Schaff - History of the Christian Church Vol. 8 - Media Sabda Org

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Among the ministers of the Reformation period, Zwingli, and, after his
death, Bullinger, exercised a sort of episcopate in fact, though not in form;
and their successors in the Great Minster stood at the head of the clergy of
the canton. A similar position is occupied by the Antistes of Basle and the
Antistes of Schaffhausen. They correspond to the Superintendents of the
Lutheran churches in Germany.
Zwingli was the first among the Reformers who organized a regular
synodical Church government. He provided for a synod composed of all
ministers of the city and canton, two lay delegates of every parish, four
members of the small and four members of the great council. This mixed
body represented alike Church and State, the clergy and the laity. It was to
meet twice a year, in spring and fall, in the city hall of Zurich, with power
to superintend the doctrine and morals of the clergy, and to legislate on the
internal affairs of the Church. The first meeting was held at Easter, 1528.
Zwingli presided, and at his side was Leo Judae. The second meeting took
place May 19, 1528. The proceedings show that the synod exercised strict
discipline over the morals of the clergy and people, and censured
intemperance, extravagance in dress, neglect of Church ordinances, etc. f121
But German Switzerland never went to such rigors of discipline as Geneva
under the influence of Calvin.
§ 24. ZWINGLI’S CONFLICT WITH RADICALISM.
Comp. Literature in vol. VI., § 102, p. 606 sq.
I. Sources:
In the Staatsarchiv of Zurich there are preserved about two hundred and
fifty documents under the title, Wiedertäuferacten,—*EGLI:
Actensammlung zur Gesch. der Zürcher Reformation, Zürich, 1879 (see
the Alph. Index, p. 920, sub Wiedertäufer). The official reports are from
their opponents. The books of the Anabaptists are scarce. A large
collection of them is in the Baptist Theological Seminary at Rochester, N.
Y. The principal ones are the tracts of Dr. Hübmaier (see vol. VI. 606); a
few letters of Grebel, Hut, Reubli, etc., and other documents mentioned
and used by Cornelius (Gesch. des Münsterschen Aufruhrs); the Moravian,
Austrian, and other Anabaptist chronicles (see Beck, below); and the
Anabaptist hymns reprinted in Wackernagel’s Deutsche Kirchenlied, vols.
III. and V. (see below).