Pieter Pieters (d. 1569)
Engraving by Jan Luiken in Martyrs Mirror, v. 2, p. 385 of Dutch edition.
Source: Rijksmuseum.
Pieter Pieters (called Beckjen or Beck), a Dutch Anabaptist martyr, a skipper of Asperen, living at Amsterdam, was sentenced to death after cruel torture, because he had attended the "damned and forbidden meetings of the Mennonites," had furthermore permitted secret meetings of the Mennonites on his ship; although he had not yet been (re)baptized, he was probably a "principal leader"; his two oldest children had been baptized as Roman Catholics, but the youngest was still unbaptized. He confessed that he had not attended the Catholic church for four or five years, and that he had confessed to a priest only once, about 20 years previously; he had never gone to Mass. Notwithstanding torture and much admonition by Catholic priests and by the sheriffs of Amsterdam, he refused to return to the "old faith"; remaining steadfast he was burned at the stake on 26 February 1569, at Amsterdam. His property was confiscated. On the way to the site of execution Willem Jans, also an Anabaptist, called out to him, "Fight bravely, dear brother," whereupon he himself was burned at the stake two weeks later.
Bibliography
Braght, Thieleman J. van. Het Bloedigh Tooneel of Martelaers Spiegel der Doops-gesinde 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: Part II:, 385.
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: 738 f. Available online at: http://www.homecomers.org/mirror/index.htm.
Grosheide, Greta. Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis der Anabaptisten in Amsterdam. Hilversum: J. Schipper, Jr., 1938: 179 f.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 150; v. III, 372.
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Nanne van der Zijpp | |
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian and Nanne van der Zijpp. "Pieter Pieters (d. 1569)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pieter_Pieters_(d._1569)&oldid=145075.
APA style
Neff, Christian and Nanne van der Zijpp. (1959). Pieter Pieters (d. 1569). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pieter_Pieters_(d._1569)&oldid=145075.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 172. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.