Pentecostal Aspects of Early Sixteenth-century Anabaptism

Early-sixteenth-century radical Anabaptism emanated in Swiss protest during Huldrych Zwingli's protest against the Roman Catholic Church. Much like Luther, Zwingli founded his reform effort on the premise that the Bible was the sole arbiter of the Christian faith, sola scriptura, and the sufficiency of the shed blood of Christ for eternal salvation, sola fide. Based on these two principles, both Zwingli and Luther adopted the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer, which recognized every believer's Spirit-empowered ability to read and interpret the Bible. Radical adherents to Zwingli first rejected the idea of infant baptism, which Zwingli continued to practice. This led to the radical practice of the rebaptism of adults, which was subsequently labeled as Anabaptism. These Anabaptists also interpreted 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul's description of the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as the biblical format for conducting proper church. This direction led Zwingli and the city of Zurich to outlaw the Anabaptists and their practices, which brought severe persecution and martyrdom.


""Dr. Byrd's book offers a thoughtful and insightful examination of the parallels between modern Pentecostalism and sixteenth-century Anabaptism. Grounded in careful scholarship and a sharp knowledge of both movements, this book is a valuable addition to our understanding of significant aspects of the history of Christianity.""
--Elaine Fulton, University of Birmingham

""I commend this study to you and to those who would find inspiration in the courageous stand taken by this abused and persecuted Christian minority in early-modern Europe. Pentecostals and charismatics today will find here encouragement to reconnect with the ideas, aims, and convictions of their early predecessors.""
--Allan Anderson, University of Birmingham

""Four hundred years after both Protestant and Catholic powers tried to snuff out the spiritualist radicals called Anabaptists during the sixteenth-century, Pentecostalism emerged as a new spiritualist Christian community. Charles Byrd's new book explores both groups and finds striking similarities in their outlooks, beliefs, and practices, especially concerning charismatic gifts. It not only provides modern Pentecostals a better understanding of their historical antecedents, but it also sheds new light on the Reformation itself.""
--Mack P. Holt, George Mason University

""Pentecostalism is the most dynamic aspect of modern Christian faith. Byrd's study is a valuable contribution to grounding it in Christian history, by comparing some of its main characteristics to a similar outpouring of spiritual energy in the Reformation. 'Anabaptist' radicalism did not find the same historical conditions for growth that have impelled modern Pentecostalism, but Byrd illuminates both issues in contemporary religion and a vital aspect of Christianity in sixteenth-century Europe.""
--Diarmaid MacCulloch, University of Oxford


Charles Hannon Byrd II was a third-generation Assembly of God Pentecostal, who served the Chapel Springs Assembly of God Church in Bristow, Virginia, for fifty-two years as deacon and teacher. He retired in 1997 after thirty-two years of service as a law enforcement officer, the last twenty-three of which as a special agent with the FBI. In 1998, he began his graduate studies at George Mason University, earning a master's degree in history in 2004. He earned a Master of Studies in theology at Oxford University in 2008, and his PhD in 2018 from the University of Birmingham, UK.