Under cover of darkness, a dozen or so men quietly walked through the falling snow in Zurich, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 1525. The winter wind seemed to match the chill in their hearts as they made their way through the narrow streets to the home of Anna Manz, mother of Felix.
The city council had ordered them to stop meeting for Bible study. What should they do?
Once inside, they prayed for guidance. When the prayers ended, George Blaurock, a former priest, asked Conrad Grebel to baptize him. Grebel did so, and Blaurock proceeded to baptize the others.
The Anabaptist movement was born.
When what they had done became known, the Bible study group was arrested and jailed. But as soon as they were released, they began to travel and preach.
2025 is the 500th
anniversary of Anabaptism. Read my story about the start of
the Anabaptist movement in Anabaptist World.
Photo above: The Limmat
River in Zurich, Switzerland, birthplace of Anabaptism, where Felix Manz
became the city’s first Anabaptist martyr, drowned in the river on Jan. 5,
1527.
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