Huldrych Zwingli
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Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (January 1, 1484 – October 11, 1531) was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, and founder of the Swiss Reformed Churches. Independent from Luther, who was doctor biblicus, Zwingli arrived at similar conclusions, by studying the Scriptures from the point of view of a humanist scholar.
Zwingli was born in Wildhaus, St. Gallen, Switzerland, to a prominent family of the middle classes. He was the seventh of eight sons. His father Ulrich was the chief magistrate in town, and his uncle Bartolomeus the vicar.
Zwingli's Reformation was supported by the magistrate and population of Zürich, and led to significant changes in civil life, and state matters in Zürich. In particular, this movement was known for mercilessly persecuting Anabaptists and other followers of Christ who maintained a nonresistant stance. The reformation was spread from Zürich to five other cantons of Switzerland, while the remaining five sternly held on to the Roman Catholic view of the faith.
Zwingli was killed at Kappel am Albis, in a battle against the Roman Catholic cantons.
Zwingli's contribution to Reformation
Background
While a wealth of information exists regarding the theology of Martin Luther, John Calvin and others, relatively little is available with relation to Huldrych Zwingli. Zwingli was a contemporary of Martin Luther, and his renunciation of the Roman Catholic priesthood came only a few years after Luther's; these factors may explain Zwingli's comparative obscurity relative to Luther and Calvin as one of the driving forces behind the Reformation.
Another reason for Zwingli's failure to capture the public imagination may be his radical theology. Some commentators believe that history has overlooked Zwingli simply because it was written by men unsympathetic to his doctrinal views, who went out of their way to suppress them. They hold that "history is written by the victors"; the "other side of the story" is either forgotten, or suppressed. Needless to say, this view is prevalent principally among dyed-in-the-wool Zwinglians, and should perhaps not be taken at face value, particularly in the light of the extensive academic research conducted over the last 20 years or so into the sources of the Reformation.
Theology: sacraments and covenants
One major difference in theological opinion between Zwingli and Luther is that of grace versus works as it relates to the Christian sacraments. Many consider Luther to have been the originator of the belief that God's covenants to man are unconditional; Zwingli, on the other hand, proposed that God's covenants were just that--spiritually binding contracts between God and man that were vulnerable to man's relapse into the sinful life that could eventually lead to an annulment of God's part in the contract.
E. Brooks Holifield says, "When Luther called the sacrament a covenantal seal, he meant that baptism visibly ratified and guaranteed God's promises, as a royal seal authenticated a government document on which it was inscribed. Only secondarily was baptism a pledge of obedience by men. For Zwingli, however, the sacrament was primarily 'a covenant sign which indicates that all those who receive it are willing to amend their lives to follow Christ" (The Covenant Sealed: The Development of Puritan Sacramental Theology in Old and New England 1570-1720, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974, p. 6).
For both Luther and Zwingli, the sacrament of baptism was a sign or symbol of God's new Gospel covenant. Their theological differences arise in the relationship between baptism and mankind. While Luther believed that God's grace was sufficient for man's salvation thereby defining baptism simply as a sign of having received a divine guarantee of this grace, Zwingli taught that God's grace in addition to man's work was necessary for salvation thereby defining baptism as a covenant between God and man. This covenant/contract involved two parties wherein both were given specific responsibilities; if one party did not comply with said agreements, the opposite party was relinquished of all responsibilities detailed in the contract.
A key doctrinal difference between Zwingli and other sects of Protestantism was his view on the Eucharist. Whereas Luther believed that the body and blood of Christ are really present in the bread and wine of this sacrament (a view often called consubstantiation by non-Lutherans), Zwingli thought the sacrament to be purely symbolic and memorial in character. Their differences were discussed at the Marburg Colloquy in 1529. By contrast, the next generation Reformer John Calvin's view was that Christ is spiritually but not physically present in the sacrament, but some later Calvinists such as Charles Hodge tend more towards Zwingli's memorialism than Calvin's doctrine.
Zwingli was also known for his belief that the Christian sacrament was similar to a military oath or pledge in order to demonstrate an individual's willingness to listen and obey the written word of God.
Music in the Church
Zwingli was one of the first Protestants to abandon the use of musical instruments during worship services. In fact, he was so alarmed by the abuses to which music was subjected (in his view) that some of his services did not have any music whatsoever. He found instruments to be an offense, quoting the Church Fathers for support. He was attempting to return to a practice followed in most of the Eastern Orthodox Churches even to this day,[citation needed] but exceeded them in his distaste for music per se, regarding it as a distraction from single attention to the preaching of the word of God. Much of the Reformed movement fell into agreement with the banning of instruments, although none followed the elimination of music. The organ in particular was denounced by leaders of the Reformed churches, as being a prominent example of what they meant by the corruption allowed into worship by the Roman Catholic Church. Zwingli recommended that a better use for an organ would be to sell it and give the money to the poor. This Reformed aversion to musical instruments, first adopted by Zwingli, became at times a sticking point preventing cooperation with the musically rich Lutherans.
Non-instrumental singing continues to be a distinctive feature of some branches of the Presbyterian church, and a few other Reformed churches, e.g. the Campbell branch of the Restoration Movement known as the Church of Christ, and the Primitive Baptists. This practice is based on the belief that musical instruments should not be used in Christian worship, as their use is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament. According to this belief, the use of instruments is associated with the worship in the Temple of Jerusalem, the form of worship mandated in the Old Testament but superseded by Christian worship upon the foundation of the Church at Pentecost.
Zwingli’s life
Youth
Zwingli got his early education at Weesen under the guidance of this uncle Bartolomeus, who had moved away from Wildhaus. Before going to the University of Vienna Zwingli completed his studies in Berne. He enrolled in Vienna in 1498, and after having been expelled for a year, Zwingli continued his studies there until 1502, at which time he transferred to the University of Basel, where he took his B.A. degree in 1504, and M.Div. in 1506.
Priesthood
Just before winning his theological degree Zwingli became pastor at Glarus, and stayed there for ten years. It was during his stay in Glarus that Zwingli perfected his Greek, and also took up the study of Hebrew. Apart from studying the languages of the Scripture, he also read Erasmus, which gave his thinking a humanistic perspective.
The use of Swiss mercenaries was more than common in Europe of the 16th century and this was something that Zwingli opposed, unless commissioned by the Pope. Nevertheless Zwingli took on the job of chaplain on several occasions, as the youth of his parish went to Italy as mercenaries. Still, Zwingli's opposition to foreign military service and his growing reputation as a fine preacher and learned scholar led to his election in 1518 to priest in the Great Minster church (German name Grossmünster) in Zürich. He had then been a priest in Einsiedeln Abbey for two years.
Zwingli's willingness to leave Glarus greatly increased due to stronger pro-French sentiment there, given the fact that Zwingli at this period in his life was strongly on the side of the pope. Zwingli's literary production while still in Glarus made Swiss cardinal Mattias Schinner his friend, and rendered him an annual pension from Rome.
Alienation from the Roman Church
It was as a priest of the Great Minster church that Zwingli publicly started questioning the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. Zwingli always claimed to be ignorant of what Luther wrote, and that he took part in starting the Reformation in Switzerland independently of Luther. When a preacher of indulgences appeared in Zürich in 1519, Zwingli opposed him. This was two years after Luther had refuted the practice of indulgence with his 95 Theses.
It was in 1520 that Zwingli renounced his papal pension. He then attacked the mercenary system, and convinced Zürich, alone of all the cantons, to refuse the alliance with France on May 5, 1521. On January 11, 1522, all foreign services and pensions were forbidden in Zürich.
Owing to Zwingli's success as a political figure, which had been boosted by his social efforts during the plague of 1520, his prestige and importance increased. From 1522 on he was on track of reforming the church and Christian faith. His first reformatory work, Vom Erkiesen und Fryheit der Spysen, was published in the midst of a dispute over the ecclesiastical law of fasting. Zwingli declared the fasting provisions to be mere human commands, not in harmony with the Scriptures, and was by now convinced that the Bible alone, without any reference to the church's Sacred Oral Tradition, was the sole source of faith; this he asserted in "Archeteles".
Marriage
Zwingli took the view that without an extraordinary dispensation of divine grace it was impossible for any priest to live in purity according to the vow of celibacy, and from the spring of 1522 Zwingli and Anna Reinhard were living together in what was called a clerical marriage, though whether their intimacy passed the bounds of propriety is technically unknown. Such concubinages were not uncommon at the time. Zwingli eventually married Anna, on April 2, 1524, and between 1526 and 1530 the couple had four children. Anna was noted for her beauty, piety and faithfulness to the Protestant Reformation.
The Reformation in Zürich
Zwingli's radical followers made the most of the situation in Zürich. They removed the images and pictures out of the churches, made changes in the liturgic language of the religious services, and stripped the mass of all its elaborateness, as far as possible bringing it back to basics. By the end of 1524 the convents for both men and women had been abolished, and music had been silenced in the churches. The mass stood more or less unaltered, since Zwingli hesitated in changing something so wrapped up with the life of the people, before the people were fully prepared to accept a substitute. Zwingli's translation of the bible, the Froschauer Bible, was printed between 1524 and 1531.
During this time period, Zwingli developed a chronic disease that disabled him from masturbation.
At last it was decreed that on Thursday of Holy Week, April 13, 1525, in the Great Minster the Lord's Supper would be for the first time observed according to the liturgy Zwingli had composed. On that eventful day men and women sat on opposite sides of the table which extended down the middle aisle, and were served with bread on wooden platters and wine out of wooden beakers. The contrast to the former custom was shocking to many, yet the new way was accepted. With this radical break with the past the Reformation in Zürich was completed. In the same year, Zwingli was called by the honorary title Antistes.
The political phase
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 to do so. Civil unrest spread everywhere, and was only quelled after long negotiations and some concessions by the Government.
The Anabaptists were not so easily silenced. From the interpretation of the Bible, which Zwingli had placed in their hands, they opposed infant baptism and refused to join Zwingli's state church. Zwingli thus persecuted them mercilessly with imprisonment, torture, banishment and death; one of their leaders Felix Manz was drowned. The war against the Anabaptists was more serious for Zwingli than that against Rome.
In St. Gallen, mayor Vadian (Joachim von Watt) worked successfully in Zwingli's interest — in Schaffhausen, Dr. Sebastian Hofmeister did the same; in Basle it was Johann Oecolampadius. Zwingli himself came to Berne, in January 1528. The new doctrines were then introduced as sweepingly into Berne as they had been at Zürich, 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 Zürich and the towns of Constance (1527), Berne and St. Gall (1528), Biel, Mulhausen, and Schaffhausen (1529).
Reaction
Reformation swept across Switzerland. The cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zug, and Fribourg remained however true to the old Faith, and offered determined opposition to Zwingli. This did not mean that the Roman Catholic cantons were wholly satisfied with conditions prevailing in the Roman Catholic church. They strove to abolish abuses, and issued a Concordat of Faith in 1525 demanding important reforms, this, 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 appear.
At Baden, a famous watering-place, only twelve miles northwest of Zürich, there was a disputation between the Old Church representatives and the Zwingli party from May 21 to June 8, 1526. Though not present in person, Zwingli had close connections with those from Zürich who spoke for him, and gave them daily instructions. Of course each side claimed the victory.
To compel the Roman Catholic cantons to accept the new doctrines, Zwingli even urged civil war, drew up a plan of campaign, and succeeded in persuading Zürich to declare war and march against the Roman Catholic territories. The Roman Catholic districts had by then strengthened 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 Zürich, and a treaty of peace was arranged, which, however, was very unfavourable for the Roman Catholics.
Dictator of Zürich
In Zürich, Zwingli was now the commanding personality in all ecclesiastical and political questions. He was "mayor, secretary, and council" all in one. He and Luther could not agree regarding the doctrine of the Lord's Supper when a disputation was arranged between the two Protestant leaders at Marburg in October, 1529.
As a statesman, Zwingli embarked in secular politics with ambitious plans. "Within three years", he wrote, "Italy, Spain and Germany will take our view". By prohibiting any compromises with the Roman Catholic cantons Zwingli may have compelled them to resort to arms. On 9 October, 1531, they declared war on Zürich, and advanced to Kappel on the frontiers. That day proved to be fateful for Zwingli.
Civil war and Zwingli's death on the battlefield
See Wars of Kappel, Reformation in Switzerland.
The Swiss Confederation was not a centralized state, but many different states or cantons that were only united on a few issues, primarily wanting independence from the Holy Roman Empire. When the Roman Catholic cantons took steps towards an alliance with Charles V, Zwingli recommended that the Protestant cantons begin to take military initiatives before it was too late. Zwingli was preparing for war, but his beliefs were not shared by all of the other Protestant cantons. Instead, the other Protestants took economic measures towards the Roman Catholic cantons. In October of 1531, the five Roman Catholic cantons joined together for a surprise attack on Zürich. The Protestants were nearly unable to defend themselves because of no advance warning, but when their army gathered together, Zwingli marched out with the first soldiers and was killed in battle. In Kappel, the army of Zürich was defeated, and slightly more than a month later, the Peace of Kappel was signed.
Zwingli's successor
Zwingli's successor, Heinrich Bullinger, was elected on December 9, 1531, to be the pastor of the Great Minster at Zürich, a position which he held to the end of his life (1575). He did not replace Zwingli as the political head man of the canton. The pastor of the Great Minster continued to exert political influence, but the time of theocracy was past for Zürich.
Other notables in Swiss Reformation
Literary production
- Rhymed fables of the ox, c. 1510
- De Gestis inter Gallos et Helvetios relatio, 1512
- The Labyrinth, c. 1516
- Vom Erkiesen und Fryheit der Spysen
- Archeteles
- Vermahnung an die zu Schwyz, dass sie sich vor fremden Herren hutend, 1522
- Petition anent the Marriage of Priests, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, July 2, 1522.( This petition was addressed to Hugo von Hohenlandenberg,[1],Bishop of Konstanz,and was signed by Zwingli and ten other clergymen. cf. Catholic Encyclopedia )."Ulrich Zwingli Early Writings",edited by Samuel Macauley Jackson, Wipf & Stock, 1999, ISBN 1579102972.
- De vere et falsa Religione, 1525
- Opera D.H. Zwingli (Title in full: ''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, published by Zwingli's son-in-law Rudolf Gwalter)
References
- Zwingli's collected works, (edited by Melchior Schuler and Johannes Schulthess, 8 vols., Zürich, 1828-1842)
- New critical edition of Zwingli's Collected Works (In progress, University of Zürich)
- Huldreich Zwingli, the Reformer of German Switzerland edited by Samuel Macauley Jackson et al, 1903. Online from Google Books
- European Reformations Sourcebook ed. by Carter Lindberg, Blackwell Publishers (December 1999). ISBN 0-631-21362-7. Excerpts from Zwingli's "Petition of Certain Preachers of Switzerland to the Most Reverend Lord Hugo, Bishop of Constance..." [2]
- Biography of Anna Reinhard in Leben magazine in PDF