Leenaert Bouwens

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leenaert Bouwens (* 1515 in Sommelsdijk / Zeeland , † 1582 in Hoorn ) was a leading representative of the Dutch-North German Anabaptist movement . He played a crucial role in building up the early Mennonites in the Dutch-North German area.

Live and act

Little is known about Bouwen's early years. As a young man he was active in the Rederijkers (≈rhetoricians) poet groups. In 1546, near Lübeck , Bouwens took part in a meeting of Anabaptists, including Menno Simons , Dirk Philips and Adam Pastor , with Nicolaas Meyndertsz van Blesdijk , the representative of the David Jorists , so it can be assumed that Bouwens had already joined the Anabaptist movement before 1546. In 1551 he was finally ordained an elder by Menno Simons . In this capacity he worked mainly in East Frisia , Groningen and the Dutch Friesland , where he baptized numerous people. The offshore North Sea islands were also among his stations. Soon Bouwens expanded his activities to Noord-Holland and Flanders . He documented his individual journeys and the baptisms he carried out in several records, so that we can now easily understand his travel routes. Many Mennonite communities, some of which still exist today, go back to the activities of Leenaert Bouwens. According to his own records, he donated more than 10,000 baptisms over time. Still, the trips were not without danger. In 1588 the city of Antwerp placed a bounty of 300 guilders on him. Bouwen's wife appealed to Menno Simons to release her husband from his position due to the increasing danger. During these years Bouwens and his wife had their residence and their home community in Emden .

In 1554 Bouwens took part in a synod in Wismar , at which the Wismar articles were decided. Two years later he became embroiled in the internal Mennonite conflict over the ban . Bouwens himself advocated a strict ban on the community. However, this increasingly led to protests and ultimately to the formation of the more liberal parties of the Waterlanders and High German. Menno Simons was also at odds with Bouwens at the beginning. At a meeting that took place in Harlingen, Frisia , however, Bouwens and Dirk Philips were able to prevail with their line. Bouwens is said to have threatened Menno Simons himself with the ban if it had not been for his line. There were also rebels with his home community in Emden in 1565, whereupon Bouwens left Emden and settled near Harlingen. Around the same time, Bouwens fell out with Dirk Philips. The background to this was the disagreement between the Flemish Anabaptists, who fled mainly to the Frisian towns of Franeker and Harlingen, and the local Frisian Anabaptists. Philips sided with the Flemings, Bouwens on the other hand with the Frisians, who like him insisted on a strict ban practice. Bouwens was finally banned by Dirk Philips in 1565 and stopped his activities for a few months. After the death of Philips in 1568 he began to work again as a preacher for the Frisian congregations. He continued his work until his death in 1582.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bouwens, Leenaert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Representative of the Dutch-North German Anabaptist movement
DATE OF BIRTH 1515
PLACE OF BIRTH Sommelsdijk
DATE OF DEATH 1582
Place of death Hoorn