Felix+Manz


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c. 1498-1527
Back || Felix Manz was one of the three major figures in the Anabaptist movement in Zurich. He was born in Zurich around 1498 as the illegitimate son of a Zurich priest. As was the case with Grebel, Manz's radical tendencies were also displayed before the historic baptism in his home, or rather, his mother's home. In addition to co-signing Grebel's letter to Müntzer, he worked with Andreas Castelberger in Basel in October and November of 1524 to publish six of Karlstadt's tracts against Luther In December of 1524 Manz submitted a petition sometimes called Protestation or Protest and Defense to the Zurich city council outlining his argument against infant baptism. He explained that his position was a valid biblical belief that he wishes to share with the council. Manz further argued that infant baptism was instituted by a pope rather than Christ. 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 other [|Protestants]. At 3:00 p.m., as he was led from the Wellenburg to a boat, he praised God and preached to the people. A 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." Manz's execution predates the [|Münster Rebellion]. 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). || References-- Picture: http://gameo.org/images/archive/1/14/20130823171631!Felix-Manz-Web.jpg Text: http://cat.xula.edu/tpr/people/manz/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Manz