Täufer-Testamente (Anabaptist Testaments) were 17th and 18th century reprints of the Froschauer New Testament, which were widely used by the Swiss Brethren, so named by the Bernese authorities in their anti-Anabaptist decrees because they were printed for and used solely by the Swiss Anabaptists in preference to the authorized Luther version. The appearance of the "Anabaptist Testaments" evoked consternation among the clergy of Bern, Switzerland, and they tried to eliminate these "falsified and dangerous translations." The government issued a mandate against the Mennonites on 21 May 1693, in which one of the orders was that "the proscribed Basel Testaments and other suspicious books of this sect" be confiscated. The Reformed clergy were to explain to the Mennonites the errors in the translation, take the Testaments from their owners, and substitute "the Basel Testament of Luther's version." Exactly what editions of the Froschauer Testament were referred to as Täufer-Testamente is not clear. As the article Froschauer Bibles and Testaments shows, editions are known of 1588, 1647, 1687, 1702, 1729, 1737, 1790, and 1825. The Pennsylvania Mennonites had an edition reprinted at Ephrata, Pennsylvania in 1787.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 685-686. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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