Menno Simons

Menno Simons was a former Dutch priest who became an influential Anabaptist teacher. The Mennonite name preserves his association with the communities he helped strengthen; it does not make every later branch the work of one founder.

A revealing passage in Martyrs’ Mirror occurs in Herman Vleckwijk’s prison disputation. Pressed about Menno and other teachers, Herman answers that his trust rests in God rather than in any man. The exchange shows both Menno’s public prominence and the believer’s insistence that Scripture and Christ stood above a teacher’s reputation.