grandchildren of the Radical Reformation.

Are Baptists the Same as Anabaptists?

Not exactly. Baptists began in 1609 among English Separatists, and they had contact with Dutch Mennonites, so there is a family connection. Baptists share believer's baptism and the call for religious freedom. But most Baptists do not hold Anabaptist views on pacifism and oaths. You can read more in the article on the First Baptist Church.

Why It Matters for You Today

Christians still disagree about baptism, and good believers hold both views. Those who baptize infants see it as a sign of God's covenant promise, like circumcision in Israel. Those who baptize believers see it as a public confession of faith. Whatever your church does, the Anabaptists left us a gift we all now take for granted. Faith cannot be forced. Every person must answer Jesus for themselves.

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

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Questions People Ask

What does Anabaptist mean?

Anabaptist means rebaptizer. It was a name given by their opponents, because the first Anabaptists had been baptized as infants and were baptized again as believing adults. They saw their adult baptism as their only true baptism.

When did the Anabaptist movement start?

It began on January 21, 1525, in Zurich, Switzerland, when Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock and Blaurock baptized the others at a meeting in the home of Felix Manz.

Why were Anabaptists killed?

In the 1500s church and state were joined, and rejecting infant baptism was seen as rejecting society and the law. Both Catholic and Protestant authorities executed thousands of Anabaptists by burning, drowning and beheading.

Are the Amish Anabaptists?

Yes. The Amish began in 1693 when Jakob Ammann led a split from the Swiss Mennonites over church discipline. The Mennonites, Amish and Hutterites all come from the Anabaptist movement.

Sources

← Luther at the Diet of Worms: Here I Stand William Tyndale's English New Testament →

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