Question

Zwingli heralded the Protestant Movement in Switzerland. In this context describe.
Main events of his life

Answer 1

Main events of his life:
Ulrich Zwingli heralded the Protestant Movement in Switzerland. He was a contemporary of Martin Luther. Born at Wildhaus in 1484, he was trained as a priest. Glarus was the first town, where he became a clergyman in 1514. He studied the Greek text of the New Testament authored by Erasmus. In 1518, he became a priest at the Cathedral in Zurich. By 1520, he had become convinced of the need for reforming the Church. He developed his Protestant Theology and preached against the sale of The Catholic Bishop of Zurich tried to silence Zwingli. But by that time, he had become a “Peoples’ Priest”. The civil authorities intervened at this stage. They took charge of the city’s religious affairs and called a Public Debate to decide whether people should accept Catholicism or Zwingli’s Protestantism. After intensive debate, Zwingli brought the majority of the people over to his side.
In the course of time, most of the Swiss Cantons (Provinces) were on Zwingli’s side. Only the rural communities (Forest Cantons) continued to cling to old emotional values. The conflict erupted into open warfare between Catholics and the Protestant troops. Zwingli was killed at the Battle of Kappel in 1531. Written on his gravestone are the words: “They may kill the body but not the soul.”