The Reformation movement found fertile ground in Switzerland. Before long the reformers became a part of the ruling political structure. That seemed to most observers to be a welcome change from the fierce political opposition endured in most parts of Europe. Zwingli, a contemporary of Martin Luther's, eventually became the leader and spokesman for the recognized church in Zurich, the political center of Switzerland. It soon became apparent that the reformers were the ones in need of reformation as they closed themselves to additional reforms.

Martin Luther had focused on the matter of "justification by faith" and gave little attention to other equally obvious issues in the official Church. Zwingli took this a step further in late 1523 by spelling out changes he felt should be made to the Catholic mass. Due to political pressures from other cantons, semi-autonomous political regions in the Swiss Confederacy, the Zurich city Council decided that eliminating the mass was going to far.

Zwingli countered by announcing that he would celebrate the Lord's Supper in the Protestant fashion, by including the people in the act of drinking from the Cup and partaking of the bread. At the heart of this seemingly insignificant act was the belief on the part of the traditional church that the Lord's Supper represented the actual body of Jesus, something the reformers fervently disagreed with.

After Zwingli's bold announcement, the council hardened in their opposition to this change and firmly refused to allow this to go forward. Zwingli conceded the debate to the council, fearing that to further inflame the debate and oppose the council would endanger his working relationship with them.

This act of compromise led to great dissatisfaction amongst his followers. They also "objected to the continued wearing of robes by the clergy, believing that this supported the idea that the mass was a sacrifice, and they … objected to the use of prescribed songs and prayers." This brings us to Conrad Grebel and Felix Mantz, members of the Zurich church.

Conrad Grebel came from an upper-class Zurich family. He had studied at the universities of Vienna and Paris, with no apparent aim in life. Zwingli led him to a personal commitment to Christ. When Zwingli, however, insisted on the reforms going only as fast as the civil authorities were willing to allow it, Grebel and others decided it was time to part company.

As a last attempt to reconcile their differences Grebel and Mantz proposed to Zwingli that they start a political party to take control of the Council. Zwingli objected on the grounds that the Council could be trusted to act responsibly and creating a second political party would split the city politically and eventually cause a rift in the organized church of the city. That would dishonor God.

During that troubled year of 1524 another issue rose to the top of the list of concerns the new "reformers" had. Both Luther and Zwingli had made it plain early in the Reformation that they did not agree with the implications of infant baptism. The Catholic Church said this practice would "purify the child from the stain of original sin, making salvation certain in case of early death and predisposing the infant toward a mature Christian life." What wasn't clear to them is what action would take the place of infant baptism. Records of the discourse held during this time seem to indicate it hadn't occurred to anyone to rebaptize believers as adults. But these Reformers within the Reformation were certain that infant baptism didn't meet Biblical standards.

On January 18, 1525, the Council of Zurich ruled that infants must be baptized. The consequence of disobeying the Council would be immediate expulsion from the city of Zurich. It went even further than that to force being used to persecute religious minorities in the area.

On the 21^st of the same month, Grebel and Mantz met with a priest by the name of George Blaurock for prayer and consultation. In a seemingly spontaneous act one of the party asked that the others baptize him, in accord with their understanding of scripture. Others present at that event also asked to be baptized. This unplanned event initiated a period of persecution. It marks the beginning of the Anabaptist movement, so named for their belief in re-baptizing adult believers.

The question that begs an answer at this point is, "Why would anyone wish to risk being burned at the stake over baptism or celebrating the Lord's Supper, for that matter?" These Reformers objected to the state-imposed practice of calling the elements of the Lord's Supper the actual body and blood of Christ, something only the priests could partake of. They also objected to being forced to baptize their infants under the false pretense that this would instantly impart salvation. Clearly, they felt this to be an issue of heresy within the established church.

The "members" of this new underground church were forced to leave Zurich. Some didn't make it and were burned at the stake. Many made it back to their home towns in other parts of Europe and vigorously began to evangelize and teach. Some moved to rural areas where there would be less enforcement of the city government regulations. In Zurich, prison, fines, and sometimes torture were standard procedure for prisoners. By March of 1526 life imprisonment sentences were being imposed.

The first Protestant martyr is considered to be Hippolytus Eberle, executed by Roman Catholic authorities just a few weeks after joining a fellowship at St. Gall, in the canton of Schwyz. The first death penalty at the hands of a Protestant government authority was the drowning of Felix Mantz in the Limmat River in Zurich on January 5, 1527, just two years after that initial meeting with Grebel and Blaurock.

The reason given in these cases was usually either sedition or perjury. In the first case it was called sedition if they refused to obey the government injunction not to baptize. In the latter it was called perjury if they promised to forsake these practices and were found to have continued in them. This allowed the civil authorities to treat a religious offense as a civil one.

During the ensuing confusion and persecution, no formal structure or organization of Anabaptists existed. Consequently a wide diversity of opinions surfaced as well as practices and beliefs that had little resemblance to the original issues.

In February, 1527, a representation of the respected leaders of the movement met in the village of Schleitheim, near the Swiss-German border. What started as a meeting of leaders in disagreement and confusion ended with agreement and common conviction. Out of that meeting came the seven articles subsequently known as the Schleitheim Confession of Faith, which served to provide coherence and direction to the Anabaptist fellowships and the movement in general.

The city of Strassburg, in the region of modern-day Alsace, France, became a center for political and religious refugees that couldn't find safe haven in other parts. Strassburg had a tradition of freedom, having revolted from the political tyranny of prince and bishop in the 13^th and 14^th centuries. It operated with a democratically elected government representing the two main social groups, the nobility and the commoners. Strassburg's tolerant attitude is evident in the saying of the day, "He who would be hanged anywhere is simply driven from Strassburg by flogging."

Matthew Zell came to serve as pastor in the cathedral of Strassburg in 1518, the same year Martin Luther's ninety-five theses arrived there and were widely distributed. He was won over to the Reformation soon thereafter. When he was denied the pulpit by the church authorities, the powerful guilds of the city came to his rescue and built him a wooden platform from which to preach to crowds of up to 3,000.

In 1523 the city government issued a mandate authorizing evangelical preaching. In the resulting disagreement with the Catholic Church, the city took over responsibility for nominating, installing, and paying the pastors of the seven churches in the city.

The Anabaptist followers, as early as 1526, found Strassburg a great location for gathering together to discuss ideas and theology with equal vigor. From here reform-minded preachers and evangelists spread throughout present-day Europe. A map depicting Central Europe around 1550 shows the Anabaptists were effectively preaching and teaching in most parts of the former Holy Roman Empire, in regions known today as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland (Danzig area), and the Netherlands.

During the 15 years that followed the original baptismal event in Zurich, a major issue continued to be how to practice their core beliefs and deal with the persistent persecution that surrounded them. Persecution was especially vigorous and deadly during the first 50 years of the Anabaptist movement causing many to question the need for such overt teaching. Two positions were put forth: one, by the invisibilists who preferred to live their faith and not be vocal about it and the other by those who believed that Christ taught his followers to make their profession public.

On the one hand some of the Anabaptists believed strongly in the visible representation of Christ's church. Therefore they openly practiced baptism and the Lord's Supper. Others believed that they could follow the Word of God and not verbalize or practice their beliefs openly. They were sometimes referred to as the "invisibilists." The end result was that by keeping their beliefs to themselves they could avoid persecution and live almost normal lives. Still others questioned the need for reformation and under fear of persecution gave up their reformation convictions, choosing instead to be assimilated by society at large.

All of these events and many more that space will not allow, set the stage for the advent of the Mennonite movement. Not long after, the Baptist and Quaker movements would appear, also with roots in the Anabaptist movement that began in 1525.