500 Years of the Anabaptist Movement

1525 was a remarkable year! The Reformation, triggered by Luther’s posting of theses in Wittenberg, had already fallen on fertile soil, and his statement that a Christian was “subject to none”, inspired uprisings that led to the German Peasants’ War in 1525. While Luther dissociated himself from the activities of the peasants at an early stage, reformers such as Thomas Müntzer actively sided with them. Müntzer had to pay for this with his life in the very same year.

Apart from the reformers around Luther and Zwingli, the Baptists (designated by others as Anabaptists resp. Wiedertäufer) became a further movement of the Reformation. It mainly developed in Central and Upper Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Until today, their core concerns have been the succession of Jesus, the church as a brotherhood and non-violence. The most obvious characteristic of the Baptists, however, is their understanding of sacraments: baptism presupposes a deliberate belief in God - something not possible for babies. Adult baptism was strictly denied by other Protestant denominations, and - supported by the authorities - the Baptist movement was at times brutally combatted. The introduction of baptismal registers in the 16th century was justified, among other things, by the necessity to ward off the Baptists. 

Well-known Baptist groups are the Hutterites and Menonnites as well as the Amish in the USA.

On occation of the anniversary, the association „500 Jahre Täuferbewegung 2025 e.V.“ (500 Years of Baptist Movement 2025) was established and offers a large number of events (https://taeuferbewegung2025.de/). On Archion, you find via the following link to more than 50 church records from 18 Menonnite parishes. Just have a look!