Editing Huldrych Zwingli (section)

==Legacy==

Zwingli was a humanist and a scholar with many devoted friends and disciples. He communicated as easily with the ordinary people of his congregation as with rulers such as [[Philip of Hesse]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Potter|1976|pp= 417–418}}</ref> His reputation as a stern, stolid reformer is counterbalanced by the fact that he had an excellent sense of humour and used satiric fables, spoofing, and puns in his writings.<ref>{{Citation|last1= Schmidt-Clausing|first1= Fritz|last2= West|first2= Jim|title= The Humor of Huldrych Zwingli: The Lighter Side of the Protestant Reformation|location= Lewiston, New York|year= 2007|publisher= Edwin Mellen Press Ltd|isbn= 978-0-7734-5482-8}}.</ref> Zwingli remains as a complex figure of the early Reformation's history, with many drawing comparisons between him and other characters like Martin Luther.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Bruce |date=July 2019 |title=Ulrich Zwinglis Ethik: Stationen—Grundlagen—Konkretionen. Matthias Neugebauer. Zurich: Theologischer Verlag Zürich, 2017. 228 pp. €29.90. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/renaissance-quarterly/article/abs/ulrich-zwinglis-ethik-stationengrundlagenkonkretionen-matthias-neugebauer-zurich-theologischer-verlag-zurich-2017-228-pp-2990/4E64F3F9B46592C1233B4F8212186373 |journal=Renaissance Quarterly |language=en |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=714–715 |doi=10.1017/rqx.2019.207 |issn=0034-4338}}</ref> He was more conscious of social obligations than was Luther, and he genuinely believed that the masses would accept a government guided by God's word.<ref>{{Harvnb|Potter|1976|p= 418}}</ref> He tirelessly promoted assistance to the poor, who he believed should be cared for by a truly Christian community.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wandel|1990|p= 45}}</ref>

In December 1531 the Zurich council selected [[Heinrich Bullinger]] (1504–1575) as Zwingli's successor. Bullinger immediately removed any doubts about Zwingli's orthodoxy and defended him as a prophet and a martyr. During Bullinger's ascendancy, the confessional divisions of the Swiss Confederation stabilised.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gäbler|1986|pp= 157–158}}</ref> Bullinger rallied the reformed cities and cantons and helped them to recover from the defeat at Kappel. Zwingli had instituted fundamental reforms; Bullinger consolidated and refined them.<ref>{{Harvnb|Steinmetz|2001|p= 98}}</ref>
[[File:Swiss-Commemorative-Coin-2017a-CHF-20-obverse.png|thumb|220px|Zwingli (right) and [[John Calvin]] on a Swiss [[Coins of the Swiss franc|20 franc]] coin commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, 2017.]]
Scholars have found it difficult to assess Zwingli's impact on history, for several reasons. There is no consensus on the definition of "[[Zwinglianism]]"; by any definition, Zwinglianism evolved under his successor, Heinrich Bullinger; and research into Zwingli's influence on Bullinger and [[John Calvin]] remains rudimentary.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gäbler|1986|pp= 155–156}}</ref> Bullinger adopted most of Zwingli's points of doctrine. Like Zwingli, he summarised his theology several times, the best-known example being the [[Second Helvetic Confession]] of 1566. Meanwhile, Calvin had taken over the Reformation in [[Geneva]].<ref name="Geneva Before Calvin">{{cite journal|last= Foster|first= Herbert Darling|title= Geneva Before Calvin (1387–1536). The Antecedents of a Puritan State|journal= The American Historical Review|date= Jan 1903 |volume= 8 |issue= 2|pages= 217–240|jstor= 1832923|doi= 10.2307/1832923|hdl= 2027/coo.31924028547531|hdl-access= free}}</ref> Calvin differed with Zwingli on the eucharist and criticised him for regarding it as simply a metaphorical event. In 1549, Bullinger and Calvin succeeded in overcoming the differences in doctrine and produced the ''[[Consensus Tigurinus]]'' (Zurich Consensus). They declared that the eucharist was not just symbolic of the meal, but they also rejected the Lutheran position that the body and blood of Christ is in [[Sacramental union|union with the elements]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Furcha|1985|pp= 179–195}}, J. C. McLelland, "Meta-Zwingli or Anti-Zwingli? Bullinger and Calvin in Eucharistic Concord"</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Gäbler|1986|pp= 158–159}}</ref> It was John Calvin's doctrine of a [[Lord's Supper in Reformed theology|real spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist]] that became the doctrine of the Reformed Churches, while Zwingli's view was rejected by the Reformed Churches (though it was adopted by other traditions, such as the [[Plymouth Brethren]]).<ref name="Gerrish2004">{{cite book |last1=Gerrish |first1=Brian |title=The Old Protestantism and the New |date=11 November 2004 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-567-08048-6 |pages=112–130 |language=en}}</ref> With this rapprochement, Calvin established his role in the [[Swiss Reformed Church]]es and eventually in the wider world.<ref>{{Harvnb|Furcha|1985|pp= 179–195}}, J. C. McLelland, "Meta-Zwingli or Anti-Zwingli? Bullinger and Calvin in Eucharistic Concord"</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Gäbler|1986|pp= 158–159}}</ref>

The Swiss Reformed churches count Zwingli as their founder, as does the Reformed Church in the United States (both its present [[United Church of Christ|liberal]] and [[Reformed Church in the United States|conservative]] descendant denominations, with the former taking a historical-critical interpretation of Zwinglian theology and using it as a basis for [[ecumenism]], and the latter interpreting his teachings as binding upon consciences and, in effect, as [[Biblical inerrancy|inerrant as Scripture itself]]), according to 19th-century RCUS historian J.I. Good. Scholars speculate as to why Zwinglianism has not diffused more widely,<ref>{{Harvnb|Furcha|1985|pp= 1–12}}, Ulrich Gäbler, "Zwingli the Loser".</ref> even though Zwingli's theology is considered the first expression of [[Reformed theology]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Stephens|2004|p= 99}}</ref> Although his name is not widely recognised, Zwingli's legacy lives on in the basic confessions of the [[Reformed churches]] of today.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gäbler|1986|p= 160}}</ref> He is often called, after [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Calvin]], the "Third Man of the Reformation".<ref>{{Harvnb|Rilliet |1964}}</ref>

In 2019 the Swiss director {{ill|Stefan Haupt|de|Stefan Haupt}} released a [[Swiss German|Swiss-German]] film on the career of the reformer: ''Zwingli''.<ref>
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8251234/ The Reformer. Zwingli: A Life's Portrait].
</ref> It was filmed in Swiss German with French and English subtitles available.

2019 began the 500th anniversary of the Swiss Reformation with a conference at John Calvin University, and renewed interest in revisiting the life and impact of Zwingli. Examples include the film ''Zwingli'', Bruce Gordon's book, ''Zwingli: God's Armed Prophet'' and an article by Thomas Quinn Marabello, "The 500th Anniversary of the Swiss Reformation: How Zwingli changed and continues to impact Switzerland today".<ref>Marabello, Thomas Quinn (2021) "The 500th Anniversary of the Swiss Reformation: How Zwingli changed and continues to impact Switzerland today", ''Swiss American Historical Society Review'', Vol. 57: No. 1,
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol57/iss1/3</ref>