Jakob Kaiser (reformer)

Memorial plaque in the Schwerzenbach church, probably 1st half of the 20th century.

Jakob Kaiser (* around 1485 ; † May 29, 1529 in Schwyz ) was a rural pastor and reformer from Zurich .

Life

Around 1505 Kaiser studied at the University of Krakow . He later worked as a folk priest on the Ufenau , then as a country pastor in various parishes: from 1522 in Schwerzenbach and from 1528 on the Oberkirch farm near Kaltbrunn . As one of the 60 official ambassadors from Zurich, he took part in the Bern disputation in 1528 . On May 22, 1529 he was arrested in Eschenbach at Schwyz's behest and burned as a heretic in Schwyz a week later . The execution was sharply criticized by the Reformed places and intensified the relationship between the New Believers and Old Believers in the Confederation. The execution of the emperor is therefore considered to be a trigger for the First Kappel War .

Commemoration

In the remembrance culture of the Reformed Church , especially Zurich, Kaisers is thought of as one of the first martyrs of the Reformation. In the church Schwerzenbach , worked in its predecessor emperor, a commemorative plate is attached with the year 1529th

Web links

• Wolfgang Göldi: Jakob Kaiser. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• From church history .. Reformed parish Schwerzenbach, October 28, 2017.