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Anabaptists

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(Greekana, again, andbaptizo,baptize; rebaptizers).

Aviolent and extremely radical body ofecclesiastico-civil reformers which first made its appearance in 1521 at Zwickau, in the present kingdom ofSaxony, and still exists in milder forms.

Name and doctrinal principles

The nameAnabaptists, etymologically applicable, and sometimes applied toChristiandenominations that practise re-baptism is, in general historical usage, restricted to those who, denying the validity of infantbaptism, became prominent during the great reform movement of the sixteenth century. The designation was generally repudiated by those to whom it was applied, as the discussion did not centre around the question whetherbaptism can be repeated, but around the question whether the firstbaptism was valid. The distinctive principles upon which Anabaptists generally agreed were the following:

Origin and history

The question of the validity ofbaptism appears in two great phases inecclesiastical history. The first controversy raged at an earlydate (third and fourth centuries) and regarded the minister of the sacrament (baptism conferred byheretics). It was at a much later date that the second discussion originated, in which the subject of infantbaptism was the point controverted. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries thePetrobrusians rejected infantbaptism and they and many subsequentmedievalheretics (Henricians,Waldenses,Albigenses, andBohemian Brethren) held views resembling in some respects the tenets of Anabaptists. There is, however, little if any historical connection between the Anabaptists and those earliersects.Luther's principles and examples exercised more influence over the new movement. Private interpretation of the Scriptures, however, and inward teaching by theHoly Ghost could be claimed by any individual, andlogically led to the extreme Anabaptist views.

Anabaptism in Saxony and Thuringia (1521-25)

Nicholas Storch, a weaver (d. 1525) and Thomas Münzer, aLutheran preacher (c. 1490-1525), together with the other self-styled "Prophets of Zwickau" made, at theReformation, the first attack on infantbaptism. The doctrines of the absolute equality of all men and complete community of goods and the resulting disturbances soon brought them into conflict with thecivil authorities of Zwickau. Storch, before any repressive measures were taken against him, left with two associates forWittenberg (1521), where he continued his preaching. Carlstadt was soon gained over to the cause. The combined agitation of Carlstadt and Storch atWittenberg, and Carlstadt's iconoclastic proceedings forcedLuther to leave the Wartburg and appear on the scene. He preached against the new apostles with such vehemence that they had to leave the city. Storch until his death atMunich travelled throughGermany, spreading his doctrines, especially in Thuringia (1522-24) where he was one of the principal instigators of thePeasants' War. Münzer rejected infantbaptism in theory, but retained it in practice. He was expelled from Zwickau (1521) and went toBohemia, where he had but little success as a propagandist. In 1525 he came as preacher to Alstedt (Electoral Saxony) and married a formernun. He was soon surrounded by a large following, introduced a German religious service and attackedLuther as well as the then existing order of things. His sojourn at Mühlhausen (Thuringia), which was interrupted by a journey through the south ofGermany, was equally successful. Henry Pfeifer, anapostatemonk, who became his co-labourer at Mühlhausen, had prepared the ground for the new gospel. Münzer and Pfeifer became absolute masters of the city, and crowds of peasants and burghers who, discontented with prevailing conditions, flocked around them, pillaged and devastated the surrounding country. To quell the insurrectionary movement John, the Elector of Saxony, Philip, Landgrave ofHesse, and Henry, Duke of Brunswick, united their forces and attacked the peasants, led by Münzer at Frankenhausen (1525). The insurgents were utterly defeated. After the battle Münzer was discovered at Frankenhausen in a bed in which he had hidden, and was delivered up to the executioner. He received thesacraments of theCatholicChurch before his death, while his associate Pfeifer, still impenitent, underwent thedeath penalty (1525).

The Swiss Anabaptist Movement (1523-25)

LikeLuther,Zwingli, the originator of theReformation inSwitzerland, soon found more radical competitors. In 1525 some of his associates separated from him and preached rebaptism and communism. The party found two capable leaders in John Denk and Balthasar Hubmaier. Its following, recruited especially from theworking classes, became considerable, not only inSwitzerland, but also in southernGermany andAustria. Augsburg,Nuremberg, and, at a later date, Strasburg became the chief centres of the movement. Resistance to its spread came from two sources. The Anabaptists' teaching added substantially to the causes of thePeasants' War which broke out (1524) in the very territory where the Anabaptists had carried on their propaganda. As a consequence the defeat of the peasants (1525) meant, to a great extent, the dispersion of the Anabaptists. On the other hand, some town councils as that of Zürich (1526) decreed the severest penalties against their adherents. Still in spite of defeat and constant repression, thesect continued to live.

The Anabaptists in Münster (1533-35)

The spread of the Anabaptists in lowerGermany and theNetherlands must largely be ascribed to the activity of Melchior Hofmann, a widely travelled furrier. The arrival of some of his disciples (Melchiorites) at Münster inWestphalia (1533-34) marks the beginning of the most extraordinary period in the history of the Anabaptists and the city of Münster. In the latter, Bernard Rothmann achaplain, and Knipperdollinck a cloth-merchant, had already succeeded in diffusingLutheranideas. They joined the Anabaptist movement, of which John Matthys or Matthiessen, a former baker, and John Bockelsohn or Bockold, aDutch tailor (more generally known as John of Leyden), became two great local representatives. Knipperdollinck was elected burgomaster (February, 1534) and the city passed under the complete and unrestricted control of the partisans of rebaptism. Münster, instead ofStrasburg, was to become the centre of the projected conquest of the world, the "New Jerusalem", the founding of which was signalized by a reign of terror and indescribable orgies. Treasures of literature and art were destroyed; communism,polygamy, and community ofwomen were introduced. Rothmann took unto himself four wives and John of Leyden, sixteen. The latter was proclaimed King of the "New Sion", when Francis of Waldeck, Bishop and temporal lord of the city, had already begun its siege (1534). In June, 1535, the defence became more and more hopeless, and John, as a last means of escape, determined upon setting fire to the city. His plan was frustrated by the unexpected capture of the town by the besiegers (24 June, 1535). The King, his lieutenant Knipperdollinck, and his chancellor Krechting were seized, and after six months'imprisonment and torture, executed. As a terrible warning, their bodies were suspended in iron cages from the tower ofSt. Lambert's church.

Results

The Anabaptists in England

Along with the fanatic element, there was always in the Anabaptist party a more pacific current represented especially by itsSwiss adherents. The effect of the fall of Münster and of the determined repression of Anabaptists byCatholics,Lutherans, andZwinglians alike, was the very pronounced and ultimately complete elimination of the violent features of the movement. Menno Simonis, formerly aCatholicpriest, who joined the party in 1536, exercised a beneficient influence in that direction. The very name Anabaptists was superseded by others, particularly that ofMennonites. It is under the latter designation that the Anabaptists exist today, principally inHolland,Germany, and theUnited States. Another result of the capture of Münster seems to have been the appearance of the Anabaptists inEngland, where they come into frequent notice shortly after this time and continue to be mentioned during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Their following there was in all probability largely composed ofDutch and German refugees. The penalties of death and banishment enforced against them prevented thesect from acquiring importance. The Anabaptists' teaching respecting infantbaptism was adopted by the English and AmericanBaptists.

Sources

Kerssenbroch, Anabaptistici furoris monasterium inclitam Westphaliae metropolim evertentis historica narratio, ed. Detmer (Münster, 1899, 1900); Cornelius, Geschichte des m nsterischen Aufruhrs (Leipzig, 1855, 1860); Janssen, Geschichte des deutschen Volkes (Freiburg and St. Louis, Mo., 1897) II, 231-238, 394-416, 557-571, III, 109-121, 326-351, tr. Hist. of the German People (St. Louis, Mo., and London, 1900, 1903), III, 256-263, IV, 87-117, 217-222, 291-310, V, 150-165, 449-485; Newman, A History of Anti-Pedobaptism from the Rise of Pedobaptism to A.D. 1609 (Philadelphia, 1897), with extensive bibliography, 395-406; Idem, A History of the Baptist Churches in the United States (New York, 1894), in Amer. Church Hist. Series, II, 1-56; Bax, Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists (London, 1903); Burrage, A History of the Anabaptists in Switzerland (Philadelphia, 1905); Tumbult, Die Wiedert ufer (Leipzig, 1899).

About this page

APA citation.Weber, N.(1907).Anabaptists. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01445b.htm

MLA citation.Weber, Nicholas."Anabaptists."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 1.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1907.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01445b.htm>.

Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Robert H. Sarkissian.

Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

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