Norah Yoder and Reuben Harder share their reflections from Day 4 of the Youth Venture Anabaptism at 500: Looking Back to See the Future trip. The historical trip begins in Zürich, Switzerland and culminates at the Anabaptism at 500 Global Youth Summit in Württemberg, Germany.
We had a slow morning, giving everyone time to catch up on sleep. At around noon, we headed for the Täuferhöhle (Anabaptist Cave). It was named after the Zürcher Täufer (Zurich Anabaptists or Swiss Brethren), a group of early Anabaptists in Zurich, Switzerland, during the 1520s. They were among the first Anabaptists breaking away from the mainstream Protestant Reformation led by Ulrich Zwingli due to disagreements over issues like infant baptism, church-state separation, and nonviolence.
The cave is located about 18 miles east of Zürich. We took trains and a bus, then trekked up a path with views of mountains, cattle, forest, and the Swiss countryside. It was a true pilgrimage.
Anabaptists went to the cave to hide in silence in the 16th century, whether that be for prayer and actual silence or silence from the world. They were able to meet and worship together freely without persecution, like when Felix Manz used it to hide for three weeks.
We noted the convenience of the location of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg, which was visible from anywhere in the city with its spire and size. In contrast, we had a hard time finding the cave with paved trails and GPS. We discussed later how we were looking for “our cathedral” and we couldn’t even find it. We noticed the difference in decoration and distractions, with the cave only having small fire pits.
In all, we learned about the struggles that the first Anabaptists went through just to have a place to meet and worship without persecution.
