CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 097 556 793 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924097556793 In compliance with current copyright law, Cornell University Library produced this replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1992 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. 2003 i—^ iz^r^^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY MENNONITES OF AMERICA The Mennonites of America C. HENRY SMITH, A. M., Ph. D. (Chicago) Professor of History in Goshen College Published by the Author 1909 A Mennonite Publishing House , SCOTTDALE PENNA. U^' J Copyright 1909 By C. HENRY SMITH Mennonite Publishing House Press, Scottdale, Pa. To the memory of my FATHER For many years a bishop in the church and my MOTHER This volume is affectionately Dedicated. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Introduction 13 I The Anabaptists 16 II Menno Simons and the Mennonites of Europe S3 III Cornelisz Pieter Plockhoy and the Men- nonite Colony on the Delaware . . 81 IV Germantown 94 V The Pequea Colony 134 VI Franconia 183 VII Expansion of the Pequea Colony before 1800 -. 192 VIII The Amish 208 IX During the Revolution 253 X The Mennonites of Ontario 265 XI The Mennonites During the Nineteenth Century 275 1. Settlements in Ohio, Illinois, Indi- ana and the Western States 2. Schisms. 3. The Civil War. XII The Immigration from Russia 324 XIII The General Conference of Mennonites 343 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS XIV The Mennonites and the State .... 353 XV Principles, Customs and Culture . . . 386 XVI Literature and Hymnology 409 XVII The Present 446 XVIII Bibliography 456 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Germantown Church Dirck Keyser House Thones Kunders House Old Bench and Table Rohrerstown Church Doylestown Church Plot of Ground Christ Herr House Brick Graveyard Pequea Creek Conestoga Wagon Skippack Meeting House Franconia Graveyard Bank Church Weaver Church Kinzer Church Partridge Church Bethel College Schrock Barn Old Amish Homestead Landisville Log Church Boehm Chapel How They Went to Church Goshen College Bluffton College John F. Funk J. S. Coffman J. H. Oberholtzer Joseph Stuckey I^SHt.. INTRODUCTION To write a history of the Mennonites of America is not an easy task. Material from which to con- struct the complete life story of the Mennonite people is meager, and hence in the selection of the subject matter of this book and in the method of treatment the dearth of material has made it impossible for the author to exercise much choice. If more attention is paid to the early settlements made by small colonies of the denomination throughout the land and to the various church schisms than to the history of the development of their church life, it is both because more has been recorded of the former than of the latter, and also because when this is told almost the whole of their story has been recited. The Mennonites have almost invariably been a rural people. They formed congregations which were generally self-governing and independent of one another, and hence had little of a common organized church life. They were a sober, quiet and unassuming people, took little interest in government and the affairs of the outside world. They were seldom molested in the even tenor of their way and conse- quently their history is largely the story of the life 14 INTRODUCTION of a number of individual farming communities with little of special interest to lend color to their history. Although the story of the religious life of the Mennonites may be told in few words, yet they have been the founders of the first German colony in America and have been among the pioneers in many of the frontier settlerrients in the westward expansion of the American people. And for this reason their his- tory is of interest also to the student of general American history. I have attempted therefore to trace in this volume not only the history of the Mennonite church but also the complete life story of the Menno- nite people, and have treated such phases of the subject as I could find material for. I have attempted further to cover the entire field of American Mennonite history and have tried to place every event of importance in its proper perspective. So far as possible I have tried to be impartial toward the various branches of the church and have given each the amount of space which according to my judg- ment its importance deserved. It is hoped that this volume may be of interest and profit to the thousands who are no longer within the Mennonite church, but who trace their lineage to a Mennonite ancestry, as well as to those who are still to be found within the various branches of the denomi- nation. I am indebted to many friends for criticisms, sug- gestions and the use of manuscript sources. These are mentioned throughout the book in their proper places. In addition to these I wish to thank especially John F. Funk of Elkhart, Indiana, for the use of his private INTRODUCTION IS library; H. P. Krehbiel and Christian Krehbiel of NcT^ton, Kansas, for kindly reading the manuscript for chapters XII and XIII; N. B. Grubb of Phila- delphia for the use of a number of cuts relating to the Germantown church; D. H. Bender, for editing the manuscript; the Mennonite Publishing House, for the use of a number of cuts ; and Professor D. S. Gerig, of Goshen College, for critical suggestions. C. Henry Smith. Goshen, Indiana, November 14, 1908. CHAPTER I THE ANABAPTISTS Regarding the origin of the Mennonites there is some difference of opinion among those interested in Mennonite history. Some trace them Origin of to the Anabaptists; others credit the Mennonites Waldenses with being their ancestors; still others try to follow, through numer- ous medieval sects which had certain religious beliefs in common, a continuous line of succession from the very days of the apostles themselves. While it is possible to trace several religious doctrines and prac- tices, common to the later Mennonites, through various medieval sects and a number of individual religious reformers, yet it is merely a waste of time to try to carry the continuity of the Mennonite church, either as an organization or as to its faith in its totality, be- yond the Anabaptists. The Anabaptists were a so-called radical religious sect which developed in middle Europe during the early sixteenth century, out of the Luth- Beginnings of eran and Zwinglian revolutions. In thp Anabaptists early stages of the Reformation both Luther and Zwingli were in favor of a departure from the old system far more radical and 18 MENNONITES OF AMERICA more literally in accord with the teaching of the New Testament than that which they adopted a few years later. When it became apparent that both favored the retention of some of the fundamental principles of the old system, those who favored a more radical and thorough change began to withdraw from the move- ment. Among the demands made by the radicals was the withdrawal of the magistrates from all interference in matters of religion — in other words, a separation of church and state. To the common man especially, it seemed that all his ills, religious and social, were due to an established state church. And so, many were as much opposed to a Lutheran or Zwinglian established church as they had been to the Catholic system. True churches according to their views must be voluntary and inde£end£n-t-0r-gaHizations composed ofTliembers each of whom must be individually responsible to God for his religious beliefs. This opposition first appeared as a radical tail to the Zwinglian movement in Zurich. Dissatisfaction with Zwingli's reforms had begun as early as 1521 among some of his followers, but the first rupture took place in a disputation held in the fall of 1523 between the Catholics and Zwingli's party. In the controversy as to what should constitute the final authority on all religious beliefs, Zwingli demanded obedience to God and the Bible. He would reject what was unscriptural. Dr. Faber of the Catholic party insisted that the Universities should be called upon to judge. Here- upon Simon Stumpf, pastor at Hongg, who was in Zurich at the time and who was one of the radicals, declared that the Spirit of God must decide all matters THE ANABAPTISTS 19 of difference, and that furthermore each one must in- terpret the Bible for himself. Here we find the germ of the teaching of the people whom we later call Anabaptists — namely, that no outside authority, either lay or ecclesiastical has the right toTorce~any religious system upon the peopled Another fundamental question, which was lightly touched upon here but which later became the chief cause of contention between the Zwinglians and the radicals, was infant baptism. Even at this time the radical element had been forced by the logic of their position to question both the necessity and scriptural basis of infant baptism. If the church was to be a voluntary, independent organization, then infant bap- tism, the sign of initiatJQo Jnto a universal church, had to be discarded. It is impossible to designate any single individual as the author of these radical doctrines. Zurich had for some time been the rallying point for all those who were dissatisfied with the Zwinglian reform. The movement soon crystallized itself, however, and as- sociated itself with the names of several men who, if not the founders of the sect we know as Anabaptists, at any rate became its leaders. These men were Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, William Reublin, George Blaurock, and several others. Conrad Grebel in the early period of the Reforma- tion was Zwingli's admired friend. As late as 1522 Zwingli spoke of him as "a most learned Conrad Grebel and candid youth." His father was a member of the Zurich Council. Conrad was not a church man, but was educated at the Uni- 20 MENNONITES OF AMERICA versities of Vienna and Paris. By 1523 he differed from Zwirigli on infant baptism, and also opposed the union of church and state. The church ought to be composed only of true believerg^e said, those who were truly converteS TZHe'a^Teied with Zwingli on the discarding of pictures and the mass, but differed again on the question as to what was to take the place of the mass in religious worship. The real cause of difference however, lay deeper than any of these things. In his estimation Zwingli did not go far enough in his effort at reform. The Bible must be the final authority on all these questions, and the new church must be organized after the example of the early apostolic church. Some authorities say that Grebel hoped to be elected professor of Greek in a school at Zurich but that Zwingli used his influence against both him and Manz who hoped to become professor of Hebrew, and that consequently both these men arose in opposition to him from personal, rather than religious grounds. But from what we know of the later life, religious zeal and martyrdom of these two men, it does not seem that this accusation is just. Felix Manz, a native of Zurich, and also a thor- ciugh scholar and a firm friend of Zwingli's from the first, as early as 1522 began to question Felix Manz the scriptural grounds for infant baptism and a state church. After failing to con- vert Zwingli to his views he began to preach in the fields and in his mother's house. He was arrested at Chur and sent out of the city, but soon returned, and remained for some time and became one of the ■founders of the new independent church in 1525. George Blaurock had been a monk at Chur, but THE ANABAPTISTS 21 some time before 1523 he renounced the Roman chtircH and came to Zurich to seek light front George Blaurock Zwingli. Failing to find satisfactibii here he joined the radical party and was the first to be baptized into the new organization which came into existence by virtue of that act in 1525. William Reublin in 1521 became a priest in BaseL He was a deep student of the Bible and a preacher of evangehcal truths. Later he became WilUam Reublin preacher at Wittikon near Zurich where he met Grebel, Manz and Blau- rock. He was one of the first of the priests to marry. He soon joined the Swiss cause and became a zealous worker for the movement. These are the principal characters concerned in the origin of the Anabaptists in Zurich. Many others, preachers as well as laymen, including such First men as Ludwig Hetzer and Hans Brodli, Meetings soon joined them. After the disputation of 1523, it is likely that the followers of Grebel and Manz met separately for worship. Many of them said that the church must be made up of true believers, and thus they could not worship with those of the state church. They met at first in the home of the mother of Felix Manz for Bible study, and studied especially the history of the early apostolic church and made it a model for the new body. They found that / the apostles and their followers said nothing about! tithes^_taxes-and church "Ben^ces. Consequently they thought the present practices wrong and attempted to get back to the independent church and community of goods prevalent in the days of the apostles. They could not find that any of the members of the early 22 MENNONITES OF AMERICA church held office, so they considered it wrong for a Christian to be a magistrate. They saw that the early ^ church did not fight, so they could not use the sword. In fact the whole movement soon became an attempt to reproduce the letter as well as the spirit of the primitive apostolic church, with the Sermon on t he Mount as the basis of their faitHT Just how general these doctrines were and how thoroughly these people believed in them at this time (1524) is not easy to say. But judging Early from their earliest confession of faith on Doctrines record (Schleitheim, 1527) and from the ac- cusations made against them by the author- ities in their trials during persecution, these practices were embodied in well defined articles of faith by 1527, ^ and must have been believed in quite generally even at this time. In the meantime the gap between the Zwinglians and the "Bret hren," a s they now called themselves, was growmg wider. Zwingli tried to win over his opponents by disputations, both private and public — a common practice at that time. As was to be ■expected, however, these debates served only to confirm each side of the truth of its own position. Zwingli, "having the temporal authorities in sympathy with him, was inevitably proclaimed victorious. The most de- •cisive of the great public disputations was held Janua^ 17, 152S^^On the side of the Brethren appeared Grebel, Manz, Reublin, Castelberger, Brodli, jHetzer and Blaurock. The principal issue was infant baptism, the Brethren maintaining that only true believers should be baptized and the Zwinglians declaring in favor of baptizing infants. Neither side was convinced, but the Brethren were THE ANABAPTISTS 23 declared vanquished in the debate. Zwingli, however, seeing that nothing could be hoped for from this method of coercion, determined to use his influence with the civil authorities in rooting out the dangerous doctrine. January 18, 1525, the Council issued a decree ordering the leaders to leave Zurich, and furthermore ordered that all unbaptized children were to be bap- tized within eight days. This last order was not observed, and on February 1, of the same year another decree ordered the disobedient to be arrested and all infants to be baptized as soon as born. About this time, 1525, whether before or after the great disputation is uncertain, the Brethren took the final and decisive step which com- Introduction of pletely cut them off from the state Adult Baptism church and branded them with the name that later became odious to them — the name Anabaptists. This step was the introduc- tion of rebaptism, or adult baptism, on confession of faith only. The scene is best described by one of the earlier authorities.'- Blaurock was the first man to be baptized by Conrad Gre- be! and afterwards to baptize others. From this time on they were called Anabaptists. How this baptism was administered and how the Lord's supper was afterwards held is discussed in the account of Rudolph Thoman who was later put into prison. The account reads as follows: Rudolf Thoman answeied that he desired to eat the Lord's supper with Brodlin of Wittikon, and with this in view he had invited him to his (Thoman's) house. He had not invited any others but by and by many others came and soon the room wap full. Among other things, it happened, as they read and admon- Fuesslin, J. C, Beitrage zur Kirchen Geschichte des Schweitier- landes. I. p. 225. 24 MENNONITES OF AMERICA ished one another, that Hans Brubbach^af^Zumikon arose, wept and cried out that he was~^~greStsinner and asked that they would pray for him. Whereupon Blaurock asked him whether he desired the grace of God. He replied, "Yes." Then Manz arose and said, "Who shall hinder me from baptizing him?" Blaurock answered, "No one." Thereupon he took a pitcher of water and baptized him in the name of the Son, Father and Holy Ghost. After this Jacob Hottinger arose and demanded to be baptized. Manz also baptized him. This was the decisive step in the development of the new movement. It was the act which finally cut off the radicals from the state church. Its significance lay in the fact that now the new church began definite organ- ization, and in the complete severing of church and state. Baptism became the outward sign of member- ship in the new organization. This is by no means the first case in history of adult baptism, or even of rebaptism, but the rite seems now to have a new meaning. Blaurock himself confesses that so far as he knows he was the first to be baptized. Some good authorities say, however, that Storch ad- ministered rebaptism. It is not likely that Miinzer re- baptized any one, although Bullinger says he did, and that Manz and Grebel learned the practice from him. Reublin probably baptized at Waldshut in 1524, the year preceding Blaurock's baptism. The Waldenses and. other older sects also sometimes performed the rite. But whatever may have been the case heretofore, baptism from henceforth had a new significance. It was an indication that the baptized person had be6ome a member of a new organization, one with a clear cut and well defined separation from the older church. In the meantime a movement had arisen in Saxony THE ANABAPTISTS 25 -which in some respects was similar to the one in Switzerland. While the latter, however, The Zwickau was purely religious, the former was Prophets largely political and social. In Germany, as in Switzerland, there were those who were disappointed in the Refor- mation. The radical party here first arose in Saxony. Heinrich Bullinger, a contemporary of the leaders of that day, in speaking of these events, says : About the ypar ^^9'\ nr 1 S7? thirf arose in Saxony a number of restless spirits among whom Nicholas Storch was one of the most influential, who went about saying that God revealed himself to t hem throug^h dream s and visions, that there must be a new world in which only righteousness shall prevail. Therefore all godless people must be destroyed from the earth and all godless princes and lords. They called all people godless who did not f akf part TTJtlT_tlT^ At first they kept these matters secret. From this same school came Thomas Munzer who also had his followers, Pfeiffer, Rink and many others. This Munzer boasted that God had re- vealed Himself to him. All his conversation and writing waj bitter against the preachers and also against the magistrates. The leaders of this movement, Storch and Miinzer, because of these claims which they first made public in Zwickau, were called the Zwickau prophets. Storch was a weaver._ and although a layman, was well read in the Bible. Miinzer in speaking of him said that he knew the Scriptures better than any priest. Of his doctrinal system we have no exact knowledge. But it' is thought that he imbibed his ideas from the Bohemian Picards, since he advocated many of the be- liefs of that religious sect. He rejected infant baptism, although there is no evidence that he practiced re- taptisrii. He is also charged with teaching the re- 26 MENNONITES OF AMERICA jection of oaths, of the magistracy, and of warfare, and the community of goods among Christians. He be- lieved also_strongly_in visions and the inner l ight. An angel appeared beforeTlhirtjne''m^t7he said, and in- formed him that he would he g la£ed-Qn_tlig_throne of the archangel Gabriel, and thatajieBL-kingdom of the elect would be e&taBHsEed"oiithe earth, while all un- believers would be destroyed. He exerted considerable influence over his fellow weavers and others of the masses in Saxony. ^_Bj_lS21_ajeparate religious organ- ization had been established by him. After the fashion of the primitive church, twelve j £OStles.. and sev enty evangelists were sent out to spread broadcast his teach- ing. Among those who were won over to his views and who took a prominent part in the movement was Marcus Stiibner, a Wittenberg student. Thomas Miinzer was born about 1490 and was well educated. He was a restless spirit and had taken up the work of reform even before Luther had, and in 1513 he had formed a conspiracy against the bishop of Magdeburg. After leading a wandering life for several years he finally became pastor of the Lutheran church at Zwickau with the full approval of Luther. Here "he became closely associated with Storch and began a fierce attack upon the avarice and corruption of the monks and priests, and denounced many of the prac- tices of thenew_ as well as of the old church. As a result of these attacks he was forced to leave Zwickau inv l52L From here he traveled through Bohemia and the small towns of Saxony, preaching radical ideas. He finally came to Alstadt where he soon gathered a large following and became pastor of a congregation in 1523. Here he began his denunciation of the Lutheranan«i — THE ANABAPTISTS 27 the Catholic church, and the temporal government, and soon formed an organiza tion wliuse memb ers were bound by oath to stand by each other, the purpose of which was to overthrow the old government and set up in its place a new one. A c rusade against the pictures, statuary, altars and church buildings near Alstadt was inaugurated by him, all of which he said savored of idolatry and were not necessary in the worship of God. He laid more stress iipr vn AWect revel atj on^than upon the teaching of the BlWe. "One might read ten thou- sand BiSles^" h e said", "and yet it w ould not help him." He considered himself a prophet sent from God to set 1 ight the times. Like many of the enthusiasts of that day, he pretended to make the primitive church, to^ gether with certain teachings of the Old Testament and Revelation, the basis of his new system. Infant baptism he rejected as useless, although in theory rather than in practice. He never baptized adults and it is not likely that he himself was ever rebaptized. In spite of his apparent rejection of the doctrine, however, he continued to baptize infants as late as 1522 and when he translated the Latin liturgy into German he retained the formula for infant baptism. Closely associated with Miinzer's religious views were many radical political ideas. He attacked the foundati ons of the state as wgll as those Miinzer's of the established church, and when the Political Ideas temporal authorities forbade him to preach he asked his followers to pay no attention to their demands. God, he said, gave the temporal princes in his anger to the world, and He will put them out of the way. Those princes who would not repent and would not 28 MENNOisriTES OF AMERICA accept the Gospel must even as the Catholic ecclesiasts be destroyed with fire and sword. They stand not oiily against (he true faith tut also against the natural rights of man. Consequently they niust be strangled like dogs. ' Rulers must govern for the good of the people and are accountable to them. He also seemed to favor community of goods, equality in social life and a level- ing of all class distinctions. ' As a result of these fanatical teachings, George of Saxony finally ordered Munzer to leave Alstadt and never return to his kingdom under penalty of severe punishment. Miinzer seems to have gone to Muhl- iiausen and other places in South Germany. Early in 1524 he made an eight weeks tour through Switzer- land^and Lower Germany ; at Waldshut he met Hub- meier and other leaders of the Swiss Anabaptist move- ment. He entered into warm sympathy with the peasants of Southern Germany in their struggle to free them- selves from the economic and social butdens to which the church and the land tenure system of that day subjected them. When the peasants' revolt broke out in 1525, Miinzer became one of the leaders of the peasants and was among the number who were cap- tured in the battle of Frankenhausen ; he was shortly afterward- £xecuted. Are Miinzer and his fellow laborers at Zwickau to be regarded as Anabaptists? On this question author- ities diiifer. The difference, how- Were the Zwickau ever, seems to be largely one of Prophets Anabaptists? interpretation of the term Ana- baptist. If the term is to include all those radical sects which followed in the wake of the Reformation, and which rejected many of the doctrines THE ANABAPTISTS 29 and practices of the Lutheran and Zwinglian move- ments, including infant baptism, then the Zwickau prophets may be regarded as Anabaptists. But if the term is to be c onfined to the S^^i^g ^^yp" who n ot only rejected infant baptism but also instituted adult bap- tism, and wWTefTised4QitskE3tr5a|E|orT^ office and regarded all warfare as contra ry to the tea chmg of Jesus, then Miinzer and his school can not be classed as Anabaptists, at least not of the peaceful, non- resistant type. Although Miinzer had traveled through Switzer- land early in 1524 and had received a friendly wekome from the leaders of the Swiss Brethren, it is not likely that he e xerted much influence over them , especially after they learned of his attitude toward the civil authorities The attitude of the Swiss toward Miinzer can be learned from a letter written Attitude of the to him by them, under date of Swiss toward Miinzer September 5, 1524. It reads in part as follows : At this time we read your writings against the false faith and baptism. We were comiorted and strengthened and wonderfully rejoiced to find one who had the same view of Christianity as we, and who dared to show the evangelical preachers their shortcomings, how they in all the principal articles conduct themselves falsely and set up their own good judgment instead of following the judgment of God. There- fore we beg of, you as a brother to preach the true word of God earnestly and fearlessly; to set up and defend only godly practices, and value and defend the pure Gospel. They differ with Munzer on certain minor points of practice, such as the s ubstitutio n of .sinpiripr fnr tbo mass, etc. In reference to baptism the letter goes on : 30 MENNONITES OF AMERICA We are very much pleased with your writing and desire to be taught more on the subject. In conclusion they say: Regard us as your brethren and understand this writing to have been done through great joy and hope of you through God, and teach and comfort as you well can. Pray to God for us that He may help us in our faith. We desire you to write again. This is signed by Grebel, Manz, Castelberg and others. Grebel adds a postscript to the letter in which he says that some one has written him that Miinzer taught that the peasants should lay violent hands on the temporal princes. He warns him against this and admonishes him to renounce the teaching. He says the true disciple of Christ must suffer persecution but cannot offer violence to any one. He adds that he warns him because of his love for him. This letter shows that although the Swiss were greatly impressed with Miinzer's writing and that they felt that they had found in him a kindred spirit, yet they were suspicious of his teaching regarding the Christian's relation to the temporal authority. Of Miinzer's influence in Switzerland, Ludwig Keller, probably one of the best and at the same time a sympa- thetic modern critic of Anabaptist lore says: Miinzer may in his visit to Switzerland have gained cer- tain individuals, yet it is true that he did not succeed in exerting any very great influence upon the heretofore leaders of the Swiss movement. The further development of this sect was not changed by him. Let us return to the Zurich Brethren. The introduc- tion of rebaptism gained for them the name "Wieder- taufer" or Anabaptists. They never acknowledged the THE ANABAPTISTS 31 term, but spoke of themselves merely as the Breth ren. We shall speak of them here as Anabaptists. The y^ar_1525rnarks the beginning of the persecu- tion of the Anabaptists. Zwingli now saw that the new movement was becoming a menace to his Early state system and consequently did all he Persecutions could to persuade the Zurich authorities to stamp out the new teaching. Powers of persuasion were first tried, and to this end numerous public disputations were held with the Anabaptists. But when these failed, severer measures were resorted to. After the disputation of 1525, the leaders were ordered to leave the canton, their teaching was sup- pressed and all children were ordered to be baptized within eight days. At first the penalty for disobedience was a money fine. But when it was found that the Anabaptists were increasing in numbers and insisted on coming back, banishment and finally the death penalty was decreed for those who dared return. Blau- rock was sent out of the city. Grebel died a natural death in 1526. Felix Manz was the first of the leaders to sufifer the death penalty. After converting hundreds to the new faith he was finally apprehended and sufifered martyrdom by drowning in 1527. As a result of these persecutions the leaders were scattered over Switzerland and Southern Germany in a short time. Wherever they went they Rapid Spread preached the new doctrines and ad- of Anabaptists ministered the rite of baptism upon hundreds and thousands of believers. Grebel had gone to Schaffhausen, Brodli to Hallau, and Reublin to Waldshut where he had baptized Balt- hasar Hubmeir and his entire congregation. From 32 MENNONITES OF AMERICA here Reublin went to Strasburg in 1526. Soon churches were established in Zollikon, Griiningen, Ap- penzell, St. Gallen, Schaifhausen, Berne, Basel and all along the upper Rhine country in Switzerland and across the border in Germany, and soon the movement crept down the Rhine. Hetzer went to Augsburg from Zurich. In 1526 Hubmeir went to Augsburg, and later to Moravia. Some of these congregations grew to large dimen- sions. The one at St. Gallen soon numbered eight hundred members, to which fifteen hundred more were added from Appenzell. The little town of St. Gallen became so full of Anabaptists that it was called the little Jerusalem. The church at Augsburg also soon contained one thousand members. In 1526 a congrega- tion was established at Steyr and about the same time others were organized at Worms and Nuremberg. By 1527 there were thirty-eight congregations in the can- ton of Zurich alone. Reublin, from Strasburg as a center, visited Rot- tenburg, Reutlingen, Esslingen and Ulm. All along the course of the Rhine in the large cities, Anabaptist communities were soon found. By 1528 the movement had entered the lower Rhine country and from there spread over the Netherlands. The cause for this rapid spread of the new faith is discussed later in this chapter. Sebastian Frank, an old chronicler of that day in speaking of the movement says : In the year 1526 a new party arose whose leaders and bishops were Hubmeir,' Rink, Hut, Denk and Hetzer. They spread so rapidly that their teaching soon covered the wholt land and they soon secured a large following and also added THE ANABAPTISTS 33 to their number many good hearts who were zealous toward God. Of course it is not to be supposed that a move- ment which spread so rapidly and which was subject to so many modifying local influences Tendencies of retained throughout its course all the the Movement tendencies of its early beginnings. Anabaptism was above all intensely individualistic, and in the course of its brief history it manifested a variety of tendencies according to the spirit and opinions of its chief leaders. It is im- possible here to name all these leaders, but next to the founders of the sect, among the most influential and those who were most responsible for these various tendencies of the movement were Hans Denk, Balt- hasar Hubmeir, Hans Hut and Melchior Hoffman. Each of these stamped his own personality upon the trend of the development of Anabaptism, and each modified the interpretation of its chief doctrines to suit his own theories. Hans Denk was a student at the University of Ingolstadt and early allied himself with the reform movement. In 1523 he was made profes- Hans Denk sor in the St. Albans school at Nurem- berg. Already at this place his orthodoxy was questioned by the Lutheran authorities in the city, and in 1525 he was required to write out his confession of faith. His chief cause for complaint seems to have been that the reform was not thorough enough. It did not attempt to reform the life of the individual. Nuremberg was a center of Waldensian teaching at this time and it may be that Denk imbibed some of their doctrines. As a result of these differences he was banished 34 ' MENNONITES OF AMERICA from Nuremberg never to return under penalty of capital punishment. He at once went to the Swiss Brethren at St. Gallen, and soon afterward to Augs- burg where he found a large congregation of Brethren. It is supposed that he was secretly baptized in 1526 by Hubmeir who was preaching there at this time. On Easter, 1526, Denk in turn baptized Hut and many others. Near the close of 1526 Denk fled to Strasburg where a large church had been organized. While there he drew many noted merchants to the church — includ- ing two members of the lower council — to the number of eleven hundred. He soon had to leave the city, how- ever, and wandered about for another year, visiting Worms, Zurich and other centers of Anabaptism. He died at Basel October, 1527. Denk exerted great influence upon the history of the Anabaptists of his time both by his preaching and his writings. He spent much time in defending the Anabaptists against the charges of the Catholic and Reform parties. He also helped to translate part of the Old Testament from the Hebrew to the German. In his faith he agreed, in the main, with the earlier Ana- Ijaptists, although he differed from them in some re- spects. This diflierence was great enough to attach fto his followers the name "Denkianer." He was not an enthusiast on rebaptism and said in later life he was sorry that he ever rebaptized any one. He taught that Christ alone was not sufficient for salvation. Free will must also be exercised. He fiirtheii_taughtthat no "^a-jIJallXemajnior^Ker damned . Even the evil spirits will be regenerated. In common with Hetzer he even douHecnHe"Trinity and divinity of Christ.^ 2. Arnold, Gottfried, II. p. 864. THE ANABAPTISTS 35 Balthasar Hubmeir, preacher and professor at Ingolstadt, was converted from Catholicism to Zwinglianism in 1522. He first located at Balthasar Waldshut from whence he often visited Hubmeir Basel and spoke with Denk, Grebel and Manz. In 1523 he was present and assisted Zwingli in the great debate with the Catholics. From here he went to Schafifhausen, but becoming dis- satisfied with the Zwinglian movement on the ground that it did not insist strongly enough on a thorough reform of the individual and did not take the apostolic church as a model for its organization, he left the state church and cast his lot with the Anabaptists, being baptized by Reublin at Waldshut in 1525. Soon after this Hubmeir in turn baptized out of a milk pail over three hundred believers. From this time to his death two years later he lived the life of a fugitive. He first went to Constance where he spent some time in establishing Anabaptist communities and from there in 1526 fled to Moravia which at this time was an as3'lum for the persecuted Anabaptists of other countries. Here he labored at Nicolsburg for about a year when upon the request of the Austrian govern- ment he and his wife were cast into prison. After nearly a year of imprisonment he was finally burned at the stake on March 10, 1528. Three days later his de- voted wife was cast into the Danube. Hubmeir had once been led by the excruciating pain which he suffered on the rack to recant, but later repented his weakness and when he was tied to the stake he first thrtist his right hand into the flames because as he said it had been the hand with which he had written the recantation. 36 MENNONITES OF AMERICA Hubmeir built up large congregations wherever he went. He was a learned man, being educated at the University of Freiburg, and later he became a pro- fessor at Ingolstadt. He was also a voluminous writer and many of his writings are still extant. In his religious views Hubmeir was one of the most moderate of the Anabaptists. Unlike the radical elements of the party, he opposed communism. In most of the religious doctrines he agreed with the Swiss Brethren except that he did not follow them in their doctrine of non-resistance as regards warfare and the magistracy. He taught that a Christian might be a magistrate and even bear arms, although not for the purpose of enforcing any particular set of religious opinions. It is this half-way position of Hubmeir's among the Anabaptists of his day that leads the modern Baptists to regard him as the greatest leader of the movement, and as the one most nearly in accord with their own faith. In the meantime the persecution of the Anabap- tists went on apace. In almost every country, and by all of the established churches those who Continued showed any signs of belief in the new Persecutions doctrines were banished, imprisoned and burned at the stake or thrown into the rivers. Kirschmeyer estimates that from 1525 to 1530 over one thousand were slain in Tyrol alone. Sebas- tian Frank counts up six hundred as having perished at ;Ensisheim, the seat of the Austrian government in its southwestern dominions. In another small city seventy-six were killed in six weeks| Duke William of Bavaria issued the blood-thirsty decree that all those who recanted should be beheaded, while those who did THE ANABAPTISTS 37 -not should be burned. Cornelius, a reliable although Catholic historian says : The blood of these poor people flowed like water. But hundreds of them, of all ages and both sexes, suffered the pangs of torture without a murmur, refusing to redeem their lives by recanting, and went to the place of execution with joy and singing psalms. Partly as a result of these severe persecutions, but more as a result of the fanatical teaching of certain leaders of the movement who perhaps were influenced somewhat by the teaching of Miinzer and other en- thusiasts, there appeared by about 1527 in Southern Germany the first signs of those chiliastic tendencies which a few years later resulted in the disastrous Miinster episode. This chiliastic spirit which was poten- Chiliastic tially present in the teaching of some of Tendencies the earlier leaders was openly manifested in the life and work of Hans Hut. Hut was a native of Franconia, and by trade a book-binder. In 1524 he made the acquaintance of Thomas Miinzer whom he assisted in print- Hans Hut ing and circulating his pamphlets. Later he fell in with some Anabaptists and was converted to that faith. In 1526 he was rebaptized by Hans Denk. He now went about, preaching and baptizing. Although now an Anabaptist in his affiliations and in many of the essential tenets of thai faith, yet he did not recognize the non-resista nt doc- trine which at the time was still held by the majority of the Anabaptists, and had evidently not yet gotten away entirely from the teachings of Munzer. He was one of the earliest among th e sect to teach rn illg"- arianism. Christ would shortly ^vCome, he said, and 38 MENNONITES OF AMERICA would give His kingdom over into the hands of the elect, which of course meant those who had been re- baptized. He himself was the special agent appointed by God to make known these things to the elect, who in the last days were to have two-edged swords in their hands. Upon the establishing of Christ's king- dom all the temporal rulers as well as the priests and pastors would be punished for their intolerance and false doctrines. This Avork of vengeance was to be performed by an invasion of Turks-, after which the earth was to be given over to the Saints. In 1527 Hut actually gathered together a large number of his fol- lowers in Franconia for the purpose of leading them to Switzerland, Miihlhausen or Hungary to await the coming of the Turks. The advent of Christ was set for Whitsuntide 1528. The Christian himself may use the sword in taking possession of the new kingdom but he must wait until God ordered him to unsheath it. Here we have, if not the actual teaching of the later Miinsterites, at least the germ out of which that teaching grew. These doctrines Hut preached first at Augsburg and the surrounding region and later at Nicolsburg where he tried to gain the large community in which Hubmeir was teaching, to his party. Hut was finally arrested and imprisoned in Nicolsburg. He lost his life in an attempt to escape from prison at Augsburg. In Melchior Hoffman we have the doctrines of Hans Hut carried one step farther. HoflE- Melchior man came originally from Suabia, and un- HofFman like some of the Anabaptist leaders he was a laboring man, being a leather-dresser by trade. As early as 1523 we find him in Zurich and THE ANABAPTISTS 39 soon after as a Lutheran agitator in Northern Ger- many. In 1524 we find him in company with Melchior •Rink, a disciple of Miinzer, on a preaching tour through Sweden. At Stockholm he became involved in a crusade against the images in the churches, and was forced to leave. In 1525 he finally appeared in Wittenberg where he first began his teaching regard- ing the kingdom of the elect. Hoffman, although not an educated man, knew his Bible from cover to cover, being especially saturated with the teachings of the Prophets and Revelation, which seemed to appeal to his imagination. In common with Hans Hut he be- lieve> Rapid Spread common people. The Bible for a long time had been a sealed book to the laity, but by the beginning of the sixteenth century a new interest was taken in the study of the book. Many translations appeared about this time making it possi- ble for the common people to get some knowledge of its contents. Between 146 6-1518 the re were no less than fn iirtpen rnmp l ete translatio ns of the whole Bible in the High German language and four in the Low German dialect. In addition, up to 1518 the Gospels had appeared in about twenty-f ive editions, the Psalm s in thirteen and other portions of the Bible in many more. The leaders of the Anabaptists were invariably well ver sed in the Bible, the uned ucated as well as those who had studied at the Universities. It is fair to t^ay that in knowledge of the text of the Bible the Anabaptists were much in advance of both the Luth- eran and Catholic clergy. It is not at all strange tliat these simple-minded people as many of them were, coming fresh upon the contents of this hitherto sealed ^' 52 MENNONITES OF AMERICA book should attempt to interpret it literally and rein- state the conditions which prevailed in apostolic times. The times were favorable for the movement. The peasants wejie_oEEISSsed_and had to pay heavy taxes to support a government and a church in which they had no faith. They were denied many of the privileges and ghts which they believed were theirs by nature but which had not been granted to them because the old feudal regime had not yet completely died out in central Europe. In the example of the early apostolic church they found a remedy for the burdens, industrial, social and political which they were bearing. It is not at all strange that in some places the movement be- came political and social as well as religious. In fact it was almost impossible for a movement of this kind, under the conditions of the time, to remain entirely free from political and social questions. At any rate the liard lot of the peasant made it easier for the new faith to make its appeal to him than might otherwise have been possible. Bibliography. Sebastian Franck, Chronica: C. A. Corneliui, De« Miinsterischen Aufruhrs : Johann C. Fusslin, Beitrage zur Kirchen Ge- schichte; Heinrich BuUinger, Der Wiedertouferen Ursprung, Furgang, Sekten, etc. ; and the works of Kellerj Egli, Erbkam, Beck, Nitsche, Bron», Miller, A. H. Newman, Belfort Bax, Heath, Burrage, etc. CHAPTER II MENNO SIMONS AND THE MENNONITES OF EUROPE As we have seen. Anabaptists of several types appeared early in the Netherlands and Northwestern Germany. These were not all followers Early Life of Melchior Hoffman and John of Leyden, but many retained their peaceful and non- resistant principles. Among the leaders of the latter in this region were Dirck and Obbe Philip, Leonard Bouwens and later Menno Simons. Menno Simons was born 1492, in the village of Witmarsum in West Friesland. He was educated for tlie priesthood and entered upon the duties of his office at the age of twenty-eight in the neighboring village of Pingjum. According to his own account he had at this time very little knowledge of the Bible and no religious convictions. For several years he lived a life of ease and self-indulgence and seemed entirely oblivious of the great religious reformation that was at this time sweeping over middle .Europe. This very apathy per- haps finally caused him to question the correctness of some of the traditional ceremonies of the church, for on 54 ■ MENNONITES OF AMERICA one occasion during the early years of his priesthood while he was perfunctorily administering the mass, the thought suddenly struck him that the bread and wine he was handling could not be the body and blood of Christ. He attributed this sugg;esUo n to the devil and prayed and confessed, but the conviction di3 not leave him. Once led to doubt the truth of the prevailing system, it was but inevitable that he should be impelled to study the new teachings which already at this time i had found their way into Lower Germany and the Netherlands. The martyrdom in 1533 of Sicke Snyder in a neighboring town, on the charge of Anabaptism made a deep impresssion upon Menno's mind, and led him to study the question of infant baptism. He read the New Testament and found that there was no scriptural basis for the practice. He then consulted the writings of Luther, who taught that infants should be baptized on their own faith. Not satisfied with Luther's argument he next consulted Bucer, who said that infants should be baptized in order that they might more easily be brought up in the way of the Lord. He next went to Bullinger who taught that infant baptism was a sign of the new covenant as circumcision was of the old. Menno was convinced by none of these con- tradictory views and decided that all were contrary to tjie teaching of the New Testament. During this timej__1534-5, occurred also the un- fbrtunate Miinster episode which brought shame upon me Anabaptist name and led thousands of well mean- jng, though fanatical enthusiasts to destruction. In "ebruary, 1535, over three hundred of these people had MENNO SIMONS AND THE MENNONITES SS taken refuge in a monastery near Menno's home and most of them, including his own brother, fell in battle. This event made a profound impression upon Menno's mind, and aroused him more than ever to take a firm stand against the errors of the time. He says : Thus reflecting upon these things, my soul was so grieved that I could no longer endure it. I thought to my- self — I, miserable man, what shall I do? If I continue in this way and live not agreeably to the Word of the Lord, accord- ing to the knowledge which I have obtained; if I do not rebuke to the best of my limited ability the hypocrisy, the impenitent, carnal life, the perverted baptism, the Lord's supper and the false worship of God which the learned teach; if I, through bodily fear, do not show them the true founda- tion of the truth, neither use all of my powers to direct the wandering flock, who would gladly do their duty if they knew it, to the true pastures of Christ — Oh, how shall their blood, though shed in error, rise against me at the judgment of the Almighty, and pronounce sentence against my poor, miserable soul. My heart trembled in my body. I prayed to God in sighs and tears that He would give me, a troubled sinner, the gift of His grace, and create a clean heart within me, that through the merits of the crimson blood ©f Christ, He would graciously forgive my unclean walk and unprofitable life, and bestow upon me wisdom. Spirit, candor, and fortitude, that I might preach His exalted and adorable name and holy Word unperverted and make manifest His truth to His praise. This may be considered a turning point in Menno Simons' life; after this he followed with unswerving loyalty, and single-minded devotion the path of duty as his conscience and the Word of God pointed it out to him. In 1536 he openly renounced the Roman Catholic S6 MENNONITES OF AMERICA Church and a year later at the urgent request of a small deputation of peaceful and non- Renounces resistant Anabaptists, whose leaders had ■Catholicism all been driven out of the land or put to death, he cast his lot with that despised people and was ordained to the ministry by Obbe Philip. Henceforth he readily became their most in- fluential leader. Thus he becamejLotJtlie- lounder o f a new religious Hf^rmminatirm^nt rather thp nx^aruTpr of a body of people who were already more or less numerous m""tEe~land7"btrlr-wBo^ were_awaiting a leader to gather together their scattered forces and organize" them into an efficient working body. Menno immediately entered upon an active cam- paign in behalf of the new faith. The rest of his life was spent in preaching the Gospel, Controversial organizing new churches and writing Writings in defence of his position. His writings are still extant and have been fre- quently translated from the Dutch into the German and several times into the English language. On baptism, the supper, faith, magistracy and other church doctrines and practices he held the views f the majority of the peaceful Anabaptists of his day. Infant baptism he renounces and says "it is a self- jbegotten rite and human righteousness; for in all the 1 New Testament there is not a word or command about I baptizing infants, by Christ nor by the apostles." The true significance of baptism is set forth as ^ follows : The believing receive remission of sins, not through baptism, but in baptism in this manner: As they now sincerely believe MENNO SIMONS AND THE MENNONITES 57 the lowly Gospel of Jesus Christ which has been preached and taught to them, which is the glad tidings of grace, namely the remission of sin, of grace, of peace, of favor, of mercy and of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so they become of a new mind, deny themselves, bitterly lament their old, cor- rupted life, and look diligently to the Word of the Lord who has shown them such great love; to fulfill all that which He has taught and commanded them in His holy Gospel, trusting firmly in the word of grace, in the remission of their sins through the precious blood and through the merits of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. They therefore receive the holy baptism as a token of obedience which proceeds from faith, as proof, before God and His church, that they firmly believe in the remission of their sins through Jesus Christ. The Supper according to Menno is not the eating of the actual flesh of Jesus, as both the Catholics and Lutherans maintained, but merely a symbol of His suffering. The bread is no flesh and the wine no blood; for were they flesh and blood as the idolaters pretend and teach the poor people, one of two consequences must follow; either the perishable bread and wine are changed into the imperish- able and heavenly Son of God, or the Son of God must be changed into bread and wine. This is incontrovertible. Christ Jesus is not like the fabulous Proteus, now like the everlasting Son of the eternal Omnipotent God, and then a perishable creature, bread and wine. Oh, no! He is un- changeable through all eternity. Neither can He be confined in any house, church or chamber, in silver or golden vessels; for according to His eternal, divine Being, earth is His foot- stool, and after His holy humanity He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of His Father. On the subject of the incarnation he differed not only from the leading theologians of the Lutheran and Zwinglian denominations but also from many of the leaders in his own. His views practically involved a 3S MENNONITES OF AMERICA