|
  Historical Committee
Inauguration
of the Memorial Plaque
Statement by Thomas Gyger,
President, Swiss Mennonite Conference
Mr. City Councilor, dear members of the Reformed Church, our brothers
and sisters in Christ,
Though the persecution of the Anabaptists was an outright injustice, we
realize that what first motivated the authorities in the 16th century
was to maintain public order. In a society where the Church and the
State were united in a single “Christianity,” we understand that when
our ancestors rebaptized adults who wished to be converted, they were
considered a serious threat.
By inaugurating this stone in the exact same place where Felix Mantz
and his friends received the blood baptism, and by reaffirming in a
lasting form that your predecessors were wrong in the way they treated
these dissidents, you are again acting in order to re-establish
justice. Your predecessors acted by necessity, you however act freely
without being forced to.
In the name of my Mennonite brothers and sisters coming from different
horizons, I would like to express my gratitude to the authorities of
the city of Zurich, as well as to those of the Reformed church of the
canton of Zurich. For some of us, this plaque represents a way of
perpetrating the memory of our past and, we hope, the dialogue; others
see in it the strong sign of an important event that tomorrow will be
over, but that we will refer to in order to testify of our
reconciliation.
Today, Zurich has become a prosperous and flourishing city where
rebaptisms should no long disturb the public order. However, what would
this city be without divine grace and generations of men and women
filled with the word of God, and with Judeo-Christian values? At one
time divided, we want today in the midst of our society, to join our
voices to yours, dear Reformed friends, in order to repeat together the
message of Him who touches and transforms hearts, who is no other than
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
|
|
|
Mennonite Historical
Bulletin
|
Mission
Statement:
"God calls us to preserve our faith heritage, to interpret our stories,
and to proclaim God's work among us."
|
|