By Bonnie Withers

When I browse through my copy of This Day in Unitarian Universalist History, I am
continually struck to come upon the number of martyrs from the 16 th century onward,
who gave up their lives over their insistence on their belief in the unitary nature of God.
Today, I found Ludwig Hetzer, Swiss pastor who is considered by some as the first
Unitarian martyred by Protestants. He was a translator and a musician who insisted that
Jesus was a man, inferior to God the Father. This got him into trouble with the Synod of
Constance. A dalliance with a young woman also seems to figure into his legal
problems, according to some sources. He was beheaded on the same day he was
sentenced in 1529. Hetzer was just 29 years old.

For a deep dive into Hetzer’s life, check this link.