It was only in 1522 that he began to launch pamphlets against the abuses
in the Church-fasting, celibacy of the clergy, and the like. On the 29th
of January, 1523, Zwingli obtained from the Council of Zurich the
opening of a public religious discussion in presence of the whole of the
clergy of the canton, and representatives of the Bishop of Constance,
whose assistance in the debate the Council had invited. In sixty-seven
theses remarkable for their penetration and clearness he sketched out
his confession of faith and plan of reform, and utterly confounded all
objections of his opponents by showing the conformity of his theses with
the Holy Scriptures. On the 25th of October, 1523, a second discussion
initiated the practical consequences of the reformed doctrine--the
abrogation of the mass and image worship. Zwingli's system was virtually
that of Calvin, but was conceived in a broader spirit, and carried out
later on in a far milder manner by Bullinger. To enter into a full
comparison of the two systems would, however, be out of place here. The
Council gave the fullest approval to the Reformation.
In 1524 Zwingli married Anne Reinhard, the widow of a Zurich nobleman
(Meyer von Knonau), and so discarded the practice of celibacy obtaining
amongst priests. She made him an excellent wife and help-mate, and bore
him four children. The reformer's skill in music was often brought to
bear on his children when they were inclined to be unruly; he would
soothe them into peace and quietness by his performances on the lute or
other instrument. To his stepson Gerald Meyer he was an excellent
father. Tall, with grave but winning features, with a kind and generous
heart and winning manner, Zwingli's personality was most fascinating. A
scholar but no pedant, a plain but vigorous speaker, of sound and
practical judgment, with vast stores of learning, and an unusual
elevation of mind, he was also broadminded and compassionate. It may be
mentioned that he provided on Ufenau Island in Zurich lake a last asylum
for Ulrich von Hutten, who had been rejected by Erasmus and driven from
Germany.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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