Wenger, Geörg (d. 1591)
Engraving by Jan Luiken in Martyrs Mirror, v. 2 of Dutch edition.
Source: Rijksmuseum.
Geörg Wenger (George Wagner in van Braght's Martyrs' Mirror), an Anabaptist martyr, who was beheaded in 1591 at Lorentz in the Puster Valley in Tyrol, Austria, after he had been imprisoned more than a year. In spite of torture he refused to betray his brethren, and all attempts to convert him to the Catholic faith failed. He was sentenced to death for leaving the Roman Catholic Church, practicing a different baptism, and leading others to his heretical sect. When the sentence was read he replied that it was not a heretical sect that he belonged to, but the divine truth and the right way to the kingdom of God. Many followed to the site of execution, and many wept. He asked that his hands be untied that he might raise them in praise to God and to pray for strength to the end. Wolkan includes a song written in commemoration of his death and that of Jacob Platzer, "Ihr Liebhaber der Wahrheit guet, lassts euch erzählen mit freiem Muet." John Horsch mentions three epistles written by him.
Bibliography
Beck, Josef. Die Geschichts-Bücher der Wiedertäufer in Oesterreich-Ungarn. Vienna, 1883; reprinted Nieuwkoop: De Graaf, 1967: 308.
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: Part II: 778 ff.
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: 1080-82, with picture.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. IV, 494.
Horsch, John. The Hutterian Brethren. Scottdale, Herald Press, 1928: 133.
Wolkan, Rudolf. Die Lieder der Wiedertäufer. Berlin, 1903. Reprinted Nieuwkoop : B. De Graaf, 1965: 236.
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Wenger, Geörg (d. 1591)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wenger,_Ge%C3%B6rg_(d._1591)&oldid=144656.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1959). Wenger, Geörg (d. 1591). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wenger,_Ge%C3%B6rg_(d._1591)&oldid=144656.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 917. All rights reserved.
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