Pierrick Hildebrand | University of Zurich, Switzerland (original) (raw)

Papers by Pierrick Hildebrand

Laying the Exegetical Foundations of the Reformed Tradition: Zwingli’s Covenantal Reading of Genesis

Reformed theological review, Apr 1, 2024

This paper argues that Zwingli gained crucial exegetical insights during his lectures on the book... more This paper argues that Zwingli gained crucial exegetical insights during his lectures on the book of Genesis that made him the founder of covenant theology in the Reformed tradition, a theology based on the hermeneutic and redemptive-historical unity of the Old and New Testaments. Those lectures were held in the mid-1520s at the newly founded biblical-theological seminary in Zurich, almost nine years after Zwingli’s conversion to sola scriptura and two years after the Reformation was introduced in the city. In particular, this article explores passages where the Zurich Reformer explicitly referred to a single covenant made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses that aligns with the new testament of Christ.

The Convening of the Synod of Dordt, by Donald Sinnema, Christian Moser, Erik A. de Boer, and Herman J. Selderhuis (Eds.)

Church history and religious culture, Dec 18, 2023

Reformatorische Paulusauslegungen (History of Biblical Exegesis 5), Mohr Siebeck, 2023

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliograp... more Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind über abrufbar. © 2023 Mohr Siebeck Tübingen. www.mohrsiebeck.com Dieses Werk ist lizenziert unter der Lizenz "Creative Commons Namensnennung -Nicht kommerziell -Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International" (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0). Eine vollständige Version des Lizenztextes findet sich unter: . org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de. Jede Verwendung, die nicht von der oben genannten Lizenz umfasst ist, ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlags unzulässig und strafbar. Das Buch wurde von Gulde Druck in Tübingen aus der Stempel Garamond gesetzt, auf alterungsbeständiges Werkdruckpapier gedruckt und dort gebunden. Erschienen bei Mohr Siebeck Tübingen, Germany. www.mohrsiebeck.com.

Zwingliana 47, 2020

Der letztes Jahr verstorbene Professor und Reformationsforscher William Peter Stephens (1934Steph... more Der letztes Jahr verstorbene Professor und Reformationsforscher William Peter Stephens (1934Stephens ( -2019)), der vor allem für das nun zum Standardwerk gewordene Zwingli-Buch The Theology of Huldrych Zwingli (1986) bekannt wurde, hat der Nachwelt ein weit vorangeschrittenes Buchprojekt zur Theologie von Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), Zwinglis Nachfolger in Zürich, hinterlassen. Leider konnte er das Projekt nicht zu Ende bringen. Beide Editoren, Dr. Joe Mock und Dr. Jim West, die von Stephens selbst mit der Publikation postum beauftragt wurden, sorgten dafür, dass sein Manuskript bereits letzten Herbst mit diesem Buch herausgegeben wurde. Wie aus der Einleitung hervorgeht, haben die Herausgeber die Grundsatzentscheidung getroffen, das Manuskript unverändert zu publizieren, um »a certain uncertainty as to where Stephens' work ended and ours [d.h. das Werk der Herausgeber] commenced« zu vermeiden, was sehr zu begrüßen ist. Ausnahme bildet das fünfzehnte Kapitel zum Abendmahl, das noch ungeschrieben war und durch einen Teil vom älteren Artikel »The Sacraments in the Confessions of 1536, 1549, and 1566 -Bullinger's Understanding in the Light of Zwingli's« [Zwa 33 (2006), 51-76] ergänzt wurde. Nichtsdestotrotz haben wir es also mit Stephens' eigener Forschungsleistung zu tun. Das Buch besteht aus einem detaillierten Inhaltsverzeichnis, dem ein Abkürzungsverzeichnis vorangeht. Nach der obenerwähnten Einleitung kommen dann siebzehn Kapitel, die mit einem zweiseitigen Verzeichnis ausgewählter Literatur abgerundet werden. Stattdessen wäre ein vollständiges Literaturverzeichnis übersichtlicher gewesen. Register vermissen wir an dieser Stelle auch. Der editorische Mehrwert liegt m.E. hauptsächlich in einer hilfreichen Tabelle, die Stephens' eigene englischsprachige Nomenklatur der Werke Bullingers den Originaltiteln und dem Werkeverzeichnis (HBBibl) zuordnet. Methodisch war Stephens' Absicht, ähnlich wie im Zwingli-Buch vorzugehen, wie auch die Editoren vermerken (15). Nach einem

Zwingliana 48, 2021

Zwingli’s covenant-theological departure from Luther has been explained by previous research thr... more Zwingli’s covenant-theological departure from Luther has been explained by
previous research through a different definition of the term testament or testamentum,
given by the Reformer as a result of a dissimilar legal context. Accordingly, Luther
understood “testament” as a unilateral contract from a Latin perspective, while Zwingli
apprehended the term in bilateral terms from a German perspective. This essay refutes
this explanation and shows that Luther and Zwingli used the term “testament” in
similar ways. However, the meaning given to the “testament” in their interpretations of
the words of institution differed radically. While Luther equated the Lord’s Supper with
the testament as such and renamed it as “promise,” Zwingli’s commemorative under
standing of the Lord’s Supper associated the “testament” with the historical crucifixion.
The redemptive-historical approach of the Zurich Reformer to Christ’s testament versus
Luther’s sacramental approach is seen instead as a fundamental factor of Zwingli’s
covenant-theological development, which is what this essay finally argues.

Religions 15:1302, 2024

This article presents the first English translation of Heinrich Bullinger’s preface to Huldrych ... more This article presents the first English translation of Heinrich Bullinger’s preface to Huldrych
Zwingli’s Opus articulorum of 1535. This source, which has received little attention in previous
scholarship; is placed in the context of efforts to bring Luther and the Swiss Reformed closer together
after the death of the Zurich Reformed on the question of the Lord’s Supper. Bullinger’s preface is an
apologetic manifesto in favor of Zwingli’s orthodoxy and continuity with the Church Fathers. It is
argued that Bullinger’s strong commitment should be interpreted as a signal sent to Wittenberg that
a rapprochement with Luther was not to be achieved at the expense of Zwingli’s theological legacy.

Reformed Theological Review 83/1, 2024

This book offers a fresh interpretation of covenantal theology in the Reformation by demonstratin... more This book offers a fresh interpretation of covenantal theology in the Reformation by demonstrating how the writings of the Zurich reformers Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) and his successor Heinrich Bullinger (1504-75) decisively shaped a foundation of the Reformed tradition. The book overturns previous research that has both emphasized Zurich's irreconcilability with later developments of Reformed covenant theology and downplayed the contribution of the Zurich theologians in favor of figures such as Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) and John Calvin (1509-64). It argues for the dependence of Calvin and other leading figures on Zurich and for continuity in the later Reformed tradition with its origins in the 1520s.

Pierrick Hildebrand demonstrates that the concept of a prelapsarian covenant, generally used as an argument for discontinuity between Zurich and Heidelberg, was clearly present in Zwingli and Bullinger. Further, Bullinger's covenantal terminology, which integrates the concept of the covenant with union with Christ, was adopted by Calvin and later by the Heidelberg theologians. Rejecting the idea that Zurich and Geneva represented two different traditions, Hildebrand details significant continuities and agreement while paying attention to differences. To do this, he draws on printed texts but also makes extensive use of previously unexamined manuscript sources, such as commentaries and sermon notes, to provide a much fuller account of the origins of Reformed covenantal theology. Working across a range of literary genres and with careful attention to historical contexts, this book presents the evolution of a crucial part of Reformation thought in a new light.

Covenant: A Vital Element of Reformed Theology, Biblical, Historical and Systematic-Theological Perspectives, 2022

This essay will consider Bullinger's view on the relationship between God and man in its original... more This essay will consider Bullinger's view on the relationship between God and man in its original state in light of the emergence of the covenant of works in the Reformed tradition. I argue that Bullinger's covenant theology was not fundamentally in opposition to the covenant of works, and that there are surprising similarities between the two. To date, there has been no scholarly work on this specific issue. The reason is not difficult to grasp. Bullinger never wrote extensively on the original state of man. His pastoral focus was on the restoration of fallen man in Christ. My approach, therefore, will be to address this issue through an analysis of Bullinger's exegesis of the book of Genesis, in particular of the first three chapters.

24. Dordt at the edge of High Orthodoxy

A Landmark in Turbulent Times

Die Zürcher Reformation in Europa: Beiträge der Tagung des Instituts für Schweizerische Reformationsgeschichte 6.–8. Februar 2019 in Zürich, 2021

«Bund und Erwählung» gelten heute als die reformierten Loci schlechthin, sowie es etwa «Gesetz un... more «Bund und Erwählung» gelten heute als die reformierten Loci schlechthin,
sowie es etwa «Gesetz und Evangelium» bei den Lutheranern sind. Wobei dieser Vergleich nur unter Vorbehalt funktioniert. Es sei hier die Behauptung schon vorweggenommen, dass reformierte Theologen von
Anfang an «Bund und Erwählung» nicht antithetisch verstanden haben.
Die deutsche Dogmengeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts hat aber ein theologiegeschichtliches Narrativ entworfen, welches dieser Behauptung
widerspricht und bis ins späte 20. Jahrhundert nachgewirkt hat. So hat
zum Beispiel der Marburger Professor Heinrich Heppe (1820–1879) in
seiner Geschichte des Pietismus die heilsgeschichtliche bzw. die föderal- oder bundestheologische Theologie als mildernde Alternative zu der
dekretalen Theologie der Calvinisten verstanden. Die für Heppe leitende
Grundannahme, dass Erwählung und Bund sich theologisch antithetisch
zu einander zu verhalten haben, ist mit allerlei Variationen auch
in jüngeren dogmengeschichtlichen Entwürfen übernommen worden.
Die in den letzten Dekaden kontrovers diskutierte Baker Thesis, die
Heinrich Bullinger und Johannes Calvin zu Vätern von zwei unterschiedlichen Traditionen macht, beruht ja letztlich auf dieser Grundannahme. Dieses Narrativ gilt es zu hinterfragen und zu revidieren. Im vorliegenden Essay werde ich dafür argumentieren, dass die Loci von Bund und Erwählung bereits bei Huldreich Zwingli (1484–1531), dem Urvater der Reformierten, in programmatischer Weise komplementär als Einheit gedacht worden sind.

Civil Order and Covenant. Heinrich Bullinger and John Calvin compared

Calvinus frater in Domino, 2020

It is generally acknowledged to a greater or lesser extent that both Heinrich Bullinger and John ... more It is generally acknowledged to a greater or lesser extent that both Heinrich Bullinger and John Calvin developed a theology of the covenant. By covenant theology I mean here an emphasis on continuity rather than discontinuity between the Old and the New Testaments. Given the common covenantal foundation of their theologies, it is striking that Bullinger and Calvin differed from one other regarding the office of civil magistracy. Bullinger considered the office to be exercised within the church. Calvin, in contrast, sought to keep it outside the church, at least with regard to the ius in sacris. The effects of this difference were immediately felt in the area of church discipline. My thesis is that the Reformers’ divergence on the relationship between the civil order and the church cannot be traced back to any significant divergence in their understanding of covenantal continuity. Or, in other words, Bullinger’s covenant theology does not provide sufficient foundation to explain Calvin’s departure from him. The main reasons for the origin of the controversy should be sought elsewhere.

Calvin and the Covenant: The Reception of Zurich Theology

The Oxford Handbook of Calvin and Calvinism, 2021

Today, covenant theology is often equated with Calvinism. The study of Calvin’s own use of the bi... more Today, covenant theology is often equated with Calvinism. The study of Calvin’s own use of the biblical covenant motive, however, has generated a controversial interpretation of the Reformed tradition. While some scholars have recently denied Calvin a genuine theology of the covenant, so as to oppose him to Heinrich Bullinger (1504–1575) and the covenant theology developed in Zurich, this chapter emphasizes Calvin’s positive reception and integration of Zurich’s theology in his Institutes. Even if Calvin did not himself significantly contribute to the development of covenant theology, he ensured Bullinger’s theology gained an enduring place within Calvinism.

Section 6: Advice on the best manner of catechizing

One Church, One Covenant, One Faith. Covenantal Aspects in Zwingli’s Ecclesiology

Bullinger and Calvin on Genesis 17: the covenant conditions

The question of how Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575) and John Calvin (1509-1564) interpreted the ve... more The question of how Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575) and John Calvin (1509-1564) interpreted the very first verses of the 17th chapter of the book of Genesis has important ramifications for dogmatics, and as a matter of fact on the history of doctrine as well. Of course for every reformer committed to the sola scriptura, as were Bullinger and Calvin, the modern separation between exegesis and systematic theology would be anachronistic. An exegetical issue is often, if not always, simultaneously a matter of doctrine. That is especially the case here. Genesis 17, namely God's covenantal promise to Abraham, plays a key role in Bullinger's theology. Looking from here back to Adam and forward to Christ, the covenant motive can arguably be said to be controlling his theological reasoning on the biblical narrative as Heilsgeschichte...