This Day in Christian History: January 5 January 5, 1527: Felix Manz becomes the first Protestant to be martyred at the hands of Protestants. Grossmunster, Zurich by Robert Scarth Felix Manz was born in Zurich Switzerland sometime around 1498. It was there that he was educated and learned Hebrew, Greek and Latin. In 1519 when Zwingli came to Zurich, Felix became one of his followers. About this time, Felix also became friends with Conrad Grebel. He and Conrad eventually split from Zwingli's movement, feeling that he had been corrupted by the City Council. One of the main subjects of dispute was the baptism of infant children. Felix and Conrad believed a person should be baptized after they had reached the age of accountability and accepted Christ, however Zwingli and his movement still practiced infant baptism. Felix used his learning to translate texts into the language of the people, and was also an evangelist. He was arrested several times between 1525 and 1527 ...