The Anabaptists

Jakob Hutter

One branch of the Anabaptists came from Switzerland. Their founders were associated early on with Ulrich Zwingli, but they broke away from him and were already being persecuted by 1526. Among these leaders were George Blaurock, Felix Manz, and Conrad Grebel. Manz was executed in 1526, Blaurock in 1529, and Grebel died of the plague in the same year. Because of the virulent persecution of the later 1520s, many Anabaptists fled to Moravia.

The persecutions forced Anabaptists to decide whether they would try to defend themselves or would simply continue to seek refuge. One branch decided that violence was justified; we've seen the results of that decision. Another group decided that violence could not be justified. They moved to Nicholsburg in 1528, where under the leadership of Jacob Wiedemann they swore to a community of goods and foreswore violence in any form. By 1529, Jakob Hutter had emerged as a leader within this group. They were a tiny group, only a few hundred people, but they were tightly-knit and completely dedicated. Their piety and pacifism won them the respect of ordinary people, who protected them from time to time. By 1533, Hutter was the leader of all the various small, pacifist Moravian Anabaptists, who together numbered only a few thousand.

The Anabaptists generally were still much hated and feared by authorities, however, and in 1535 Emperor Frederick put a price on Hutter's head. He was captured 29 November. He was subjected to torture and was finally executed 25 February 1536. His wife, Katrina, managed to escape, but was captured and executed in 1538.

Hutter was no theologian and did not extend Anabaptist belief in any way. Rather, he was a preacher and a leader, who unified fragmented groups of exiles into a genuine movement. It's a measure of the strength of his leadership that this branch of Anabaptism retains his name.