Religious reformer, born in Bremgarten, N Switzerland. In 1529 he married a former nun, and became a disciple of Zwingli, whom he succeeded in 1531 as leader of the reformed party in Switzerland. He drew up the Helvetic Confessions of 1536 and 1566.
Heinrich Bullinger (July 18, 1504 - September 17, 1575) was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church and pastor at Grossmünster.
Life
The son of Heinrich Bullinger, dean of the capitular church, by Anna Wiederkehr, he was born at Bremgarten, Aargau.
At 12 years of age, Bullinger was sent to the distant but celebrated gymnasium of Emmerich in the Duchy of Cleves.
In 1519, at the age of 15, his parents, intending him to follow his father into the clergy, sent him to the University of Cologne, just as the Luther affair was on everyone's tongue. Bullinger felt that he needed to decide the issues for himself, and began a systematic program of reading that started with Peter Lombard's Sentences, then compared the Sentences with the church fathers that Lombard cited and with the Bible. Now a convicted "Martinian" (follower of Martin Luther), Bullinger renounced his previous intention of entering the Carthusian order.
In 1522, Bullinger returned home, accepting a post as head of the cloister school at Kappel, though only after negotiating special conditions that meant he didn't need to take monastic vows or attend mass. At the school, Bullinger initiated a systematic program of Bible reading and exegesis for the monks there. During this period, under the influence of the Waldensians, Bullinger moved to a more symbolic understanding of the Eucharist.
In 1529 Bullinger's father announced that he had been preaching false doctrines for years and now renounced them in favour of Protestant doctrines. Several candidates were invited to preach sermons as potential replacements, including the young Bullinger. Bullinger was a caring father of his eleven children who liked to play with them and wrote verses to them for Christmas.
After the defeat at Battle of Kappel (October 11, 1531), where Zwingli fell, the Aargau region (including Bremgarten) had to return to the Catholic faith. Bullinger and two other pastors had to leave the town, though the people did not like to see them go. Having gained a reputation as a leading Protestant preacher, Bullinger quickly received offers to take up the position of pastor from Zurich, Basel, Berne, and Appenzell. During his negotiations with the civic leaders of Zurich, Bullinger refused to accept their terms - they had offered him the position with the condition that he shouldn't criticize government policy (they still blamed Zwingli for the disastrous defeat at Kappel). Bullinger insisted on his right to expound the Bible, even if it contradicted the position of the civic authorities. In a compromise, they agreed that Bullinger had the right to criticize the government privately in writing. Bullinger took up the post of minister of Zurich;
Bullinger arrived with his wife and two little children in Zurich, where he already on the Sunday after his arrival stood in Zwingli's pulpit in the Great Minster and, according to a contemporary description, "thundered a sermon from the pulpit that many thought Zwingli was not dead but resurrected like the phoenix".
Bullinger quickly established himself as a staunch defender of the ecclesiological system developed by Zwingli. In 1532, when Jud proposed making ecclesiastical discipline entirely separate from the secular power, Bullinger argues that the need for a separate set of church courts ended when the magistrate became Christian, and that in a place with a Christian magistrate, the institutions of the Old Testament were appropriate. However, Bullinger did not believe the church should be entirely subservient to the state.
Bullinger's hospitality and charity was exemplary and Zurich accepted many Protestant fugitives from northern Italy (Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a descendant of such fugitives) and after the death of Henry VIII also from England. When these returned to England after the death of Mary I of England, they took Bullinger's writings with them who found a broad distribution. From 1550 to 1560, there were in England 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). Some historians count Bullinger together with Bucer as the most influential theologian of the Anglican reformation.
Though Bullinger did not leave Switzerland after becoming antistes of Zurich, he conducted an extended correspondence all over Europe and was so well informed that he edited a kind of newspaper about political developments.
Bullinger played a crucial role in the drafting of the Second Helvetic Confession of 1566. What eventually became the Second Helvetic Confession originated in a personal statement of his faith which Bullinger intended to be presented to the Zurich Rat upon his death. In 1566, when the elector palatine introduced Reformed elements into the church in his region, Bullinger felt that this statement might be useful for the elector, so he had it circulated among the Protestant cities of Switzerland who signed to indicate their assent. Bullinger.
Works
Bullingers works comprise 127 titles.
Theological works
His main work were the Decades", a treatise in pastoral theology, in the vernacular called "House Book".
The (second) Helvetic Confession (1566) adopted in Switzerland, Hungary, Bohemia and elsewhere, was originally believed to be his work.
Table of Contents of the Decades Second decade, eighth sermon, The Magistrate Forth decade, forth sermon, Predestination An Answer Given To A Certain Scotsman, In Reply To Some Questions Concerning The Kingdom Of Scotland And England Microfiche collection of his original works Werke - Institut für schweizerische Reformationsgeschichte, Universität ZürichHistorical
Besides theological works, Bullinger also wrote some historical works of value. 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.
Bullinger was a personal friend and advisor of many leading personalities of the reformation era.
Geographical overview of Bullingers correspondence Database of Bullinger's Letters
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