Anabaptist

Anabaptists are Protestant Christians. The word "Anabaptism" comes from a Greek word meaning "to baptize again". Anabaptism holds that people should be baptized after they are believers, which is called called believer's baptism, and opposes infant baptism. Infants, according to the Anabaptists' doctrine, cannnot be validly baptized, as they cannot decide how they want to achieve salvation.

Anabaptistm arose as part of the radical wing of the Reformation in 16th-century Europe. The best-known Anabaptists are the Mennonites, the Amish, and the Hutterites.

Anabaptists insist on believer’s baptism, the baptism of people who personally repent and believe in Jesus Christ. They reject infant baptism and so rebaptize those who had infant baptism. Anabaptists also practiced a simple form of church government, based on community discipline, nonviolence, the sharing of goods, opposition to oaths or military service, and the living out of Jesus' teachings such as loving enemies. Their beliefs were written down in the Schleitheim Confession (1527), which listed seven basic rules: believer’s baptism, church discipline, communion, nonresistance, opposition to oaths, separation from evil, and the careful choice of church leaders.^[1]

Anabaptistm started in Zürich, Switzerland, on 21 January 1525, when Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock and then others. The movement spread to Tyrol, Germany, Moravia, the Netherlands, and Belgium. A radical branch led to the Münster Rebellion (1534–1535) in which Anabaptists briefly took control of the German city, set up a communal government, and enforced polygamy until the city was recaptured and the leaders were executed.

After the rebellion, most Anabaptists rejected violence. Leadership emerged from groups such as the Swiss Brethren, the Hutterites, and the Mennonites (followers of Menno Simons).

Anabaptistts faced intense persecution from both Catholic and Protestant authorities. They were tortured, drowned, burned, or otherwise killed for rejecting infant baptism, oaths, and military service. Thousands died between 1525 and 1660. Many Anabaptist members of groups like the Amish, the Mennonites, and the Hutterites fled Europ and emigrated to North America.

Today, Anabaptist traditions include the Mennonites, the Amish, and the Hutterites, as well as smaller groups like the Schwarzenau Brethren and River Brethren. Their legacy lives on in their beliefs in believer’s baptism, nonviolence, community life, and the following of Jesus in daily life. Anabaptist communities now number over a million worldwide, but only a few are still in Europe.