Seu, Johannes (d. 1613)
Johannes Seu (Jan Seeus) a native of the Dutch province of Zeeland, died 1613 at Middelburg, capital of Zeeland, was a Reformed minister. At first he was a schoolteacher at Frankenthal, Germany. As pastor he first served in Germany, in 1575 being preacher of the Calvinist refugees at Frankfurt on the Main. From 1576 he was a Reformed clergyman at Middelburg, Holland. Seu was a bitter opponent of the Mennonites. It was obviously Seu who caused the imprisonment of Hans de Ries at Middelburg in 1578, when de Ries visited this town. When later the Mennonites of Middelburg refused to take an oath and to bear arms Seu tried to press them into the military civil guard, and if they should refuse, to close their shops. By the intervention of Prince William of Orangethe Mennonites of Middelburg could live in peace, being exempted from the oath and the military service (1577-78, 1580). But Seu continued to attack the Mennonites and tried to persuade the magistrates to forbid the public exercise of their religion. Again Prince William brought relief. Seu also wrote some books against the Mennonites: Schriftmatige Artykelen tegen de ongeschikte en valsche dwaelingen der wederdoopers (Middelburg, 1599), Corte Beschrijvinge van het ampt der overheid ende wederlegginge van een boucxken dat eenen Wederdooper met verswijging zijns naems . . . heeft laten uitgaen . . . tegen het recht gebruijk des crijchs (Middelburg, 1600). In his Waeraghtighe grondige bewijsinge . . . van den Kinderdoop (Leiden, 1601) he defended infant baptism, attacking believers' baptism; it is the duty of the magistrates to eradicate the Mennonites by forbidding their meetings and removing their preachers. In 1608 he published Antwoordt op een boecxken gemaeckt door eenen wederdooper Cornelis de Cuyper genaemt: eenvuldighe verantwoordinghe . , . (Middelburg, 1608), which severely attacks the Mennonites, saying that they are worse than the Pope and his idolatry.
Bibliography
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1908): 21-26, 33, 42.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III.
Molhuysen, P. C. and P. J. Blok. Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek. Leiden, 1911-1937: v. I, 1470 f.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Seu, Johannes (d. 1613)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Seu,_Johannes_(d._1613)&oldid=68015.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1959). Seu, Johannes (d. 1613). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Seu,_Johannes_(d._1613)&oldid=68015.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 507. All rights reserved.
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