Ulrich Stadler and the shared life of the brotherhood

Ulrich Stadler came from Brixen in the Tyrol and worked as a mining official at Sterzing. After joining the Anabaptists he fled persecution to Moravia. When renewed pressure reached Moravia in 1535, he and Leonhard Lochmaier led believers to refuge in Poland, where two communities were established.

Stadler returned to Moravia with about one hundred people in 1537 and led a settlement at Bucovic. Following discussions with Hans Amon, he joined the Hutterite brotherhood. His writings describe a surrendered heart devoted to God and the brethren and connect that discipleship with the sharing of goods, care for the community, and discipline. He died in 1540, leaving a written witness to the common life practiced by these refugees.