The Beginning and Today
The Anabaptists
Anabaptist Beginnings and in Modern Times
Anabaptists (Greek for twice baptised, or "re-baptizers”) are Christians of the Radical
branch of the Reformation. They got their start in approximately 1525. Anabaptists
rejected conventional Christian practices such as wearing wedding rings, taking oaths,
and participating in civil government.
In the 1520s and 1530s Anabaptist preachers spread the movement throughout central
Europe, and authorities, either from a lack of knowledge about the new sect, desire to
maintain orthodox doctrine, or a variety of other nuanced reasons, usually responded
with executions and banishment although a few leaders did exercise moderation in
dealing with the Anabaptists.
Much of the historic Roman Catholic and Protestant literature has represented the
Anabaptists as groups who preached false doctrine. That negative historiography
remained popular for about four centuries. The Roman Catholics and Protestants alike
persecuted the Anabaptists, resorted to torture and other types of physical abuse, in
attempts to curb the growth of the movement. The Protestants under Zwingli were the
first to persecute the Anabaptists.
Felix Manz became the first martyr in 1527. The Anabaptists were the most persecuted
religion sect throughout the Catholic Reformation. They were mainly persecuted
because they broke away from the Catholic Church and questioned many of the main
Catholic beliefs, especially infant baptism. (It should be noted that the Catholic
Church used baptism records as a basis for tax records, and a child unbaptized was a
child untaxed.)
On May 20, 1527, Roman Catholic authorities executed Michael Sattler. King
Ferdinand declared drowning (called the third baptism) "the best antidote to
Anabaptism". The Tudor regime, even those that were Protestant persecuted
Anabaptists as they were deemed too radical and therefore a danger to religious
stability.
The Anabaptists were early promoters of a free church and freedom of religion --
usually associated with separation of church and state. When it was introduced by the
Anabaptists in the 15th and 16th centuries, religious freedom independent of the state
was unthinkable to both clerical and governmental leaders. Religious liberty was
equated with anarchy.
Thieleman J. van Braght's Martyrs Mirror describes the persecution and execution of
thousands of Anabaptists in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland,
and other parts of Europe between 1525 and 1660. Continuing persecution in Europe
was largely responsible for the mass immigrations to North America by Amish,
Hutterites, and Mennonites.
Additional Reading
As a web designer whose awareness of
this movie began with an interest in the
career of Norbert Weisser who played
Michael Sattler, I do not claim to be an
authority on this belief. This information
was gathered largely from various
articles in Wikipedia and other locations
throughout the internet.
Additional information can be found by
following these links:
If you have a website, blog or other
research that you have done that
pertains to this belief, or these
characters, I will be happy to link it
here. Please contact me.
A Sisters and Brothers Production
Several existing denominational bodies may be legitimately regarded as the
successors of the continental Anabaptists -- Amish, Bretheren,
Hutterites, Mennonites and Bruderhof Communities.
Total worldwide membership of the Mennonite, Bretheren in Christ
and related churches totals 1,616,126 (as of 2009) with about 60
percent in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Groups deriving from the Schwarzenau Bretheren, often called
German Baptists, while not directly descended from the 16th-
century Anabaptists, are usually considered Anabaptist because of
an almost identical doctrine and practice.
Puritans of England and their Baptist branch arose independently,
but were influenced by the Anabaptist movement.
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