Huldrych (also Ulrich) Zwingli is arguably the least known of the three major reformers: Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. However, according to some, it is Zwingli who is perhaps the true father of Reformed Protestant theology. Zwingli was responsible for the initiation of the Reformation in Switzerland and continued to remain one of the Reformation’s greatest leaders even after his death. Responsible for a vast amount of writings, Zwingli continues to influence theology to this day. While this paper seeks to give an account of his life, theology, and impact, it is difficult to encapsulate each aspect of the life of one of the greatest reformers in history. With that said, it seems that Ulrich Zwingli's life can be broken down best and separated into two periods. The first period includes Zwingli's youth, his years as a student, and twelve years as pastor in Glarus and Maria Einsiedeln. The second period of Zwingli's life involves his time and ministry in Zurich.
In the year 1484 Zwingli was born in a small Swiss village in Wildhaus which is seated in the Toggenburg valley of Switzerland. A child of at least eleven, Zwingli belonged to a upper-middle class peasant family. Zwingli's father (who was probably a …show more content…
Zwingli's fascination with humanism was cultivated further during his studies at the universities of Vienna and Basel, and he would later owe a great debt of gratitude to Erasmian humanism. At the University of Vienna, Zwingli was exposed to Renaissance Humanism by the great German humanist, Conrad Celtis. For Zwingli, the University of Basel served as a humanistic wellspring as he was mentored by Thomas Wyttenbach. Wyttenbach supplemented and encouraged Zwingli’s growing conviction to return ad fontes, which means “back to the sources,” or in this case, back to the Greek text of the New
In the year 1484 Zwingli was born in a small Swiss village in Wildhaus which is seated in the Toggenburg valley of Switzerland. A child of at least eleven, Zwingli belonged to a upper-middle class peasant family. Zwingli's father (who was probably a …show more content…
Zwingli's fascination with humanism was cultivated further during his studies at the universities of Vienna and Basel, and he would later owe a great debt of gratitude to Erasmian humanism. At the University of Vienna, Zwingli was exposed to Renaissance Humanism by the great German humanist, Conrad Celtis. For Zwingli, the University of Basel served as a humanistic wellspring as he was mentored by Thomas Wyttenbach. Wyttenbach supplemented and encouraged Zwingli’s growing conviction to return ad fontes, which means “back to the sources,” or in this case, back to the Greek text of the New