January 5, 1527 - Felix Manz Sentenced to Death

The Limmat River (pictured) runs through Zurich, Switzerland, and was the site of the death of the first Anabaptist martyr, Felix Manz. Manz and the Anabaptists disagreed with Huldrych Zwingli’s doctrine of infant baptism, citing its absence in Scripture as their defense for this belief. However, Zwingli’s City Council outlawed “re-baptizing” adults, and Manz refused to stop baptizing adults who professed faith. Because of this, Manz was sentenced to death on January 5, 1527, and drowned in the Limmat River.