Zwingli

• born 1484 (six weeks younger than Luther)
• born into a lowly family, he was intelligent and attended university, where he was under the influence of Christian Humanist ideas
• after he left university, he became a priest, and served for some times as a chaplain (army priest) to Swiss mercenaries who were fighting in Italian wars
  •  it was at this point that Zwingli became distressed by the number of Swiss lives being sold to foreign wars
  • ages 22 he left the chaplaincy and returned to Switzerland, becoming a parish priest, a few years later returning to Zurich

Two main events transformed Zwingli into a reformer:

The Battle of Marignano -- 1515

• 6000 young Swiss mercenaries were slaughtered in the service of the Pope
• Zwingli was immensely distressed and revolted by the idea of selling "blood for gold"
• not only were innocent lives being destroyed, but Zwingli was also convinced that it was corrupting men's souls through greed.

Erasmus' Greek New Testament -- 1516

• Zwingli was inspired by the experience of reading the Bible in its more original form, just as Luther was
• he was shocked to see how far the Church appeared to have strayed from the orignial word of God

• in 1518 Zwingli became parish priest in Zulrich
• he persuaded the authorities not to let the indulgence sellers into the city
• a few years later, he publicly criticised the Catholic practice of fasting in Lent and clerical celibacy
  • deliberately and provocatively organised a "Sausage Sunday", preparing a meal of smoked sausages, breaking the ban on eating meat in Lent
• in his open letter to the Bishop of Constance, Apologeticus Archeteles, in 1522, he attacked the authority of the Pope

In short, the sixty-seven articles (written by Zwingli in 1523):

• rejected the authority of the Pope
• challenged monasticism and clerical celibacy
• criticised Lenten fasts, the worship of relics and the sale of indulgences
  • here we see his views on "Salvation by Faith Alone" for the first time
• criticised prayers to saints
• challenged pilgrimages
• denied the existance of purgatory
• rejected music as a "sensual snare"
• denied the real presence of God in the Eucharist
  • claimed it was only symbolic, unlike Luther, who believed in consubstantiation 

• gradually, Zulrich and surrounding towns began to take up his ideas practically
• they were done slowly "so as not to leave the weaker brethren behind" (Zwingli)
• the authorities did not want to alienate its Catholic allies and neighbours
• the Pope owned debts to Zulrich -- a sudden change might risk them not being paid back