The interval was used by the Council for drawing up its decision, which
was published to the meeting, again called together in the afternoon,
and ran thus: "All ye, who, answering our summons for the purposes
assigned, have appeared before us today, we give to understand. A year
is now gone, since an embassy of our gracious Lord of Constance was
here at our council-house, before the burgomaster and the Small and
Great Councils, on business of a similar kind. Then the request was
preferred by us to our gracious Lord, to call together in his diocese
learned men and preachers for the examination of the prevailing
doctrines; so that a unanimous resolution might be passed, by which
every one might be guided. But since, up to this time, perhaps for
obvious reasons, nothing special has been done by him in the matter,
and the dissension among the clergy and laity continually increases,
the burgomaster. Council and the Great Council of the city of Zurich,
have again taken the case in hand; and since now; after the offer of
Master Ulric Zwingli to render an account, no one has risen up, no one
has dared to refute by the Sacred Scriptures the articles he his
furnished, although he has repeatedly called on those who revile him as
a heretic--we, after mature counsel, have decided, and it is our
earnest opinion, that Master Ulric Zwingli shall go on and continue, as
heretofore, to proclaim the Holy Gospel and the real Sacred Scripture,
according to the Spirit of God and his ability. Also, all the other
priests of the people, pastors and preachers, in our city, canton and
dependencies, shall not do otherwise, nor preach, except what they may
be able to prove by the Holy Scripture. Likewise, they shall not
henceforth call each other hard names, nor use other words of reproach.
For they who act personally in this, we will deal with in such a
manner, that they shall see and find that they have done wrong."
"God be praised!"--said Zwingli--"He will have his Word rule in heaven
and on earth, and to you, my Lords of Zurich, he will doubtless grant
strength and power to establish his truth in your canton."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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