As the
reformation in Zürich progressed in the 1520s, the surrounding Swiss cantons were also affected. By 1523, Protestants already held significant posts in Bern, including artist
Niklaus Manuel and preacher
Berchtold Haller. Disputations with Luther and his followers had already occurred in different parts of Germany, and Switzerland had also already been home to the Zürich Disputations that saw Zürich officially become Protestant in January of 1524.
The Baden Disputation The Swiss government called for an official disputation in 1526 in the
Catholic town of
Baden in Aargau. Many Protestants deemed it unsafe to attend, especially and notably the leading Swiss reformer
Huldrych Zwingli. The two leading Protestant delegates to Baden were
Johannes Oecolampadius, in the stead of Zwingli, and Bern's Berchtold Haller. The Disputation saw many more Roman Catholic representatives, who heavily outnumbered the Protestants, and the leading Roman Catholic disputant was
Johannes Eck, who had famously debated
Martin Luther in 1519. The disputation officially condemned all Protestant teachings as well as excommunicated Zwingli. Although the Baden Disputation was a decisive Roman Catholic victory, its incisive language drew many away from the Roman Catholic side, including the leaders of Bern. In addition, the Swiss government refused to let the leaders of Bern see the documentation of the proceedings of the disputation. == The Bern Disputation ==