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Menno Simons

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (1496-January 31, 1561)
    Born in Witmarsum, Netherlands
    Leader of an Anabaptist movement known as the Mennonites
    Ordained as a Roman Catholic priest (1515 or 1516)
    Left Roman Catholic Church and joined Anabaptist movement (January 12, 1536)
    Wrote ‘The Spiritual Resurrection’ (c. 1536), ‘The New Birth’ (c. 1537), ‘Meditation on the Twenty-Fifth Psalm’ (c. 1538), and ‘Foundation of Christian Doctrine’ (1539)
    Wanted by the Church and spent most of his time in Germany ever since (1544)
    Died in Wüsterfelde, Germany

Why he might be annoying:

    It was widely assumed that he founded the Mennonite movement, even though it already existed years before he led it.
    He hadn’t read the Bible before and when he was training to become a priest because he feared that he would be negatively affected by it.
    He drank heavily as pastor of his father’s village.
    He supported excommunication as a means to ensure the church’s role in society.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He grew up in a poor peasant family at a time when his people were subjugated by the Holy Roman Empire.
    He learned Latin and Greek.
    His ministry was a target of persecution by both Catholic and Reformed authorities alike.
    The Mennonite movement is a very non-violent brand of Anabaptism.
    He supported the separation of church and state.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying