29. Chapter 26: The Church Is Reformed in German Switzerland, 1523-1529

CHAPTER 26 The Church Is Reformed in German Switzerland, 1523-1529

1. Zwingli Comes under the Influ­ence of Luther On January 1, 1484, there was born in Wildhaus in the German speaking part of Switzerland a boy who was to become known to his­tory as Ulrich Zwingli. His father was a prosperous farmer.

Zwingli’s experience differed greatly from that of Luther. He never lived as a monk in a convent. He did not have Luther’s deep con­sciousness of sin, and he knew nothing of Luther’s fearful spirit­ual struggle to gain salvation (ch. 23, sec. 6). Luther emerged out of the darkness of medievalism, and had been educated in scholastic theology (ch. 20, sec. 10); he studied the great writings of the Church Fathers and other works written under the influence of the Medieval Church. Zwingli received his education under the influence of the Renaissance, that is, under the influence of the new interest in the ancient writings of the Greeks and Romans, which had recently been brought to the west­ern world (ch. 22, sec. 10). These Greeks and Romans had lived be­fore the time of Christ and had possessed no knowledge of the Word of God.

Zwingli studied in Basel, Bern, and Vienna. In 1506 he received the degree of Master of Arts. Thereupon he entered the service of the Church. In 1519 he became pastor of the church of Zurich, the most important city in that part of Switzerland. He was also chaplain in the army of the city of Zurich. At first Zwingli stood strongly under the influence of Erasmus, with whom he became personally acquainted. He made a thorough study of the New Testament and of the Church Fathers. Originally he had no intention of attacking the Roman Church. Like Erasmus, he hoped to bring about improve­ments gradually through educa­tion. He first arrived at certain reformatory ideas independent of Luther. Later he came under Luther’s influence, and moved further and further away from the position of Erasmus.

2. Zwingli Reforms the Church in Switzerland In 1518 Zwingli attacked in­dulgences. The stand Luther took in the Leipzig Debate (ch. 24, sec. 6), and his burning of the papal bull (ch. 24, sec. 12) inspired Zwingli to make a systematic at­tack on the Roman Church.

Images were removed from the church buildings in Zurich. The mass was abolished. Altars, relics, and processions were discarded. The government of the Church and the care of the poor were placed in the hands of the city council. The school system was reformed. From Zurich the Reformation of the Church spread to several of the Swiss cantons; but many cantons remained Catholic.

3. Zwingli Differs from Luther

Zwingli differed from Luther in his idea of the Lord’s Supper. As we have seen (ch. 25, sec. 3), Luther took the words, "This is my body," literally. He taught that the body of Christ, having become everywhere present at His ascen­sion, is actually present in the bread and wine. Zwingli taught that the body of Christ is now only in heaven, and that the words "This is my body" mean: "This signifies my body." According to Zwingli the bread and the wine are only symbols of the body and blood of Christ, and the Supper is only a memorial ceremony. In October, 1529, Luther and Zwingli held a conference in Mar­burg, but the two leaders of the Reformation could not come to an agreement.

CONFERENCE AT MARBURG
At this conference Luther and Zwingli failed to come to an agreement in their ideas concerning the Lord’s Supper. For a time Zwingli had consider­able influence in southern Ger­many. But after his death the Protestants in that region inclined more and more toward Luther, and the Zwinglian movement became confined to German-speaking Switzerland.

4. Zwingli Meets an Early Death

Zwingli’s death took place on October 11, 1531. War had broken out between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons. As chaplain, Zwingli accompanied the Protes­tant army. It was defeated in a battle near Kappel, and Zwingli was killed. His body was dismem­bered and burned.