Birth:1498
Death: 1527
City: Zurich
Country: Switzerland
Place of Vision: Switzerland
Felix ManzSwitzerland. His father was a canon of Grossmünster church in Zürich. Felix was a scholar in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.When Ulrich Zwingli, a swiss Christian reformer, came to Zürich in 1519, Felix joined him enthusiastically and became a regular attendant at Zwingli’s Bible classes. Conrad Grebel was his close friend from the Bible study group. They together studied the scriptures and condemned the non-scriptural practices of the Catholic church. Felix rebuked the practice of infant baptism and denied the authority of the state on the church. He believed that obedience to baptism should neither be due to prudence nor fear. Felix argued that the name ‘Christian’ could be applied only to those who truly follow Jesus and not indiscriminately to all who are baptized. His newfound doctrinal revelation spread like a fire that changed the hearts of many people in Zurich.
However, the city council found the reformative ideas of Felix to be a threat to the unity of the church. The authorities ordered him to recant his beliefs and prohibited him to preach. Not only did Felix and his friends refused to do so, but they also held a communion service and baptized each other to mark their obedience to God. The movement spread like a fire, and many willfully took baptisms. Felix enthusiastically preached and also translated the texts into other languages. Due to this, he was arrested several times and put in prison.
In 1526 the city council passed a law that made adult rebaptism punishable by drowning. Felix became the first causality of this law. When Felix was about to be executed, he stated that he would die for the truth. While he loudly sang ‘into thy hands I commit thy spirit’, he was bound with a rope and was drowned in River Limmat.
