Menno Simons

Menno Simons was born around 1496, in Witmarsum, in Friesland, in the northern Netherlands. His family was of the peasant class. He was educated for the priesthood, probably in a monastery school, and he learned Latin. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1524 and served in the village of Pingjum, near his birthplace. He lived for some years as a priest with little concern for religion. He said later that he spent his time playing cards, drinking and enjoying himself with other priests. He had not read the Bible.

In 1525, he began to have doubts about the doctrine of the mass. While celebrating it one day, he was troubled by the thought that the bread and wine might not be the real body and blood of Christ. He was disturbed and prayed about it. He started to read the New Testament, which he had never done. He found that the teaching of the church did not agree with Scripture. He studied the works of Luther and others and began to move toward the reformed view. He was drawn to the Reformation but was not yet ready to leave the church.

In 1531, he heard of the execution of a man named Sicke Snijder, who was beheaded in Leeuwarden for being rebaptized as an adult. Menno was struck by the fact that a man could die for the baptism of believers. He searched the Scriptures and found no support for infant baptism. He was shaken. He began to study the matter. He discussed it with his friends and with the Anabaptist leaders. He was drawn to their views. However, he was repelled by the violent group that took over the city of Münster in 1534, in which Anabaptists established a kingdom by force and fell into excess. In 1535, a group of Anabaptists captured a monastery near Witmarsum, and many were killed. Among those slain was his brother, Pieter. It was a heavy blow, and he was crushed.

He was moved to decide. In January 1536, he left the priesthood and joined the Anabaptists. He was rebaptized and was ordained as an elder of the peaceful wing of the movement. He gave the rest of his life to leading a scattered and persecuted people. He taught that Christians should not take up the sword, and that the church should be a community of believers who follow Christ in a life of love and discipleship. He held that baptism is for adult believers and that the church should not be tied to the state. He rejected the use of force in religion. He was a man of gentle character.

He lived the life of a fugitive. The authorities declared that anyone who gave him shelter would be put to death, and a price was put on his head. He moved from place to place in the Netherlands, in northern Germany and in the Baltic region. He took refuge with sympathizers, and he met with the believers in secret. He and his wife, Gertrude, and their children lived in poverty. He wrote a number of works to guide the faithful, among them Foundation of Christian Doctrine, published in 1539, and The Complete Works. He also defended the movement against slander, and he opposed the radicals. His work gave direction to a people who had been scattered.

His followers were first called Menists and later Mennonites. They spread across Europe and later to North and South America, Russia and Africa. They were known for their pacifism, their simple way of life and their care for others. They suffered under persecution for centuries. Many of them were killed. They gave a witness to the way of peace.

He had his faults. He was somewhat strict in matters of church discipline, and he supported the practice of shunning, in which those who sinned were cut off from the fellowship. This caused division among the Mennonites. He also was prone to anxiety and to a sense of his own weakness. His health declined in his later years.

He died on January 31, 1561, in Wüstenfelde, in Holstein, at the age of about sixty-five. He died of natural causes, which was unusual for a leader of his people. His life shows how a careless priest was turned into a shepherd of the persecuted. He was a man who sought the way of peace in a violent age.