A Light in this dark world

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THE LANTERN
X 14 September 2010 Issue No: one www.thelantern.org
INF ted Florida 07
O@ E M S t ates 33
THE AIL of A 527
LAN mer
TER ica
N.O
RG TEL
(813 EPHON
)-76 E
4-12
20 This episode brings
the history of the

Great Martyrs for the Kingdom christian martyrs

who gave there life

of God for the cause of the

Kingdom of God.

FELIX MAN’Z MARTYRDOM

FELIX MAN’Z
On January 5, 1527 Felix was led from prison
to a boat. On the way he gave praises to God
and preached to the people gathered to watch
him die. Old Anabaptist drawing
One of Zwingli's priests went along, still
trying to convert him. Manz's brother and
mother were there as well, urging him to stand
fast.
Continued on Page 2

FIRST ANABAPTIST MARTYR

Felix Man’z was the first Anabaptist to be Felix Man’z Drowning Ulrich Zwingly
drowned in the Limmat River , Lake Zurich by
government of Zurich
Felix Man’z was
drowned as well as
other Anabaptists
for taking the
Baptism.

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THE LANTERN!
Memorial plate in remembrance of Felix Manz and other Anabaptists executed in the early 16th century
CONT’D FELIX MAN’Z MARTYRDOM
He was put into a boat on the river
Lammat. His hands were tied, and he was
made to squat down. A stick was stuck
behind his knees and above his elbows to
immoblize him, and he was taken to the
middle of the river.
There, with his mother, brother, and
his fellow "rebaptizers" (Anabaptists)
shouting encouragement, he was tipped
into the lake, a final death by baptism.
He was not horrified nor afraid. His
last words were, "Into your hands, O Lord,
I commend my spirit."
A FINAL WORD FROM FELIX MANZ
Felix sent a letter of encouragement to his
brethren before he died. The full text can
be found in Martyr's Mirror, but here are
some of the more inspiring excerpts.
"My heart rejoices in God, who gives
me much knowledge and wisdom so that I
may escape the eternal and never-ending
death.
      "I praise you, O Lord Christ from
heaven, that you turn away my sorrow and
sadness; you whom God has sent me as a
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PAGE 2
"Protestation und Schutzschrift" by Felix
Savior and for an example and a light. You
have called me into your heavenly kingdom
already, before my end has come, that I
should have eternal joy with him [i.e., the
Father] and should love him and all his
righteousness … without which nothing "My heart rejoices
avails or subsists.
in God, who gives
      "Alas how many are found … who
boast of the Gospel and speak, teach, and me much knowledge
preach much about it, but are full of hatred and wisdom so that
and envy. They do not have the love of God I may escape the
in them, and their deceit is known to all the eternal and never-
world … They hate the pious on the earth ending death.
and obstruct the way to life and to the true
sheepfold.
   "They call upon the authorities to kill
us, by which they destroy the very essence of
Christianity. But I will praise the Lord
Christ, who exercises all patience towards
us. He instructs us with his divine graces
and shows love to all men … which none of
the false prophets are able to do.
"Here we must observe this difference, that
the sheep of Christ seek the praise of God.
Continued on page 3
THE LANTERN!
History of Felix Man’z (AD 1498-1527 )
FROM GLOBAL ANABAPTIST MENNONITE ENCYCLOPEDIA
A FINAL WORD FROM FELIX MANZ (CONTD)
This is their choice, and they do not
allow themselves to be hindered either
by possessions or temporal good, for
they are in the keeping of Christ. The
Lord Christ compels no one to come to
his glory; only those that are willing
and prepared attain to it by true faith
and baptism.
   "Whenever a person brings forth
genuine fruits of repentance, the
heaven of eternal joys is, through
grace, purchased and obtained for him
by Christ, through the shedding of his
innocent blood, which he so willingly
poured out. With that he showed us his
love. He endues us with the power of
his Spirit, and whoever receives and
uses it grows and is made perfect in
God. Only love to God through Christ
shall stand and prevail, not boasting,
denouncing, or threatening.
     "It is love alone that is pleasing
to God; he that cannot show love shall
not stand in the sight of God.
   " … This Light of Life they have
before them … but those who are
hateful and envious and wickedly
betray, accuse, smite, and quarrel
cannot be Christians… . By this we
may know those that are not on the
side of Christ.
      "With this I will finish my
discourse, desiring that all the godly be
mindful of the fall of Adam, who when
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he accepted the advice of the serpent
… the punishment of death came upon
him. Thus it shall also happen to those
who do not accept Christ, but resist
him, love this world, and have not the
love of God.
   "And thus I close with this: I will
firmly adhere to Christ and trust in him
who is acquainted with all my needs
and can deliver me out of it. Amen."
FELIX MANZ (AD 1498 - 1527
Felix Manz, one of the founders
and first martyr of the original Swiss
Brethren congregation in Zürich,
Switzerland, was born about 1498, the
son of a Zürich canon, acquired a
thorough knowledge of Latin, Greek,
and Hebrew. When Zwingli came to
Zürich in 1519, Manz joined him
enthusiastically and became a regular
attendant at Zwingli's Bible classes.
Differences of opinion soon arose
when he and his associates demanded
the abolition of tithes and interest.
Zwingli hesitated, although he could
not entirely close his mind to the
Biblical basis for this demand (see his
noted sermon on divine and human
righteousness on 24 June 1523). Even
more insistently the Brethren
demanded the abolition of the Mass.
When Zwingli left the decision in this
matter in the hands of the Zürich city
council the Brethren broke with him
and henceforth held their own
PAGE 3
meetings in the home of Felix Manz's
mother.
The question of baptism at once
arose. Several fathers refused to have
their children baptized. They were
fined. On 17 January 1525 a public
disputation was held in the city hall of
Zürich to decide the issue, with Conrad
Grebel and Felix Manz representing
the Brethren. Zwingli was pronounced
the victor. In consequence an order was
issued on 18 January threatening those
who would not have their children
baptized within eight days with
banishment from the city. Grebel and
Manz were to desist from their arguing
and submit to the opinion of "my lords
(of the city council)."
This the Brethren refused to do.
On 21 January they performed the rite
of adult baptism and held a
communion service among themselves,
thereby making their  break  with  the 
Zwingli  church  final  and establishing
their brotherhood as a distinct
Christian body. The movement spread
rapidly through the city and the canton
of Zürich. Felix Manz was among the
most zealous in proclaiming the new
doctrine. He was repeatedly arrested.
He earnestly requested an opportunity
to express himself in writing on the
points in dispute, since it was
impossible to do justice to the matter in
oral debate. But the council refused.
THE LANTERN!
HISTORY OF FELIX MAN’Z ( CONT’D)
The second disputation in Zürich took
place on 20 March 1525. The result
was again negative. The Brethren (14
men and seven women) were
imprisoned in the Hexenturm on bread
and water. On 5 April they managed to
escape. But they were soon captured
and subjected to a severe cross-
examination. Felix Manz testified that
he had never rejected government,
interest, and tithes. If he had taken the
liberty to preach in other pastorates, he
had only done what a disciple of Christ
must do. Capital punishment he had
denounced, as well as the use of the
sword; community of goods he had not
taught, but only willingness to share
with the needy. Two weeks after his
escape from the Hexenturm he had
baptized in Embrach, and would
continue to do so.
After his release Manz went to the
Oberland of Zürich, especially to
Grüningen. But he did not stay here
long. By the middle of May we find
him with George Blaurock at Chur in
the canton of Grisons, Blaurock's
home. On 18 July he was seized and
taken back to Zürich. The letter which
the magistrate of Chur sent to the
Zürich council on 13 July 1525, states:
For a long time we have had
among us one who calls himself Felix
Manz. The same has created much
trouble and discord among our people
by baptizing old people and corner
preaching, to such an extent that we
ordered him to leave the city. After this
he returned and did as before,
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disregarding the public proclamation in
the church forbidding adult baptism on
penalty of death, loss of honor and loss
of property. Therefore we arrested him
and held him a few days. But because
he is an obstinate and recalcitrant
person we released him from prison
and because he is one of yours we have
sent him to you, with the friendly
request that you look after him and
keep him in your territory, so that we
may be rid of him and our people
remain quiet, and that in case of his
return, we are not compelled to take
severe measures against him.
In Zürich Manz was confined in
the Wellenberg for several months and
then released on 7 October. On the
next day he was already with Grebel
taking part in a meeting of the
Anabaptists at Bezholz. Here they were
surprised by the magistrate. Grebel was
seized, but Manz escaped until 30
October, when he was also put in
prison. At the suggestion of the
magistrate the third public Anabaptist
disputation was held in Zürich on 6
and 8 November in the Grossmünster
of the city. Grebel and Manz were
again the spokesmen of the Brethren.
T h e o u t c o m e w a s t h at o n 1 8
November the council sentenced
Blaurock, Grebel, and Manz to prison
on bread, water, and "Mus," forbidding
all contact with the outside, "as long as
my lords should see fit."
This imprisonment was not of
long duration. Soon afterward we find
the three leaders of the Brethren again
PAGE 4
in the highlands of Zürich, where they
promulgated their doctrines more
vigorously than ever. They were again
arrested and subjected to a severe
questioning. They held to their faith
and were ready to die for it. Again they
requested permission to present their
case in the matter of baptism in
writing, as Zwingli had already done in
his book, Vom Tauff, vom Wiedertauff
und vom Kindertauff (at the end of
May 1525). Manz expressly stated that
he had never disputed, but had only
testified to his faith; the Scriptures
alone had led him to his position on
baptism; no Christian could strike with
the sword, nor does he resist evil.
The council now resorted to
severer measures. On 7 March the
sentence was pronounced: "Manz,
Grebel, and Blaurock, besides 15 other
Anabaptists including six women, shall
be placed on straw in the new tower on
bread and water until they die and
decay. No one may visit them or have
power to change their condition, be
they well or sick, without the consent of
my lords." Repetition of the offense
would be punished without mercy by
drowning. Sooner than the severity of
the verdict would indicate, the prison
doors were opened. At any rate, by
April 1526 the three Brethren leaders
were assisting their harried brethren in
Grisons and Appenzell
(Cont’d Page 5 )
THE LANTERN!
HISTORY OF FELIX MAN’Z ( CONT’D)
In the fall of 1526 it was learned that
Manz and Blaurock were in the region
of Grüningen baptizing. To put an end
to this activity the council applied the
edict of 7 March, which made adult
baptism punishable by drowning. On 3
December 1526, Manz and Blaurock
were surprised at a meeting of the
Brethren, seized, and taken to Zürich,
where they were placed in the
Wellenberg prison. It was Manz's final
imprisonment. On 5 January 1527 he
was sentenced to death, "because
contrary to Christian order and custom
he had become involved in
Anabaptism, had accepted it, taught
others, and become a leader and
beginner of these things because he
confessed having said that he wanted to
gather those who wanted to accept
Christ and follow Him, and unite
himself with them through baptism,
and let the rest live according to their
faith, so that he and his followers
s e parated th em s elves from th e
Christian Church and were about to
raise up and prepare a sect of their
own under the guise of a Christian
meeting and church; because he had
River Limmat, where Feliz manz hands were bound and pulled behind his knees and a pole was placed between them
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condemned capital punishment, and in
order to increase his following had
boasted of certain revelations from the
Pauline Epistles. But since such
doctrine is harmful to the unified usage
of all Christendom, and leads to
offense, insurrection, and sedition
against the gover nment, to the
shattering of the common peace,
brotherly love, and civil cooperation
and to all evil, Manz shall be delivered
to the executioner, who shall tie his
hands, put him into a boat, take him to
the lower hut, there strip his bound
hands down over his knees, place a
stick between his knees and arms, and
thus push him into the water and let
him perish in the water; thereby he
shall have atoned to the law and
justice. . . . His property shall also be
confiscated by my lords."
He was taken bound from the
Wellenberg over the fish market to the
boat. As he was being taken between
the shops he praised God with a loud
voice and cheerfully testified to the
people that he was about to die for the
truth. Meanwhile the dismal procession
had reached the place of execution. It
PAGE 5
was three o'clock in the afternoon. "As
he stood there with the depths of Lake
Zürich below him, the blue sky over
him, and the mountains with their
snowy peaks in the sunshine, around
him, his soul in the face of death
looked out above these. As a preacher
at his side spoke sympathetically to him
encouraging him to be converted, he
hardly heard him; but when he
perceived his mother's voice on the
opposite bank, together with his
brothers admonishing him to be
steadfast, he sang with a loud voice
while he was being bound, In manus
tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum
meum,' and the waves closed in over
his head." He was buried in the St.
Jakobs cemetery in Zürich. The
Ausbund, No. 6, has a song written by
him: "Mit Lust so will ich singen."
While he left no published writings, the
Protestation und Schutzschrift of
December 1524 addressed to the
Zürich Council, attributed to Conrad
Grebel by Egli, Köhler, and Bender,
has been shown by W. Schmid to have
been written by Manz.
Felix Man’z
 A Light in the darkness
Brothers and Sisters
in Christ, through
out the history of
christianity we can
see people who gave
their lives for the
cause of the
Kingdom of God.
May their blood
speak to us to live a
life pleasing to the
will of God.

Taking you to a time when Christians are killed for things which we are taking it for
granted

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