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The Reformation and the Anabaptists
Steps to Reconciliation
26 June, 2004,
Zurich, Switzerland
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Inauguration of the Memorial Plaque (Tablet)
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 Judaeo-Chrisitan 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.
Thomas Gyger,
President of the Swiss Mennonite Conference