Rdxfbgrtj

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (June 2018) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation like Deepl or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary (using German): Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Exact name of German article]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated page}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Part of a series on
Anabaptism
Background Christianity Protestantism Reformation Radical Reformation Sermon on the Mount German Peasants' War Martin Luther Thomas Müntzer Ulrich Zwingli
Distinctive doctrines Theology of Anabaptism Believer's Baptism Nonconformity to the world Nonviolence Free will Freedom of religion Priesthood of all believers Separation of church and state Foot washing Shunning Simple living
Documents Schleitheim Confession Dordrecht Confession Ausbund Martyrs Mirror
Key people George Blaurock Hans Denck Conrad Grebel Melchior Hoffman Balthasar Hubmaier Hans Hut Jacob Hutter Alexander Mack Felix Manz Pilgram Marpeck Melchior Rink Michael Sattler Menno Simons
Largest groups Amish Brethren in Christ Conservative Mennonites Hutterites Mennonite World Conference Mennonites Mennonite Brethren Old Colony Mennonites Old Order Mennonites Old German Baptist Brethren Russian Mennonites Schwarzenau Brethren
Related movements Schwenkfelders Baptists Pietism Radical Pietism Herrnhuters Inspirationalists Quakers
Anabaptism portal
v t e

Felix Manz (also Felix Mantz) (c. 1498 in Zürich, Canton of Zürich, Old Swiss Confederacy – 5 January 1527 in Zürich, Canton of Zürich, Old Swiss Confederacy) was an Anabaptist, a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, and the first martyr of the Radical Reformation.

Birth and life

"Protestation und Schutzschrift" by Felix Manz

Manz was born and died in Zürich, where his father was a canon of Grossmünster church. Though records of his education are scant, there is evidence that he had a liberal education, with a thorough knowledge of Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Manz became a follower of Huldrych Zwingli after he came to Zürich in 1519. When Conrad Grebel joined the group in 1521, he and Manz became friends. They questioned the mass, the nature of church and state connections, and infant baptism. After the Second Disputation of Zürich^[1] in 1523, they became dissatisfied, believing that Zwingli's plans for reform had been compromised with the city council.

Grebel, Manz and others made several attempts to plead their position. Several parents refused to have their children baptized. A public disputation was held with Zwingli on 17 January 1525. The council declared Zwingli the victor.

After the final rebuff by the city council on 18 January, in which they were ordered to desist from arguing and submit to the decision of the council, and have their children baptized within eight days, the brethren gathered at the home of Felix Manz and his mother on 21 January. Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock, and Blaurock in turn baptized the others.^[2] This made complete the break with Zwingli and the council, and formed the first church of the Radical Reformation. The movement spread rapidly, and Manz was very active in it. He used his language skills to translate his texts into the language of the people, and worked enthusiastically as an evangelist. Manz was arrested on a number of occasions between 1525 and 1527. While he was preaching with George Blaurock in the Grüningen region, they were taken by surprise, arrested and imprisoned in Zürich at the Wellenburg prison.

Execution

Memorial plate on the river wall opposite number 43 Schipfe in Zürich, in remembrance of Manz and other Anabaptists executed in the early 16th century by the Zürich city government

On 7 March 1526, the Zürich council had passed an edict that made adult re-baptism punishable by drowning. On 5 January 1527, Manz became the first casualty of the edict, and the first Swiss Anabaptist to be martyred at the hands of magisterial Protestants. While Manz stated that he wished "to bring together those who were willing to accept Christ, obey the Word, and follow in His footsteps, to unite with these by baptism, and to purchase the rest in their present conviction", Zwingli and the council accused him of obstinately refusing "to recede from his error and caprice". At 3:00 p.m., as he was led from the Wellenburg to a boat, he praised God and preached to the people. A Reformed minister went along, seeking to silence him, and hoping to give him an opportunity to recant. Manz's brother and mother encouraged him to stand firm and suffer for Jesus' sake. He was taken by boat onto the River Limmat. His hands were bound and pulled behind his knees and a pole was placed between them. He was executed by drowning in Lake Zürich on the Limmat. His alleged last words were, "Into thy hands, O God, I commend my spirit." His property was confiscated by government of Zürich, and he was buried in the St. Jakobs cemetery. Manz's execution predates the Münster Rebellion which officially began in 1534.

Manz left written testimony of his faith, an eighteen-stanza hymn, and was apparently the author of Protestation und Schutzschrift (a defense of Anabaptism presented to the Zürich council).^[3]

Legacy

The witness of Felix Manz' life and the other radical Anabaptist continues to be a source of inspiration to Christians today.^[4] The Amish, Baptist, Mennonite and Bruderhof churches all are influenced to varying degrees by the Manz and the other Reformation-era Anabaptists.^[5]

Hymn

An 18-stanza hymn by Manz has been preserved and is found in the Ausbund, a 16th-century hymn book still used by the Amish. It is a hymn of praise to God for his great salvation. The seven lines of the first stanza are found below.

Notes

References

• 
  A History of the Baptists, by Thomas Armitage
  ISBN 1-57978-353-8
  


• 
  Leben und Sterben des Zürcher Täuferführers, Felix Mantz, by Ekkehard Trajewski (Estep and others call this the "definitive work" on Felix Manz.)


• 
  Mennonite Encyclopedia, Harold S. Bender, Cornelius J. Dyck, Dennis D. Martin, Henry C. Smith, et al., editors
  ISBN 0-8361-1018-8
  


• 
  The Anabaptist Story, by William R. Estep
  ISBN 0-8028-1594-4
  


• 
  The Anabaptist Vision, by Harold S. Bender
  ISBN 0-8361-1305-5
  


• 
  The Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror, by Thieleman J. van Braght
  ISBN 0-8361-1390-X
  


• 
  The Reformers and their Stepchildren, by Leonard Verduin
  ISBN 1-57978-934-X
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Felix Manz.

• 
  Manz, Felix (ca. 1498-1527) at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
  


• Anabaptist reconciliation with Reformed Church in Zurich to bring healing, hope