Nicholas Storch

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Nicholas Storch (d. 1525) (also sp. Stork, Storck) was a radical reformation preacher and a weaver by trade. With Thomas Dreschel and Mark Thomas Stübner, he was one of the Zwickau prophets.

Some scholars believe that Storch and Thomas Münzer (c.1490-1525) initiated the Anabaptist movement. The followers of Storch's "anti-knowledge" philosophy were dubbed Abecedarians. Storch rejected infant baptism, held the equality of all men, Christian community of goods, the direct influence of the Spirit in special revelations, visions & dreams, and the imminent return of Christ. He left Zwickau with Stübner and Dreschel and arrived in Wittenberg in 1521. Andreas Karlstadt was soon won over to their cause. Driven from the city by Martin Luther, Storch travelled through Germany, preaching his unique doctrines. He is considered one of the instigators of the Peasants' War in Thuringia. Storch died in Munich in 1525.