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The Reformation

Ulrich Zwingli

Although Calvin in the long run was more important, the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli is often included as the third leading figure of the Reformation. He not only founded the Swiss Reformed Church, his influence extended well beyond Switzerland. His theology was in many ways similar to Luther's, but his career was quite different, and in the end the two men disagreed on a couple of key points.

Zwingli was educated for the clergy from his youth and became a priest in the small town of Glarus in 1506. He was profoundly influenced by Desiderius Erasmus and applied himself to the study of both Greek and Hebrew. In the course of this study he came increasingly to regard the Bible as the sole authoritative voice in answering the many theological questions that were being debated in his day. He'd already heard criticisms of indulgences, and now also considered the role of saints, the Mass, and communion. He also got involved in a specifically Swiss question: the role of mercenaries. He began to be very critical of the fact that many Swiss men were hiring out to Italian, papal and other lords, to fight in their wars. In fact, it's likely that his move from Glarus to Einsiedeln in 1516 was in part due to this outspoken criticism.

He was invited to Zürich at the end of 1518, largely on the basis of the fame he'd won at Einsiedeln for his preaching, and on the basis of his correspondence with various humanists, including Erasmus. He was named as "people's priest" at the largest church in town, which meant that preaching would be his primary duty. He gave his first sermon on his thirty-sixth birthday, 1 January 1519. There he announced that he intended to preach beginning with the Gospel of Matthew, but that he would proceed based on Scripture alone, not taking into account the Church Fathers.

That doesn't sound like much, but at the time it was revolutionary, for it essentially turned the sermon into a Bible study. For many who heard him (as was the case for those who heard other evangelical preachers) this was the first time they had heard the Gospel preached directly and in terms they could understand. Before, all they heard were the words of priests; now they were hearing the Word of God. It was heady stuff and Zwingli attracted not only large audiences but prestigious ones. The city fathers were listening and many were persuaded.

In 1522 the city council authorized evangelical preaching and ended the practice of sending mercenaries. On Ash Wednesday, some of Zwingli's followers broke the Lenten fast. Zwingli did not break the fast himself, but he defended his parishoners in a sermon "On the Choice and Free Use of Foods".

On 19 January 1523, the city issued sixty-seven articles that represent the first codification of the Swiss Reformed Church and can be considered the founding moment. Among other things it meant that the tenets of the reform movement could now be preached openly in the city and had at least a measure of official support. That fall, rioters broke into the churches and destroyed paintings, organs, and other "idols." These were removed officially in summer 1524. The Mass was abolished 12 April 1525. New baptismal (infant) rites were instituted in 1525 as well. In May 1525, a civil court was created to supervise marriages. In 1526 the city council took over the power of excommunication.

Feeling threatened by the terms of the Edict of Worms (1529), Zürich formed the Christian Civic League, which by 1530 included Bern, Basel, Constance, Biel, Mühlhausen, Schaffhausen, St Gall, and Strassburg. The League had its own army. Not surprisingly, Swiss Catholic towns and villages themselves formed a league and fielded their own army.

Zwingli came to argue for the need for self-defense. He actually served in the army, in the capacity of a chaplain. In 1531, at the Second Battle of Kappel, Zwingli died on the battlefield. By this time, he had many followers and others stepped into the gap.

Although there is no "Zwinglian" church, the Swiss Reformed Church is essentially his and it persists to this day. His ideas also affected churches elsewhere, though it's difficult to disentangle Zwingli from Calvin from Luther in the Reformed churches of other countries. The other area where Zwingli and Zürich had a major effect was on the Anabaptist movement.