Bullinger, Johann Heinrich (1504–1575)

Swiss reformer and theologian. A supporter of Zwingli, Bullinger succeeded him as pastor of Zürich in 1531. He played a very active role in the Reformation, signing the Zürich Agreement with Calvin in 1549 and drawing up the second Helvetic Confession in 1566. He had an international reputation, and in 1570, when Elizabeth I of England was excommunicated by Pope Pius V, he helped her to draw up her reply.

Born in Bremgarten, the son of a parish priest, Bullinger studied in Germany and accompanied Zwingli to the Bern Conference in 1528. The following year, having married an ex-nun, he returned to Bremgarten as its pastor. In 1531 he was appointed minister in Zürich in succession to Zwingli, where his resolute defence of the Zürich church preserved it through the many difficulties which followed Zwingli's death. In the eucharistic controversy Bullinger defended the Zwinglian position, but he also associated himself with Bucer in attempts to reconcile the German and Swiss churches. In 1549 he and Calvin made the important Zürich Agreement (Consensus Tigurinus), which defined a common sacramental doctrine for the Zürich and Geneva churches.

By this time Bullinger enjoyed a considerable international influence, largely through his enormous correspondence (12,000 surviving pieces). A prolific writer, he wrote sermons (published as the Sermonorum decades quinque) that had an enduring popularity, particularly in England where his reputation rivalled that of Calvin.

Bullinger was also the architect of the second Helvetic Confession in 1566 and the author of a history of the Reformation down to 1532.