Hans Reist

Hans Reist (* before 1644 , † after 1697 ) was a Swiss preacher of the Swiss Anabaptist movement , also known as the Swiss Brothers .

Life

Hans Reist probably came from the area around Sumiswald in Emmental ( Canton Bern ). There is no reliable information about the origin and place of birth of Hans Reist.

Hans Reist was appointed eldest of the Swiss brothers, who were very numerous in the Emmental at that time. As a gifted preacher, he had a great influence on his Anabaptist congregations in Switzerland, Alsace and southern Germany. He gained importance above all as the leader of Jakob Ammann's opposing party . In July / August 1693 he called a meeting of all the elders of the Swiss Anabaptists in order to present his beliefs. Despite repeated requests, Hans Reist did not attend these meetings, but set out in writing why he rejected Jakob Ammann's views. The Swiss brothers and her siblings were split by spell in the Amish ( Häftler called) and the rice tables ( Knöpfler ). Hans Reist managed to convince a large part of the Anabaptists in the region of his point of view. These formed the nucleus of today's conference of the Mennonites of Switzerland (Old Anabaptists) and numerous conservative groups of Mennonites in North America.

The date and place of death of Hans Reist are unknown. Despite his great importance for the Mennonites, Hans Reist is today almost forgotten outside the Mennonite church communities, as he did not leave behind any theological writings.

literature

• William McGrath: Christian Discipline. How and Why the Anabaptists Made Church Standards . Amish Mennonite Publications
• Hanspeter Jecker: The emergence of the Amish , in: Mennonitica Helvetica 26/27, 2004, pp. 215–222

Web links

• Hanspeter Jecker: Travel, Hans. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .