Johann Heinrich Hottinger was a Swiss scholar who played a role of some importance in the negotiations between the city council of Zürich and the Dutch government on the persecution of the Anabaptists. In 1653, in the commission of the Zürich council, he presented his official opinion on the letter of a "sectarian from The Hague" to the four Protestant cities (Zürich, Basel, Bern, St. Gall), which sharply opposed religious persecution. In December 1663 he was authorized to send a letter to the States-General in Holland, defending the proceedings against the Anabaptists. He pointed out that toleration of the Anabaptists would jeopardize the national security and the existence of the Reformed Church. When in 1664 he was sent to Holland on a political mission he came in touch with the Mennonites living at Utrecht. They handed him a petition addressed to the Zürich council in favor of their persecuted brethren, whom he promised to support. Cornelius Bergmann assumes that he also negotiated with the Mennonites in the Palatinate. The subject deserves investigation.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 820. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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