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Mennonite author Andreas Schroeder writes that "For sheer epic drama-across four and a half centuries, five continents, over forty countries; fleeing vicious persecution, utopian enticements, breached promises, and their own prophets, few histories can match the story of the Mennonite people." Their story begins in 1525 with the Anabaptist movement in Zurich, Switzerland. A Dutch Catholic priest named Menno Simons converted to Anabaptism in 1536 and soon became a prominent promoter of the new faith. Menno's followers came to be known as Mennonites and since then, Mennonite has become a generic term applied to all evangelical Anabaptists. This new faith talked about a simple non-worldly lifestyle, that rejected pride, violence and state-sanctioned religion. It promoted pacifism and community service. And unlike the other religious expressions of the day, Anabaptism emphasized a direct personal relationship with God that did not depend on priests and organized church structure. Most of all, this new faith rejected the power of the state and of a state church. Anabaptists believed people should choose their religion when ready as adults, hence the Anabaptist practise of adult baptism. For the followers of this new faith, there was no worse a time than the 1550s to be an Anabaptist. Between 2-4,000 Mennonites are believed to have been tortured, beheaded, or buried alive by the Inquisition. It is not surprising that so many Mennonites fled to the New World in search of religious freedom.
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