Gerrits, Brixius (16th century)
Brixius Gerrits, an elder in the Flemish Mennonite church in Groningen in 1566 (Vos, 257), a learned man versed in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and well-informed in other fields of knowledge, worked with Peter of Cologne with great zeal for the unification of the Flemish and Frisian branches of Mennonites. Together they took part in the conference in Emden in 1578 to ratify the "Humster Peace," and then signed the Flemish peace proposal to the Frisians, 2 April 1578 (Menn. Bl. 1858, 28). Together they also took a prominent part in the great disputation in Emden that lasted from 27 February to 17 May 1578. In 1583 Brixius was expelled from the city of Groningen by the Catholic government. In 1589 he was again summoned to arbitrate difficulties among the Flemish and for this purpose traveled to Haarlem. The difficulty in question was the Huiskoper dispute concerning a house purchased in Franeker in 1586, which resulted in the division into two groups; viz., the Zachte (mild) Flemish or Contra-Huiskoopers, and the Old Flemish or Huiskoopers. Not long afterward he, who had formerly represented the very blunt, conservative view, was banned by his own church for his lenience, and joined the Frisians.
A letter from Brixius Gerrits, with signatures also by Hans Busschaert, (Paul) Backer, and Christiaen Adriaensz, "written to his dear Brethren of the Church of God in Prussia, together with its elders and preachers," written at Harlingen on 9 October 1578 is included by J. de Buyser in his Christelijck Huysboek (pp. 344-47).
Bibliography
Cate, Steven Blaupot ten. Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in Groningen, Overijssel en Oost-Friesland. 2 v. Leeuwarden: W. Eekhoff en J. B. Wolters, 1842: I, 55, 81, 275, 295.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 271.
Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam. 2 v. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: I, 470, 473, 477b, 558 IIIb.
Mennonitische Blätter (1858): 28.
Vos, Karel. Menno Simons, 1496-1561, zijn leven en werken en zijne reformatorische denkbeelden. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1914: 257, 307.
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Gerrits, Brixius (16th century)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Gerrits,_Brixius_(16th_century)&oldid=56715.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1956). Gerrits, Brixius (16th century). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Gerrits,_Brixius_(16th_century)&oldid=56715.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 504. All rights reserved.
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