Rudolf Gwalther (1519–1586) was a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

pastor and

Protestant reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

who succeeded

Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...

Antistes Antistes (from Latin ''ante'' "before" and ''sto'' "stand") was from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century the title of the head of a church in the Reformed Churches in Switzerland. It was the highest office in churches with synodal church gover ...

of the Zurich church.

Life

Gwalther was born the son of a carpenter, who died when he was young.

assumed responsibility for Gwalther's upbringing. He attended schools in Kappel,

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

and

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

and studied mathematics and poetry in addition to theology. He learned French and Italian in

. Landgrave

Philip of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestan ...

brought the gifted student along to the Regensburg Colloquy in 1541. When he returned to Zurich, he received the pastorate of St Peter's Church to replace

Leo Jud Leo Jud (; also Leo Juda, Leo Judä, Leo Judas, Leonis Judae, Ionnes Iuda, Leo Keller; 1482 – 19 June 1542), known to his contemporaries as Meister Leu, was a Swiss reformer who worked with Huldrych Zwingli in Zürich. Biography Jud was born ...

. He married Huldrych Zwingli’s daughter Regula (1524–1565). He was an inspiring and popular preacher. His sermons and biblical commentaries have been frequently printed and widely read. As Zwingli’s son-in-law, he sought to preserve the great reformer's heritage and remained true to his theological orientation. Gwalther's Latin translations of Zwingli's works helped disseminate his thought in the Romance language world. For Bullinger, he was a valuable collaborator in the management of the Zurich church and in assisting with his widely dispersed correspondence network. Outside of historical narratives, he produced numerous translations, and composed Latin poems and spiritual songs. Following Bullinger’s wish, Gwalther was elected in 1575 as his successor as ''Antistes'' at the

Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great Minster (church), minster") is a Romanesque-style Swiss Reformed Church, Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche Zür ...

. He held this difficult office until 1585, when his declining mental state forced him from the post. He was succeeded as head of the Zurich church by his longtime colleague

Ludwig Lavater Ludwig Lavater (4 March 1527; Kyburg (castle) – 5 July 1586 in Zurich) was a Swiss Reformed theologian working in the circle of his father-in-law, Heinrich Bullinger. He served as Archdeacon at the Grossmünster in Zurich and briefly Antistes ...

Influence

He had contacts with English Calvinists through

John Parkhurst John Parkhurst (c. 1512 – 2 February 1575) was an English Marian exile and from 1560 the Bishop of Norwich. Early life Born about 1512, he was son of George Parkhurst of Guildford, Surrey. He initially attended the Royal Grammar School, Guild ...

, in exile in Zurich in the 1550s. His works were one of the influences on the English

vestments controversy The vestments controversy or vestarian controversy arose in the English Reformation, ostensibly concerning vestments or clerical dress. Initiated by John Hooper's rejection of clerical vestments in the Church of England under Edward VI as desc ...

of the 1560s; and his sermons were translated by Robert Norton of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

in the 1570s.''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', article on Norton. His son, Rudolf Gwalther the younger (1552–77), likewise enhanced his influence in England when he studied in Oxford in the early 1570s. Gwalther was in regular communication with English bishops. With Zwingli, Bullinger,

Wolfgang Musculus Wolfgang Musculus, born "Müslin" or "Mauslein", (10 September 1497 – 30 August 1563) was a Reformed theologian of the Reformation. Life Born in the village of Duss ( Moselle), in a German-speaking area (French-speaking, from the Thirty Years ...

, and

Thomas Erastus Thomas Erastus (original surname Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler; 7 September 152431 December 1583) was a Swiss physician and Calvinist theologian. He wrote 100 theses (later reduced to 75) in which he argued that the sins committed by Christians shou ...

, Gwalther was a prime advocate of the Swiss German single-sphere model of church-state relations, and was a significant influence on the evolution of a statist model of church organization within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

References

Sources

* J. Wayne Baker (1996) "Rudolf Gwalther," in Hans J. Hillerbrand, ed., ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation,'' vol 2, 203.

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gwalther, Rudolf 1519 births 1586 deaths Swiss Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 16th-century Swiss people