Great Persecution in Austria, in the Year 1539

In that same year, 1539, the church had lived for a little while at Steinborn, in Austria, and had begun to increase there. The old serpent, the envious and arch-wicked Satan, who so miserably tormented the pious, could not endure or overlook it, but in his wrath stirred up the children of wickedness, especially the priests, who in all this are his agents and executors; so that they constantly filled the ears of King Ferdinand with their unjust accusations against the pious, and urged him on, so that he complied with their demand, and sent his Marshal from Vienna, with provosts and a number of horsemen, who came unexpectedly to Falkenstein. From there they took a great mob with them, and fell upon the church at Steinborn, on the 6th day of December, in the evening or at night, in the year mentioned above. All the men whom they found they put into one room, and they did the same with the women and maidens. With great tumult and noise they kept watch through the night, and brought in everyone they could find. Their chief intention was to seize the elders and ministers of the church, hoping to get much money from their people, and so to strip the poor people of their support, although God would severely punish such wickedness. But God by His providence prevented them, so that they could not find a single minister. They rummaged in every nook and corner for the support of widows and orphans, and persisted with great diligence in their ungodly work. But God brought their plan to nothing and to folly, when they thought to find wealth among the poor. In their tyranny they seized sick people, children, and pregnant women, so that it could have moved a heart of stone to the deepest and most lasting compassion.

The imprisoned brothers and sisters made themselves ready to offer up their bodies and their lives to God, whether by fire or by the sword. On the evening when this persecution took place, some men of Philip's people had also come, intending to make known to them the ground of the church, and of their whole life. In this way as many as a hundred and fifty brothers were seized together, and, well guarded, were brought up to the castle of Falkenstein. Among their number there were some who had not yet received the baptismal covenant of grace; also some who had fallen away from the truth, and were now penitent. When they had all arrived in the castle of Falkenstein, they conferred with those who had not yet bound themselves in the faith. They asked these what they intended to do in this trial, and told them that if they, for the testimony and honor of God, would hold firmly to the Lord Christ in all suffering, whatever distress and anguish might come upon them, they would consider them fellow companions in the kingdom of Christ, and hope that God would be gracious to them; with this understanding, however, that with those who by the providence of God should be released, and return to the church, the church should have authority, by virtue of the Lord's command, to deal according to their confession, in the proper measure and order; and since they had this intention and resolution, they would write to the elders and the churches, and afterward give them full information.

At this they all showed their willingness, and with a joyful heart and great thankfulness desired to accept this covenant as a grace of God. Immediately after this, the church was informed of it by letter. A written answer came quickly, that all the believers were well satisfied with this resolution; since those who had not yet been joined, according to divine ordinance, to the church, but agreed with it in all things, and desired to show an honest testimony of the truth, to suffer with it and to give their lives for it in this extremity, might well be received as fellow believers.

When they were again informed of the decision of the church, they willingly entrusted themselves to the Lord, showed patience in all tribulation, like others of the pious, and made a good confession before many witnesses. While they were still at Falkenstein, King Ferdinand sent his Marshal, several doctors from among the priests, and the executioner, that they should go to them. These, on Christmas night, which is customarily celebrated in every country, began to deal very craftily with the imprisoned witnesses of the truth; they also put subtle questions to some of them, as to what was their ground and hope, and where their treasure or money was. Then they confessed in truth that Christ was their Lord and Savior, their only comfort, their only hope, their dearest heart-treasure and best portion, in whom they received God's help and grace. They also dealt with them about other articles, and wanted to instruct, teach and convert them, as they said, especially concerning their sacrament, which they highly extolled, and would have them believe that the flesh and blood of Christ were present in it, and that it was our Lord God, as they said; but the brothers answered that it was a dumb god, and that the Lord's Supper had quite a different meaning than they perversely represented, thus shamefully deceiving and seducing the world. With these and many other confessions the king's messengers returned to Vienna; but these imprisoned brothers remained in custody in the castle of Falkenstein.

So it continued until the beginning of the year 1540, when the king's Marshal came, together with a Spaniard, the Provost of the Empire, and other horsemen with their equipment. All these further examined the imprisoned brothers, and those who did not comply with their demands, but held to the truth they had confessed, they quickly put in iron chains and bonds, coupling them two and two together by their hands. [n649-1] In the meantime many of the sisters, their fellow believers, came into the castle of Falkenstein, when the prisoners were to be taken to the sea; some were waiting for the imprisoned brother Eegmachel, and others were especially occupied in earnest and fervent prayer and supplication to God Almighty, that He would keep them from all wrong and sinful action, on sea as well as on land, and also give them a steadfast mind, and grant that they might persevere in the faith to the end. [n649-2] After this prayer, a Spaniard was commanded to send them all away. So they began to take leave of one another, with many scalding tears and weeping eyes, tenderly urging each other that each should hold firmly and unfalteringly to the Lord and to the truth they had confessed. Again and again they commended each other to the gracious protection of God, not knowing whether in their lifetime they would ever see each other again with their bodily eyes. So husband and wife had to part from each other, and leave their little children; which flesh and blood would not have been equal to, had it not been done through the power of God, and for His sake. This leave-taking was so pitiful that the king's Marshal, and others like him, could not hold back their tears. When everything was arranged, and the escort was ready, the pious went out, firmly trusting in God that He would help and deliver them. So they were brought from the tower, two and two together, ninety in all, after having been confined five and a half weeks at Falkenstein; but the sisters had to stay in the castle, and from the walls they looked after the brothers, with much sighing and sorrow, as long as they could see them.

After this, the sisters were all sent away from the castle to the place where they lived; but the brothers whom they did not want to take to the sea, because of infirmity or sickness, and some because of their youth, they kept as prisoners in the castle; now and then they gave some of the young lads as slaves to Austrian nobles; yet nearly all of them returned to the church; the others remained in the castle, and for them too God worked a gracious deliverance.

The cause of this great distress of the pious was only this, that in antichristendom they testified against the idolatrous and unrighteous life and ways of the priests, for which, as an abomination, God would one day severely punish them, and make an end of them and their sins. So King Ferdinand gave the crew of priests, who are a band of robbers, and delight in killing and slaying, power to do with them as they pleased. These condemned them as worthy of death, that they should not be tolerated on the earth, but should be sent to sea, to wear out their lives there in much anguish and distress, as a warning to other brothers; and that the other three should be handed over to the Admiral of the Armada on the sea, and be employed on the galleons, in plundering and waging war against the Turks and other enemies; though these imprisoned brothers had told the king's messengers beforehand that they would not go against the enemy, to plunder and wage war, nor would they consent to do wrong on the sea any more than on the land, nor sin against God in heaven; and that, since it was against their faith and conscience, God by His unconquerable power and His grace could preserve them on the sea as well as on the land. Nevertheless, these witnesses of the divine truth were led, by the king's messengers and his strict command to the authorities, through cities, towns and villages, to be brought from one court to another. In this they suffered much and varied hardship and great sorrow; but God always granted them gracious means, especially in this, that every morning and evening they could all pray to God undisturbed, and that one brother could comfort another without hindrance; which they accepted very gratefully as a special grace and gift of God.

By this, and by the ordering of their whole life, they convinced the people in many places, so that many who at their arrival had regarded them as criminals came to have great compassion on them. Moreover, the king's servants, who conducted them, often bore them witness, and told them that they should not pass silently through the cities and towns, but should make their faith known by singing or in some other way.

So the faithful company was led, like a flock of sheep, through countries and cities, to the sea; journeying from the castle of Falkenstein to Vienna, from there to Neustadt and Schottwien, over the Semmering, to Bruck on the Mur, to the borders of Bavaria, to Luebeck and Marburg, to Tiele, to Stein, in Carniola, over the Save to Laibach, but still no comfort came. During their imprisonment there they had to suffer much hunger and distress; they were fed with the bread of anguish, and had to drink the water of sorrow; but it was the will of God in this way to reveal His Word and truth in every place and country, and to make it known to the nations that did not know it, and to let them hear the sound of it; for as He always provides gracious means to draw men away from unrighteousness, so also here, where these witnesses of the faith and of the divine truth were led to many and various places, and also to places where strange languages were spoken, where the truth had not been heard, and where it was unknown and hidden among the nations. They caused some from Carniola to search after the truth, and in this way some came to a knowledge of it, who to this day are still serving God with a sincere heart. But how these captive brothers were treated in many places on their journey, how they were beaten, driven, and coupled together with ropes and chains, and what came of it for them, would take too long to write; yet however great the tribulation they suffered, God always comforted them in their hearts.

But since God always remembers His own for the best, even in the greatest fear, and never entirely forgets them, He strengthened some of them in their imprisonment, so that they trusted in God with good assurance and hope that He would work for them and show them a deliverance. Therefore they prayed with the others in the fear of God; and though they were firmly resolved to suffer for the truth of God, and to die rather than take part in wicked piracy, yet they had reason enough to persevere constantly in prayer to God, with heartfelt lamentation and sighing, that He would advance His divine honor in them. In this God showed them how they should properly talk together, the strong caring for the weak, and helping one another. And though they had very little to live on, yet they trusted in the Lord that He would provide for them, so that they would not have to beg for their bread. Then, on the twelfth night, at Trieste, they were all freed from their chains and bonds, and went out of prison. By the providence of God a place was shown them, where they all, in the same hour, let themselves down by ropes from the walls of the city. So the very bonds in which they had been brought there as prisoners had to serve for their deliverance.

From this it can be seen that, though the ungodly devise many things against the pious, God always turns it for the best for His people. So, through the providence of God, they escaped out of the hands of their enemies, in spite of the watchful guards whom they had posted in the city and on the walls; for God turned their prudence to folly, so that they escaped over the walls right beside the guardhouse.

When all of them, both sick and well, had escaped over the walls, a good many of them gathered together, knelt down, and together offered praise and thanks to God. God sped them on their way, so that the greater part of them returned with joy and glad hearts to the church in Moravia. Twelve of them, however, were recaptured by the wicked, who pursued them, and together with the other three they were handed over to the Emperor's Admiral over the Armada, taken to sea, and brought onto the galleons, with the intention of using them as pirates; but the pious risked their lives, and would rather be scourged. But as to the end of each one of these, nothing certain is yet known; it is to be supposed, however, that if they held constantly to the Lord, they did not have many good days as long as they lived. But the brothers mentioned above, whom God had delivered, when they returned about the year 1540 from Trieste to the church in Moravia, were received with great joy and gratitude, as a gift from God.