Anabaptists, Spiritualists and the Reformed Church in East Frisia

Abstract: This essay describes the various religious movements thriving in East Frisia in the second half of the sixteenth century, as well as their relation to the ruling Reformed church in that region. The recently edited Kirchenratsprotokolle (council minutes) of Emden sheds important new light on the relationship between the Calvinists and religious dissidents, with Mennonites being the most important group in the region. Numerous Reformed church members were attracted to Mennonitism, not only because of its discipline and conduct bur also for its teachings on infant baptism, the incarnation and the use of the sword. It is striking that many simple believers discussed these rather difficult subjects with ministers. The minutes also shed light on the spread of Spiritualism, an undogmatical and loosely knit movement that stressed the importance of the Spirit in interpreting Scriptures. Spiritualism had found followers among the Reformed church members in East Frisia as well as among the Mennonites. ********** At the end of the sixteenth century a wide range of religious movements, varying from Reformed Protestantism to Anabaptism to Spiritualism, was thriving in East Frisia. The leaders of the Reformed church were acutely aware of the differences between their group and the other denominations, and they stressed these differences in many debates and pamphlets. (1) Far less is known, however, about the perceptions of the common members of the Reformed church regarding the differences between their denomination and other groups. (2) We know that at least some believers were interested, because several changed loyalties from Reformed Protestantism to Anabaptism or even Spiritualism, and vice versa. Until now, the reasons they converted have been mostly unknown. However, the recent publication of the minutes of the Reformed council of the East Frisian town of Emden, covering the years from 1557 to 1620, makes possible a much more comprehensive insight into the motives behind church members' decisions to leave the Reformed church and join the Anabaptists or Spiritualists. (3) CHURCH AND STATE IN EAST FRISIA The introduction of Protestant ideas proceeded in East Frisia in a manner similar its development in many western European countries. After a short period during which Catholics and Protestants coexisted uncomfortably, Emden joined the Reformation movement in 1529. However, there was no persecution of Catholics, and the images of saints remained standing in the churches for the greater part of the sixteenth century. (4) But opinions differed within the East Frisian church regarding several doctrinal issues. For example, according to some, the Lord's Supper could be celebrated with beer or water in the homes of the church members just as well as with wine in the church. As for baptism, some opined that it should be administered only when the believer was 33 years old--the age when Jesus received his baptism--while others considered baptism altogether superfluous. Some church members refused to listen to the sermons of the ministers, because they felt that only God provided true knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. Still other church members stated that Jesus Christ was human, and that divine power would be bestowed on him only after his second coming to earth. (5) The beginnings of the Reformation in East Frisia thus had a diffuse character. Lutheran and Zwinglian ideas played their part, but there was also ample room for theological nuance and for private interpretation. It was a broad movement, similar to the developments of the Reformation generally in the Netherlands in the 1520s. (6) About 1530, however, Count Enno II of East Frisia tried to end this diversity. The count supported a Lutheran interpretation of Protestantism and sought to impose it upon all his subjects. But the Zwinglian inhabitants of his county, who were strongly represented in the town of Emden, resisted these efforts. …