A Canon's Son and a Scholar
Felix Manz was born in Zurich around 1498, the son of a canon of the Great Minster, the city's principal church. Priests were forbidden to marry, so Felix was born outside marriage, and he lived with his mother in a house near the Minster. Little is known of his schooling, but he became an accomplished scholar of Latin, Greek, and above all Hebrew, rare learning in his day.
When Ulrich Zwingli came to the Great Minster in 1519 and began preaching straight through the Gospel of Matthew, Manz became one of his eager followers. He joined the circle of young men who read the Scriptures with Zwingli in their original languages, and there he became the close friend of Conrad Grebel. His Hebrew made him one of the most valuable members of the group.
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