Heinrich Bullinger (1504–75) was an important and influential sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer. Sadly, today, many are unaware of his significance. This book serves as a gateway into understanding Bullinger’s life and theology, introducing them in a fresh and accessible way for non-specialists. After outlining Bullinger’s life-story, the main theological themes in Bullinger’s thought are explored through chapters on Holy Scripture, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, predestination and covenant, sin and salvation, church and ministry, Word and Sacraments, the state, and last things. A concluding chapter considers the abiding significance of Bullinger’s theology and what his views can mean for faithful Christian living today.

* Including an annotation about the history of the Reformed Churches Helvetic Confessions, the name of two documents expressing the common belief of the Reformed churches of Switzerland. The Second Helvetic Confession (Latin: Confessio Helvetica posterior) was written by Bullinger in 1562 and revised in 1564 as a private exercise. It came to the notice of Elector Palatine Frederick III, who had it translated into German and published. It gained a favorable hold on the Swiss churches, who had found the First Confession too short and too Lutheran. It was adopted by the Reformed Church not only throughout Switzerland but in Scotland (1566), Hungary (1567), France (1571), Poland (1578), and next to the Heidelberg Catechism is the most generally recognized confession of the Reformed Church. (courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Heinrich Bullinger, the friend and successor of Huldrych Zwingli, led the Zurich church for almost fifty years after Zwingli's death and was largely responsible for the construction of the Reformed church in the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, Bullinger has often been called the forgotten Reformer of the sixteenth century. Architect of Reformation is the first broad introduction to Bullinger's life and theology available in English. The book features an international collection of the world's leading Bullinger and Reformation scholars addressing such categories as theology, spirituality, ecclesiology, humanism, politics, and family. At the five-hundred-year anniversary of Bullinger's birth, Architect of Reformation gives the often-overlooked Swiss Reformer his long-overdue and much-deserved recognition as a leading figure among second generation Reformers.

Selections from the writings of Ulrich Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger, two lesser-known church reformers, are contained in this volume. Also included is an account of the life, work, and theology of each of these Swiss reformers of the sixteenth century. Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian theological texts in history. Through these works--each written prior to the end of the sixteenth century--contemporary readers are able to engage the ideas that have shaped Christian theology and the church through the centuries.

Illuminates the church's Reformed heritage by examining a frequently overlooked figure and his doctrine of predestination.