BULLINGER, HEINRICH

Swiss Reformer, successor to Huldrych zwingli; b. Bremgarten, Swiss Canton of Aargau, July 18, 1504; d. Zurich, Sept. 17, 1575. Bullinger's early schooling with the Brethren of the Common Life at Emmerich was followed by a humanistic training at the University of Cologne. His acceptance by the humanistic circle there brought him under the influence of Erasmus and of the new Reformation ideas of Calvin, Luther, and Melanchthon. Dissatisfaction with scholasticism led him to the critical study of the Scriptures, Origen, Ambrose, Augustine, and John Chrysostom. Upon his return to Switzerland, he taught at the Cistercian monastery near Cappel (1523–29). In 1528 he heard Zwingli preach at Zurich, was converted to his theology, and accompanied him to the disputations at Bern during that year. Bullinger succeeded his father as pastor of Bremgarten in 1529 and married a former nun, Anna Adlischwiler, by whom he had six sons and five daughters. On Dec. 9, 1531, he was chosen pastor of the Great Minster of Zurich to succeed Zwingli, who died in the battle of Cappel, Oct. 11, 1531. In this position, which he held until his death, Bullinger became an important voice in theological debate, particularly in his efforts to find doctrinal solutions to disputes over the Real Presence in the Eucharist that were dividing the Reformers. Together with Oswald myconius and Simon Grynaeus (1493–1541), both of Basel, he composed the First Helvetic Confession (Zwinglian in tone, but with Lutheran elements) in 1536. This was accepted by the Protestant cantons with the exception of Strassburg and Constance. The second Helvetic Confession (Calvinistic in tone with Zwinglian elements) was also the work of Bullinger and appeared in 1566 at the instance of the Calvinist Elector Palatine, Frederick III (the Pious). It was accepted in the Protestant cantons of Switzerland, Hungary, Scotland, and France (see confessions of faith, ii.)

During his leadership in Zurich, Bullinger offered hospitality to refugees fleeing from France after the terror of the massacre of st. bartholomew's day (Aug. 24, 1572); from Italy through fear of the Inquisition; and from England during the reign of Mary Tudor (1553–58). His special interest in England appears in his support of Lady Jane Grey in her abortive attempt to succeed to the throne (1553); his advice to Elizabeth in her opposition to the puritans; and his dedication of the third and fourth of his Decadi to Edward VI. Bullinger's theological beliefs shifted sharply away from zwinglianism to cal vinism, especially after he collaborated with Calvin in formulating the Consensus Tigurinus in 1549. Bullinger was a prodigious writer, composing more than 150 works and 12,000 letters. Among his writings are a biography of Zwingli; the edition of the reformer's books; polemical treatises; the Zürcher Chronik and the Diarium, both works of historical value; and the Hausbuch, a popular collection of sermons and articles of faith. He was less active after the plague of 1564–65, which left him in poor health and which brought death both to his wife and to his daughters.

Bibliography: A complete collection of his writings does not exist. Heinrich Bullingers Diarium (Annales vitae ), ed. e. egli (Basel 1904); Zürcher Chronik, ed. j. j. hottinger and h. vÖgeli, 3 v. (Frauenfeld 1838–40); Korrespondenz …, ed. t. schiess, 3v. (Basel 1904–06). The Decades of Henry Bullinger, ed. t. harding, 4 v. (Cambridge, Eng. 1849–52). g. w. bromiley, ed. and tr., Zwingli and Bullinger (Library of Christian Classics 24; Philadelphia 1953), contains tr. "On the Catholic Church." Literature. f. blanke, Der junge Bullinger (Zurich 1942). a. bouvier, H. Bullinger, réformateur et conseiller oecuménique, le successeur de Zwingli, d'après sa correspondance avec les réformés et les humanistes de langue française (Neuchâtel 1940), bibliog. t. schiess, "Der Briefwechsel Heinrich Bullingers," Zwingliana 5 (1933) 396–409. p. walser, Die Prädestination bei H. Bullinger im Zusammenhang mit seiner Gotteslehre (Zurich 1957), bibliog. g. wolf, Quellenkunde der deutschen Reformationsgeschichte, 3 v. (Gotha 1915–23), bibliog. p. schaff, Bibliotheca symbolica ecclesiae universalis. The Creeds of Christendom, 3 v. (6th ed. New York 1919). r. pfister, Neue deutsche Biographie 3:12–13. p. polman, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclesiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart (Paris 1912) 10:1210–11. o. e. strasser, Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart 1:1510–11.

[e. d. mc shane]