1536

Menno Simons and the revival of peaceful Anabaptism

The Dutch Catholic priest Menno Simons joined the Anabaptists in early 1536. He soon led their moderate wing, decisively distancing it from the violence of Münster.

In his tract "Foundation of Christian Doctrine" he set out the vision of a community separated from the world. Such a community practises believers' baptism and "loving excommunication". Menno made pacifism the essence of the new movement, which took the name Mennonites after him.

The Mennonites preserved this principled rejection of violence over the following centuries. They spread across Europe and later to North and South America.