Giger, Gabriel (16th century)

Gabriel Giger, an Anabaptist of St. Gall, Switzerland, who joined the newly established brotherhood in Zürich in its earliest days. In the cross-examination of 25 February 1525, he said that when the Spirit of God came upon him he hastily ran to Felix Manz's house, and there he was baptized by Conrad Grebel. Upon promising the court to desist and paying the costs he was dismissed. Soon afterward he was arrested again. In the trial of 16 March 1525 he stated that infant baptism was introduced by the pope; for this reason he had let himself be baptized by the godly baptism. He himself had never baptized, but would do so upon request. ... He was not his own; what God commanded he would do.

Giger's letter written in August 1525 to the Swiss Brethren in Zollikon says, "Peace and grace be with you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might redeem us from this present awful world. . . . Do not take it ill of us that we did not write for so long; for there is not a week when we do not have to appear before the wolves. But we want you to know, dear Brethren, that God is working in a wonderful manner among the common people. I believe that there are many who have been baptized in Christian baptism in St. Gall, in the canton of Appenzell, and in the abbot's jurisdiction. . . . Pray to God for us that He may not withdraw His grace. Amen. Greet Uli Meyer, Heini Gigli, Jörg Schad, Ruotsch and Jakob Hottinger, and all the Brethren at Zollikon. There are probably 500 persons baptized in the Christian faith an the city and the canton." In December 1525 he was greeted in a letter by Niklaus Guldi.

Bibliography

Egli, Emil.  Die Züricher Wiedertäufer zur Reformationszeit. Zürich, 1878: 26, 29.

Füsslin, Johann K.  Beyträge zur Erläuterung der Kirchen- Reformations-Geschichten des Schweitzerlandes : enthaltende authentische bishero zum Theil ungedruckte, zum Theil gantz rare Urkunden, ... Schutz- und Streit-Schriften, darinnen die Zwistigkeiten der Römisch-Catholischen, der Lutheraner, und der Reformirten, wie auch der Wiedertäuffer ... : nebst historisch-critischen Anmerckungen zur Beschüzung des seeligen Reformationswerckes. Zürich : Bey Conrad Orell und Comp. ; und Leipzig: Bey Joh. Fried. Gleditsch, 1741-1753: I, 369.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 114.

Muralt, Leonhard von and Walter Schmid. Quellen zur Geschichte der Täufer in der Schweiz. Erster Band Zürich. Zürich: S. Hirzel, 1952: 49, 52, 62, 73-75, 80, 120.

Author(s)	Christian Neff
Date Published	1956

Cite This Article

MLA style

Neff, Christian. "Giger, Gabriel (16th century)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 24 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Giger,_Gabriel_(16th_century)&oldid=145244.

APA style

Neff, Christian. (1956). Giger, Gabriel (16th century). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Giger,_Gabriel_(16th_century)&oldid=145244.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 518. All rights reserved.

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