Ulrich Zwingli

Ulrich Zwingli was born in 1484 in the Toggaburg Valley of the eastern lower Alps in what is now Switzerland. He became a parish priest in Zurich in 1506. He took his charge over his people very seriously, knowing it would be him that answers for their souls if he led them astray. As such he began to study Erasmus’ Latin translation of the Greek New Testament. Then he began teaching himself Greek and he started memorizing long passages of Scripture from the Greek New Testament. In 1519, two years after Luther posted his 95 theses, Zwingli began preaching directly out of the New Testament, verse by verse, to his congregation.

In private Zwingli began to challenge the customs of the Catholic church, starting with the celibacy of the priests. He secretly was married in the year 1522. In the same year he ate sausages in public, as a protest, against the Lenten fast and he wrote articles against forced fasting. In 1523 he went fully public with his disputations against the Roman Catholic system. He was called to testify before the Zurich city council when the Catholic hierarchy wanted to force Zwingli out of the priesthood. In January 1523 he gave forth his sixty-seven theses. In the 67 theses he made many important points that have impacted our world today. He stated that every believer has equality in the sight of God. There is not a differentiation between a clerical class and the laity. He made the point that Christ is the head of the church and not the pope and priestly order. He claimed that the images and statues that are venerated in the churches were nothing but idols and should be destroyed. He posited that only God can forgive sins through Jesus Christ our Lord and not the priesthood. He also stated that works of penance do not forgive sins, but rather they menace society. He stated that pastors have the right to marry and ought to be married, unless they have the spiritual gift of celibacy. He rejected that communion was a sacrifice and stated that it was merely symbols of the body and blood of Christ. He taught that it is only through faith in the gospel of Christ that men are saved and not through works. Finally, he testified that the Word of God has supremacy over the church and not vice versa. Then he stated, everyone is welcome to argue my points, but only on the basis of Scripture, not with history or Catholic dogma. The council of Zurich accepted what Zwingli had to say and began reforms of the local church. In October of 1523 the second disputation took place with the council of Zurich and further reforms took place, removing statues and images from the cathedral there and giving the Bible preeminence there.

In 1524 Zwingli publicly married his wife and in 1525. The city abolished the sacrifice of the mass and replaced it with a simple service that included the Lord’s supper in symbolic form. There were political realities taking place within Germany and Switzerland and the dukes desired a unity between the German and Swiss Reformers. A meeting was set up in Marburg in 1529. Luther and Zwingli met and came to agreement on many points. However, the issue of the Lord’s Supper was a point of sharp division. Luther believed that the real presence of Christ was in the wine and bread, whereas Zwingli believed that they are mere symbols. Luther concluded that Zwingli was a fanatic and declared that he was of the devil. This was a deeply unfortunate event that Luther failed dramatically in. It was a negative part of his stubborn personality that God ordained that he would have the strength to protest the Catholic Church. Zwingli held the correct doctrine of the apostles on the Lord’s Supper and Luther himself was in error.

Zwingli’s conception of the Reformation was that he would start a reformation in Zurich and have a church there and spread this same conception throughout Europe and form a European-wide catholic (universal) church, free from the corruptions of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. He was desirous that each city have their own church and doctrine and be governed internally and then be loosely associated together throughout Europe, free from the hierarchy. He believed the local church should be led by a group of elders, ordained to oversee and govern the local church. The elders consisted of teachers, preachers and leaders in the community. Through Zwingli and John Calvin came the Reformed Presbyterian Churches.

Zwingli died two years after the 1529 meeting in Marburg in battle against Catholic forces in Switzerland. Zurich remained Protestant despite the attacks from Catholic forces and Heinrich Bullinger became the pastor and leader of the Reformation in Zurich. This unique branch of the Reformation continued to flourish.