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Obbe (Ubbo) Philips(z) (Filips) (ca. 1500-68), a leader of the Anabaptists in the Netherlands, the (probably older) brother of the well-known Dirk Philips, was the illegitimate son of a Catholic priest at Leeuwarden. The father gave the son a careful education. Whereas the gifted Dirk devoted himself to the study of theology, the likewise talented brother applied himself to the study of medicine. According to the custom of the time he practiced his profession as a barber rather than a physician, though the surgical services were the most important part of the barber's profession. About 1530 he married and set up shop in Leeuwarden.

Considering his intellectual interests it is not surprising to find that Obbe was drawn into the movements that began to stir the town. The idea of the Reformation came to the city early. Gellius Faber in the neighboring Jelsum was a zealous exponent of the new teaching. In the city itself Obbe made contacts with learned men who had studied at the University of Wittenberg and had there become acquainted with the leaders of the Reformation. Thus he soon began to question the correctness of Catholic doctrine. It is probable that he witnessed the first execution of an Anabaptist, Sicke Freerks, which took place in his home town on 20 March 1531. The evangelicals of Leeuwarden at this time formed a circle that practiced a sort of mystic individualistic piety that attracted Obbe. They wished to "worship God quietly in the manner of the fathers and the patriarchs," so that "each one could seek God from his heart, and serve and follow Him without a preacher, teacher, or any other outward meeting" (Bekentenisse, 122).

His further religious development he described in his only extant writing, the "Confession" which, although written before 1560, was published after his death from the original manuscript by Cornelis Claesz in Amsterdam in 1584. The full title reads Bekentenisse Obbe Philipsz, waermede hy verclaert, sijn Predick-ampt sonder wettelicke beroeping gebruyckt te hebben, beclaecht hem dies, en waerschuwet einen yeders, wt sijnen eygen Boeck, met eyghener Handt gheschreuen, ghecopieert. It soon went through a second edition (without date), was translated into French by Charles de Nielles (Leiden: 1595) and republished in Dutch by Willem Jansz Stam in 1609. (Copies of all editions in [[Amsterdam Mennonite Library (Bibliotheek en Archief van de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente te Amsterdam)|Amsterdam Mennonite Library]], and of the 1609 edition in Mennonite Historical Library (Goshen, Indiana, USA) ).

Soon afterward Obbe became acquainted with the Anabaptists, who were under the influence of Melchior Hoffman. The feverish excitement stirred up in wide circles by his prophecies made a deep impression on Obbe. When Bartholomeus (Boeckbinder) van Halle and Dirck Cuper, emissaries of Jan Matthijsz van Haarlem, arrived in Leeuwarden, Obbe did not hesitate, emerged from his seclusion and was baptized with many others by these emissaries. This happened in November or December 1533. These men must have considered him to be the best suited person to spread their ideas, for on the next day he and a friend Hans Scheerder were ordained to preach, to baptize, and to lead the brotherhood (Bekentenisse, 129).

Filled with zeal Obbe left the city at once after his ordination, to preach and baptize with his brethren and to promote the new doctrine. Meanwhile, however, the authorities had become aware of the movement, especially when in Obbe's absence another prophet, Peter de Houtzager, had appeared in Leeuwarden and continued the preaching of "the imminent destruction of all tyrants." Thus when Obbe returned after some time, he found the city gates closed at midday, and managed only with difficulty to enter. The authorities were looking for the leaders of the movement; finally when his name appeared on a bulletin of the Stadholder (23 February 1534) as one of the "seducers and deceivers who wander about the country, who rebaptize people and teach bad and dangerous errors and sects," he realized that he could no longer stay in the city.

Obbe then went to Amsterdam and made contacts with the very numerous brethren there, who called themselves Bondgenoten (comrades of the covenant) . There were already two wings, representing diametrically opposed ideas. The majority had preserved their sobriety and leaned toward the quiet ideas of Jacob of Campen. Obbe was attracted to this group. But the other party was already under the dubious influence of Jan Matthijsz, who wanted to bring about by violent means the imminent coming of the kingdom of God which he proclaimed. Obbe did not stay in Amsterdam. He was no longer secure anywhere. In the late fall of 1534 he came to Delft, where he ordained David Joris as elder. He had already ordained his brother Dirk Philips at Appingedam, and he also ordained Menno Simons later in Groningen (about 1537, after he had baptized Menno probably at the end of 1535 or in January 1536).

In the time before and after the Münster catastrophe it was difficult to find the right course to follow. The men who had really drawn him to the Anabaptist movement he saw in the camp of the revolutionaries. He needed all his strength to resist the enticing ideas of this group. "But God knows that Dirk and I could not find it in our hearts that such attacks were right, and also diligently preached against them, but nothing did any good, for the great majority were of that mind. . . . Sometimes some of us were saddened to death and our hearts became chilled in our bodies, and we did not know whither to go or what we ought to do: the whole world was persecuting us for the sake of our faith with fire, water, sword, and bloody tyranny, the prophets deceived us on every hand and the letter of Scripture took us captive, the false brethren whom we reproved and opposed swore to kill us, and the love of so many hearts aroused our pity to such a degree, as God knows, that my soul was often saddened to death" (Bekentenisse, 135). The assertion by Mellink (Wederdopers, 367 f., 381, 394) that in 1534-35 Obbe had much contact with revolutionary Anabaptists is at the least very questionable. The fact that many persons baptized by him soon after belonged to the revolutionary wing is no proof, and Mellink himself admits (op. cit., 390 and especially 267) that Obbe in 1535 remained aloof from the revolutionary plans.

Until Menno Simons became the leader of the peaceful Anabaptists, all that were averse to violence and fanatical enthusiasm looked up to Obbe as their leader. For this reason the early Dutch Anabaptists of this period were often called Obbites or Obbenites. After Münster, when no distinction was made by the public anywhere between the violent and the peaceful Anabaptists, though the radical difference had just been very clearly demonstrated, Obbe apparently went to Germany. Nearly all trace of him is lost. He appeared about 1539 in the region of Rostock, after he had found some followers in Schwerin. This is gathered from a letter written by Joachim Kükenbieter, the Lutheran preacher of Schwerin, to Johann Gartze, his colleague in Hamburg, warning him of the Obbenites; he gave them the surprising testimony that they "to some extent honored the government and were not revolutionaries" (Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1884): 16).

By 1540 Obbe's activity seems to have come to an end. A list of elders of the early period contains for 1540 the note that Obbe Philips had "fallen away." He was no longer working with Menno Simons. In his writing against Gellius Faber, Menno said, "That Obbe has become a Demas and Adam Pastor has left us I could not prevent; the same thing happened also during the time of the apostles. May God restore them according to His will. They have received their dismissal and are no longer (as long as they are not converted) reckoned among us" (Complete Writings, 761). It is more difficult to determine to whom Obbe then attached himself. For his "falling away" he gives only one important reason: the illegitimacy of his office, which made him feel that his ordaining others was also a great wrong. That is the reason for his writing the confession. It begins and ends with this. Some have concluded from it that he returned to the Catholic Church, which alone offers a guarantee for the legality of a church office by the apostolic succession. But de Hoop Scheffer is right in calling attention to the fact that his utterances concerning the papacy as "a Sodom of Babylon, Egypt, and an abomination of desolation" (Bekentenisse, 122) refute this supposition. Other suppositions, viz., that he became an unbeliever (Herman Schijn), or joined the "House of Love" as a follower of Hendrik Niclaes, are not very tenable. The attempt of W. J. Kühler to present him as typical of the individualistic-spiritualistic Anabaptist wing of Sebastian Franck merits consideration (Geschiedenis I, 1932, 230 ff.). Indeed, there is some similarity between his ideas and those of Franck. In his confession he cited Franck's Chronica (Bekentenisse, 122). Like the latter he repudiated all existing churches, believing that the true church of God is invisible, and any attempt to establish it in a visible form is wrong, unless there were a direct commission of God. Obbe received his commission from Jan Matthijsz, and this call was "illegitimate." He therefore considered himself as one who has been deceived and has deceived others.

Nevertheless Obbe spoke with deep respect of baptism on confession of faith even after his defection, and was on the whole not far removed from the principles of the peaceful Anabaptists. He spoke sharp words only against those who had been revealed as false prophets and revolutionaries, not against Menno and his followers.

Even if the shadows concealing the last year of his life until his death in 1568 can never be entirely lifted, it can be asserted, in the light of known facts, that Kühler's verdict is not unjustified, "that in Obbe the brotherhood certainly lost its most appealing leader" (Geschiedenis I, 232).

Bibliography

Author(s)	Paul Schowalter
	Nanne van der Zijpp
Date Published	1957

Kühler, Wilhelmus Johannes. Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Doopsgezinden in de Zestiende Eeuw. Haarlem: H.D. Tjeenk Willink, 1932.

Scheffer, J. G. de Hoop. "De bevestiger van Menno Simons." Doopsgezinde Bijdragen(1884): 1-24, German translation in Mennonitische Blätter, 1884: 77 ff. (somewhat shortened).

Bekentenisse Obbe Philipsz in Bibliotheca Reformatoria Neerlandica VII: 121-38, with critical introduction by Samuel Cramer, 91-120.

Burgmann, J. C. Commentatio Historic - ecclesiastica. De Ubbone Philippi et Ubbonitis. Rostock, 1773.

Vos, K. "Obbe Philips." Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1917): 124-38; (1876): 20; (1906): 29 f.

Groningsche Volksalmanak (1909): 161; (1916): 131.

Mellink, Albert F. De Wederdopers in de noordelijke Nederlanden 1531-1544. Groningen: J. B. Wolters, 1954.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 369-371.

Cite This Article

MLA style

Schowalter, Paul and Nanne van der Zijpp. "Obbe Philips (ca. 1500-1568)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Obbe_Philips_(ca._1500-1568)&oldid=127870.

APA style

Schowalter, Paul and Nanne van der Zijpp. (1957). Obbe Philips (ca. 1500-1568). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Obbe_Philips_(ca._1500-1568)&oldid=127870.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Obbe (Ubbo) Philips(z) (Filips) (c1500-68), a leader of the [[Anabaptism|Anabaptists]] in the [[Netherlands|Netherlands]], the (probably older) brother of the well-known [[Dirk Philips (1504-1568)|Dirk Philips]], was the illegitimate son of a Catholic priest at Leeuwarden. The father gave the son a careful education. Whereas the gifted Dirk devoted himself to the study of theology, the likewise talented brother applied himself to the study of medicine. According to the custom of the time he practiced his profession as a barber rather than a physician, though the surgical services were the most important part of the barber's profession. About 1530 he married and set up shop in Leeuwarden.
+Obbe (Ubbo) Philips(z) (Filips) (ca. 1500-68), a leader of the [[Anabaptism|Anabaptists]] in the [[Netherlands|Netherlands]], the (probably older) brother of the well-known [[Dirk Philips (1504-1568)|Dirk Philips]], was the illegitimate son of a Catholic priest at Leeuwarden. The father gave the son a careful education. Whereas the gifted Dirk devoted himself to the study of theology, the likewise talented brother applied himself to the study of medicine. According to the custom of the time he practiced his profession as a barber rather than a physician, though the surgical services were the most important part of the barber's profession. About 1530 he married and set up shop in Leeuwarden.
 Considering his intellectual interests it is not surprising to find that Obbe was drawn into the movements that began to stir the town. The idea of the Reformation came to the city early. [[Faber de Bouma, Gellius (d. 1564)|Gellius Faber]] in the neighboring Jelsum was a zealous exponent of the new teaching. In the city itself Obbe made contacts with learned men who had studied at the University of Wittenberg and had there become acquainted with the leaders of the Reformation. Thus he soon began to question the correctness of Catholic doctrine. It is probable that he witnessed the first execution of an Anabaptist, Sicke Freerks, which took place in his home town on 20 March 1531. The evangelicals of [[Leeuwarden (Friesland, Netherlands)|Leeuwarden]] at this time formed a circle that practiced a sort of mystic individualistic piety that attracted Obbe. They wished to "worship God quietly in the manner of the fathers and the patriarchs," so that "each one could seek God from his heart, and serve and follow Him without a preacher, teacher, or any other outward meeting"  (<em>Bekentenisse, </em>122).
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 Filled with zeal Obbe left the city at once after his [[Ordination|ordination]], to preach and baptize with his brethren and to promote the new doctrine. Meanwhile, however, the authorities had become aware of the movement, especially when in Obbe's absence another prophet, Peter de Houtzager, had appeared in Leeuwarden and continued the preaching of "the imminent destruction of all tyrants." Thus when Obbe returned after some time, he found the city gates closed at midday, and managed only with difficulty to enter. The authorities were looking for the leaders of the movement; finally when his name appeared on a bulletin of the Stadholder (23 February 1534) as one of the "seducers and deceivers who wander about the country, who rebaptize people and teach bad and dangerous errors and sects," he realized that he could no longer stay in the city.
-Obbe then went to [[Amsterdam (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)|Amsterdam]] and made contacts with the very numerous brethren there, who called themselves [[Bondgenoten|Bondgenoten]] (comrades of the covenant) . There were already two wings, representing diametrically opposed ideas. The majority had preserved their sobriety and leaned toward the quiet ideas of [[Jacob van Campen (1505-1535)|Jacob of Campen]]<em>. </em>Obbe was attracted to this group. But the other party was already under the dubious influence of Jan Matthijsz, who wanted to bring about by violent means the imminent coming of the kingdom of God which he proclaimed. Obbe did not stay in Amsterdam. He was no longer secure anywhere. In the late fall of 1534 he came to [[Delft (Zuid-Holland, Netherlands)|Delft]], where he ordained [[David Joris (ca. 1501-1556)|David Joris]] as elder. He had already ordained his brother [[Dirk Philips (1504-1568)|Dirk Philips]] at [[Appingedam (Groningen, Netherlands)|Appingedam]], and he also ordained [[Menno Simons (1496-1561)|Menno Simons]] later in Groningen (about 1537, after he had baptized Menno probably at the end of 1535 or in January 1536).
+Obbe then went to [[Amsterdam (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)|Amsterdam]] and made contacts with the very numerous brethren there, who called themselves [[Bondgenoten|Bondgenoten]] (comrades of the covenant) . There were already two wings, representing diametrically opposed ideas. The majority had preserved their sobriety and leaned toward the quiet ideas of [[Jacob van Campen (1505-1535)|Jacob of Campen]]. Obbe was attracted to this group. But the other party was already under the dubious influence of Jan Matthijsz, who wanted to bring about by violent means the imminent coming of the kingdom of God which he proclaimed. Obbe did not stay in Amsterdam. He was no longer secure anywhere. In the late fall of 1534 he came to [[Delft (Zuid-Holland, Netherlands)|Delft]], where he ordained [[David Joris (ca. 1501-1556)|David Joris]] as elder. He had already ordained his brother [[Dirk Philips (1504-1568)|Dirk Philips]] at [[Appingedam (Groningen, Netherlands)|Appingedam]], and he also ordained [[Menno Simons (1496-1561)|Menno Simons]] later in Groningen (about 1537, after he had baptized Menno probably at the end of 1535 or in January 1536).
 In the time before and after the [[Münster Anabaptists|Münster]] catastrophe it was difficult to find the right course to follow. The men who had really drawn him to the Anabaptist movement he saw in the camp of the revolutionaries. He needed all his strength to resist the enticing ideas of this group. "But God knows that Dirk and I could not find it in our hearts that such attacks were right, and also diligently preached against them, but nothing did any good, for the great majority were of that mind. . . . Sometimes some of us were saddened to death and our hearts became chilled in our bodies, and we did not know whither to go or what we ought to do: the whole world was persecuting us for the sake of our faith with fire, water, sword, and bloody tyranny, the prophets deceived us on every hand and the letter of Scripture took us captive, the false brethren whom we reproved and opposed swore to kill us, and the love of so many hearts aroused our pity to such a degree, as God knows, that my soul was often saddened to death" <em>(Bekentenisse, </em>135). The assertion by Mellink <em>(Wederdopers, 367 f., </em>381, 394) that in 1534-35 Obbe had much contact with revolutionary Anabaptists is at the least very questionable. The fact that many persons baptized by him soon after belonged to the revolutionary wing is no proof, and Mellink himself admits <em>(op. cit., </em>390 and especially 267) that Obbe in 1535 remained aloof from the revolutionary plans.
-Until Menno Simons became the leader of the peaceful Anabaptists, all that were averse to violence and fanatical enthusiasm looked up to Obbe as their leader. For this reason the early Dutch Anabaptists of this period were often called Obbites or Obbenites. After [[Münster Anabaptists|Münster]], when no distinction was made by the public anywhere between the violent and the peaceful Anabaptists, though the radical difference had just been very clearly demonstrated, Obbe apparently went to [[Germany|Germany]]. Nearly all trace of him is lost. He appeared about 1539 in the region of Rostock, after he had found some followers in Schwerin. This is gathered from a letter written by [[Kükenbieter, Joachim (16th century)|Joachim Kükenbieter]], the Lutheran preacher of Schwerin, to Johann Gartze, his colleague in Hamburg, warning him of the Obbenites; he gave them the surprising testimony that they "to some extent honored the government and were not revolutionaries" <em>(</em><em>Doopsgezinde Bijdragen</em> (1884): 16).
+Until Menno Simons became the leader of the peaceful Anabaptists, all that were averse to violence and fanatical enthusiasm looked up to Obbe as their leader. For this reason the early Dutch Anabaptists of this period were often called Obbites or Obbenites. After [[Münster Anabaptists|Münster]], when no distinction was made by the public anywhere between the violent and the peaceful Anabaptists, though the radical difference had just been very clearly demonstrated, Obbe apparently went to [[Germany|Germany]]. Nearly all trace of him is lost. He appeared about 1539 in the region of Rostock, after he had found some followers in Schwerin. This is gathered from a letter written by [[Kükenbieter, Joachim (16th century)|Joachim Kükenbieter]], the Lutheran preacher of Schwerin, to Johann Gartze, his colleague in Hamburg, warning him of the Obbenites; he gave them the surprising testimony that they "to some extent honored the government and were not revolutionaries" <em>(Doopsgezinde Bijdragen</em> (1884): 16).
 By 1540 Obbe's activity seems to have come to an end. A list of elders of the early period contains for 1540 the note that Obbe Philips had "fallen away." He was no longer working with Menno Simons. In his writing against Gellius Faber, Menno said, "That Obbe has become a Demas and [[Adam Pastor (d. 1560/70)|Adam Pastor]] has left us I could not prevent; the same thing happened also during the time of the apostles. May God restore them according to His will. They have received their dismissal and are no longer (as long as they are not converted) reckoned among us" <em>(Complete Writings, </em>761). It is more difficult to determine to whom Obbe then attached himself. For his "falling away" he gives only one important reason: the illegitimacy of his office, which made him feel that his ordaining others was also a great wrong. That is the reason for his writing the confession. It begins and ends with this. Some have concluded from it that he returned to the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]], which alone offers a guarantee for the legality of a church office by the [[Apostolic Succession|apostolic succession]]. But de Hoop Scheffer is right in calling attention to the fact that his utterances concerning the papacy as "a Sodom of Babylon, Egypt, and an abomination of desolation" <em>(Bekentenisse, </em>122) refute this supposition. Other suppositions, viz., that he became an unbeliever ([[Schijn, Herman (1662-1727)|Herman Schijn]]), or joined the "[[Family of Love|House of Love]]" as a follower of [[Niclaes, Hendrik (1502-1580)|Hendrik Niclaes]], are not very tenable. The attempt of [[Kühler, Wilhelmus Johannes (1874-1946)|W. J. Kühler]] to present him as typical of the individualistic-spiritualistic Anabaptist wing of [[Franck, Sebastian (1499-1543)|Sebastian Franck]] merits consideration <em>(Geschiedenis </em>I, 1932, 230 ff.). Indeed, there is some similarity between his ideas and those of Franck. In his confession he cited Franck's <em>[[Chronica, Zeytbuch vnd geschychtbibel|Chronica]] (Bekentenisse, </em>122). Like the latter he repudiated all existing churches, believing that the true church of God is invisible, and any attempt to establish it in a visible form is wrong, unless there were a direct commission of God. Obbe received his commission from Jan Matthijsz, and this call was "illegitimate." He therefore considered himself as one who has been deceived and has deceived others.
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 Kühler, Wilhelmus Johannes. <em>Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Doopsgezinden in de Zestiende Eeuw</em>. Haarlem: H.D. Tjeenk Willink, 1932.
-Scheffer, J. G. de Hoop. "De bevestiger van Menno Simons." <em>Doopsgezinde Bijdragen</em>(1884): 1-24, German translation in <em>Mennonitische Blätter</em><em>, </em>1884: 77 ff. (somewhat shortened).
+Scheffer, J. G. de Hoop. "De bevestiger van Menno Simons." <em>Doopsgezinde Bijdragen</em>(1884): 1-24, German translation in <em>Mennonitische Blätter</em>, 1884: 77 ff. (somewhat shortened).
 <em>Bekentenisse Obbe Philipsz</em> in <em>Bibliotheca Reformatoria Neerlandica </em>VII: 121-38, with critical introduction by Samuel Cramer, 91-120.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 Mellink, Albert F.<em> De Wederdopers in de noordelijke Nederlanden 1531-1544</em>. Groningen: J. B. Wolters, 1954.
-Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. <em>Mennonitisches Lexikon</em>. Frankfurt &amp; Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 369-371.
+Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. <em>Mennonitisches Lexikon</em>, 4 vols. Frankfurt &amp; Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 369-371.
 {{GAMEO_footer|hp=Vol. 4, pp. 9-11|date=1957|a1_last=Schowalter|a1_first=Paul|a2_last=van der Zijpp|a2_first=Nanne}}
+[[Category:Persons]]
+[[Category:Sixteenth Century Anabaptist Leaders]]

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