Christian beginnings: Acts and the early witnesses
The account in Acts provides the Christian beginnings to which later Anabaptist communities looked for their understanding of discipleship, baptism, and shared life.
Read the storyMilestones
Events and milestones
Follow the events that connect the people, source accounts, and traditions.
The Zürich baptisms
On 21 January 1525, Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock at a gathering associated with Felix Manz in Zürich. This is a central starting point for Swiss Anabaptist history.
Read the storyFelix Manz and the cost of conviction
Felix Manz was drowned in Zürich on 5 January 1527. His story is central to the memory of persecution among the Swiss Brethren.
Read the storyThe Schleitheim Articles
The Schleitheim Articles set out seven points of agreement for a gathered Anabaptist community, including baptism, communion, church discipline, and refusal of the sword.
Read the storyCommunity of goods in Moravia
A community of Anabaptist refugees in Moravia began sharing their possessions. This practice became a defining feature of Hutterite life.
Read the storyJakob Hutter’s witness
Jakob Hutter was executed in Innsbruck in 1536. His leadership and organization helped give the Hutterite tradition its lasting name.
Read the storyDirk Willems saves his pursuer
Martyrs’ Mirror recounts how Dirk Willems turned back to rescue a pursuer who had fallen through the ice. He was recaptured and later executed.
Read the storyHans Landis and the Swiss persecution
The account of Hans Landis in Martyrs’ Mirror shows that persecution of Swiss Anabaptists continued into the seventeenth century.
Read the storyPreserving the memory: Martyrs’ Mirror
Thieleman J. van Braght’s collection preserved accounts of Christian witnesses and Anabaptist martyrs, along with letters, confessions, and reflections.
Read the storyThe Amish division
Disagreements associated with Jakob Ammann in 1693 contributed to the emergence of the Amish from the Swiss Anabaptist tradition.
Read the storyThe Schwarzenau Brethren
A group baptized in the Eder River at Schwarzenau began a movement shaped by both Anabaptist convictions and Pietism.
Read the storyThe Mennonite Brethren emerge
Renewal within Mennonite communities in the Russian Empire contributed to the formation of the Mennonite Brethren in 1860.
Read the storyHutterite migration to North America
Hutterite communities began migrating from the Russian Empire to North America in the 1870s after changes affecting military exemption and community life.
Read the storyThe beginnings of the Bruderhof
Eberhard and Emmy Arnold, together with Else von Hollander, founded the Bruderhof in Germany in 1920.
Read the storyA worldwide gathering
The first Mennonite World Conference gathering was held in Basel in 1925. Later assemblies form part of the story of worldwide Anabaptist fellowship.
Read the storyAnabaptist history is still being written
The present-day story includes communities across continents and many different traditions. Local histories, migrations, mission, and relationships between churches are part of the record still being gathered.
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