To begin, we turn to Switzerland in the 1520s. Ulrich Zwingli was a pastor at Grossmüster in the city of Zurich. After he arrived in Zurich, the plague hit, and killed nearly 3 of every 10 inhabitants, Zwingli nearly died in September of 1519. He recovered but began questioning the Catholic Church and talk of reform; his first public attack was aimed against custom of fasting during Lent. In November of 1521, Ulrich began a small study group with about 10 other men, including Simon Stumpf, George Binder, Conrad Grebel, Valentine Tsuchude, J.J. Amman, and Felix Manz. Originally the intent of the group was not religious, but focused more on Zwingli’s ties to humanism and the study of philosophers. Through the influence of Erasmus, the group turned to the study of biblical languages. As the group became more evangelical, they adapted a schedule for the daily analysis; they met 5 days a week (excluding Sundays and Fridays) at the Cathedral at 7 in the morning, read the Latin text for a certain passage, then the Hebrew of Greek, do an exegesis in German, then how the passage may be used, and lastly one would bring expository preaching in German on the passage. By 1522, Zwingli had resigned from the priesthood and was hired by the city council as evangelical pastor. That same year a group of Christians broke the Lenten fast, and even though Zwingli did not himself break from fasting, his teachings on the sole authority of the Scriptures were cited in their reasoning, and he defended their actions.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:22:55 +0000
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