500 years of Anabaptism, a movement marked by ‘the deep conviction to follow the teachings of Jesus’

The Anabaptist movement celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2025. The 21st of January is the date that marks the beginning of this Reformation movement that emerged in Europe in the 16th century.

Five centuries ago, a group of believers in Zurich (Switzerland) took the step of being baptised as adults and with the firm conviction to put the principles of the gospel into practice and follow Jesus.

Despite the violent persecution against those first communities of faith, they were able to survive to this day, leaving a legacy that is now appreciated in global Christianity.

Carlos Martínez García is a Mexican journalist and author of several books. In this interview with Spanish news website Protestante Digital he gives an overview of the history of Anabaptism, its principles and impact.

 

Question. How did the Anabaptist movement begin?

Answer. On 21 January, 1525, in Zurich, Switzerland, a group of former disciples of the reformer of that city, Ulrich Zwingli, decided to put into practice what they had understood in their study and reading of the New Testament.

For about two or three years before, they had been studying the New Testament directly in Greek, with rich reflection. They came to the conclusion, after their reading and discovery, that baptism had to be performed on conscious believers, that is, people who understood the act they were performing.

Furthermore, that act had to reflect at least two important actions:

Firstly, the decision to follow Jesus after having experienced a conversion, which they called "new birth", "change of clothing" or other New Testament expressions.

Secondly, publicly witnessing that conversion through baptism and, moreover, joining a community of believers who confessed and practised the same principles.

There, George Blaurock asked Conrad Grebel to baptise him in the house of Felix Manz's mother. After this, they themselves baptised each other.

This was partly prompted by the decisions of the Zurich City Council, which had decreed a ban on such meetings and public debates on the baptism of believers.

There were penalties for those who continued such practices: imprisonment for citizens of Zurich and exile for non-citizens.

 

Q. Was this a local thing, or did it spread to other places?

A. This movement grew quickly for a number of reasons. One was that they were deeply convinced of the importance of communicating their discovery to other places. This impulse, one could call it a combination of inner conviction and passion for sharing, was decisive.

“The combination of inner conviction and a passion for sharing was decisive for the expansion of the movement”

Furthermore, Bible studies were already taking place in the vicinity of Zurich, particularly among ordinary people such as peasants, shoemakers, tailors and other trades, in the homes of different people, including men, women and children.

In a town near Zurich, known as Zollikon, there was already an active group with the same convictions. In those communities, even some members of the official church had refused to baptise their young children, leading the authorities to pressure for infant baptism to take place. However, they persisted in their refusal.

On the one hand, there were those with a higher level of scholastic and biblical preparation who participated in the 21 January event. On the other hand, the working people were already disobeying the official decrees of the city council.

It is in Zollikon, where on 22 January the believers of that community began to put this new conviction into practice. The local authorities, following the decrees of the city, quickly acted against those who disobeyed, imposing imprisonment or exile.

Yet many of those believers, driven both by the desire to avoid sanctions and by their inner conviction to share the message, began to spread their practice almost the very next day.

Meanwhile, in different parts of Europe there were already small groups or individuals who had more or less come to the same convictions independently.

That created a fertile ground to receive the proposal of those new believers. In various places, both in Catholic areas and in Protestant churches, they found openness and acceptance of the practice, which further contributed to its rapid expansion.

Q. What are the differences between the Anabaptist Reformation and the Protestant (Lutheran) Reformation that had begun a few years earlier?

A. Of this first generation of what are known in history as the magisterial Reformers, that is, those supported by the magistrates, we can mention figures such as Luther, Melanchthon and Zwingli in Switzerland.

“They concluded that the church should be free, voluntary in association, and that they should practice the ethical principles taught by Jesus”

Interestingly, several who would later become Anabaptists were initially followers of or at least agreed with the magisterial Reformers on issues such as faith as the vehicle for finding reconciliation with God, that this reconciliation was only possible through Christ, the centrality of Scripture, and other key beliefs of what is known as the Protestant Reformation.

However, Anabaptism, along with other strands of the Radical Reformation, came to the conclusion that the Bible taught beyond what the magisterial Reformers upheld.

Anabaptists, for example, emphasised the importance of personal conversion and the "new birth", often using the biblical figure of the encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus and the teaching of being "born again".

They also believed that the community of believers should be voluntary, which led them to question the principle of official or territorial churches. Those churches, supported by state authorities, imposed a single Confession on a given territory excluding others.

Anabaptists concluded that the church should be free, of voluntary association, and that it should practice the ethical principles taught by Jesus. An important branch of Anabaptism, in fact, developed a theology of reconciliation and peace.

However, it is important to keep in mind that the Radical Reformation includes more than just the Anabaptist strand. For example, there is also Thomas Müntzer, who initially agreed with Luther, but later broke with him. Müntzer believed and practised that the Bible taught the need to transform the unjust structures of society, even through insurrection. He was an advocate of the idea of "heaven by storm", which was evident in his support of the Peasants' War.

In 1524, Müntzer supported the peasants' uprising and the "Twelve Articles", while Luther criticised this movement and both used arms to defend their positions.

In January 1525 the Anabaptists had already made their position clear in letters to Müntzer, where they agreed that the Bible spoke of personal and social transformation, but criticised Luther for joining forces with the authorities and disapproving what the peasant leaders wanted.

In those letters, the Anabaptists also open up their own way. They state that, if the teachings of Jesus are to be followed, they leave no room for the use of the sword.

It is very interesting to see how the Anabaptists and the Radical Reformation, in a sense, became "unwanted products" of the Magisterial, or Protestant, Reformation. The magisterial Reformers promoted the reading of Scripture, and when the people read it, they found similarities with their proposals, but also profound differences. Those differences led them to create movements different from the original Protestant Reformation.

 

Q. Why were the Anabaptists persecuted?

A. It is important to understand what was happening in the 16th century. On the one hand, the Magisterial Reformation and the classical Protestant Reformers marked a clear distance from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. There was a confrontation, a rupture and a new way.

 “Accusations against the Anabaptists occurred in both contexts: they were not only accused of heresy, but also of treason to the territory”

On the other hand, however, they kept the key principle of territorial churches, i.e. that in a given territory there was one official belief, with no room for any other expression. This implied the continuity of the regime of Christendom, characterised by the symbiosis between the beliefs of a religious denomination - be it Catholic, Lutheran, Zwinglian or, later, Calvinist - and the authorities of the territory. In this regime, the religious was public, and the public was religious.

When the Anabaptists initially broke with that principle, they became religious dissidents. That inevitably led them to be seen as political dissidents as well.

They were accused of breaking the territorial unity, which, according to the authorities, unnecessarily weakened the territory and made it vulnerable not only in religious terms, but also in its political and social stability.

It is important to point out that the Anabaptists did not intentionally seek to be political dissidents. However, their dissident stance on faith and belief issues necessarily led them to confront the ruling model.

 “In Catholic and Protestant territories the printing of materials by Anabaptist authors was soon banned”

The accusations against the Anabaptists were the same in both Roman Catholic and Protestant territories, which did not tolerate deviations. They were not only accused of heresy, but also of treason to the territory, under the suspicion of serving external political interests.

For those reasons, they were persecuted: first imprisoned and, in many cases - thousands of them - executed. There was no distinction between men and women in this persecution; many women were also victims.

Current studies, five centuries after the origin of the Anabaptist movement, show that, while it is true that penalties such as exile, imprisonment or death were imposed in both Roman Catholic and Protestant territories, most of the executions took place in Roman Catholic ones. However, enough cases were also recorded in Protestant territories to show significant levels of intolerance.

Q. Are there historical, doctrinal references in Anabaptism, such as Luther or Calvin?

A. Yes and no. Yes, because there were those who stood out in writing their understandings of the Christian faith. But not in the sense that there was no great figure who still gives a name to the movement today, as happened with the Lutheran or Calvinist churches.

In the first generation of Anabaptists, the only one who had a doctorate in theology was Balthasar Hubmaier, who, like many of them, had been a Roman Catholic priest. He wrote extensively, and some of his works were printed between 1525 and 1526.

 “The key to this resistance lay in the Anabaptists' deep commitment to their beliefs and their conviction to follow the teachings of Jesus”

However, very soon in Roman Catholic and Protestant territories, the printing of materials by Anabaptist authors was forbidden. As a result, many of those writings only survived in handmade copies. Hubmaier wrote the most in that first generation, making clear the central teachings of the movement, including believers' baptism.

Others wrote less, mainly letters addressed to the communities of believers, explaining why they did what they did.

For example, those who participated in the baptisms of 21 January 1525, such as Felix Manz and Conrad Grebel, left letters on the subject. There are also the memoirs of Jorge Blaurock, where he narrates what happened that night.

Furthermore, we know part of the beliefs of the Anabaptists from the records of the trials they underwent. When they were interrogated, their answers were recorded in the minutes of the trials, which allows us to understand their thoughts and convictions.

That first generation faced severe persecution. Grebel died of the pestilence. Blaurock, Manz and other participants of that night were condemned to death. Manz, just two years after the baptisms in Zurich, was drowned in that city, following a decree of the authorities, with the support of the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli.

Another way in which we know the writings of this first generation is through the texts in which Reformers like Zwingli explained why they considered Anabaptist teachings to be wrong, reproducing part of their arguments.

In the second generation, an outstanding figure was Menno Simons, who wrote extensively, especially in the Netherlands, under constant persecution. His complete works have been published in several languages, including Dutch, German and English.

Although Menno Simons did not want his followers to be called "Mennonites," his influence consolidated this strand of Anabaptism, which spread to many regions.

 

Q. How did Anabaptism survive persecution?

A. The persecution against the Anabaptists was particularly bloody. Thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured and even killed. For this reason, the movement had to grow underground.

Simons, who had also been a Roman Catholic priest before embracing Anabaptism, lived his entire ministry - which lasted about 25 years - under constant persecution. It is amazing how he managed to avoid capture, especially when even Emperor Charles V put a price on his head.

“They did not seek martyrdom, but it was a possibility they accepted as part of their following of Jesus”

Some people who gave him refuge during his trips to various regions were severely punished when they were discovered. In many cases, that cost them their lives, as the authorities were implacable towards those who helped the persecuted.

However, there were networks that, despite being fragile and lacking economic, political or social power, managed to protect those who fled. They managed to keep communication through letters, notes and ingenious tactics that are now the subject of study, demonstrating admirable resistance to Catholic and Protestant powers.

The key to this resistance seems to lie in the Anabaptists' deep commitment to their faith and their conviction to follow the teachings of Jesus.

That commitment was reflected in their willingness to face what they called the ‘three baptisms’: the baptism of water, the baptism of the Spirit, and the baptism of blood. The latter represented the possibility of being martyred for their faith. However, it is important to clarify that they did not seek martyrdom; it was not a desired goal, but a possibility they accepted as part of their following of Jesus.

The survival of the movement was also possible because they experienced tolerance at certain times and in certain places. For example, in the late 1520s and early 1530s, they were accepted in Strasbourg. That led many Anabaptists from different regions to move there.

Later, when they heard that they could be admitted in Moravia, they moved there in large numbers. However, such tolerant situations did not last long, forcing them to continue their exodus, moving constantly or remaining secretly in the places where they settled.

This constant migration and clandestinity made the Anabaptists an ‘exodus believing people,’ a group that managed to preserve their faith and traditions not only during that century, but to the present day. Today, communities descended from this branch of the Radical Reformation still exist and practice their teachings.

It is fascinating to read the documents that recount how they organised themselves: the instructions on which paths to take, the dangers of certain areas, and the strategies to avoid capture. They are a testament to their ingenuity, determination and commitment to their beliefs, which sustained them in the face of seemingly hopeless odds.

Q. That reminds me of the persecution of the Spanish Reformers. Casiodoro de Reina also sought refuge in Strasbourg.

A. Cassiodo de Reina sympathised with and befriended several radical Reformers. He may have been influenced by his experience of persecution in Spain.

Casiodoro de Reina sympathy for the persecuted that he met during his stay in England, where he had contact with radical Reformers of several strands, different from the Magisterial Reformation.

During his time in London, he met some of them, and later, when he fled the city in September 1563 and returned to the European continent, he had new opportunities to meet these expressions of the Radical Reformation.

Casiodoro de Reina disagreed with the persecutory attitudes he himself had suffered, especially in Spain, where intolerance was extreme. He therefore advocated for a space where different expressions of faith could coexist, an approach that reflected both his personal experience and his understanding of religious freedom.

 

Q. How did Anabaptism develop over the centuries?

A. From the 16th century onwards, Anabaptist groups continued to flee until they found places where they were tolerated.

Among these groups were the Mennonites, followers of Menno Simons, who sought refuge in several territories. Initially, they settled in Moravia and later in regions such as Prussia, Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe. However, these communities often had to accept strict conditions, such as not spreading their beliefs.

“The Anabaptists were forerunners of the separation between communities of believers and the state”

In Russia, the Mennonites were tolerated and granted land, but with a commitment to remain politically neutral. Their firm pacifist stance, based on the teachings of Jesus, prevented them from taking weapons, participating in military conflicts or pledging allegiance to any political regime.

While these beliefs gave them a distinctive identity as peacemakers, also made it difficult for them to remain in certain territories, especially after the Bolshevik Revolution.

The arrival of this revolutionary movement marked a turning point. Their historical experience led the Mennonites to foresee that their refusal to obey government orders regarding military service or war could again lead to persecution. Therefore, they sought new opportunities and began to emigrate to America.

Initially, small groups moved to the United States, particularly to the state of Pennsylvania, where they found an environment of greater religious tolerance.

In Canada, although they were initially welcomed, the demands of compulsory military service led some Mennonite groups to seek new areas.

In 1922, they arrived in Mexico under the regime of the Mexican revolution, then led by president Álvaro Obregón. Despite the violent context of the revolution, the Mexican government respected their beliefs and granted them land in the state of Chihuahua, in unpopulated areas near Ciudad Cuauhtémoc. They settled there as a thriving community that still exists today.

Later, the Mennonites continued to migrate to Paraguay and other regions of Latin America, becoming a community that, despite centuries of persecution, has managed to preserve its principles of faith and peaceful coexistence.

Q. What impact has the Anabaptist movement had on global Christianity?

A. The Anabaptists are part of a movement that we could say started in the 16th century with communities of believers who thought that it was not enough to have a conversion experience, but also to join a community of believers and to put into practice the principles of following Jesus and the Gospel.

Other groups throughout history have made the same discovery, but not necessarily with the historical continuity of the Anabaptists in southern Europe or elsewhere.

For example, there were also Anabaptist groups in various parts of Germany, in the Netherlands, and in other regions of Europe.

“Today most Anabaptist-Mennonite churches are not in Europe, Canada or the United States, but in Africa”

Due to their biblical-theological convictions, the Anabaptists reach conclusions that go beyond those mentioned above, and that explain the name given to them: ‘Anabaptists’. This name was not chosen by them, it was imposed from outside, by those who called them ‘cata-baptists’, i.e. those who were re-baptised.

In a society where all children were baptised, the practice of believers' baptism under confession of faith seemed like a “second baptism”. However, the Anabaptists did not believe they were practising a second baptism, but the baptism ordained by Jesus.

The Anabaptists were also pioneers of the idea of the separation between communities of believers and the state, a concept they described in their writings as the ‘perfection of Christ'.

For them, there is no place in Christ for the use of the sword, and the imposition of beliefs on others must be a voluntary act.

This principle appeared in a document written by a group of Anabaptists in Strasbourg in 1530, in which they explained why the city authorities should respect their beliefs and how political jurisdiction should not interfere with individual conscience.

Although it was not a political science treaty, it is a proposal that describes how public order can be read from a faith perspective, and it addresses the distinction between the spheres of the community of believers and the spheres of the state.

It is important to claim this principle, because when people talk about freedom of conscience, the influence of the Anabaptists is often ignored. Although other movements in history are mentioned as precursors of this concept, the Anabaptists were actually the first to explicitly propose it in the 16th century.

The Anabaptist movement moved throughout Europe, including England, and influenced many places, though not always directly.

Peruvian missiologist, theologian and international speaker Samuel Escobar points out that evangelical Christianity in Latin America, and arguably also in Spain, has an Anabaptist character in its origins.

Therefore, while there was a spread of Anabaptist ideas, it was not always the direct cause of the movements of communities of believers in various parts of the world. Sometimes these communities came to their own conclusions, which coincided with the theological postulates of the Anabaptists.

 

Q. What do the Amish have to do with the Anabaptist movement?

A. The Amish are a branch of Anabaptism, but they are not Mennonites. The best-known strand of Anabaptism, which continues to this day and goes back to the 16th century, is the Mennonites.

Those who were originally baptised in Zurich on 21 January 1525, such as Grebel, Manz and others, do not have churches named after them. However, the group led by Menno Simons did manage to endure, mainly due to several factors, including the organisation and continuity of the original 16th-century community, which dispersed to various parts.

“Anabaptism is like a leafy tree with several branches, and the largest or best-known branch is the Mennonite branch”

Within the Anabaptist movement itself, due to persecution and other factors, some communities developed different approaches and emphasised certain teachings. Thus, the Amish have a more radical structure in some respects, such as collectivism or unitarianism, although there are also Mennonite groups with more collectivist approaches. However, it is a mistake to consider Anabaptism and Mennonites as synonymous, since Anabaptism is like a leafy tree with several branches, and the largest or best-known branch is the Mennonite branch.

In the case of the Amish and other communities, such as the Brotherhood, who are also Anabaptists, there are similarities with Menno Simons’ postulates, but also differences.

It is important to note that today’s Anabaptism, which has a global presence, is no longer limited to the Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite and other colony communities that initially emerged in Europe. Today, many people can trace their lineage back to 16th century Zurich, but the Anabaptism prevalent today is very different from that of those early communities.

The Mennonite World Conference brings together Anabaptist, Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches, among other expressions of Anabaptism. This congress has more than 2 million believers, although it does only represent Anabaptist churches that wish to be part of this congress.

 

Q. Where do we find the largest growth of Anabaptists now?

A. Interestingly, today most Anabaptist-Mennonite churches are not in Europe, Canada or the United States, but in Africa, specifically in Kenya and Ethiopia, where some of the largest Mennonite World Conference-affiliated churches are located. This expansion of the Anabaptist faith has also reached other places such as Asia, and a major Global Assembly was held three years ago.

Today, the Anabaptist and Mennonite movement is predominantly from the global south, no longer associated with ethnic and white communities as it was for many centuries. This revolution is significant, as World Christianity is no longer concentrated in originally Protestant powers, but in other regions where churches have adopted a ‘believers’ church’ approach. In this sense, the Anabaptist model is the predominant one, characterised by churches of believers and a multicultural approach.

Looking at the composition of Mennonite World Conference, the commissions and authorities are highly horizontal. The governing body of the conference is made up of people from all languages, tribes and nations, reflecting the vision of global unity expressed in the language of Revelation.

 

Q. What are your expectations for this 500th anniversary of the Anabaptists?

A. Mennonite World Conference is in transition to change its name, probably to Anabaptist Mennonite World Conference, since, as I mentioned earlier, not all Anabaptists are Mennonites.

There are various activities both globally and locally. In the case of here in Mexico, there will be outreach activities throughout the year, also in many parts of the world, where the radical reform of Anabaptism is little known.

Activities will include symposia, conferences, book publications and global meetings. One of the highlights will be the culmination of a series of meetings in Germany and Switzerland from 21-29 May, with a final commemoration gathering on 29 May.

In addition, special books have been prepared, both devotionals and an “Anabaptist Bible”, which will include commentaries of various kinds, including quotations from the Anabaptists of the 16th century. In Latin America, for example, coinciding with 21 January, there will be a Latin American gathering in Cusco, Peru. Those who follow or have access to social media will be able to participate in some of these activities, which will be available for free online.

Personally, I am finishing a book on the 16th century Anabaptist movement, which I hope will be circulating in the next few months, before May. In the case of those of us who consider ourselves heirs of this strand of Anabaptism in the Spanish-speaking world, we have the task of making the literature of the 16th century Anabaptists known. We are committed to this effort and are actively working on it.