Menno Simons

Lore & Background

Menno Simons was born in 1496 in Witmarsum, Friesland, Holy Roman Empire, into a poor peasant environment. He learned Latin and some Greek and was taught about the Latin Church Fathers during his training to become a priest, but he had never read the Bible before or during his training, out of fear of being adversely influenced. He was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1515 or 1516 in Utrecht and later appointed chaplain in his father's village Pingjum in 1524. Around 1526 or 1527, questions about transubstantiation led him to a serious and in-depth search of the Holy Scriptures, which he confessed he had not previously studied. Dissatisfied with inconsistent answers from Martin Luther, Martin Bucer, and Heinrich Bullinger, he resolved to rely on Scripture alone, and from this time described his preaching as 'evangelical', not 'sacramental'. In 1531, Menno first heard of 'rebaptism' after the beheading of Sicke Freerks Snijder at Leeuwarden for being 'rebaptized'. A renewed search of the Scriptures convinced him that infant baptism is not in the Bible. While still pondering, he was transferred to Witmarsum, where he came into direct contact with Anabaptists preaching and practicing 'believer's baptism'. In 1535, his brother Pieter was among a group of Anabaptists killed near Bolsward for participating in the violent takeover of a Catholic monastery known as the Oldeklooster (or Bloemkamp Abbey). About 300 Anabaptists seized the monastery on 30 March 1535; after a siege and bombardment, 300 Anabaptists were killed, 37 were beheaded, and 132 were taken to Leeuwarden where another 55 were executed. After his brother's death, Menno experienced a spiritual and mental crisis, praying to God 'with sighs and tears' for grace. Menno rejected the Catholic Church and the priesthood on 12 January 1536, casting his lot with the Anabaptists. He was probably baptized not long after leaving Witmarsum in early 1536. By October 1536 his connection with Anabaptism was known, because Herman and Gerryt Jansz were arrested, charged, and beheaded for having lodged him. He was ordained around 1537 by Obbe Philips. Menno rejected the violence advocated by the Münster movement, believing it was not Scriptural. He died on 31 January 1561 at Wüstenfelde, Holstein, and was buried in his garden. He was married to a woman named Gertrude, and they had at least three children, two daughters and a son; only one daughter outlived him.

Reader's Guide

Menno Simons' influence on Anabaptism in the Low Countries was so great that Baptist historian William Estep suggested their history be divided into three periods: 'before Menno, under Menno, and after Menno.' He came to the Anabaptist movement in the north during its most troublesome days, helping not only to sustain it but also to establish it as a viable Radical Reformation movement. His theology focused on separation from this world, and baptism by repentance symbolized this. He wrote that 'true evangelical faith' manifests itself in all righteousness and works of love: it clothes the naked, feeds the hungry, consoles the afflicted, shelters the miserable, aids and consoles all the oppressed, returns good for evil, and prays for those that persecute it. By 1544, the term Mennonite or Mennist was used in a letter to refer to Dutch Anabaptists. His teachings on excommunication contrasted sharply with those of John Calvin on four principles: procedures leading to excommunication, severity of sanctions on the excommunicant, restoration of a repentant individual, and civil punishment. Menno advocated strict church/state separation and saw human perfectability as attainable after conversion. He also held a distinctive view that Jesus had 'heavenly flesh' and was 'conceived not of her womb but in her womb', appealing to scientific theory to bolster his arguments.

Did You Know?

• Menno Simons had never read the Bible before or during his training for the priesthood, out of fear that he would be adversely influenced by it.
• His first knowledge of 'rebaptism' came in 1531 after hearing of the beheading of Sicke Freerks Snijder at Leeuwarden for being 'rebaptized'.
• In 1535, his brother Pieter was among 300 Anabaptists killed during the siege of the Oldeklooster monastery near Bolsward.
• By October 1536, two men—Herman and Gerryt Jansz—were executed for having lodged Menno Simons.
• Menno Simons believed that Jesus had 'heavenly flesh' and was 'conceived not of her womb but in her womb'.