Anabaptists and Other Radical Groups:

Anabaptists and Other Radical Groups:

1. Zwingli

   • The father of the "Swiss Reformation". He was well educated, studying at Basle and Vienna before being ordinated in 1506. From 1506 - 16, he was a parish priest. He was influenced by the Christian humanism of Erasmus, especially the new testament. Zwingli claimed not to have been influenced by Luther and does not seem to have read his works until 1519. In 1518, he became a priest at the Great Minister in Zurich and by 1525 had completed a reformation in the city. Zwingli's enthusiastic wish to spread his reformation to other cantons of Switzerland created a political issue as some wished to remain Catholic. The conflicts that resulted led to Zwingli's death in battle in 1531.

2. The reformation at Zurich:

   • One of the 13 independent cantons of Switzerland. It was ruled by a council of 200 wealthy citizens who were in favour of a reformation but wanted any changes to be carried out gradually.
     • On becoming a priest in 1518, Zwingli attacked the abuses of the Catholic Church such as indulgences, the cult of the saints and monastic life, and his preaching was popular and effective.
       • However, he was concerned to keep the support of the Council and little progress was made until 1522 when a protest was staged against the Catholic Church's ban on eating meat during Lent.
         • This led to public debate with the Catholic authorities and the Council accepted Zwingli's views on reform. Monasteries were closed and all images removed from churches. In 1525, the Mass was abolished . Zwingli differed from Luther in that he disapproved of images in his churches and on the nature of the Mass.
           • He believed that the bread and wine were simply bread and wine - there was no Real presence. To make his point, the bread came from an ordinary loaf and the wine was served in wooden beakers.
             • The Colloquy of Marburg resulted in a complete break with Luther, Zwingli also believed that the Church was responsible for all aspects of community life (such as caring for the poor and sick), and that the church should be completely under the control of the civil authorities. The church and the Zurich Council worked together.

3. There were many strands of the Radical Reformation, all independent of each other with differing beliefs.

   • Swiss Brethren
     • Names:
       • Feliz Mantz, Conrad Grebel, Balthasar, Hubamier
     • Places:
       • Zurich, Western Germany
   • More Radical Than Luther:
     • Places:
       • Wittenberg, Zwickau, Muhlhausen
     • Names:
       • Andreas Catlstadt, Thomas Muntzer
   • Upper Germany and Moravia:
     • Places:
       • Moravia, Bohemia
     • Names:
       • Hans Denck, Hans Hut, Jacob Hutter
   • Northern Germany and the Netherlands
     • Places:
       • Strasboug, Emdem, Munster, Amsterdam
     • Names:
       • Melchiar Hoffman, Jan Matthys, Jan Bockelson (or Beukels)

4. The radicals believed that the work of the work of the reformation was not complete and, as they were sure that the Second coming was imminent, there was a sense of urgency for change.

5. Reasons why the radicals were persecuted by both the secular and the religious authorities:

   • Although not a great issue today, Anabaptism was seen as a highly dangerous doctrine. It was completely different from the traditional teaching of the Church (both Catholic and Protestant) and it threatened the whole existence of the Christian community into which all were included by infant baptism. Adult baptism meant that, unlike a child, you could choose to join or not to join - so you would have divided communities with an exclusive group of baptised. Also, re-baptising had been condemned as serious sacrilege in the 4th century.
   • Anabaptists claimed they should mix with only the baptised few. They stopped paying tithes to support the Church and wanted to choose their own ministers without reference to any other authority. A fairly accurate statement of their beliefs, the Schleitheim Confession, confirmed the fears of the political establishment.
   • Although Anabaptism in general was a pacifist and spiritual movement, the actions of extremists, the wild claims of some of its supporters who said they had a direct line to God, isolated examples of violence and sexual excesses blackened the name of Anabaptism in the eyes of honest Christian people and their rulers.
   • The radicals were strongly associated with the poor.
   • Any movement that tried to energise the poor was to be feared by the rulers. Some radical movements argued that wealth should be equally distributed and that there should be no rich or poor. This was a threat to social order. Others supported the