Ulrich Zwingli: Prophet, Heretic, Pioneer of Protestantism

Ulrich Zwingli can be regarded as the father of the Reformed Church and Reformed theology. He stands at the beginning of the Reformed confessional tradition, and many Reformers like Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, and John Calvin were heavily influenced by his views. Nevertheless, he is lesser known than Luther and Calvin. For one thing, many of his works are written in the Swiss German of the sixteenth century. Further, the time of his activity was short and marked by conflict. So his writings address specific questions that confronted him. He did not have time to develop his theological thought in peace or to write biblical commentaries. This book aims to lessen his relative anonymity by offering a short introduction to Zwingli’s life and times and a concise summation of his basic theological ideas.

Peter Opitz is professor emeritus of church history at the University of Zurich and director of the Swiss Reformation Studies Institute. He has been working extensively on the ＂reformed＂ Reformers Ulrich Zwingli, Heinrich Bullinger, and John Calvin. He was lead editor of Heinrich Bullinger Werke, whose publication continues, between 2009 and 2023. Since 2009 he has also served as lead editor for the multivolume set Reformierte Bekenntnisschriften and as a coeditor of the book Die Zürcher Reformation in Europa (2021).