On this day 482 years ago, Felix Manz was executed by drowning. His “crime” arose from his belief that people should be baptised when they become believers, rather than as infants. He had been unsuccessful in convincing the authorities in the city of Zurich that his interpretation of the Bible was correct, and they had reacted by making adult baptism a capital offence, punishable by drowning. Thus Manz became the first martyr of the Radical Reformation.
The Radical Reformation was a movement which sought a purely scriptural form of Christianity, rather than one which was governed by a church hierarchy as in the case of the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches. The reformers believed that Christianity should be a matter of personal belief, not forced on anyone, and the church should not be supported by the state. This philosophy was subsequently reflected in the US Constitution.
Felix Manz did not leave a large written legacy, but a hymn written by him has survived. The English translation of the first verse is: “With gladness will I sing now; My heart delights in God, Who showed me such forbearance That I from death was saved Which never has an end. I praise you, Christ in heaven Who all my sorrow changed.”