Möller, Heinrich (d. 1536)
Heinrich Möller (Müller), an Anabaptist martyr from Schönau near Zwickau, Germany. With his brothers Georg and Jobst, he joined the brotherhood in the spring of 1535. He was married to Anna Wedekind, the daughter of the martyr Greta Knoblauch from her first marriage; Anna had been baptized by Heinz Kraut in November 1534 in her stepfather's home with her sister Ursula and her brother Hans (Jacobs, 440) seven months after her mother's execution. After his marriage Heinrich Möller moved to Eisleben.
On 20 November 1535 an Anabaptist meeting at Hans Peissker's mill at Kleineutersdorf in Saxon territory was surprised and 16, including Heinrich and Anna, were taken and cross-examined. The report to the ducal council at Weimar said that Heinrich Möller placed no value on "our sacrament" (Thüringen, 398). With his father-in-law, Heinrich was then taken to Neustadt on the Orla, where Lutheran clergymen endeavored to convert them (Thüringen, 140 and 151), as was reported to Johann Friedrich, Elector of Saxony, "to move them to desist from their seditious and unchristian articles and conduct" (Thüringen, 414). Since the content of the articles of examination was not sent to the elector, he sent the minister of Neustadt and other scholars to re-examine the prisoners and to write up the statements and confessions of each separately and present them to him (Thüringen, 415).
The prisoners were then subjected to further questioning concerning their faith by scholars in the presence of the council of Neustadt and the bailiff of Arnshaugk. Their statements were sent to the professors of the University of Wittenberg (who had gone to Jena to escape the plague) who were to send their opinion with the records to the elector (Thüringen, 422). There are no records of Heinrich's statements. Since he was not amenable to the teaching of the divines he was beheaded at Neustadt (Wappler, Inquisition, 112). His father-in-law and his wife recanted and were released with the penalty of church penance (Thüringen, 422).
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 148 f.
Jacobs, Eduard. "Die Wiedertäufer am Harz." Zeitschrift des Harz-Vereins für Gesch. und Altertumskunde XXXII (1899): 422-536.
Wappler, Paul. Inquisition und Ketzerprozesse in Zwickau zur Reformationszeit: Dargestellt im Zusammenhang mit der Entwicklung der Ansichten Luthers und Melanchthons über Glaubens- und Gewissensfreiheit. Leipzig : M. Heinsius, 1908.
Wappler, Paul. Die Täuferbewegung in Thüringen von 1526-1584. Jena: Gustav Fisher, 1913.
| Author(s) | Christian Hege |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hege, Christian. "Möller, Heinrich (d. 1536)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=M%C3%B6ller,_Heinrich_(d._1536)&oldid=145896.
APA style
Hege, Christian. (1957). Möller, Heinrich (d. 1536). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=M%C3%B6ller,_Heinrich_(d._1536)&oldid=145896.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 728. All rights reserved.
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