St. Gallen: Scripture, baptism, and a gathered community

At St. Gallen, east of Zürich, lay Scripture readings helped prepare the way for believers’ baptism. Lorenz Hochrütiner and Wolfgang Uliman were among those who questioned infant baptism and gathered listeners around the biblical message. On Palm Sunday, 9 April 1525, Conrad Grebel baptized many townspeople in the Sitter River. Sattler College’s account, drawing on contemporary chronicles, cautions that the precise number is unknown.

The new community soon faced restrictions on baptism and unauthorized meetings. GAMEO’s account describes fines and banishment in 1525 and a greatly weakened movement by the end of 1526. These pressures give the chart’s short St. Gallen line historical substance without proving that every local believer disappeared or that the line represents a later denomination.

The supplied Martyrs’ Mirror also preserves a regional connection: in a 1529 examination, Agatha Kampner said that she had been baptized near St. Gall. She defended preaching the Gospel and gathering to hear it, and declared her intention to remain faithful. Her testimony supplies a personal witness alongside the wider community history.