Faes Dirks (d. 1570)
Faes Dirks, an Anabaptist martyr, a chairmaker of Gouda in the Dutch province of South Holland, was received into the Mennonite Church by baptism in 1569, at the age of 30. On 7 April 1570 he was seized, on 27 May "tyrannically tortured," and three days later burned at the stake in Gouda. Van Braght gives the records of three trials he was subjected to. He confessed his faith frankly and steadfastly. On the rack he named several fellow believers, who had been baptized with him and were now in the city. He had been baptized in an attic in Rotterdam. The death sentence, which is given verbatim, gives a shocking insight into the cruel mind of the Catholic Church of the time. The populace was evidently horrified by his execution, for when the city was conquered by William of Orange, they took the bones of the martyr from the place of execution and placed them with those of his cruel judge, a priest.
Bibliography
Braght, Thieleman J. van. Het Bloedigh Tooneel of Martelaers Spiegel der Doopsgesinde of Weereloose Christenen, Die om ‘t getuygenis van Jesus haren Salighmaker geleden hebben ende gedood zijn van Christi tijd of tot desen tijd toe. Den Tweeden Druk. Amsterdam: Hieronymus Sweerts, 1685: II, 508 f.
Braght, Thieleman J. van. The Bloody Theatre or Martyrs’ Mirror of the Defenseless Christians Who Baptized Only upon Confession of Faith and Who Suffered and Died for the Testimony of Jesus Their Saviour… to the Year A.D. 1660. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1951: 846 f. Available online at: http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index.htm.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 450.
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Faes Dirks (d. 1570)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 18 Dec 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Faes_Dirks_(d._1570)&oldid=144912.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1956). Faes Dirks (d. 1570). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 December 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Faes_Dirks_(d._1570)&oldid=144912.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 287. All rights reserved.
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