Zacharias Ursinus
Zacharias Ursinus (Breslau, July 18, 1534 - Neustadt an der Weinstraße, March 6, 1583) was a German sixteenth century theologian, born as Zacharias Baer. Like many others in the 16th century, he streamlined his name. Ursus means "bear". He is best known as the author of the Heidelberg Catechism, which he co-founded with Caspar Olevianus (1536-1587), his colleague as a professor of theology at the University of Heidelberg and the Collegium sapientiae, the Pupil of the Palaces.
About his fifteenth, Ursinus studied at the University of Wittenberg, where he was taught seven years of Philipp Melanchthon, the employee and later successor to Maarten Luther. Melanchthon admired the young Ursinus because of his intellectual gifts and his spiritual maturity. Later, Ursinus studied at reformed universities in Strasbourg, Basel, Lausanne and Geneva. In Lyon and Orleans he taught Hebrew. After that he returned to Breslau and published a pamphlet about the sacraments that raised the anger of the Lutherans. They accused him of being more reformed than Lutheran. His opponents in Breslau managed to drive him out of town. Ursinus moved to Zurich and became friends with Petrus Martyr Vermigli, an Italian reformer.
In 1561, on the advice of Peter Martyr, Prince Frederik III of the Palace was appointed as Professor of the Sapientiae Collegiate. He completed the Heidelberg Catechismus in collaboration with Caspar Olevianus. After the Prince's death in 1576, this was succeeded by his Lutheran brother Louis VI of the Palatinate. His new religious course led to the resignation of Ursinus, who from 1578 until his death in 1583 was professor at the reformed theological school in Neustadt an der Haardt.
His works were published in 1587-89, a complete edition appeared in 1612, issued by his son and two of his former students, Daniel Pareus and Quirinus Reuter. Much influence in the Netherlands had his statement from the Heidelberg Catechism in a translation by Festus Hommius, The Schatboeck of the Verification of the Catechism.
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