Luther, Calvin and Zwingli
These are the three significant figures of the reformation:
| Martin Luther | John Calvin | Ulrich Zwingli |
Martin Luther (1483-1546):
Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in the Saxon mining town of Eisleben, Germany. He was baptised the following day, the feast day of St. Martin (of Tours) and was thus named. Luther's father wanted his son to pursue a career in law, and in agreement, Luther entered the legal faculty of the University of Erfurt in 1505.
Things changed dramatically when on 2 July 1505, Luther was caught in a violent thunderstorm. On being struck by a bolt of lightning, Luther cried out for help to Saint Anne, the patron saint of Miners, saying: "I will become a monk!". A few weeks later, Luther made good his promise and entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt.
Luther embraced the monastic life, with long hours of study, prayer and fasting. He took his monastic vows in 1506 and was ordained a priest in 1507. At this time, Luther also was studying theology at the University of Wittenburg and in 1512 he received his doctorate. He then proceeded to lecture on several biblical books, including the Psalms and Paul's letter to the Romans.
Luther's intense study of the Bible was partly influenced by the Humanist movement of the day. This called for a 'return to the sources' (Ad fontes) of classical Greek and Latin literature. Luther began to see how this might be applied in a biblical capacity - the need to examine the scriptures from the original Hebrew and Greek texts and discover their true meaning.
Despite all the hard work and effort, Luther struggled with the weight of his own sinfulness. He wrote:
"...Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God ..."
However at some point between 1515-8, there came a spiritual breakthrough: Whilst studying Romans 1:17, Luther was led to the conclusion that our standing before God is dependent on our faith alone, and not through any works or goodness within us. This has been called Luther's Turmerlebnis (Tower Experience).
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith."
Romans 1:17 (KJV)
Luther explained his 'discovery' in this way:
"...At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, 'In it the righteousness of God is revealed', as it is written, 'He who through faith is righteous shall live'. There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives but a gift of God, namely by faith. ... Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates..."
The church of the day was very much concerned with the doctrine of Indulgences*, that is, reducing or removing the temporal penalty for sin, whether in this life or in Purgatory. Sadly the system was abused, being used partly to fund the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. On seeing the corruption before him, Luther felt forced to take action. What happened next has never been fully determined, but the traditional account is that on 31 October 1517, Luther posted up a series of 95 discussion points (known as 'Theses') on the door of the castle church at Wittenburg.
* A detailed explanation of Indulgences is found within my Introduction to Roman Catholicism.
The 95 theses were printed and circulated around Germany and soon reached other parts of Europe. At this point, Pope Leo X took notice of developments and Luther was summoned to appear before him in 1518. After a change of heart, the Pope instead sent Cardinal Thomas Cajetan to meet with Luther and demand that he recant his views. Luther refused and in a public debate at Leipzig in 1519, stated publicly that he could no longer accept papal supremacy.
Pope Leo X issued a declaration (known as a 'Bull') in June 1520. Exsurge Domine demanded that Luther retract 41 of his 95 theses to avoid the possible threat of excommunication. Luther decided to publicly burn the Bull in December 1520 and was then issued with another Bull in 1521 (Decet Romanum Pontificem), bringing the excommunication into force.
In August 1520 Luther published his work To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, which outlined his plans for the reform of the church in Germany. He also gave an exposition of his theology (with a particular emphasis on the Sacraments) in the Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and in Freedom of a Christian, explained his emphasis on salvation through faith in Christ.
By now, Luther's language had become more and more strident in denouncing the authority of the Roman Catholic church, including frequent references to the Pope as the antichrist.
In January 1521, the Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to appear at a Diet (assembly) in Worms, Germany. Luther was given one more chance to recant. When asked to do so, Luther replied:
"Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe."
With these words the breach with the Roman Catholic church became permanent, an edict was issued declaring Luther a heretic, and his writings were banned. Luther fled before the Diet ended and decided to hide in the Wartburg Castle at Eisenach. He spent a year there working on a translation of the bible into German. In 1522 Luther returned to Wittenburg, where he carried out several reforms. He was assisted by his colleague Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), who wrote a presentation of Protestant Theology: Loci Communes ('Common Places').
German peasantry launched a full scale revolt against the nobility in 1524, hoping to gain support from Luther. However, Luther chose not to support them, partly because of the brutality of the revolt and also because he relied on the support and protection of the nobility. Luther lost credibility in advocating a ruthless suppression to end the uprising.
In 1525, Luther married Katharina von Bora (1499-1552), a former nun. Their marriage resulted in six children.
In 1529 Luther met with the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli at Marburg, in order to attempt an agreement on theological matters and thus unify Protestant theology. Of the fifteen points presented, all were agreed bar one: the doctrine of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Luther argued for a real bodily presence, but Zwingli disagreed, arguing that the bread and the wine were only symbols of Christ's body and blood.
The year 1530 saw the publication of the Augsburg Confession, a statement of Lutheran doctrine. The confession was mostly edited by Philipp Melanchthon. Luther died on 18 February 1546 at Eisleben and was buried in Wittenburg.
John Calvin (1509-1564):
John Calvin was born as Jean Chauvin in Noyon, France. Noyon is in the French region of Picardy and lies about 65 miles North East of Paris.
Calvin (the anglicised form of his name), entered the University of Paris in 1523 to study law and received his doctorate in 1532. Whilst in Paris, he studied the writings of Martin Luther and became convinced of the need for reform. Opposition led to him seeking refuge elsewhere and in 1536, en route to Basel, he stayed in Geneva. He met William Farel (1489-1565) who persuaded a reluctant Calvin to remain and help organise the reformation there.
Also in 1536, Calvin published (in Latin) the first edition of his magnum opus on Christian theology: Institutes of the Christian Religion, with the final edition being published in 1559. The Institutes were later translated into French, English and several other languages and form the basis for Calvinist theology to this day.
With the aid of William Farel, Calvin sought to change the political and spiritual life of the city. A confession of faith was drawn up, to which all Genevans were expected to adhere. Calvin also sought powers of excommunication, which led to much resistance. As a result, Calvin fled to Strasbourg where he led a church there. He also decided to marry in 1539.
In 1541, Calvin returned to Geneva. He decided to create a theocracy, a 'City of God', basing it on the Old Testament model. The government of Geneva was placed in the hands of Pastors, Elders and Deacons. He also set up the Consistory (A church court), to enforce discipline. Enforcement could be harsh, with floggings and other punishments used. Most notable was the case of Michael Servetus, who was imprisoned by the Roman Catholic authorities on charges of heresy (Servetus had denied the Trinity and also the true divinity of Christ). Servetus escaped and fled to Geneva, but was arrested and burnt at the stake. Calvin had personally approved of the burning.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Calvin's theology was his analysis of the doctrine of Predestination. Calvin argued that salvation was something not freely chosen, rather individuals were elected to it by God. These individuals (the elect ) are known only to God.
"[Predestination is] the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. Not all are created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death."
John Calvin, writing in the Institutes.
Calvin died on 27 May 1564 at Geneva and was buried in a cemetery there. His influence led to the development of the Reformed churches and the famous Five points of Calvinism.
Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531):
Ulrich (or Huldrych) Zwingli was born in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen in 1484. He studied initially at Vienna, before moving to Basel and being awarded a degree in 1504. Zwingli was ordained a priest in 1506 and spent ten years pastoring in Glarus, another Swiss canton. As with Luther, Zwingli came into contact with humanist influences (including the writings of Erasmus) and devoted himself to studying Hebrew and Greek. His growing reputation as a fine speaker and teacher led eventually to his appointment as priest in Zurich.
Gradually Zwingli began to oppose the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, having come into contact with the writings of Martin Luther. He began to attack the doctrines of purgatory, prayers to saints and significantly the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
The Zwinglian view of the presence of Christ is commonly called 'Memorialism' - the idea that the bread and the wine are merely symbols of Christ's body and blood. This is in contrast to Luther's view that the body and blood of Christ are truly present in the bread and the wine and the view of John Calvin, that Christ is spiritually present.
Pope Adrian VI took notice of the situation and requested that the council in Zurich discipline Zwingli and declare him a heretic. In 1523, a public hearing was held there. Zwingli defended himself and his defence proved persuasive - the council backed him and thus endorsed the reformation.
A group calling themselves the Anabaptists (Re-baptizers) opposed the policy of infant baptism and refused to join Zwingli's group. They were ruthlessly silenced and left Zurich in 1526.
Gradually Zwingli tried to spread reformation ideas across all of the Swiss cantons, but this met with mixed success. Eventually civil war broke out and in 1531, Zwingli was killed in battle while defending Zurich.
