About

2025 marks the five-hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the Reformed Church in Zurich. As one of the most significant centers of the Protestant Reformation, Zurich played a foundational role in shaping Reformed theology and ecclesiastical life. Yet despite the city’s historical importance, access to the writings of its principal reformer, Huldrych Zwingli, remains limited—particularly in English.

Although a number of Zwingli’s works have been translated, these translations are often difficult to obtain. Many were published in the early twentieth century and reflect a formal, Latinate English style that can be challenging for modern readers, both in tone and in theological clarity. As a result, students, scholars, and laypeople alike face considerable barriers in engaging directly with Zwingli’s theological vision, scriptural exegesis, and pastoral writings.

This linguistic and editorial distance has contributed to Zwingli’s relative obscurity in English-speaking contexts, especially in comparison to Luther and Calvin, whose works have long circulated in widely accessible, readable translations. The lack of contemporary English editions of Zwingli’s key texts not only hampers scholarly study but also obscures the legacy of a reformer who fundamentally shaped the development of Reformed thought—from his early emphasis on sola scriptura and Christian liberty to his distinctive understanding of the sacraments and his role in forging a Christian civic order.

In this anniversary year, there is an urgent need to recover Zwingli’s voice in a language and form that speaks to present-day readers. Making his writings available in clear, accurate, and elegant modern English is essential not only for understanding the historical roots of the Reformed tradition but also for renewing engagement with one of the Reformation’s most original and challenging thinkers.

Why Zwingli?

Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) ranks among the principal architects of the Protestant Reformation, alongside Martin Luther and John Calvin. As the leading reformer in Zurich, Zwingli played a decisive role in shaping early Reformed theology and in establishing a distinct ecclesiastical tradition rooted in the authority of Scripture, the rejection of papal supremacy, and the transformation of Christian worship.

Zwingli’s significance lies above all in his pioneering application of humanist scholarship to the interpretation of Scripture. Deeply influenced by Erasmus and the philological rigor of Renaissance learning, he championed a return to the Bible’s original languages and upheld Scripture as the sole authority in matters of faith and doctrine. His defense of eating meat during Lent in the so-called “Affair of the Sausages” (1522)—a seemingly minor incident—symbolized the dawn of the Swiss Reformation and expressed his unwavering commitment to Christian liberty.

From his inaugural sermon in Zurich in January 1519 until his death twelve years later, Zwingli remained a deeply controversial figure. From the pulpit, he denounced moral laxity and political corruption, and his fiery preaching incited waves of iconoclasm that left church interiors stripped and defaced. Confronted with escalating unrest, Zwingli ultimately resolved that religious reform should be guided by the ruling magistrates. This fusion of spiritual and civic authority would prove costly, alienating many of his early supporters, who accused him of betraying or compromising the Gospel. By 1523, a more radical movement—the Anabaptists—emerged in Zurich, leading to violent conflict, persecution, and executions.

Doctrinally, Zwingli’s most significant departure from Luther concerned the Eucharist. While Luther insisted on Christ’s real presence in the sacrament, Zwingli held a symbolic or memorial view, seeing the Lord’s Supper as a communal act of remembrance rather than a sacramental miracle. Though he was influenced early on by Luther’s writings—printed in Basel—Zwingli’s primary theological inspirations were Erasmus and Johannes Oecolampadius of Basel.

Zwingli was no less active as a political reformer. He forged alliances among Swiss cities sympathetic to evangelical renewal and envisioned a Christian commonwealth in which church and state would cooperate to ensure moral governance. In Zurich, he secured the backing of leading families who provided critical support for his cause. Yet he remained a polarizing figure. His growing belief that Catholic Swiss cantons must be confronted militarily deepened opposition to his leadership. His death in 1531 at the Battle of Kappel—serving as a chaplain to Zurich’s forces—immortalized him for some as a martyr of the Reformation and, for others, as a tragic and misguided prophet of religious zeal.

Zwingli’s influence endures not only in Swiss Protestantism, but in Reformed churches across the globe that continue to draw upon the theological and liturgical foundations he laid.

Huldrych Zwingli: Architect of the Swiss Reformation

Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) was a Swiss pastor, theologian, and civic reformer whose leadership in Zurich made him a defining figure of the Protestant Reformation. Though less widely known than Martin Luther or John Calvin, Zwingli’s contributions to theology, ecclesiology, and church-state relations laid essential groundwork for the development of the Reformed tradition. His emphasis on Scripture, moral rigor, and civic responsibility helped shape a Protestantism distinct from Lutheranism and rooted deeply in the Swiss political and religious landscape.

Born on January 1, 1484, in the alpine village of Wildhaus in the Toggenburg Valley, Zwingli was the third of ten children. His family belonged to the prosperous peasant class, and his father served as local magistrate. Recognized early for his intelligence, Zwingli was sent to study in Basel, Bern, Vienna, and finally returned to Basel, where he completed his Master of Arts degree in 1506. These formative years were steeped in the humanist currents of the Renaissance, and Zwingli came under the intellectual influence of Erasmus of Rotterdam. He absorbed the humanist emphasis on ad fontes—a return to the sources—which would later shape his theological method.

Zwingli was ordained to the priesthood in 1506 and took his first post in Glarus. There he served for a decade, gaining a reputation for his eloquence and patriotism. He accompanied Swiss mercenaries as a chaplain in campaigns in Italy, an experience that left him critical of foreign military service and the political entanglements of the Church. In 1516, he moved to Einsiedeln, a pilgrimage center, where his sermons began to reflect a growing unease with traditional piety and ecclesiastical corruption.

In 1519, Zwingli was appointed “people’s priest” at the Grossmünster in Zurich. His arrival coincided with the outbreak of the plague, during which he remained in the city to care for the sick and nearly died himself. His survival deepened his spiritual seriousness. Breaking with convention, he began to preach systematically through the New Testament in the original Greek, drawing upon the latest humanist scholarship. In so doing, he introduced his congregation to the Bible in a manner radically different from the liturgical norms of medieval Catholicism.

Zwingli’s reformist program accelerated after the 1522 “Affair of the Sausages,” when several of his supporters defied the Lenten fast by publicly eating meat. Zwingli defended them with the argument that human traditions, including dietary restrictions, had no authority apart from Scripture. This event, seemingly minor, became a defining moment of the Swiss Reformation. That same year, Zwingli renounced papal pensions and publicly criticized clerical celibacy, indulgences, and the Mass.

Through a series of public disputations in 1523, Zwingli laid out his theological vision. The First Zurich Disputation resulted in the council endorsing his reforms, giving him political and ecclesiastical backing. Zwingli asserted that only doctrines grounded in Scripture should be preached, and this led to sweeping changes: images were removed from churches, the Mass was abolished, and a new liturgy centered on the Word was introduced. The church in Zurich was thus transformed from a hierarchical institution into a community governed by the Word of God and the authority of the magistrates.

Zwingli’s theology emphasized the sovereignty of God, the centrality of Scripture, and the need for moral discipline. Unlike Luther, he interpreted the Lord’s Supper not as a means of conveying grace through the real presence of Christ, but as a symbolic memorial of Christ’s death. The famous Marburg Colloquy of 1529, where Zwingli and Luther met in an attempt to unify the reform movements, revealed their intractable disagreement on this issue. Despite agreement on fourteen points, their dispute over the Eucharist prevented a formal alliance.

Another major theological divergence emerged in Zwingli’s rejection of infant baptism by some of his former followers, who became known as Anabaptists. While Zwingli initially sympathized with aspects of their critique, he ultimately rejected their radical separation of church and state and their call for rebaptism. In response, Zurich authorities persecuted Anabaptists, and Zwingli supported their suppression as necessary for preserving social order and true religion.

Zwingli’s vision of a Christian commonwealth united church and state under the leadership of godly magistrates. He believed civic rulers had a divine mandate to uphold moral order and support the preaching of the gospel. His theology of the two swords gave the civil authorities a significant role in the administration of church life. This alignment of political and religious reform, while pragmatic in the Swiss context, would prove controversial and lead to tension both within and outside his movement.

Politically, Zwingli championed alliances with other Protestant cities and cantons, seeking to create a united evangelical front against the Catholic Confederates. His efforts contributed to growing polarization within the Swiss Confederation. Though committed to peace, Zwingli eventually advocated military resistance against Catholic cantons, believing that force might be necessary to preserve the Reformation. This decision culminated in the ill-fated Second War of Kappel.

On October 11, 1531, Zwingli marched with Zurich’s army as a chaplain into battle against the Catholic cantons. He was killed in combat, and his body was mutilated and burned by enemy soldiers. His death shocked the Reformation movement and left a vacuum in Zurich. To his supporters, he became a martyr for the cause of evangelical truth; to his critics, he symbolized the dangers of mingling spiritual reform with political ambition.

In the aftermath, Heinrich Bullinger emerged as Zwingli’s successor, consolidating the reforms and guiding Zurich through decades of confessional conflict. Though Zwingli’s immediate legacy was somewhat overshadowed by the theological system of Calvin, his ideas persisted and profoundly shaped Reformed churches throughout Switzerland, the Rhineland, and the English-speaking world. Calvin avoided mentioning Zwingli because he was too controversial given the enduring Lutheran hatred of the reformer of Zurich. Nevertheless, scholarship continues to reveal the considerable influence of Zwingli and the Zurich reformers on the Frenchman.

Zwingli’s writings reveal a mind steeped in Scripture and scholastic theology, and sharpened by classical learning. His treatises on the Lord’s Supper, divine providence, and church order reflect a consistent effort to align theology with the plain meaning of the Bible and the needs of Christian society. He was not a system-builder like Calvin, but a practical reformer whose thought was forged in sermons, disputations, and pastoral controversy. His influence is evident in the Reformed commitment to sola Scriptura, covenant theology, and the dignity of public worship.

Five hundred years after the beginning of his ministry in Zurich, Zwingli remains a vital figure in the history of Protestantism. He exemplifies the union of humanist learning, pastoral care, and civic engagement in the service of religious renewal. His life and death continue to raise questions about the relationship between faith and power, reform and order, and the enduring challenge of returning the church to its biblical roots.

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