Felix Manz and the cost of conviction

Felix Manz helped form the Zürich fellowship and continued teaching the baptism of believers under increasing pressure from the city authorities. His execution by drowning in the Limmat on 5 January 1527 became an early and enduring witness in the history of the Swiss Brethren.

Martyrs’ Mirror preserves more than the circumstances of his death. Its account, under the spelling Felix Mantz, includes an admonition calling believers to repentance, faith, love, and mercy. Manz contrasts that life with the hatred and coercion of teachers who appeal to the authorities to put their opponents to death.

The supplied book’s heading and narrative give 1526. The later history and the supplied overview give 5 January 1527, which is the date used for this event. The original account remains unchanged and directly accessible, so the difference is preserved with the testimony rather than silently removed.