Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) was a Swiss Protestant reformer who led the Reformation in Zurich and became a major figure in the Swiss and broader Reformed movements. A product of humanist education in Basel and Zurich, he used Scripture as the foundation for reform and argued for the replacement of Catholic practices with a conciliar, scripture-based church.

In Zurich, Zwingli’s preaching and writings initiated wide-ranging reforms. He pressed for the abolition of relics, pilgrimages, and images, the removal of the mass as a sacrifice, and the use of the vernacular Bible in worship. His program, outlined in the Sixty-seven Articles (1523), called for church discipline under the authority of Scripture and for significant role for civil authorities in church governance. These measures were accompanied by reforms in liturgy and church organization and the development of a distinctly Protestant Zurich church.

Theological positions set Zwingli apart from contemporaries such as Martin Luther. He held a symbolic understanding of the Lord’s Supper, rejecting the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and Luther’s concept of sacramental presence. This difference contributed to the Marburg Colloquy of 1529, where Zwingli and Luther failed to achieve doctrinal unity on the Eucharist.

Zwingli’s life ended at the Battle of Kappel in 1531, where he was killed during the Second Kappel War. His death did not halt reform in Zurich or Switzerland, but it did influence the trajectory of the Swiss Reformation. His emphasis on scriptural authority and the role of civil authorities in church matters helped shape the development of Reformed theology, influencing later figures such as John Calvin and the broader Swiss and European Reformed traditions.