Heinrich Bullinger

Early life and studies (1504–1522) Heinrich Bullinger was born to Heinrich Bullinger Sr., a priest, and Anna Wiederkehr, at Bremgarten, Aargau, Switzerland. Heinrich and Anna were able to live as husband and wife, even though not legally married, because the bishop of Constance, who had clerical oversight over Aargau, had unofficially sanctioned clerical concubinage by waiving penalties against the offense in exchange for an annual fee, called a cradle tax. Heinrich was the fifth son and youngest of seven children born to the couple. The family was relatively affluent, and often hosted guests. As a small child, Bullinger survived the plague and a potentially fatal accident. At age 11, Bullinger was sent to the St. Martin's Latin school in Emmerich in the Duchy of Cleves. Although there is no evidence that Bullinger was initially aware of Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses or the Leipzig Disputation of 1519, a year later, he had definitely been exposed to Reformation teaching. He read Peter Lombard's Sentences and the Decretum Gratiani, which led him to the church fathers. Bullinger discovered that the Fathers relied more on Scripture than did Lombard and Gratian, and this discovery encouraged Bullinger to read both the Bible and Luther, including The Babylonian Captivity of the Church and The Freedom of a Christian. He also read works by other Reformers, such as Philip Melanchthon's Loci communes. Now believing that salvation came through God's grace rather than through man's good works, Bullinger was converted to Protestantism. When he returned to Bremgarten, his family accepted his new theological views. Though Bullinger was called to lead an abbey in the Black Forest, he found its monks worldly and licentious and so returned home again and spent some months reading history, the church fathers, and Reformation theology. When the Zürich council initially asked Bullinger to be antistes, they listed seven articles as conditions for the position. The fourth article required Bullinger to be peaceful and not interfere in secular affairs. Bullinger agreed that ministers should not take civic roles, but he also stressed that the minister should retain the freedom to preach the Word of God, even if that message varied from the position of civil authorities. Bullinger upheld this principle of quasi-toleration for the rest of his life. The confession, a combination of Zwinglian and Lutheran theology, The statement was also adopted by Reformed churches in Scotland (1566), Hungary (1567), France (1571), and Poland (1578). Only the Heidelberg Catechism was better known as a Reformed confession. The Second Helvetic Confession was also slightly modified to become the French Confession de Foy (1559), the Scottish Confessio Fidei (1560) the Belgian Ecclasiarum Belgicarum Confessio (1561) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) itself. == Theological views ==

The Eucharist Bullinger's mature eucharistic theology differed notably from that of Zwingli. Though at first Bullinger viewed both the Old Covenant Passover feast and the New Covenant Lord's Supper as symbolic, a view reflected in the language of the First Helvetic Confession (1536), in 1544, in a pamphlet responding to Luther, Bullinger argued that the real spiritual presence of Christ occurred in the Eucharist. Bullinger thereafter linked the symbolic and spiritual presence in the Consensus Tigurinus of 1549, which he composed with Calvin, a formula codified in the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and the Second Helvetic Confession (1562/4). == Works ==

Bullinger's writings exceed Luther and Calvin combined, including 12,000 surviving letters. Many regard The Decades to be comparable to Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion and Peter Martyr Vermigli's Loci communes as an early Reformed theological explication. Other Theological Works In 1531, Bullinger helped edit and write the preface to the Zürich Bible with Jud, Bibliander, and Pellikan. Many of his sermons were translated into English (reprinted, 4 vols., 1849). His works, mainly expository and polemical, have not been collected. Historical , Stadelhofen, illustrated Bullinger chronicle Besides theological works, Bullinger also wrote some historical works of value. The "Tiguriner Chronik" is a history of Zürich from Roman times to the Reformation; others are a history of the Reformation and a history of the Swiss confederation. Bullinger also wrote in detail on Biblical chronology, working within the framework that was universal in the Christian theological tradition until the second half of the 17th century, namely that the Bible affords a faithful and normative reference for all ancient history. Letters There exist about 12,000 letters from and to Bullinger, the most extended correspondence preserved from Reformation times. He was called by German Reformation historian Rainer Henrich "a one-man communication system". Bullinger was a personal friend and advisor of many leading personalities of the reformation era. He corresponded with Reformed, Anglican, Lutheran, and Baptist theologians, with Henry VIII of England, Edward VI of England, Lady Jane Grey and Elizabeth I of England, Christian II of Denmark, Philipp I of Hesse and Frederick III, Elector Palatine. == Legacy ==

Bullinger's Helvetic Confessions are still used by Reformed churches as a theological standard. His legacy as a writer and historian survives today. His idea of covenant influenced the development of covenant theology. Impact on England Bullinger opened Zürich to Protestant fugitives from religious persecution in other countries. After the passing of the Six Articles in 1539 by Henry VIII of England, and again during the rule of Mary I of England from 1553 to 1558, Bullinger accepted many English fugitives. When the English fugitives returned to England after the death of Mary I, Bullinger's writings found a broad distribution in England. In England, from 1550 to 1560, there were 77 editions of Bullinger's Latin Decades and 137 editions of their vernacular translation House Book, a treatise in pastoral theology. In comparison, Calvin's Institutes had two editions in England during the same time. By 1586, John Whitgift, the Archbishop of Canterbury, ordered all non-graduate ordinands to buy and read Bullinger's Decades. Due to his involvement and correspondence with the English Reformers, some historians count Bullinger together with Bucer as the most influential theologian of the English Reformation. Two of the English fugitives were John and Anne Hooper. Anne eventually became Bullinger's correspondent and in 1546, Bullinger became the godfather of Hooper's daughter during her infant baptism. Bullinger also accepted fugitives from northern Italy and France, especially after the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Johann Pestalozzi was a descendant of the Italian fugitives. ==References==