Ulrich Zwingli Minister

Huldrych Zwingli

Huldrych (or Ulrich which was his birth name in memory of Saint Ulrich von Augsburg or ) ZwingliUlricus Zuinglius was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, and founder of theSwiss Reformed Churches. Independently of Martin Luther, Zwingli arrived at similar conclusions by studying the Scriptures from the point of view of a humanist scholar.
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. 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.

Just before winning his theological degree Zwingli became pastor at Glarus. Apart from studying the languages of theScripture, he also read Erasmus, which gave his thinking a humanistic perspective.

The use of Swiss mercenaries was widespread 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 Minister Church in Zürich. He had then been a priest in Einsiedln 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.

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.

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.