Basic Course Reformed History and Theology

Basic Course Reformed History and Theology Georg Plasger Lesson 2 The Reformation 2003 Reformed online Johannes a Lasco Library 1

1. Backgrounds 2. Zwingli 3. Bullinger 4. Further developments 2

Having dealt in lesson 1 with individual movements and people who can be seen as forerunners of the Reformation, we now for the second lesson enter the area of the Reformation itself. However, before turning to the first Reformed Reformer, Huldrych Zwingli, we will briefly examine a few of the backgrounds and contexts. 1. Backgrounds and Presuppositions The political Situation in Europe and the Situation in the Swiss Confederation After the death of Emperor Maximilian I, the young Spanish king Charles, and not the French king Francis I (also supported by Rome), was chosen by the Electors to be the German Emperor. In the following decades there were continual military conflicts between the two monarchs because the new Emperor wanted to establish the old Empire again. For the most part France was defeated. Because the Turks as well were conquering wide regions in Southwest Europe, Emperor Charles V was heavily occupied with military tasks and consequently could only concern himself to a small extent with the Reformation that was beginning initially in Germany. This in turn strengthened the power of the German Electors, who partly saw themselves as the real authorities, having indeed chosen the Emperor. The German Reformation also had this princely appearance in its consequences because the weak central power of the Emperor and the strength of the current regional rulers led to the latter s declaring a particular confession to be the confession of the land in their territories, either remaining within the old Roman-Catholic doctrine or introducing the new Lutheran Reformation. The German Reformation is thus also called the Territorial Reformation, differing confessions having become valid in the principalities and dominions of the time. The technical term for this is cuius regio eius religio he to whom the region belongs defines also the religion. In the Swiss Confederation, which then was not yet generally named Switzerland, the situation was totally different. There were no regional rulers, 3

but rather independent towns along with the surrounding countryside belonging to them, which stood for themselves and accepted no rule over them. The governments in these towns were chosen by those who possessed the citizenship. The various towns had formed the Swiss Confederation in which no town had supremacy the common decisions were made in a kind of parliament (Tagsatzung) but had no power of authority over the individual towns. Each town also decided for itself in religious matters. The Situation of the Roman-Catholic Church in the first half of the 16th Century The pre-reformation movements described in lesson 1 already indicated by their presence a crisis that had existed in the Roman-Catholic Church for a long time. And despite some intentions of reform, the councils in the 14th and 15th centuries could not accomplish any real reforms. The purchasing of church offices, the lack of theological education, and above all the indulgence, were a grave sign of this. Criticism of the Church grew, and above all the moral conditions in the clergy and monasteries and the financial practices gave rise to protest. Next to this, however, a totally different complexion appeared: the piety of the people and religious desire reached untold proportions, particularly in Germany. This is discernible in the innumerable pilgrimages, and in the increase in the number of masses, which meant naturally that more priests were needed. The Roman-Catholic Church thus showed unbroken piety externally. Looked at more closely, however, a buildup of reform was most likely at hand. One could say that the time was ripe for a reformation. The Reformation must not be identified with Luther In Germany the Reformation is brought immediately into connection with the person of Martin Luther and that is indeed correct because the Reformation in Germany began with him. His 95 theses nailed to the Wittenberg Church door on 31 October 1517 bear eloquent witness to this. Luther is indeed the most important Reformer. However, he was not the only one, not in Germany 4

and certainly not outside it. One must therefore pay attention to two things. First, the Reformation must not be equated with Luther. It is precisely the Reformed Church which refers to Zwingli and Calvin, without being able to or wanting to place in question the merits of Luther. Second, Luther must not be taken as the measure for what can therefore be valid or not as Reformed. For one then obtains too quickly a restricted view and can no longer really appreciate the perceptions and discoveries of other Reformers. 2. Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) From his Birth to his Appointment in Zurich Huldrych Zwingli was born on 1 January 1484 in Wildhaus (c. 50 km south of St. Gallen, situated in the top part of the Toggenburg). He had nine or ten brothers and sisters, at least two of whom died relatively early, and two of his sisters entered the convent. After school (among other things) in Basel and Bern, Zwingli studied from 1499 in Vienna and then from 1502 onwards in Basel, where he sat for his Master s degree. Thomas Wyttenbach became the most important teacher for him in Basel. Following his studies of the liberal arts (liberales artes), Zwingli studied another half year of theology and from the summer of 1506 was pastor in Glarus, situated not all that far from Wildhaus. Already early on, Zwingli took a stand on a political problem. The background was the mercenary tradition widespread in the then Swiss Confederation. This foreign military service (so-called Reislaufen ) was lucrative for the towns. Whoever put a proportion of the young men of the town at disposal as mercenaries got money in the town funds. Under consideration at this time in Glarus (1506) was the question of the direction in which Glarus should orient itself and whom the mercenaries should serve: Habsburg, France or the Pope. Zwingli fought on the side of the Pope. He was able to understand the soldiers as a weapon of the Crucified against the enemies of the Church war was therefore a holy instrument. In 1513 Zwingli was away as army 5

chaplain and accompanied c. 500 Glarus soldiers who were fighting in the papal army. The experiences that Zwingli had in the war were to give him cause for thought. In 1515 the papal army with its Glarus soldiers suffered a defeat and in Glarus itself the mood changed in favour of the victorious French. This was a problem for the Pope-supporting Zwingli. He left Glarus and in 1516 became a lay priest in Einsiedeln, an old monastery and place of pilgrimage. In the good two years in which Zwingli worked in Einsiedeln, the political character of his activity, which had previously been a strongly determining factor, faded into the background. His church activity as well as personal and further scholarly studies came to the fore instead. Then in 1516 Zwingli had a reformational breakthrough. He said of himself that from 1516 he preached the Gospel. He read Scholastic works and the Church Fathers and learnt Greek in order to be able to read the New Testament in the original. Zwingli became an educated theologian. He also got to know the philosophy of the famous Erasmus from Rotterdam. This impressed Zwingli without his simply adopting it. And of what did his Gospel now consist? It must not be asked whether the knowledge of justification present in Luther is to be found in it, in order then to be able to call Zwingli s breakthrough Reformational. Rather, Zwingli went his own way. The Reformational turn is to be seen in his thought in a clear turn towards the Bible and indeed to sola scriptura Holy Scripture alone. This, however, was not a methodological decision. Zwingli emphasised rather the authority of the Holy Scripture because it, and not the Church in its clerical power, mediates the Gospel, the good news of the God who favours humanity. This process of reformational recognition was in the following years to be deepened and worked out more fully in its content. The Beginnings of the Reformation in Zurich In Autumn 1518 Zwingli was appointed lay priest in Zurich. The main task was preaching. And he began with a peculiar feature. As a basis for his sermons he did not use the pericopic ordering, but rather interpreted the biblical 6

scriptures in their continuity. Thus he opposed the dominance of the Church year and followed the Bible in its progress. After J. Stumpf s Swiss Chronical. Zurich 1547 Zwingli s knowledge of Scripture deepened throughout the years up to 1522. One topic of his sermons was his opposition to the Reislaufen. And this was successful, for in 1522 the Zurich Council forbade it. In the same year the public conflicts began. On 9 March 1522 a protest sausage-meal took place in house of the book printer, Christoph Froschauer, a protest because sausage was being eaten in Lent. Two smoked sausages were cut into pieces and distributed among the people present. Zwingli was there without participating in the sausage-meal. This first infringement of the lenten fast was followed by more in the following days. The whole thing became quickly known in Zurich. The Council began to intervene and started legal investigations. Only two weeks after the sausage-meal Zwingli preached on the subject of the problem of fasting. This sermon appeared in April 1522 under the title, Concerning Freedom an Choice of Food. Zwingli takes here an Evangelical understanding of freedom: Christians are released from all human commands and ordinances; human commands cannot demand unconditional obedience. The law of fasting is such a human, churchly statute. And because it has no godly authority behind it, which means no authority of the Bible, obedience to it need not be given. However, although Christians are free, this freedom is not to be used excessively because they do not live on it. Zwingli s Understanding of Freedom [They] had not so strong a belief in God, that they trusted alone in him and hoped alone in him, listened alone to his ordinances and will, but foolishly turned again to the devices of men, who, as though they desired to improve what had been neglected by God, said to themselves: This day, this month, this time, wilt thou abstain from this or that, and make thus ordinances, persuading themselves that he 7

sins who does not keep them. This abstaining I do not wish to condemn, if it occurs freely, to put the flesh under control, and if no self-confidence or vainglory, but rather humility, results. See, that is branding and injuring one s own conscience capriciously, and is turning toward true idolatry In a word, if you will fast, do so; if you do not wish to eat meat, eat it not; but leave Christians a free choice in the matter But when the practice of liberty offends your neighbour, you should not offend or vex him without cause; for when he perceives it, he will be offended no more, unless he is angry purposely.... But you are to instruct him as a friend in the belief, how all things are proper and free for him to eat. (Zwingli, Concerning Choice and Liberty respecting Food, cited from S.M. Jackson ed., The Latin Works and the Correspondence of Huldreich Zwingli, vol. 1, New York: G.P. Putnam s Sons, 1912, pp85-85, 104). *** Questions for further Work 1. Why does Zwingli here oppose the law of fasting? And what does the law of fasting have to do with faith? 2. Does Zwingli consider fasting to be unchristian? 3. What is the basis of Freedom? 4. Why should Christians not exercise their freedom in every case? The situation in Zurich intensified further. The town council ascribed to itself and not to the Bishop of Contance the power of decision. After a hearing and 8

a provisional prohibition of the breaking of the Lenten fast, a disputation was fixed for the beginning of 1523. There the town council intended to decide, and the Holy Scripture was named as the criterion for the decision. Thus Zwingli s Reformation perception achieved its breakthrough in Zurich. Besides the breaking of Lent there were further conflicts. Zwingli criticised the veneration of saints thereby giving rise to conflicts with the mendicant order. The council also requested, however, that the mendicant order preach only in accordance with Scripture. Further, Zwingli called for celibacy to be given up and for Luther, who was under imperial ban, to be protected. Likewise, Zwingli opposed Mary s mediation of salvation. In August 1522 Zwingli renounced his allegiance to the Roman Church because it grounded itself only in human laws. Erasmus was horrified by such resolute words. Zwingli grew more and more into the role of the predominant preacher in Zurich. He himself lived with his wife from 1522, first officially marrying her, however, in 1524. They were to have four children. On 29 January 1523 the first Zurich disputation took place. Ultimately at stake was whether arguments against Zwingli s sermon could be found. The council intended to decide on the basis of the Bible. Approximately 600 participants came to the town hall. A legation came from Constance under leadership of Johannes Faber, who was not supposed to dispute, however, but only to protest and act as observer. What was at stake above all in the discussion was the problem of authority: who is entitled ultimate authority on earth? By midday the council had already heard enough and resolved that Zwingli could not be accused of any heresy but moreover that even the other preachers should preach on the basis of Holy Scripture. Zwingli formulated 67 articles or conclusions for the disputation. Two catchphrases serve as a summary: solus Christus, Christ alone, and sola scriptura, the Bible alone. 9

The second and third articles of the 67 articles or conclusions run as follows: The summary of the gospel is that our Lord Christ, true Son of God, has made known to us the will of his heavenly Father and has redeemed us from death and reconciled us with God by his guiltlessness Therefore, Christ is the only way to salvation of all who were, are now, or shall be. (Cited from Zwingli, Writings, vol. 1, The Defense of the Reformed Faith, trans. E.J. Furcha, Pennsylvania: Pickwick Publications, 1984). *** Questions for further Work 1. What are the two dimensions which Zwingli calls the chief matter of the Gospel? 2. What does Jesus Christ say to us about God? 3. Why is Christ the only way to salvation? Theological Deepening and Conflicts The year 1523 was for Zwingli characterised by a theological deepening of his thoughts. These were concerned, for example, with the sharp distinction between God and the creature, the understanding of sin, the doctrine of the Church, the meaning of justice and thus also the relation between state and Church. But his new thinking in respect of the Lord s Supper was also already becoming clear Zwingli no longer saw it as a means of salvation. All in all, it can be seen that Zwingli went his own independent way of reformation here. 10

He was neither Luther nor Erasmus but developed an independent theology that could take elements from both. On Faith and the Forgiveness of Sin But we said that it is by faith that sins are forgiven. By this we simply meant to affirm that it is faith alone which can give the assurance of forgiveness. Therefore it follows that who trust in Christ have the remission of sin. Now since none of us knows who believes, none of us knows whose sins are remitted except the one who by the illumination and power of grace enjoys the assurance of faith, knowing that through Christ God has forgiven him and having therefore the assurance of forgiveness. For he knows that God cannot deceive or lie and therefore he cannot doubt his grace to the sinner. (Zwingli, An Exposition of the Faith, cited from The Library of Christian Classics, vol. 24, Zwingli and Bullinger, trans. G.W. Bromiley, p268f. London: SCM). *** Questions for further Work 1. What misunderstanding of faith is Zwingli fighting against? 2. How does humanity gain certainty of the forgiveness of sins? 3. Can one be sure of one s faith? Besides this theological deepening, the Reformation established itself in everyday life. The monasteries emptied. Many priests married. The church liturgy changed and simplified greatly. In September 1523 iconoclastic 11

activities increased, leading to disputes. In October 1523 there was a second Zurich Disputation concerning the reform of the church service and the pictures in the Church. The result was a recommendation not to proceed by the use of power but to persuade with arguments. However, it became clear in the Disputation that the priesthood as a whole was badly educated in theology. And it was recognised that Zwingli and others with him stood between two wings believers of the old faith or conservatives on the one side and radicals on the other. In the course of the rest of the year 1523 and finally in 1524, Zwingli s position established itself more and more. The conservatives, i.e. the earlier Catholical inclined opposition, broke apart and lost the support. At Pentecost in 1524 the council decreed the removal of pictures, crucifixes, statues and wallrepresentations. However, regarding the form of the church service, the council hesitated. This provoked the radicals in such a way that a break with them began to develop. This break took place definitively in 1525 as the radicals set up their own small community outside Zurich in the village Zollikon under the leadership of Konrad Grebel. Grebel s ideal was a community of believers, and thus childbaptism became a problem. Already in 1524 refusals of baptism had occurred against the will of the council, which arranged the baptism of new-borns. A disputation in 1524 had led to no result and so the establishment of the new community in which only adult-baptism (therefore rebaptism) was carried out, was a logical consequence. At times Zwingli himself had had doubts about child-baptism. However, in the context of the Anabaptists, for whom baptism meant membership in a community that turned its back on the world, Zwingli developed a theology of baptism of a wholly different nature. In the first place it opposed the Roman view, which Luther also followed at least in part, that baptism is not a means of grace and does not effect anything of itself. The forgiveness of sins can be experienced on the basis of the divine promise, which is professed in the sermon. Baptism does not forgive sins and nor does the baptismal water. It has no supernatural significance. This united Zwingli with the Anabaptists. Nevertheless, Zwingli stood by child-baptism, although it cannot show the 12

commitment involved in baptism. And indeed because it becomes clear in the Bible that even children of Christians already belong to God and because in the Old Testament infants are also circumcised, baptism is thus seen as a parallel to circumcision. Besides, the practice of adult-baptism leads to isolation and to a community that considers itself free of sin. That which happened besides the theological discussion in the following years between the authorities and the Anabaptists has not become a sign of glory for the Reformation Anabaptists were persecuted, driven out and some of them even murdered. Further writings of Zwingli emerged, for instance The Shepherd in 1524, in which Zwingli depicts the evangelical preacher as the faithful shepherd in contrast to evil counterexamples. A year later the Commentarius de vera et falsa religione a commentary on true and false religion appeared, in the 29th chapter of which Zwingli describes the main items of the evangelical teaching. The commentary can be regarded as Zwingli s main work. Early in the year 1525 the so-called Prophezei began, an exegetical training course in which the Bible was interpreted. This became an obligatory activity for pastors. As a result of these biblical interpretations, the Zurich Bible was available in 1531. In Zurich in 1525 a new liturgy for the Easter service was introduced, characterised by clarity and simplicity. At the centre stood the sermon; the liturgical singing and organ disappeared; and the instruments for the Lord s Supper were made out of wood. Zurich found itself largely isolated inside the Swiss Confederation. It was no longer invited to the Tagsatzung of the Swiss Confederation. Even so, the Reformation gained the upper hand in several places, including St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Basel and Bern. The Reformation had also established itself in Constance. Zurich formed an alliance with these towns, agreeing upon the socalled Christian Civil Rights (Das Christliche Burgrecht). This threatened those cantons living in the milieu of the Christliche Burgrecht who were still Catholic. These also merged to form an alliance called Christian Union (Christliche Vereinigung), through which they also gained the Habsburgs as an ally. After a time of threat, the war finally broke out. 30 000 soldiers of the 13

Burgrecht stood against c. 9000 Swiss members of the Christliche Vereinigung. But since only a part of the Burgrecht were committed to the war and the Catholic Swiss were hopelessly inferior, an agreement was quickly reached the first Peace Treaty of Cappel 1529. From the perspective of the Burgrecht and therefore also of Zwingli, the result was modest because the mercenary practice in the Swiss towns continued to be possible. However, the first Peace Treaty of Cappel did make the Reformation possible in further parts of Switzerland. Apart from externally directed disputes, there was also opposition within Zurich itself both political and ecclesiastical. Political opposition consisted above all in the traders, the nobility and others, who had a large interest in the Reislaufen and in the undisturbed running of the economy, and church opposition in many believers of the old faith who demanded the reintroduction of the daily Mass. From 1523, Zwingli developed his own understanding of the Lord s Supper. While Luther took as his starting point the fact that bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ in believers, Zwingli emphasises that bread and wine signify the body and blood of Jesus Christ, who was given up once-forall on the cross and who is present for believers in the Holy Spirit. The elements of bread and wine do not guarantee the forgiveness of sins, but are a remembrance of this happening. Whoever celebrates the Lord s Supper confesses that our present is transformed through the power of the reconciliation which happened on the cross On Zwingli s Understanding of the Lord s Supper Seventh, I believe, indeed know, that all the sacraments are so far from conferring grace, that do they do not even bestow or administer it. As grace is produced or given by the divine Spirit I use the word in the Latin sense, that is I employ the expression grace to mean forgiveness, mercy and free favour so this gift falls to the Spirit alone. However, the Spirit needs no guide or medium. That is, it is itself the 14

power and carrier by which all is conferred; it is not in need of being conferred itself. We never read in the Holy Scriptures that that which is visible, which the sacraments are, confers the Spirit with certainty. Rather, if the visible were ever bound with the Spirit, the Spirit was the carrier and not the visible element. (Zwingli, Account of the Faith, translated from the German Rechenschaft ueber den Glauben, in Zwingli Schriften Bd. IV, 113). And because this re-membrance is a thanksgiving and a rejoicing in the Almighty on account of the good work which he has accomplished for us through his Son, who appears in this feast, supper or thanksgiving, witnessing to the fact that he belongs to those who believe that they are redeemed by the death and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. (From H. Zwingli, Action or Custom of the Lord s Supper, translated from the German Aktion oder Brauch des Nachtmahls, in Huldreich Zwinglis saemtliche Werke Bd. IV [CR 91], Leipzig 1927, 1-24, 15). *** Questions for further Work 1. Why don t the sacraments, according to Zwingli, confer grace of themselves? 2. What kind of understanding of the visible can be recognised here? 3. What is the role of the Holy Spirit? 4. What happens in the Lord s Supper? What does it affect? 5. Is God present in the Lord s Supper? 15

On the basis of their different their understandings, Luther and Zwingli could not come to an agreement with one another. Luther saw in Zwingli an apostasy from the Reformation, a Spiritualist. And Zwingli had the impression that Luther got stuck at half way. Both composed a series of conflicting texts on the Lord s Supper, in part also consciously against one another (e.g. Luther, Against the heavenly Prophets, on the Pictures and Sacraments [1525]; Zwingli, a Clear Teaching on the Last Supper of Christ [1526]; Luther, that the Words of Christ this is my body etc. still stands firmly against the Adventists [1527]; Zwingli, that the Words this is my body etc. will have the old sense eternally [1527]). Under the pressure of Prince Philip of Hesse a religious colloquy took place in Marburg in October 1529. This was ultimately a failure, for Luther and Zwingli could agree on all points but not on the Lord s Supper. However, it might be true to say that in the understanding of the Lord s Supper conflicts are brought to light (which would otherwise still be concealed). (Picture: Marburg Colloquy) In Augsburg in 1530 the Diet of Augsburg took place, at which the Emperor wanted to achieve a reestablishment of unity in the Church. The Confessio Augustana (the Augsburg Confession) composed by Philipp Melanchthon, which became the characteristic confession of the Lutheran Church, was there read out. Zwingli also submitted a confession Fidei ratio (the ground of faith). In contrast to the Augsburg Confession which was aimed at reconciliation and rapprochement, Zwingli here explained his interpretation of the Gospel in a very aggressive manner and from the Word of God demonstrated unequivocally to the Emperor his responsibility, his defects and his limits. Zwingli was further engaged in Zurich politics and many of his ideas regarding Zurich s foreign policy were taken up by the Peace Treaty of Cappel. But Zwingli could not particularly influence the course in its concrete developments. And as a result, he found his own political position in Zurich less and less influential. He felt that he was left in the lurch, and threatened in 1531 to resign, a move which was only prevented with difficulty. The dispute 16

between Zurich and those allied with it, and the other towns, however, still carried on. For by the end of 1530 the Reformation had only been able to establish itself in Switzerland to a small extent. As a result, Zurich put on the pressure, indeed in 1531 with a foodstuffs blockade that came ultimately to nothing, and which Zwingli moreover did not want. In reaction the five Inner Swiss (Catholic) towns declared war on Zurich and at Cappel. On 11th October 1531 c. 3500 armed men from Zurich were devastatingly defeated by double as many Inner Swiss. In less than an hour 500 men from Zurich fell, Zwingli among them, as opposed to only 100 Inner Swiss. 3. Heinrich Bullinger On 9th December 1531 the Zurich Council chose Heinrich Bullinger as Zwingli s successor. Far less is known about him. He belongs to the Reformers who are most underestimated and whose lifework, precisely in regard to its theological comprehension, has only been incompletely appraised up to this point. Bullinger was born on 4th July 1504 in Bremgarten (today s Kanton Aargau). At the age of twelve he went to the seminary in Emmerich/Niederrhein influenced by the Devotio moderna (see lesson 1). From 1519 Bullinger studied in Cologne and completed his Master s degree in 1522. In his study time in Cologne, Bullinger s turn towards the Reformation took place, above all on the basis of the texts of Luther and Melanchthon. From 1523 Bullinger was a teacher in the Cistercian monastery in Cappel, where alongside the usual instruction he held public lectures in which he worked exegetically and systematically from an independently Reformed perspective. From 1523 he enjoyed a friendship with Zwingli. Bullinger was able to take over individual thoughts of Zwingli and also develop them. Zwingli, however, used Bullinger s knowledge as well. From 1529 to 1531 Bullinger was preacher in Bremgarten, before he then became Antistes (chief pastor) of the Zurich Church. He exercised this office up to the end of his life. 17

His main activity in Zurich was the consolidation of the Reformation. He gained the trust of the Zurich councils, and he succeeded for more than 40 years to hold in balance the political demand of the Gospel on the one hand and the fact that the authority of his office existed in the Word alone on the other. He stood in a network of various Swiss and international relations (among others things, through a rich correspondence involving more than 12 000 letters), cared for social and church reforms and in addition was very productive as a writer of theology and history. His most important work includes a theological Sum of the Christian Religion as well as the Confessio Helvetica posterior (the second Helvetic Confession) of 1562. Also to be emphasised is his collaboration in the Consensus Tigurinus (Zurich Consensus) of 1549, in which an agreement between Geneva and Zurich, and so a united Reformed doctrine of the Lord s Supper, was developed. Theologically, Bullinger s first priority was not to be original, but rather to pass on what he had perceived. With regards to content, the concept of covenant stands in the middle of his theology. Admittedly he had taken this over from Zwingli, but he then nevertheless developed it considerably. He was to have a significance in the further course of Reformed theology that is not to be underestimated (on the understanding of covenant in Reformed theology cf. the planned lesson 15 of this basic course). On 27th September 1575, Bullinger died. 4. Reformation and Reformers in other Swiss Towns As already mentioned on the basis of the disputes between Zurich and the Catholic towns, the Reformation had already been able to establish itself in some other towns. In East Switzerland (Appenzell, Glarus, Graubuenden) the individual communities could decide themselves whether they wanted to introduce the Reformation. In Chur and Graubuenden it was Johann Comander (1482-1557) who above all had an effect. He is regarded as the father of the Reformation at Buenden. 18

Bern turned to the Reformation in 1528. Berchtold Haller (1492-1536) is to be mentioned here in the first place as responsible in his cautious but resolute way. The very construction of the character of the Bern Church originates from him. In 1529 Basel, Scahffhausen and St. Gallen followed. In Basel Johannes Oecolampadius (1482-1531) is to be singled out as significant. He was professor for biblical theology from 1523 and then from 1529 pastor in Basel s Cathedral and spokesman for the clergy. His theological lifework with introductory studies on the Lord s Supper and on the Church service still awaits thorough research. Oecolampadius successor was Oswald Myconius (1488-1552), who was effective as mediator and was actively in charge of both Basel Confessions (1532 and 1536; the second was at the same time the first Helvetic Confession). Myconius also wrote the first biography of Zwingli in 1532 with the title De domini Huldrichi Zuinglii fortissimi herois ac theologi doctissimi vita et obitu (Life and death of the courageous hero and learned theologian Huldrych Zwingli). In Schaffhausen Sebastian Hofmeister (1476-1533), who indeed had to leave Schaffhausen in 1526, and Erasmus Ritter (died 1546), who later held office in Bern, were in charge. In St. Gallen it was above all the mayor Joachim Vadian (1483/84-1551) who promoted the Reformation, supported by Johannes Kessler (1502/03-1574), who also took over the leadership of the Reformation after Vadian s death. The Reformation in all these places goes back to connections with Zwingli. It cannot be said that Zwingli was the sole Reformer of the Swiss Confederation, but it is nevertheless true that the whole of the Swiss Reformation had adopted Zwingli s insights (among other things, with respect to the Lord s Supper). The Reformed Churches outside the current Switzerland, with the exception of two towns near Memmingen (Herbishofen and Groenenbach, which belong to the dominion of Pappenheim), do not go back directly to Zwingli. 19