Adriaen Wens (Anabaptist – Born 1558)

Adriaen Wens (Anabaptist – Born 1558)

Adriaen was fifteen in 1573, the year his mother, Maeyken Wens, died. The Wens family lived in Antwerp, Belgium, where his father, Matthew Wens, was a mason. Adriaen was the oldest of the children; his sister Betteken was near his own age, and the youngest was a three-year-old brother, Hans Matthews. Adriaen’s story is notable for the unusual interchange he and his father had with his mother while she was in prison, and the striking account of Adriaen’s presence at his mother’s martyrdom. The influences of his mother’s life and death to a large degree shaped Adriaen’s life.

Maeyken Wens hesitated for some time before she took the step of faith and was baptized. It was his mother who talked to Adriaen about the cross of suffering. She knew her Bible so well she could quote him a Scripture for every question.

In April 1573, the blow came to the Anabaptist congregation in which the Wenses shared, and to their family in particular. Adriaen’s mother, along with a number of persons from the congregation, was arrested and imprisoned in the Steen castle of Antwerp. This was a prison to become infamous in the history of Anabaptist martyrdoms. Many persons had already been imprisoned here, tried, and executed by public burnings or drowning. Frequently women were drowned in the prison wine vat or water trough.

During the months that his mother was in the castle prison, the family secured permission to visit her. On one occasion, Maeyken called Adriaen to the door again for a special word of encouragement, urging him to consider committing his life to Christ and being baptized, since he was fifteen years old. The Anabaptists did not baptize children but expected them to make their own commitment to Christ once they had come to the age of accountability. Adriaen was moved by his mother’s appeal and by her faith. The letters he received from her were like a word from the Lord to his heart. Doubtless this interchange was a major factor in his decision and later baptism.