Renaissance and Reformation Primary Sources | Huldrych Zwingli

"The Sixty-Seven Articles of Ulrich Zwingli" (1523)

Reprinted in Confessions and Catechisms of the Reformation

Edited by Mark A. Noll
Published in 1977

While Martin Luther was taking his stand against the Roman Catholic Church in Germany (see Martin Luther entry), Swiss pastor Huldrych (also spelled Ulrich) Zwingli (1484–1531) was leading a similar movement in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1518 Zwingli followed Luther in denouncing the church's practice of selling indulgences (partial forgiveness of sins), then he went on to attack other abuses. Zwingli was a preacher at the Great Minster, the main church in Zurich, in 1519 when he began a series of lectures on the book of Matthew in the New Testament (second part of the Bible, the Christian holy book). In his lectures he used simple terms and referred to events in every day life. This approach contradicted the policies of the...