Hans de Ries

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Hans de Ries

Hans de Ries (born December 13, 1553 in Antwerp , † September 14, 1638 in Alkmaar ) was a leading figure of the Dutch Mennonites in the 16th century.

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Hans de Ries joined the Evangelical Reformed Church in his hometown Antwerp at an early age after leaving the Catholic Church . However, since the Reformed seemed too dogmatic to him and he rejected armed force, Ries , who was strongly influenced by Christian spiritualism , switched to the liberal Waterland Mennonites a short time later , where he was baptized in 1575 or 1576. In the following years, Ries was to have a great influence on the further development of the Dutch Mennonites and especially the group of the Waterland Mennonites.

On January 4, 1577 Ries witnessed the public burning of his friend Hans Bret, who, like Ries, had joined the Dutch Anabaptist movement . Ries married his friend's mother and left unsafe Antwerp in the southern Netherlands. Ries traveled to Aachen and Alkmaar, among other places , where he and other Waterland preachers developed one of the first Mennonite creeds . In April 1578 Ries was imprisoned for a month in the Zeeland city ​​of Middelburg and then went to the East Frisian Emden , where he lived until around 1600. Ries later headed the Waterland community in Alkmaar.

Ries was involved in the formulation of several creeds that the Anabaptist movement of the second and third generation, split into several groups, was supposed to unite. The concept of Cologne, which was concluded between High German and Frisian Mennonite communities in 1591, also fell during his time ( see: Confessions of the Anabaptists ). However, a major agreement did not take place until the Dordrecht Confession of 1632.

Ries's preparatory work for the Mennonite Martyrs Mirror of 1660 was of great importance to the Mennonites. As early as 1561, the Lord's first Anabaptist martyrology, Het Offer , appeared. Ries collected further reports on Christian and Anabaptist martyrs over several years and published the history of the Martelaren (in German history of the martyrs ) in 1615 . Ries's new book of martyrs saw further editions in 1617, 1626 and 1631 and was later used by Thieleman Janz van Braght as a template for the martyrs mirror. In 1582 Ries also published a new Mennonite hymn book ( Lietboeck ) which, unlike earlier Anabaptist hymn books, also contained many Old Testament psalms . Hans de Ries finally died on September 14, 1638 and was buried three days later in the reformed Groote Kerk in Alkmaar.

In the library of the Mennonite Congregation in Amsterdam there are still several writings and letters by Hans de Ries that provide information about his entire life's work.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Ries, Hans de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch Mennonite, formulated one of the first creeds of the community, a martyrology and a hymn book
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1553
PLACE OF BIRTH Antwerp
DATE OF DEATH September 14, 1638
Place of death Alkmaar