Ulrich Zwingli (Also, Huldreich)
Founder of the Reformation in Switzerland, born at Wildhaus in
Switzerland, 1 January, 1484; died 11 October, 1531. Zwingli came
from a prominent family of the middle classes, and was the third
of eight sons. His father Ulrich was a district official of the
little town of Wildhaus, and a cousin of his mother, Margaret
Meili, was abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Fischingen in
Thurgau. A brother of the elder Zwingli, Bartholomew, was pastor
of Wildhaus until 1487, but then became pastor and dean of Wesen
on the Walensee. Zwingli received his early education at Wesen
under the guidance of this uncle, by whom he was sent, at the age
of ten, to Gregory Bunzli of Wesen who was studying at Basle and
also teaching in the school of St. Theodore, which Zwingli
henceforth attended. For his higher studies he went to Berne,
whither the celebrated Swiss Humanist Schuler was attracting many
students for Classical studies. Zwingli's name is entered on the
roll of the University of Vienna for the winter term of 1498-99,
but he was excluded from the university. The reason for his
exclusion is unknown. Zwingli appears, however, to have overcome
the difficulty, for he was again matriculated in 1500. Two years
later he returned to Basle, where, among others, Thomas Wyttenbach
encouraged him to devote himself to the serious study of theology.
In 1506 he completed his studies and received the degree of Master
of Theology. Shortly before his graduation the parish of Glarus
had selected him as its pastor, although he had not yet been
ordained priest. Apart from his exclusion from the University of
Vienna, his student life presents no unusual features, though his
later friends and followers relate much that is laudatory about
this period. His studies at Berne, Vienna, and Basle, where
Humanism was eagerly cultivated, made Zwingli one of its zealous
supporters.
As pastor of Glarus from 1506 to 1516, the continuation of his
humanistic studies was one of Zwingli's chief occupations. He
studied Greek, read the Classics and the Fathers of the Church,
and entered into familiar intercourse with the Humanists of the
time, especially with Heinrich Loriti (Glareanus), Erasmus,and
Vadian. He also engaged in teaching, and the later chroniclers
Aegidius and Valentine Tschudi were his pupils. In public life he
was chiefly conspicuous for his political activity, in this
respect following the example of many ecclesiastics of his day. In
the Italian campaigns of 1513 and 1515, when the Swiss won the
victories of Novara and Marignan, he acted as army chaplain. His
earliest literary attempts - the rhymed fables of the ox (about
1510), "De Gestis inter Gallos et Helvetios relatio" (1512), "The
Labyrinth" (1516?) - are all concerned with politics. These works,
which reveal Zwingli as the devoted adherent and champion of the
papal party, won him the friendship of the powerful Swiss cardinal
Matthew Schinner and an annual pension of fifty gulden from the
pope. So zealously indeed did he then espouse the cause of the
pope that his position in Glarus became untenable when the French
party became predominant there in 1516. Diebold von Geroldseck,
the administrator and sole conventual in the Benedictine monastery
at Einsiedeln, entrusted him with the position of a secular priest
there, and at the end of 1516 Zwingli left Glarus.
As secular priest at Einsiedeln, the celebrated place of
pilgrimage for Switzerland and South Germany, Zwingli's chief
office was that of preacher. For the fulfilment of this task he
devoted himself to the study of Holy Writ, copied the Epistles of
St. Paul, and learned Hebrew, but did not meanwhile neglect the
Classics, a fact which won him flattering praise from the
Humanists. Erasmus was keenly aware of the laxity of
ecclesiastical life (the abuses in external worship, the
degeneracy of a large proportion of the clergy), and rightly
agitated a reform within the Church, impressing its necessity on
the ecclesiastical authorities. Zwingli worked in the same spirit
at Einsiedeln from 1516 to 1518. In disputing Luther's priority,
Zwingli later claimed (and most historians have supported his
claim) that while at Einsiedeln he already preached against the
old Faith. His claim is, however, negatived by the facts that he
continued to draw his pension, that at the end of 1518, at his own
petition, he was appointed by the pope acolyte chaplain of the
Roman See (cf. the document in "Analecta reformatoria", I, 98),
and that his friendly intercourse with Cardinal Schinner still
continued when he was engaged at Zurich in 1519.
Towards the end of 1518, when the post of secular preacher at
M�nster became vacant, Zwingli applied for the vacancy at the
invitation of Oswald Myconius (a friend of his youth), who was
engaged as teacher in the monastery school of that place. Like
many other clerics, Zwingli was suspected of offences against
celibacy. These reports, which were current even in Zurich, made
his position there difficult. When his friend Myconius questioned
him on this point Zwingli wrote from Einsiedeln that it was not,
as had been asserted, a respectable girl, but a common strumpet
with whom he had been intimate. His friends in Zurich succeeded in
suppressing these reports, and on 11 Dec., 1518, the chapter
elected Zwingli by a great majority. He was then thirty-five years
old, "in body a handsome and vigorous person, fairly tall, and of
a friendly aspect". In his intercourse with others he was an
agreeable companion, of pleasant address and gay temperament, a
good singer and musician, and a skilled orator. Accused by his
contemporaries of no slight moral offences, he made no attempt to
clear himself of the charges. As a scholar he was a Humanist
rather than a theologian. Under the influence of Erasmus, he saw
clearly the defects of ecclesiastical life, but could not himself
claim to be spotless, and his talents led him to engage rather in
disputes concerning secular affairs than to devote himself to
clerical reforms. So far he had no intention of introducing
doctrinal innovations; such an idea occurred to him first in
Zurich after 1519. Luther had already hung up his ninety-five
theses against indulgences at the church of the castle in
Wittenberg, 31 Oct., 1517.
On 1 January, 1519, Zwingli preached for the first time in the
cathedral at Zurich. He began with the exposition of the Bible,
taking first the Gospel of St. Matthew, and by going back to the
sources showed himself especially a Humanist. Of doctrinal
innovation he had still scarcely any thought. Even his stand
against the indulgence preacher, Bernhardin Sanson, at the
beginning of 1519, was taken with the consent of the Bishop of
Constance. The transformation of Zwingli the Humanist and
politician into a teacher of the new faith was faciliated by the
ecclesiastical and political conditions of the people and public
authorities at Zurich and in and in Switzerland in general. The
populace displayed great religious zeal externally, e. g., in
pious foundations and pilgrimages. This zeal, however, was
insufficient to counteract the decay of morals, which resulted
especially from the mercenary army system. The clergy to a great
extent neglected their obligations, many of them lived in
concubinage, and joined in the shameless pursuit of spiritual
prebends, thus damaging their prestige. Worthy clerics, however,
were not wanting. The Bishop of Constance, Hugo von
Hohenlandenberg, was a man of stainless conduct; he endeavoured to
do away with abuses, and issued various mandates, but
unfortunately without permanent results. This failure was due to
the lack of co-operation on the part of the civil rulers, who then
enjoyed in eccleslastical matters very extensive rights acquired,
especially by Zurich and Berne, from the popes and bishops in
consequence of the Burgundian, Swabian, and Milanese wars (1474-
1516). Rome, like France, had endeavoured to secure, by the outlay
of much money, the services of Swiss mercenaries. In Zurich, the
"foremost and supreme place", the council espoused the cause of
the pope, and opposed the French party. Zwingli did the same and
came into prominence first as a politician, a fact which makes his
case essentially different from that of Luther. It was only in
1520 that he voluntarily renounced his papal pension. He then
attacked the ruinous mercenary system, and through his efforts
Zurich alone of all the cantons refused to enter the alliance with
France on 5 May, 1521. However, 2000 mercenaries entered the
service of the pope. On 11 Jan., 1522, all foreign services and
pensions were forbidden in Zurich. By the publication, 16 May,
1522, of his "Vermahnung an die zu Schwyz, dass sie sich vor
fremden Herren hutend", Zwingli succeeded in extending his
influence beyond Zurich, although only temporarily.
Owing to his success as a politician his prestige and importance
increased. From 1522 he came forward as sponsor of the religious
innovations. His first reformatory work, "Vom Erkiesen und Fryheit
der Spysen", appeared when the bookseller Froschauer and his
associates publicly defied the ecclesiastical law of fasting, and
a controversy concerning fasts broke out. Zwingli declared the
fasting provisions mere human commands which were not in harmony
with Holy Writ; and the Bible was the sole source of faith, as he
asserted in his second writing, "Archeteles ". Through the medium
of a delegation the Bishop of Constance exhorted the town to
obedience on 7 April. On 29 Jan., 1523, the council, on whose
decision everything depended, held a religious disputation at
Zwingli's instigation, and agreed to base its action on the result
of the debate. In sixty-seven theses (his most extensive and
important work) Zwingli now proposed a formal programme for the
innovations; according to his view the Bible with his
interpretation was to be the sole authority. The arguments brought
against this view by the most important champion of the old Faith,
the vicar-general Johann Faber of Constance, who appealed to the
teaching and tradition of the early Church, were disregarded; the
council in whose hands Zwingli reposed the government of the
Church, forthwith declared in favour of the innovation.
A second religious disputation in Oct., 1523, dealt with the
practical institution of a state church, the veneration of the
saints, the removal of images, good works, and the sacraments. No
notable representative of the ancient Faith was present. Zwingli
urged the adoption of his doctrines so successfully that even his
devoted adherent, Commander Schmid of Kusnacht, warned him against
the too sudden abolishment of ancient customs and usages. The
first steps having been taken in 1522-23, the reforms were carried
into effect in Zurich in 1524-25. About Easter, 1524, indulgences
and pilgrimages were abolished, the sacraments of Penance and
Extreme Unction rejected, and pictures, statues, relics, altars,
and organs destroyed, regardless of their artitic value. Sacred
vessels of great value, such as chalices and monstrances, were
melted into coin. Church property was seized by the State, which
gained most by the suppression of the monasteries; the Fraum�nster
Abbey, founded in 853, was voluntarily surrendered to the secular
authorities by the last abbess. Celibacy was rejected as contrary
to Holy Writ, and monks and nuns were married. As early as 1522
Zwingli with ten other ecclesiastics as sembled at Einsiedeln and
addressed a petition to the Bishop of Constance and to the diet
asking freedom for priests to marry "Your honourable wisdom", they
declared, "has already witnessed the disgraceful and shameful life
we have unfortunately hitherto led with women, thereby giving
grievous scandal to everyone." From 1522 the marriage of priests
in Zurich became ever more frequent; Zwingli himself on 2 July,
1524, married Anna Reinhard (the widow of Hans Meyer von Knonau),
who bore him his first daughter on 31 July. A new marriage law of
10 May, 1525, regulated these innovations. In the spring of 1525
the Mass was abolished; in its place was introduced the memorial
service of the Last Supper.
The new doctrines were not introduced without opposition. The
first opponents of the Reformers were from the ranks of their own
party. The peasants could find no reason in the Bible, the sole
principle of faith, why they should contribute to their lords'
taxes, tithes, and rent, and they refused any longer to do so. The
greatest unrest prevailed everywhere, and was only quelled after
long negotiations and some concessions by the Government. The
Anabaptists were not so easily silenced. From the Bible, which
Zwingli had placed in their hands, they had deduced the most
marvellous doctrines, much more radical than Zwingli's and
questioning even the authority of the state. Zwingli persecuted
them mercilessly with imprisonment, torture, banishment and death;
their leader Felix Manz was drowned. The war against these
visionary spirits was more serious for Zwingli than that against
Rome. At first Rome allowed itself to be soothed by evasive words;
the "Lutheran sects" were aimed at and the Zwinglians clung to the
word of God, was the information supplied to Clement VII by Zurich
on 19 August, 1524. Soon, however, the breach with the ancient
Church was too plain to be doubted. The cantons of Uri, Schwyz,
Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zug, and Fribourg remained true to the old
Faith, and offered determined opposition to Zwingli. They could
not see that Zwingli was more favoured by God than the ancient
saints and teachers; in his clerical life he was not superior to
others, and he was inclined rather towards disturbance than
towards peace.
The Catholic cantons, however, also strove to abolish abuses,
issuing in 1525 a Concordat of Faith with important reforms which,
however, never found general recognition. From 21 May to 8 June,
1526, they held a public disputation at Baden, to which they
invited Dr. Johann Eck of Ingolstadt. Zwingli did not venture to
appear. The disputation ended with the complete victory for the
old Faith, but those who believed that the teaching of Zwingli
could be driven out of the world by disputations deceived
themselves; it had already taken too deep root. In St. Gall the
Humanist and burgomaster Vadian worked successfully in Zwingli's
interest - in Schaffhausen, Dr. Sebastian Hofmeister; in Basle,
(Ecolampadius. For Berne which, notwithstanding the efforts of
Berchtoid Haller, had previously maintained a non-committal
attitude, the religious disputation held at Zwingli's suggestion,
in Jan., 1528, was decisive. Zwingli himself came to the city, and
the Catholic cause was but weakly represented. The new doctrines
were then introduced as sweepingly into Berne as they had been at
Zurich, and many places and counties which had previously wavered
followed its example. Zwingli could also point to brilliant
successes in 1528 and 1529. He ensured the predominance of his
reforms through the "Christian Civic rights", agreed upon between
Zurich and the towns of Constance (1527), Berne and St. Gall
(1528), Biel, Mulhausen, and Schaffhausen (1529). To compel the
Catholic cantons to accept the new doctrines, he even urged civil
war, drew up a plan of campaign, and succeeded in persuading
Zurich to declare war and march against the Catholic territories.
The Catholic districts had endeavoured to strengthen their
position by forming a defensive alliance with Austria (1529), the
"Christian Union." At this juncture, however, they received no
assistance. Berne showed itself more moderate than Zurich, and a
treaty of peace was arranged, which, however, was very
unfavourable for the Catholics.
In Zurich Zwingli was now the commanding personality in all
ecclesiastical and political questions. He was "burgomaster,
secretary, and council" in one, and showed himself daily more
overbearing. His insolence indeed prevented an agreement with
Luther regarding the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, when a
disputation was arranged between the two heresiarchs at Marfurt in
October, 1529. As a statesman, Zwingli embarked in secular
politics with ambitious plans. "Within three years", he writes,
"Italy, Spain and Germany will take our view". Even the King of
France, whose greatest enemy he had previously been, he sought to
win to his side in 1531 with the work "Christianae fidei
expositio", and was even prepared to pay him a yearly pension. By
prohibiting intercourse with the Catholic cantons he compelled
them to resort to arms. On 9 Oct., 1531, they declared war on
Zurich, and advanced to Kappel on the frontiers. The people of
Zurich hastened to oppose them, but met a decisive defeat near
Kappel on 11 Oct., Zwingli falling in the battle. After a second
defeat of the Reformed forces at Gubel, peace was concluded on 23
Oct., 1531. The peace was of long duration, since the Catholic
victors displayed great moderation. Zwingli's death was an event
of great importance for all Switzerland. His plan to introduce his
innovations into the Catholic cantons by force had proved
abortive. But even Catholics, who claimed the same rights in
religious matters as the people of Zurich, regarded him as the
"governor of all confederates". Zwingli is regarded as the most
"liberal" of all the Reformers, and was less a dogmatist than
Calvin. His statue, with a sword in one hand and the Bible in the
other, stands near the municipal library at Zurich, which has also
a Zwingli museum.
Heinrich Bullinger (1504-75), Zwingli's successor, undertook the
internal development of the new doctrines. His father (also named
Heinrich) who was pastor at Bremgarten and embraced the
Reformation early, sent Bullinger to Emmerich and Cologne, where
he received a thorough Humanistic training. Even from his earliest
activity as teacher in the Cistercian monastery near Kappel (1523-
29) and later as pastor in Bremgarten (1529 31), Bullinger proved
himself a zealous lieutenant of Zwingli's. In 1528 he accompanied
the latter to the religious disputation at Berne. On 9 Dec., 1531,
he was chosen as Zwingli's successor, pastor of the Grossm�nster
at Zurich, a position which he held to the end of his life (1575).
Bullinger regarded union with Luther on the question of the Lord's
Supper as his chief task. For this purpose he composed in 1536,
with Myconius and Grynaeus, the "First Helvetic Confession", a
profession of faith which was recognized by the Evangelical towns
of Switzerland. In the same year also appeared the "Wittenberg
Concordia". When Bullinger refused to subscribe to this agreement,
which was brought about by Butzer, Luther burst out into abuse of
Zwingli. The attempt to bring about an agreement between Bullinger
and Calvin on this question at Geneva was more successful, the
"Consensus Tigurinus" being concluded between them in 1545. As the
expression of his personal religious conviction Bullinger composed
the "Second Helvetic Confession", which was printed in 1566, and
was recognized by all the Evangelical churches except that of
Basle.
Besides discharging the office of preacher, Bullinger displayed
great literary activity. He carried on a large correspondence with
several crowned heads, with Lady Jane Grey in London, Vadian,
Graubundenn, and many others. More than 100 sermons and
theological treatises from his pen are known, as well as one
drama, "Lucretia and Brutus". His "Diarium" and his extensive
history of the Reformation are still valuable. It is an undecided
question how far his history is independent and how far a
compilation of other writings. In character Bullinger was
particularly hospitable, and many fugitives from England and
France found refuge with him. Although less overbearing than
Zwingli and Luther, he was still intolerant; he approved the the
execution of Servetus at Geneva. He died on 17 September, 1575.
Zwingli's works were first collected and published by his son-in-
law, Rudolf Gwalter, and entitled: "Opera D. H. Zwingli
vigilantissimi Tigurinae ecclesiae Antistitis, partim quidem ab
ipso Latine conscripta, partim vero e vernaculo sermone in Latinum
translata: omnia novissime recognita, et multis adiectis, quae
hactenus visa non sunt" (4 fol. vols., Zurich, 1545; reprinted,
1581). The first complete edition was edited by Melchior Schuler
and Johannes Schulthess (8 vols., Zurich, 1828-42). Volumes VII
and VIII, containing Zwingli's correspondence, are especially
important. A new edition of his complete works prepared by Emil
Egli (d. 1908), George Finsler, and Walther Kohler is appearing in
the "Corpus Reformatorum", LXXXVIII (Berlin, 1905); three volumes
I, II, and VII, have already (1912) appeared.
WIHELM JOS. MEYER
Transribed by Tomas Hancil and Joseph P. Thomas
http://www.knight.org/advent
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
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editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
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