Huldrych Zwingli was a leading figure of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. He studied theology and became a priest, growing disillusioned with the Catholic Church. In 1519, he became a preacher in Zurich and began preaching reforms based solely on scripture. By 1523, Zurich had officially adopted Protestant theology. Zwingli believed in simplicity in worship, opposed Catholic doctrines like transubstantiation, and favored a state-run church. However, he disagreed with Luther on the real presence in communion. Zwingli was killed in battle in 1531 while fighting in defense of the Reformation in Switzerland.

1. HULDRYCH ZWINGLI
Soldier for the Lord

2. General Information
 Born January 1, 1484,Toggenburg,
Switzerland.
 His parents were well-to-do peasants who
had connections within the Church as well as
the local government.
 Attended University ofVienna completing BA
in 1504; did his MA at Basel completed in
1506.
 Was instructed in the via antiqua.

3.  Ordained a priest in 1506; first parish was that of
Glarus.
 Served as chaplain to the Glarus mercenaries
during 1513 and 1515; became appalled by the
practise of mercenary trade.
 Next assigned to Einsiedeln, 1516 – 1518,
became a popular preacher; also became
proficient in NewTestament Greek.
 1518 assigned to Zurich; took up the assignment
on January 1, 1519.

4.  Decided to abandon use of the lectionary
texts choosing to preach “only the
Scriptures.”
 In 1522 he sided with those embroiled in the
“affair of the sausages.”
 1523, in response to his disputation with the
Catholics, the ZurichTown Council voted that
Scripture should be the measure of
orthodoxy.

5.  “In 1523 he set forth his 67 theses; some of them
are:
 Church is born of the Word of God and Christ alone as
its head
 The Church laws are binding only as they agree with
Scripture
 The Holy Scriptures does not teach Christ’s presence in
the bread and wine
 No biblical foundation for mediation on behalf of the
dead
 Marriage is lawful to all.”

6.  He believed in simplicity in Church services
and was iconoclastic.
 Opposed Luther on the issue of the “real
presence” at the Marburg Colloquy.
 Killed on the battle field during the Second
KappelWar in 1531.

7. Major Contributions to the Reformation:
Soteriology:
 Makes sparse use of the term “justification by faith.”
 Placed a heavy emphasis upon the “moral
consequences of the gospel.”
 Understands the concept of the gospel from a
social/community perspective rather than an
individualistic one.
 Has a more moralistic view of Christ; does not
emphasize Him as an indwelling presence. His
schooling in the via antiqua is evident in this
concept.

8.  Sees the Scripture as indicating what
believers should do in response to the Christ’s
example.
 Gives moral renewal priority over forgiveness.
 Emphasis upon predestination:
 Built upon God’s omnipotence and omniscience;
since God is both omnipotent and omniscient then
He determines all things in advance.

9.  Emphasizes Jesus’ divinity over His humanity.
 Asserts God’s absolute sovereignty.
 Salvation comes to the elect through Christ.
 Individual knowledge of Christ does not come
into focus as per election.
 There is no room for outward means as regards
salvation.This does not have anything to do
with his repudiation of salvation by merits.

10. The Scriptures:
 Has a close relationship between the Spirit of God
and theWord of God.
 Talks about the “outerWord” and the “innerWord.”
 To understand theWord one must be theodidacti.
 The one who has the Spirit as interpreter needs no
other teacher.
 The evidence of being taught by the Spirit is
faithfulness to Scripture.
 Scripture is the ultimate judge on matters
pertaining to doctrine.

11. The Sacraments:
 Sees a sacrament as “a sign of a sacred thing.”
 Likened the sacrament to an oath, thus,
individuals testified of their allegiance to the
community believers when the participated in
the sacraments.
 A sacrament by no means makes a present
reality the thing that it signifies.
 Rejected the notion of sacraments conveying
grace; a sign of grace granted but not grace.
 The sacraments are dependent upon the Spirit
and not the converse.

12.  Word of God is the source from which faith is
generated; sacraments are the avenues whereby
this faith is demonstrated.
 Reduced to two; baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
 Baptism:
 A demonstration of belonging, somewhat akin to
circumcision.
 Seen as being the “visible entry and sealing into
Christ.”
 Retained infant baptism.

13.  Eucharist:
 A memorial meal. Believers remember the
historical reality of the establishment of the
Church.
 Abandoned both the title and concept of the
Mass.
 Limited its celebration to three or four times a
year.

14.  Preaching of theWord replaced the Eucharist as
the central object of the weekly service.
 Disagreed with Luther on the meaning of the
words hoc est corpus meum.
 Completely rejected the concept of “real
presence;” for him Christ was “at the right hand of
God” and as such He could not be really present.

15. Church and State:
 Dichotomized the true Church from the
official hierarchy.
 Church constituted of theWord and Spirit of
God as well as believers who live in
accordance to both.
 Saw societal transformation as being a
concomitant of Christian living.

16.  Church needs the civil government;
disobedience to civil government is
tantamount to disobedience to God.
 Strong commitment to a state-run Church.
 Clergy subject to magistrate except as
pertains to the freedom to proclaim theWord
of God.

17. Marburg Colloquy
 Held in 1529 as an initiative of Philip of Hesse
 Religio-political nature; cuius regio, eius religio
of first Diet of Speyer (1526) was somewhat
curtailed by the second Diet of Speyer in
1529.
 Aim was to create a unity among Protestants
 Main theologians: Luther, Melanchthon,
Zwingli and Oecolampadius
 Agreed on 14 of the 15 points