ZWINGLI
773
ZWINGLI
devote himself to clerical reforms. So far he had no faith, as he asserted in his second writing, "Arche-
intention of introducing doctrinal innovations; such teles". Through the niediiun of a delegation the
an idea occurred to him first in Zurich after 1519. Bishop of Constance exhorted the town to obedience
Luther had already hung up his ninety-five theses on 7 April. On 29 Jan., 1.523, the council, on whose
against indulgences at the church of the castle in decision everything depended, held a religious dispu-
Wittenberg, 31 Oct., 1517. tation at ZwingU's instigation, and agreed to base its
On 1 Jan., 1519, Zwingli preached for the first time action on the result of the debate. In sixty-seven theses
in the ctitheciral at Zurich. He began with the exposi- (his most extensive and important work) Zwingli now
tion of the Bible, taking first the Gospel of St. Mat
thew, and by going back to the sources showed him-
self especially a Humanist. Of doctrinal innovation
he had still scarcely any thought. Even his stand
proposed a formal programme for the innovations;
according to his view the Bible with his interpretation
was to be the sole authority. The arguments brought
against this view bj' the most important champion of
against the indulgence preacher, Bernhardin Sanson, the old Faith, the vicar-general Johaim Faberof Con-
at the beginning of 1519, was taken with the consent stance, who appealed to the teaching and tradition of
of the Bishop of Constance. The transformation of the early Church, were disregarded; the council in
Zwingli the Humanist and politician into a teacher of whose hands Zwingli reposed the government of the
the new faith was facilitated by the ecclesiastical and Church, forthwith declared in favour of the imiovation.
political conditions of the people and public authori- A second rehgious disputation in Oct., 1523, dealt
ties at Zurich and in Switzer- with the practical institution of
I a state chm'ch, the veneration
land in general. The populace
displayed great religious zeal
externally, e. g. in pious founda-
tions and pilgrimages. This
zeal, however, was insufficient
to counteract the decay of
morals, which resulted especiall\
from the mercenary army sy^^-
tem. The clergj- to a great ex-
tent neglected their obligations,
many of them lived in concubin-
age, and joined in the shameless
pursuit of spiritual prebends,
thus damaging their prestige.
Worthy clerics, however, were
not wanting. The Bishop of
Constance, Hugo von Hohen-
landenberg, was a man of stain
less conduct; he endeavoured to
do aw-ay with abuses, and issued
various mandates, but unfortu-
nately without permanent re-
sults. This failure was due to
the lack of co-operation on the
part of the civil rulers, who then
enjoyed in ecclesia-stical matters
of the saints, the removal of
iiiinp-f^s, good works, and the
-Hi III I Ills. No notable repre-
-Hiii:iii\(' of the ancient Failh
I-. jjii.sent. Zwingli urged the
iption of liis doctrines so suc-
sfuUy that even his devoted
lerent. Commander Schmid
Kusnacht, warned him against
!■ too sudden abohshment of
lient customs and usages. The
-t steps having been taken in
-2-23, the reforms were car-
■ 1 into effect in Zurich in
■_'l-2."i. About Easter, 1524,
indulgriices and pilgrimages were
- iholished, the sacraments of
Penance and Extreme Unction rejected, .and pictures, .statues, relics, altars, and organs de- stroyeil, ri'g;u-clless of their .arlis- t ic value. SaiTcd vessels of great value, such as chalices and mon- strances, were melted into coin. Church property was seized by very extensive rights acquired, especially by Zurich the State, which gained most by the suppression of the and Berne, from the popes and bishops in consequence monasteries; the Fraumiinster Abbey, founded in S53, of the Burgimdi.an, Sw.abian, and Milanese wars was voluntarilv .surrendered to the secular authorities (1474-1516). Rome, like France, had endeavoured to by the last abbess. Celibacy was rejected as contrary secure, by the outlay of much money, the services of to Holy Writ, and monks and nuns were married. As Swiss mercenaries. In Zurich, the "foremost and early as 1522 Zwingli with ten other ecclesiastics as- Bupreme place", the council espoused the cause of the sembled at Einsiedeln and addressed a petition to the pope, and opposed the French party. ZwingU did Bishop of Constance and to the diet asking freedom the same and came into prominence fir.st as a pohti- for priests to marry; "Your honourable wi.sdom",
they declared, "has already witnessed the disgraceful and shameful life wc have unfortunately liitherto led with women, thereby giving grievous scandal to everyone." From 1.522 the marriage of iiriests in Zurich became ever more frequent; ZwingH hini.sclf on 2 July, 1.524, married Anna Kcinhard (tlie widow of Hans Meyer von Knonau), who bore him his first
cian, a fact which makes his case es.sentially different
from that of Luther. It was only in 1.520 that he
volunt.arily renounced his papal pension. He then
attacked the rviinous mercenary system, and through
his efforts Zurich alone of all the cantons refused to
enter the alliance with Fr.ance on 5 May, 1521.
However, 2000 mercenaries entered the sers'ice of the
pope. On 11 Jan., 1.522, all foreign services and pen- daughter on 31 Julv. A new marriage law of 10 May,
sions were forbidden in Zurich. By the publication, 1.525, regulated these innovations. In the spring of
16May, 1.522, of his"VermahnungandiezuSchwyz, 1.525 the Mass was abolished; in its place was
dass sie sich vor fremden Herren hiitend", Zwingli introduced the memorial service of the Last Supper.
succeeded in extending his influence beyond Zurich, The new doctrines were not introduced without
although only temporarily.
Owing to his success as a politician his prestige and importance increased. From 1.522 he came forward as sponsor of the religious innov.ations. His first reformatory work, "Vom Erkieson und Fryheit der Spysen", appeared when the book.seller Froschatier and his aasociates puWicly defied the ecclesiastical law of fasting, and a controversy concerning fasts broke out. Zwingli declared the fa-sting provisions mere human commands which were not in harmony with Holy Writ; and the Bible was the sole source of
opposition. The first opponents of the Reformers
were from the ranks of their own party. The
peasants could find no reason in the Bible, the sole
princi[)le of faith, why they .should contribute to
their lords' taxes, tithes, and rent, and they refused
any longer to do so. The greatest unrest prevailed
everywhere, and was only quelled after long negotia-
tions and some concessions by thcGovernment. The
Anabaptists were not so e.asily silenced. From the
Bible, which Zwingli had placed in their hands, they
had deduced the most marvellous doctrines, much
