How Zürich Changed
the World
An Introduction to the Swiss Reformation
“If Zwingli was not the most important character in Swiss history, he
was surely the most audacious and most colorful.” - Wilhelm Oechsli,
Swiss historian
“Heinrich Bullinger is, next to Calvin, the most significant figure of
the Swiss Reformation and the Reformed Churches of Europe.”
- Patrik Müller, Theological Secretary to the Protestant Reformed
Church, Canton Aargau
“Truth wears a happy face.” - Ulrich (Huldrych) Zwingli
“The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God.” - Heinrich
Bullinger, The Second Helvetic Confession
“Not to fear is the armor.” - Zwingli
“Only an absent Lord would need a governor to rule in his place.”
- Bullinger
Ulrich Zwingli, The First Swiss Reformer
● Born: January 1, 1484 in Wildhaus,
Toggenburg (Canton St. Gallen)
● Parents: Free peasants. Father was a
successful farmer and town magistrate
(active in politics)
● Wife
and Children: Shortly after
becoming the People's Priest in Zürich,
Zwingli asked the bishop's permission to
take a wife and was denied. He then secretly married the
wealthy widow, Anna Reinhard, who already had three children.
He sequestered them for two years in a private apartment near
Grossmünster Church before he was publicly married. They had
three more children together.
“Out of one hundred, nay out of one thousand,
there is scarcely one chaste priest.” - Zwingli
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Charity and Education: Zwingli was responsible for the Zürich
Council's ordinance in January, 1525 to have the assets in the
monasteries taken over in the Reformation put into a special
fund to improve schools and help the poor.
Musician: As a youth Zwingli displayed great musical talents,
both as a composer and musician. He learned to play six
instruments!
Civic and Moral Reformer: Zwingli abhorred the Swiss
mercenary system and worked to shift the Swiss economy from
warring to agriculture and trade. He also worked to put an end to
the rampant abuses of alcohol and gambling in the city and
canton.
The Swiss Work Ethic: Taught that it was a God-given
privilege for people to be allowed to work with their hands and
heads and to do so for the glory of God. Thus, every job was
dignified and seen as an expression of God's creativity and grace
to others.
“You are a tool in the hands of God.
He demands your service, not your rest.
Yet, how fortunate you are that he lets you take part in his work.”
- Zwingli
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Suffering, the Plague, and Compassion: In 1519, while
Zwingli was pastoring in Zürich, the plague killed one-third of
the city's population. He himself contracted the disease, but
recovered. He ministered to and buried the victims, and
composed a hymn about his suffering.
The conservative liberal: Zwingli was constantly criticized by
the conservatives for moving too fast in his church reforms, and
by the radicals as moving too slowly. He removed the statues
and artifacts from inside the church, forbade the use of the
organ, and discouraged congregational singing.
“The people should give ear to the word of God alone.” - Zwingli
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Luther and Zwingli, colleagues in conflict: They were
contemporaries born only seven weeks apart (Luther in
November, 1483). They corresponded on occasion but met only
once, in Marburg Castle (Germany) in 1529. They methodically
endorsed 14 successive points concerning the Reformation, but
fell out over the 15th point, the Lord's Supper. Luther believed
the body and blood of Christ were physically present in the
sacrament (trans-substantiation). Zwingli wanted to allow for
more interpretations, specifically that God was present in Spirit
in the symbols of his body and blood. They nearly came to
blows, and stormed out on each other, never to meet again.
They remained adversaries the rest of their lives, and the Swiss
and German Reformation was never unified. Luther founded
Lutheranism. Zwingli founded Reformed theology.
“Martin Luther is that one Hercules...who slew the Roman boar...
indeed, the only faithful David anointed hereto by the Lord
and furnished likewise with arms.”
- Zwingli on Luther, prior to Marburg
“That Giant of Zürich thinks too highly of himself.”
- Luther on Zwingli, as Luther believed Zwingli to be a show-off with
his display of learning in Greek, Hebrew, and the Classics
Zwingli and Luther, Compared and Contrasted
Similarities:
● both born of peasant, but successful, stock (Luther's father was a
miner, Zwingli's a farmer)
● both became accomplished scholars with extraordinary musical
talents
● both spoke German and were brilliant preachers (but Luther
spoke in Saxon dialect, and Zwingli spoke Schweizerdeutsch...the Germans despised the Swiss, and the Swiss
resented the Germans)
● both studied at fine universities (Luther at Erfurt and Zwingli in
Vienna and Basel)
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both defended the primacy of Scripture (sola scriptura) and saw
preaching the Word as critical in growing the church and
changing society
both had a biting and quick wit
both were stubborn and visionary
both sought to get God's Word in the hands, heads, and hearts of
the people
Differences:
● Luther was a monk and academician, while Zwingli was a
people's priest (a pastor)
● Luther made alliances with the wealthy and royal, while Zwingli
befriended commoners
● Luther strove for physical, mental, and spiritual purity; Zwingli
acknowledged his sinfulness
● Luther saw revelation as beyond the realm of reason (as with
Occam); Zwingli thought revelation and reason were compatible
(as with Thomas Aquinas)
● Luther was personally combative but died in bed; Zwingli was
personally a pacifist but died in battle
“They can kill the body but not the soul.”
- Zwingli's last words at the Battle of Kappel, 1531
Other notable points about Zwingli:
● When the Roman Catholic troops who had struck him down with
the sword brought a priest to administer the last rites to him,
Zwingli cursed the priest and rebuked him.
● After his death, Zwingli's body was taken in front of a large
crowd of local Roman Catholics, where his corpse was propped
up on a pole and interrogated by a bishop. “If you deny your
slanders against the holy father and his church, fall to your
knees!” At which point, the pole was pulled away, causing
Zwingli's body to flop to the ground as the crowd cheered and
jeered. His body was then quartered and sent off to four Catholic
towns to be displayed at the city gates. After that, the body parts
were burned.
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Zwingli tried countless times to appease and negotiate with the
Anabaptists, but they were vehemently opposed to what they
considered his half-measures and compromises (even heresies).
They boycotted paying taxes. Protested against the church.
Defied all civil authorities. And generally made a nuisance of
themselves. In Zwingli's eyes, they were espousing anarchy, and
their dogma was rigid and intrusive. He saw the drownings of
the Anabaptists as an absolute last resort, and participated only
with tears and with fear and trembling. There was no satisfaction
for Zwingli in any of this.
What we owe Zwingli:
● He advocated for the education of all persons – male or female,
young or old, rich or poor – in order that people may know the
truth (based on Scripture) and live it out.
● He established pride in workmanship. Every job is respectable
and should be given its best effort to reflect the glory of God.
These are the roots of the Protestant work ethic.
● He established the basic principles of Reformed theology (God's
Word at the center of worship, order and ardor in equal measure,
representative democracy in the church, equality of the sexes,
grace over works, sovereignty of God, the marriage of faith and
conscience, etc.)
● Of all the other Reformers, Zwingli was the one who left behind
a successor who was at least his equal and expanded his vision
to encompass a worldwide audience. He methodically mentored
Heinrich Bullinger as his prodigy and disciple. Who was
Luther's successor? Calvin's? John Knox's? Jan Hus's?
“In schoner Alp weidet er mich.”
(“In the beautiful Alps he tends me.”)
–
Zwingli's translation of the 23rd Psalm
“For God's sake do not put yourself at odds with the Word of God.
For truly, it will persist as surely as the Rhine follows its course.
One can perhaps dam it up for a while, but it is impossible to stop it.”
- Zwingli's statement on biblical authority
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Heinrich Bullinger, Reformer, Church Politician, Historian,
Scholar, and Pastor
● Birth: in Bremgarten, Canton Aargau on
July 18, 1504 (20 yrs. younger than Zwingli)
to a Roman Catholic priest and his commonlaw wife.
● Upbringing: His father was reformedminded and modestly defiant against many
of the Roman Catholic practices and papal
authority. He was, after all, married with five
sons (Heinrich was the youngest). Loving,
caring home. Highly respected in the
community. Heinrich had two close calls with death as a child,
one when he fell ill with the plague and the other when he
severed an artery in his neck and nearly bled to death. This
convinced him at an early age that God had prepared a destiny
for him.
● Pupil and Scholar: Learned logic, grammar, and rhetoric at an
early age, plus Latin. At age 12 went to Emmerich to study in
the Latin school. A brilliant student. Seriously considered
becoming a Carthusian monk, but chose academia over the
monastic life. Attended the University of Cologne. Earned his
Master of Liberal Arts degree in 1522 at the age of 17!
● Influenced by humanism: Studied the Church Fathers, read the
Classics, and learned biblical exegesis. Was deeply influenced
by the Reformation writers, Martin Luther in particular.
● Theological development: Considered to be a “reformed
humanist,” a devoted pragmatist, a brilliant biblical scholar, a
highly esteemed preacher, and a deeply caring pastor.
● Studied under Zwingli: While living and pastoring in the inner
cantons as a young reformer, Bullinger often came to study and
discuss with Zwingli at Grossmünster. They developed a close
and mutually respectful friendship.
● Denounced as a heretic: Following the Roman Catholic victory
over Canton Zürich and its Reformed army, he was sent packing
by the local bishop. Along with three other Reformist priests
from the forest cantons, he sought asylum in Zürich.
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Called as Grossmünster's People's Priest: Ironically, while
Bullinger was not well-known in Zürich (he was only 27), he
was invited to preach in the city's largest church, since Zwingli
had been recently killed at Kappel. He so impressed the
congregation and leaders, that the church council voted to call
him as their new pastor – after he'd been in Zürich only two
weeks!
Bullinger's Contributions to the Church and World
● He took Zwingli's ideas and reforms to a whole new level and a
much wider audience. His writings were distributed throughout
Europe, even into the British Isles.
● He was the Reformation's most articulate scholar, author, and
preacher. His reputation spread quickly and many leading
thinkers, churchmen, and leaders sought his counsel and came to
visit him in Zürich, including John Calvin on several occasions.
● The Dutch East India Trading Company, the world's largest
company at the time, required two books to be carried on all
their ships: the Bible and a collection of Bullinger's letters.
Many of the sailors who started as illiterates, learned to read,
write, and understand Scripture by being exposed to these two
books. When they left their labors and settled down, often in farflung ports, they brought what they had learned aboard the ships,
married, had children, started churches, and established
businesses, schools, and communities.
● The Reformed model of church governance was learned by John
Knox in Geneva, then taken to Scotland to found the Scottish
Church (Presbyterian). In 1776-81, this became the template
adopted by the Constitutional Congress for the establishment of
American democracy. The only clergyman to sign the
Declaration of Independence was John Whitherspoon, a
Presbyterian.
These are some of the ways Bullinger and Zürich influenced the
world! As the new world was established, the foundation was made up
of the theological vision of the immigrants – and that vision was
ignited here in Zürich.
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For Further Reading:
Heinrich Bullinger: Reformer, Church Politician, Historian
by Patrik Mueller
TVZ (Theologischer Verlag Zurich), 2007
1484-1984, Zwingli: Reformation in Switzerland
Sigmund Widmer
TVZ (Theologischer Verlag Zurich), 1983
Huldrych Zwingli: His Life and Work
by Ulrich Gaebler
T. & T. Clark Ltd., 59 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1983
(English translation by Fortress Press, 1986)
Zwingli and Bullinger
Edited by G. W. Bromiley
The Library of Christian Classics; The Westminster Press, Philadelphia,
1979
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Walking Tour of Zürich
The Reformation in German-speaking Switzerland (Locations and
History)
It is not commonly known that the German-speaking part of Switzerland
had its own version of the Protestant Reformation which occurred
almost concurrently with Germany's Reformation and prior to John
Calvin entering the scene. Below is a list of sites – mostly in Zürich city
– providing an overview of the history of the Swiss-German
Reformation.
In Zürich:
Town Hall (Rathaus, the new one built on the old site in 1698): The
Two Disputations (See Pt. 1 on Map)
In January, 1523, Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli, with the support of the
town council, presented his 67 theses against the Roman Catholic
establishment. This came to be known as the First Disputation. Only
one opponent, the diocesan chancellor, Johann Faber, spoke out against
Zwingli's accusations. The case was made before the political leaders
rather than Rome, thus allowing the town council to set a precedent for
future decisions in the city and canton. This marks the beginning of a
new relationship between the church and state in Switzerland; that
relationship continues today, albeit in a diminished form. During the
years following the Reformation, the town council took on the
responsibility of hiring and firing all clergy.
The Second Disputation was held later the same year, with the main
issue being decorations in the church. It was decided to strip the church
of all ornamentation, including its abundance of gold adornments. What
happened to these precious relics? Some were rescued by the church
traditionalists and smuggled away, but most of the gold was melted
down into coins, called “chalice thallers.” This money was intended to
be used for alms and benevolence, but most of it made its way into the
state treasury rather than the church's. It is worth noting that in the
Protestant churches of Zürich – as well as in other parts of the Germanspeaking cantons – “the cleansing” of the churches was intended to
remove all artifices that would distract from hearing the Word of God,
including the gold leaf on moldings and architectural ornamentation.
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Grossmünster and Grossmünsterplatz
(See Pt. 2 on Map)
This is where Zwingli served as the
“people’s priest,” after being appointed by
the town council on January 1, 1519. Even
though there is no concrete evidence
regarding the exact time that he broke with
Rome, Zwingli immediately began to preach
through the Gospel of Matthew and then
through the Book of Acts and the Pauline
epistles (through Timothy). This broke with
the age-old tradition of preaching on the
readings prescribed by the church
lectionary. By 1522 the Roman Catholic
leadership in Rome recognized that Zwingli was blatantly deviating
from their directives, and this brought upon Zwingli much criticism
from outside Zürich.
The Church Crypt
According to legend, this is where the martyrs Felix and Regula were
buried.
“Reformation tradition has it that the bones were disinterred from their
tombs in the Grossmünster and the relics completely destroyed. This is
contradicted by the Catholic version, according to which the relics
were brought safely to Andermatt, and parts of them have been handed
back to modern Catholic churches in Zurich.”1
The Grossmünsterplatz is where the first theological seminary, called
the “Prophezey”, was established by Zwingli and where he taught from
the Old Testament daily until 1531. When the seminary was no longer
needed, it became an upper-middle school called “Carolinium” in honor
of Charlemagne, to whom the founding of the Grossmünster is credited.
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1
Widmer & Widmer, Zwingli: Reformation in Switzerland, 1984 p. 33.
The Statue of Heinrich Bullinger on the outside wall of the
Grossmünster
In 1531, Heinrich Bullinger moved with his wife and family into the
“Haus zum grünen Schloss” directly across from the Grossmünster. He
lived there for the next 44 years. Bullinger put into practice and further
developed what Zwingli had begun. As chief pastor, he had four other
preachers working with him, but he delivered the majority of the
sermons, preaching several times a week. It is believed he preached
over 7,000 sermons in the Grossmünster. In addition to his preaching
and teaching, Bullinger wrote a number of books and treatises,
including the Second Helvetic Confession and a history of the
Reformation. Every ship in the Dutch East India trading fleet was
required to carry two books: the Bible and a compilation of the sermons
of Heinrich Bullinger, which gave Bullinger's teachings worldwide
exposure. John Calvin and Bullinger forged a deep friendship and
established close contacts among other Reformers from all over Europe.
Kirchegasse 13 – now called the Helferei Grossmünster – was
Zwingli’s primary residence, even though he was secretly married to
Anna Reinhard in 1522. She lived in a house just off the Niederdorf and
quite near the church. They were publicly married on April 2, 1524 and
had four children: Regula (1524-1565), William (1526-1541), Huldrych
(1528-1571) and Anna (1530).
Inside the building and up the stairs on the first floor is the
Zwinglistube, or Zwingli's study. This room has been preserved and is
still in public use today. Given the revolutionary movement that was
formulated in this room, it is arguably the most significant historical
location in the country. This is the “maternity ward” of religious and
cultural influence that emerged from Zürich and changed the world.
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Fraumünster (See Pt. 4 on Map)
This is where Zwingli taught from the
New Testament weekly, and here he once
rebuked a visiting monk for preaching on
Mary and the saints. This confrontation
led to the local monks being required to
preach only from the Scriptures.
The Fraumünster is also where the
Matrimonial Tribunal first met (in the
choir loft). This council was comprised of
two people’s priests and two members
from both the small and great councils.
Divorces could be approved by the
Tribunal without having to go through
Rome. The Tribunal later relocated in the Old Courthouse beside the
Town Hall, near the present day police station.
St. Peter’s Church (probably the oldest church in Zürich)
(See Pt. 5 on Map)
At the time of the Reformation, St. Peter's was the actual parish church
on the right side of the Limmat, not the Fraumünster.
The house of the printer, Chrisoph Froschauer is located in the Old City
(Altdorf) on the right side of the Limmat, now marked as
Froschauergasse 14-18 and Brunngasse 18. Here Zwingli oversaw a
public display of eating meat (two smoked sausages cut up and
distributed to those present), defying the Lenten tradition of fasting and
declaring the participants’ freedom in Christ. About a dozen people
partook in the act, including two other clerics. While Zwingli himself
did not eat the meat, he was well aware that his presence at the protest
was a sign of his endorsement of the “meal.” There later followed a
written thesis, dated April 16, 1522 and entitled “Regarding the Choice
and the Freedom of Foods.” Here Zwingli stated, “If you like to fast, do
it; if you don’t like to eat meat, don’t eat it, but do not touch a
Christian’s freedom.”2
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2
Ulrich Gabler, Huldriych Zwingli, his life and work, Fortress Press (1986)
One of the other more noteworthy activities of the neighboring print
shop was the publication of the “Zürcher Bible.” It is believed that the
modern publishing company and book store “Orell Füssli” has its roots
in Froschauer’s printing company.
The Wasserkirche (See Pt. 3 on Map)
There are some excavations in the basement which include another
piece of the martyrs' history: the stone on which Felix and Regula were
allegedly beheaded. This site became a popular destination for pilgrims
during the Middle Ages. The church was secularized during the
Reformation and turned into a warehouse, a market hall, and finally
after 1634, the city library. It remained a library until 1942, when it was
restored to use as a church.
The Statue of Zwingli (outside the church)
This site along the Limmat and near the Wasserkirche is where the
reconciliation took place between the Reformed Church of Canton
Zürich and the descendants of the Anabaptists (including the Amish
and Mennonites of America) in 2005. During this historic repentance
gathering, a covenant was made between the two communities to restore
their Christian unity after 500 years of pain and separation. With tears
of remorse, participants tossed red roses into the river as a sign that the
waters of death had been transformed into a wellspring of hope.
Limmat River
In 1527, Felix Manz became the first of seven radical Anabaptists to be
drowned – or baptized to death – in these waters. The priest, Jörg
Cajacob (a.k.a. “Blaurock”), was flogged nearby and then driven out of
town. This was considered a mild form of punishment for those who
were not sentenced to death. Ironically, the public punishment of the
Anabaptists caused Zwingli and the town council to come together and
initiated a kind of “congregationalism” that increased a religious
tolerance still found in Switzerland, tolerance that also made its way to
North America.
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Site of the Old Mill (by Stadelhofen Train Station)
In September 1523, a group of Anabaptists tore down a Roman Catholic
crucifix in this location and created a great stir. It was said, “The outside
masquerade is nothing but a humbug!” Two years later, in June 1525,
the Anabaptists marched through Zürich chanting, “Woe, woe unto
Zürich!” The enmity between the Zürich Reformers and the Anabaptists
was as much about civil disobedience as theology. The Anabaptists
cultivated a form of anarchy based on their refusal to pay taxes, submit
to civic authorities, or allow anything they considered “secular” to be
practiced within the city.
Many have attributed to Zwingli the Protestant work ethic and the
abolishment of the mercenary system, and to a lesser extent the
formulation of democracy and republicanism. There is no doubt that
Zwingli, Bullinger, and their followers changed the course of history in
Europe and throughout the New World. Their influence is even seen in
the Swiss banking system. It is said that Zwingli's reforms paved the
way for the lending of money in a way that was not oppressive.
Christians were allowed to lend, but only at a “decent rate” of not more
than 5%. The intent was to give a helping hand to those who had little.
Of course, that ideal is not so evident in today's economy!
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Outside of Zürich (in the Zürich Oberland, within 30 kilometers of
the city)
Baden
The Badener Disputation was held here in 1526 (May 18 to June 9) in
the Baden Cathedral. A Roman Catholic contingent led by Johannes
Eck was not interested in discussing the “new belief” and sought to
brand Zwingli a heretic. But Zwingli enlisted the support of the wellknown Basel Reformer Johannes Oecolampadius (Huszgen). At the
end of the Disputation, Zwingli's teachings were declared in error by the
Roman Catholic Church. However, the cantons of Bern, Basel,
Schaffhausen, and Zürich did not accept the ruling and continued their
reforms. This split led to two bloody battles at Kappel am Albis in
1529 and 1531. It was in the second of these battles that Zwingli fell
under the sword and died.
Kappel am Albis
The two battles between the Roman Catholic troops and the Protestant
“rebels” from the central cantons took place on these hills. Here
Zwingli died in 1531, wearing full armor and defying Rome with his
last breath. His corpse was publicly mocked and then quartered to be
sent to four Catholic towns around Switzerland as a display of shame
against the rebellion.
Hinwil (Zürich)
Back in the woods near the current village of Hinwil are caves where
the Anabaptists hid out and worshipped safely, beyond the reach of the
Reformers in Zürich. Many of these outcasts emigrated to other parts of
Europe and North America, where their heirs continue to follow their
faith convictions, with an emphasis on pietism, frugality, conservatism,
and personal freedom.
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(Compiled by Patty Jehle with collaboration from Rev. Richard Davis
for his tour on the Reformation in Zürich)
© 2009 Richard A. Davis and Patty Jehle