Thursday, January 22, 2026

It is the 21st of January 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

If you were to walk around downtown Münster- the city in Western Germany- you would find St. Lambert’s church. It’s not the Dom- or, Cathedral- but was the second most prominent church in town. And, even today, were you to look up to the spire, you would see three human-sized cages hanging- and at night they have been lit with a dull yellow light- a reminder of the souls lost and the macabre story from the 1530s.

Real fast: this is the story of the Münster Rebellion (there’s a U with an umlaut, and an “nst”- this is the 1530s. It’s confusing because in the 1520’s there is a rebellion led by Thomas Muntzer- kinda similar, but has an “ntz”. BUT- that rebellion- the peasants led by Muntzer and others would inspire fear amongst Catholic and Protestant reformers alike.

Melchior Hoffman was one such radical who had first embraced the Lutheran church before becoming apocalyptic and proclaiming the return of Christ to Strasburg to set up his earthly kingdom. One follower was the Dutch tailor, John of Leiden.

When Hoffman was arrested, John of Leiden decided to anoint the Prince-Bishopric of Münster as the true site of the New Jerusalem, where Christ would return.

News from Münster had been encouraging for the Anabaptists- since 1531, a pastor, Bernard Rothmann, had been preaching increasingly radical sermons. While there had been turmoil, Bernard was assisted by another Bernard- Bernard Knipperdolling, a wealthy businessman who rallied the merchant class.

As conservative Lutherans and Catholics fled the city, the council elected an Anabaptist and radical-friendly group. By 1534, the town had received radicals from the Netherlands, and most others had fled. Here began an experiment in radical communism, based on how they read the early church. 

Meanwhile, the Catholic and Lutheran factions on the outside struggled with how to contain the buzzing utopian sect. The Emperor Charles V tried negotiating privately to gain personal rule the reform-minded seemed content to monitor and condemn errant theology.

Meanwhile, the town was whipped into a radical frenzy. John of Leiden declared himself the new king above any council. New laws were written- polygamy became the rule- disobedience to John became punishable by death. In the words of Anchorman- that escalated quickly.

Bernard Rothmann would write a defense of this new earthly Jerusalem that would be sent out with apostles, most of whom would be killed, being outside the sanctuary of that radical town.

Bernard Knipperdolling tried out the prophetic voice that proclaimed that he, and not John of Leiden, was actually King. Was it not for a famine, the two and their supporters might have ended the experiment in civil war. But the townspeople had had enough- two men betrayed the town and let in the Bishop’s army.

Bernard Rothmann seems to have died in the battle. The chancellor escaped, but his brother Bernard Krechting was captured along with Bernard Knipperdolling and John of Leiden.

John of Leiden, in a bit of a shameful coda, told his captors that he would recant and subsequently reconvert his old followers if they freed him. His captors weren’t buying it. He and the other Bernards were, in the words of a definitive history on the subject, “condemned and tortured with red-hot tongs on a platform for all to see in Münster (on the 22nd of January in 1536. Their seared bodies were placed in iron cages and suspended from the Tower of St. Lambert’s Church”.

Please note that I read from the tame version…. Also of note- Knipperdolling would become a pejorative for an Anabaptist and then would become a derogatory term for anyone considered too fanatical.

We remember this dark and macabre story and the reminder that even the church needs its sins forgiven. The famed Münsterite Rebellion ended with the executions on this day in 1536.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Psalm 27- the first 4 verses from the Westminster Psalter:

¹ The Lord’s my light and saving health,
who shall make me dismayed?

My life’s strength is the Lord, of whom

then shall I be afraid?

² When as mine enemies and foes,

most wicked persons all,

To eat my flesh against me rose,

they stumbled and did fall.

³ Against me though an host encamp,

my heart yet fearless is:

Though war against me rise, I will

be confident in this.

⁴ One thing I of the Lord desired,

and will seek to obtain,

That all days of my life I may

within God’s house remain;

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 21st of January 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows it always ends poorly when polygamy is involved… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a real Rams Knipperdolling… I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.