The First Anabaptist Baptism

While the Protestant world is consumed, and with justification, by the 500th anniversary of the accepted start of the Protestant Reformation on October 31st, 1517, this day, January 21st, marks another anniversary. 490 years ago on this date in 1527, the first Anabaptist baptisms took place. Conrad Grebel first baptized George Blaurock and the Blaurock baptized Grebel, Felix Manz and others. This action in defiance of the religious authorities of the day would set them on a path that would lead to Blaurock and Manz being martyred along with countless other Anabaptists for daring to following the Scriptures on the question of baptism and defying the perverse state-church unequal yoking that dominated the day.

Their legacy of courage in the face of persecution and death lives with us today in the historic Anabaptist groups and to an extent among the hundreds of millions of others who practice believers baptism and believe in religious liberty, even though they are not directly descended from the Anabaptists. May God continue to raise up men, especially in these days, who insist on obeying God rather than man (Acts 5:29).