“Zürich has always been known as the seat of the (Zwingli) Reformation
in Switzerland,” stated Peter Dettwiler, retired pastor of the Grössmünster Reformed
Church in Zürich. “But Zürich was also the seat of the beginnings of the
Anabaptist movement.”
“Anabaptists are siblings of the Reformation in Zürich,” declared
Nina Sonderegger, pastor of the Reformed Church in Heimisbach, near
Trachselwald. “Unfortunately, this has
been ignored for nearly 500 years.”
“Reading the Bible in small groups in their homes does not
make (Anabaptists) a sect,” affirmed Catherine McMillan, in her “Das
Wort zum Sonntag“ (The Word for Sunday) broadcast to the Swiss people on
November 5, 2016. She is a Reformed pastor from Dübendorf and a Reformed Church
Ambassador for Ecumenical relationships. “Their Jesus is the same as ours; they
read his words in their Bible study groups from the Sermon on the Mount with different eyes.”
“Many Mennonites and Amish, descendants of the Anabaptists,
came to visit Switzerland from the United States and Canada,” said Don
Siegrist, visitor from Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. “We visited sites related to
Anabaptist history, but we had little contact with the Zwingli Reformed people
themselves. We had been erased from their history.”
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| Peter Dettwiler shows slides of his visit Amish country in Pennsylvania. |
These statements came from two recent meetings in
Switzerland which I attended. The meetings were reunions
of Swiss Reformed delegations who visited Anabaptist peoples in the United
States, many of whom trace their roots to Switzerland. These efforts for more
contact between Swiss Reformed and Anabaptist groups began after “A
Day of Reconciliation” held on June 26, 2004, in which ambassadors from the
Zwingli Reformed Church of Switzerland, asked representatives from various
Anabaptist groups for forgiveness for the years of ostracizing and persecution.
As a result of these efforts, a plaque in honor of the first Anabaptist Martyr in Zürich,
Feliz Manz, and the last, Hans Landis, was placed along the Limmat River in Zürich,
near where they were drowned.
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| The plaque honoring Felix Manz and Hans Landis, Anabaptist martyrs. |
Throughout Switzerland in 2017, the 500th anniversary
of the Reformation is being celebrated. As part of these celebrations, there
has been increased interest in the forgotten part of the Reformation for most
Swiss; the Anabaptist story that arose at the same time as a sibling of the Zürich Reformation. For example, at the St. Matthäuskirche in Basel,
Switzerland, I will join with Swiss Mennonite historian, Hanspeter Jecker, in
sharing the history of Anabaptists/Mennonites; he about those who stayed, and I
about those who emigrated.
Another example of these celebrations were the two recent
meetings that I attended, both with the title, “The Reformed and the
Anabaptists.” The first meeting was held in Heimisbach, a village nestled in
the Emmental Valley, near Trachselwald. There is still a strong Anabaptist
presence in this area, even though they were pushed to farm on impossibly steep
mountainsides (see photographs from blog post Whither
the Wengers). Trachselwald
is also the site of the castle where many Anabaptists were imprisoned and
tortured.
An unexpectedly large crowd of over 60 people showed up
to hear the story of the Anabaptists, see a slide show of visits to
Anabaptist-related groups in the USA, and to hear words from tour hosts Don and
Joanne Siegrist. The presenters were peppered with questions related
particularly to the Amish.
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| Grössmünster in Zürich, Switzerland, where meeting took place. |
The meeting in Zürich took place in the facilities of the
Grössmünster, perhaps even where Zwingli debated with early Anabaptist leaders Conrad
Grebel and Felix Manz. Even though it was mostly a reunion of people who
participated in the Reformed-Anabaptist exchanges, it was clear that there was
great interest and respect for Anabaptist groups among the Reformed who were
present.
“Tell an Amish person that you are from Switzerland,” stated
Don Siegrist in his remarks at both meetings. “And you will see their eyes
light up. They still consider Switzerland to be their homeland.” In fact, the
Siegrists have compiled a list of cultural characteristics that the Amish and
the Swiss have in common. The respect went both ways.
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| Joanne Siegrist (second left) speaks with representatives of the Reformed Church in Zürich, including Pfarrerin Christine McMillan (right). |
It was refreshing for me to hear directly from people of the
Zwingli Reformed Church, especially the words in the video by Reformed Pastor
Catherine McMillan. My visits to Switzerland stretch over 36 years, and Mennonites
(Anabaptists) have mostly been considered by the general populace a sect to be
scorned and shunned. Even though this is still the case, the fact that church
leaders are providing an alternate view on the national media, is a change in
the right direction. Also, the fact that these two meetings generated such
interest in Reformed-Anabaptist relationships is an encouraging sign.
Siblings of the Reformation. In Switzerland, through actions
taken and show by leaders in the Zwingli Reformed Church, Anabaptists have been elevated
to a position alongside the Zwingli Reformation. This not only gives credibility
to the long-ignored Anabaptist movement, but also helps to forge new
relationships with fellow Christians.
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| Retired Pfarrer Peter Dettwiler, right, was one of the original promoters of "A Day of Reconciliation" from the Zwingli Reformed movement. He has led Swiss on numerous tours of Anabaptist areas of the USA. I met him originally when he spoke at an EMU chapel on the reconciliation between Anabaptist groups and the Zwingli Reformed Church. |
