Jan de Bakker

thumb|300px|[http://www.gevangenpoort.nl/engels/bekende_gevangenen_en.htm Gevangenpoort] in The Hague where Jan de Bakker was incarcerated prior to his execution in 1525 
Jan Jansz de Bakker van Woerden (Johannes Pistorius Woerdensis) (Woerden, Netherlands, 1499 - The Hague, Netherlands, 15 September 1525) was a Catholic priest who was the first preacher in the Northern Netherlands to be martyred as a direct result of his Protestant beliefs. 
==Biography==
Jan's father was a sexton in Woerden and also tenant of the brickworks, and his surname may have been derived from that profession. Jan de Bakker was a pupil of Johannes Rhodius (Hinne Rode), headmaster of St. Jerome School of the Brethren of the Common Life in Utrecht, who was a proponent of Sacramentarianism. The Dutch Sacramentarians did not believe in the efficacy of the sacraments of the Catholic Church and denied that the host in the Mass was the real body and blood of Jesus Christ. They called indulgences and pilgrimages mere idolatry, and were critical of the low moral standards and conduct of the clergy. In 1520 Jan's father called him back to Woerden, because of concerns that those views would be considered to be contrary to the Church's doctrine and could get him in trouble with the authorities. Jan transferred to Leuven, and in 1522 completed his education there.
Jan returned to Woerden, was ordained in Utrecht as priest, and assisted his father as sexton and deacon. Jan started to spread his views, which were considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church at that time, and in May 1523 he and another priest were arrested by the steward of the castle. After a short while they were released, and it is thought that the two travelled to Wittenberg, but there is no evidence he met with Martin Luther. After he returned he continued his preachings, and the conflict with the Roman Catholic Church was further aggravated by the fact that he broke his celibacy, and got married. 
In the night of May 9, 1525 Jan was arrested and the next day transferred to The Hague, where he appeared before the Inquisition. He was defrocked and sentenced to death, and on September 15 1525 burned at the stake in The Hague. His widow saved her life by recanting views similar to her husband's, and lived out her life in an abbey. 
== See also ==
*Dirk Willems
== References ==
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== External links ==
Category:1499 births
Category:1525 deaths
Category:Christian religious leaders
Category:Dutch clergy
Category:Protestant Reformers
Category:People executed by burning
Category:People executed for heresy
Category:People from Woerden
Category:Executed Dutch people
Category:16th-century Protestant Reformers and ministers
Category:16th-century Protestant martyrs
de:Jan van Woerden
nl:Jan de Bakker