The Swiss Reformation:Huldrych Zwingli and others

Fritz Graf, The Ohio State University

1. Zwingli’s Life

Portrait by Hans Asper

Dum patriae quaero per dogmata sancta salute,ingrate patrio caesus ab ense cado.

When I was pursuing salvation for my country through the sacred writings,I die, felled by an unthankful sword.

He died in the Year of the Lord 1531, on October 11, in the 48th year of his life.

Zwingli: Time-line

Zwingli’s Life1484 Born in Wildhaus

1506 MA in Basel, priest in Glarus (-1516)

1515 In Marignano; meets Erasmus

1516 Einsiedeln (-1518)

1516 Erasmus’ New Testament

1519 Jan. 1: Zürich, Grossmünster

1519 New Testament sermons; plague

1523 First and Second Zurich Disputation

1529 Marburg Disputation; First KappelenWar

1531 Second Kappelen War, killed in action.

The Times1483 Luther born

1492 Columbus in the Bahamas

1507 Luther ordained

1515 Battle of Marignano

1517 Luther’s 95 theses

1521 Luther begins German translation of the Bible

1529 Marburg Disputation

1532 Calvin begins French reformation

Wildhaus: the house of the Zwingli family

Glarus 1506-1516

Einsiedeln 1516-1518

Zurich (Grossmünster) 1519-1531

GrossmünsterFraumünster(imperial abbey)

St. Peter(Leo Jud)

Switzerland at the time of Zwingli

2. Switzerland in Zwingli’s Time

Switzerland at the time of Zwingli

Mercenary with Glarus Flag: Urs Graf, 1521

The Tagsatzung of 1531

Zwingli’s ReformationMechanisms and Achievement

Erasmus of Rotterdam(Rotterdam 1466- Basel 1536)

The NovumInstrumentumof 1516

http://www.csntm.org/PrintedBook/ViewBook/ErasmusNovumInstrumentum

Complutense polyglot Bible,project of CardinalFrancisco Jiménez de Cisneros

The consequences (in 1522)

The principle: Sola scriptura (“by Scripture alone”)

This leads immediately to

➢Sermon on a passage from Scripture (against begging orders)

➢Abolition of Fasting

➢Abolition of Celibacy

➢Iconoclasm

➢Dissolution of monasteries

The 1529 “battle” of Kappel

Catholic milk + Protestant bread

The 1531 battle of KappelEtching by Merian, 1630

Flags:Lucerne and Uri

Flag:Zurich

Switzerland in 1536

The successor: Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575)

Aged 55“I do care nothing for beauty or life-time;

I only care for Christ, who is the beauty of my life”

Founder of the Zurich Seminary for Reformed Theology, the Carolinum;intrepid interpreter of reformed Christianity in over 12’000 letters and many books.

Contrasts

Saint Gall:Vadianus (Joachim von Watt)

If someone does not know the give live and soul to the colors,He is unable to paint you, Vadian.

In the 58th year of life, 1545

Saint Gall in 1623

Saint Gall in 1623

Basel: Johannes Oecolampadius

Basel: Johannes Oecolampadius

Basel: Johannes Oecolampadius

Cathedral University

Zwingli’s Theological Positions

The principles 1

Sola scriptura (“by Scripture alone”)

as against Luther’s Sola fide (“by Faith alone”)

This leads immediately to

➢Sermon on a passage from Scripture (against begging orders)

➢Abolition of Fasting

➢Abolition of Celibacy

➢Iconoclasm

➢Dissolution of monasteries

The principles 2

Overarching principle: Solo Christo (“By Christ alone”)

Scripture emanates from Christ and thus is secondary:

> Allows agreements with Luther

The 15 articles of Marburg 1529

Agreement on 14 of the 15 articles – including• Original sin from which Christ saved us:

Article 4: “We believe that we are born with and inherited original sin from Adam”

Predestination and Original Sin

Zwingli:• Results from God’s power (optimist

anthropology)• Even Adam’s fall is preordained• Original sin an inborn defect that

doesn’t make us guilty as such> Baptism not needed

• We transgress out of free will –Oecolampadius:

Salus nostra ex Deo, perditio nostra ex nobis (Our salvation comes from God, our fall from ourselves)

Luther:• Results from man’s inborn

depravity (pessimist anthropology)• Original sin creates guilt

> Baptism is necessary purification

The 15 articles of Marburg 1529

Agreement on 14 of the 15 articles – including• Original sin from which Christ saved us:

Article 4: “We believe that we are born with and inherited original sin from Adam”

• Baptism:

Article 9: “We believe that holy baptism is a sacrament which is an instrument of God for such faith and ordered by Him.”

Baptism

• Zwingli:

Baptism is not necessary for grace, because we are not inherently guilty, and grace is part of God.

General rule:

Sacraments symbolize and confirm but do not perform

• Luther:

Baptism is necessary for grace, because it purifies us from original sin.

General rule:

Sacraments perform

The 15 articles of Marburg 1529

Agreement on 14 of the 15 articles – including• Original sin from which Christ saved us:

Article 4: “We believe that we are born with and inherited original sin from Adam”

• Baptism:

Article 9: “We believe that holy baptism is a sacrament which is an instrument of God for such faith and ordered by Him.”

Disagreement on communion (article 15)

Communion

Article 15:

Although we have not been able to agree at this time, whether the true body and blood of Christ are corporally present in the bread and wine,

each party should display towards the other Christian love, as far as each respective conscience allows, and both should persistently ask God the Almighty for guidance so that through his Spirit he might bring us to a proper understanding.

Communion

Zwingli:

A symbol of our faith and salvation and therefore not really Christ’s body and flesh.

(Again: sacraments are symbols, not instruments)

Luther:

An instrument for our salvation and therefore really Christ’s body and blood.

Bullinger’s confirmation

Those who insist that the formal words of the Supper, “This is my body; this is my blood,” are to be taken in what they call the precisely literal sense, we repudiate as preposterous interpreters. For we hold it to be beyond controversy that they are to be taken figuratively, the bread and wine receiving the name of that which they signify.

Salvation

God can save whom he pleases –

included non-baptized infants

or pagans.

Salvation

God can save whom he pleases –

included non-baptized infants

or pagans.