Thursday 16 March 1525
On this day, all those who were suspected to have performed baptisms in Zollikon were arrested, namely: Heinrich Aberli, Konrad Baumann, Lienhard Bleuler, Rudolf Breittiner, Hans Bichter, Gabriel Giger, Valentin Gredig, Heini Hottinger, Jakob Hottinger, the younger, Hans Hottinger, the watchman, Rutsch Hottinger, Philipp Kym, Hans Murer, Klaus Murer, Hans Oggenfuss, Anton Roggenacher, Michael Sattler, Jörg Schad, and Fridli Schumacher. Four of these nineteen had practiced rebaptism in recent weeks, and the arrest warrant actually only referred to these four. But they were not known from the outset and so all those suspected of baptizing were arrested. The list contains almost all the Anabaptist personalities responsible in Zollikon and Zurich at the time. One name that sticks out is Michael Sattler, who later drafted the Schleitheim congregation and then met a horrible martyr’s fate.
According to the council's order, the Anabaptists were once again imprisoned in the Augustinian monastery, but this time they were not placed together in one room, but were each kept in a cell in solitary confinement.
At one of my recent walks through the old part of the city I discovered that the church of the Augustinian monastery actually still exists. It was profaned in 1524 and served different purposes but in 1843 it was rededicated as a Catholic church and currently serves the Christian Catholic church, a Catholic sect that does not recognize the pope and refuses some of the Roman Catholic dogmas.
Anyway, back to our Anabaptists: They were released on 25 March with the threat that they could expect to be banished if they relapsed. Only four of the nineteen Anabaptists stood by their confession on 25 March: Jörg Schad, Gabriel Giger, Rutsch Hottinger and Jakob Hottinger the younger. The fifteen others declared that “they would not perform rebaptisms and would not speak against child baptism”.
This was the second blow against the Zollikon congregation. This time there was no new upsurge. The congregation in Zollikon stopped growing and after a second wave of arrests in August 1525, the Brethren decided to “give up baptizing, simply live together as Christians and be obedient to the masters”. The plan to establish an Anabaptist free church in Zollikon was abandoned; the meetings in the houses were discontinued, and the Brethren in Zollikon, with a few exceptions, henceforth obeyed the rules of the council with regard to church attendance and membership of the state church.
Those who did not conform were persecuted. Felix Manz was drowned in the Limmat on January 5, 1527, sharing his fate with many other martyrs. Here is the place where he was drowned with a memorial plaque remembering the fate of those brave believers.
The Brethren were scattered, first to other parts of Switzerland, then further on throughout the world. The movement did not die but still exists today, 500 years later. I will stop this thread here but if you want to see more pictures of historic Anabaptist places, check out this thread
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=2198 where I and many other users have posted pictures of those later stations of the Anabaptist movement.
My learning from this: It almost looks like persecution does the Church good. The early Church was persecuted and only in persecution actually went on to fulfill the Great Commission. As we read in Acts 8, 1 and 4:
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. […] Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
In the Western World (Europe, USA), we Christians are now living comfortably. At the same time, we witness great apostasy. In places where the Brethren are persecuted, the Church grows. Sounds familiar? Yes, Jesus told us exactly that in Matthew 24,9 - 14:
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Amen.
