Girolamo Zanchi (1516-1590)

Girolamo Zanchi was a Reformed scholastic theologian of note in the later sixteenth century. He was born in Alzano, Italy in 1516, became a priest and public preacher in the Lateran Order of Canons Regular. Under the influence of Peter Martyr Vermigli, he embraced Reformation theology. For nearly a decade, he ministered to an underground church until, in 1551, he fled to Protestant Europe. He spent most of the rest of his life as a professor or pastor in Strasbourg, Chiavenna, Heidelberg, and Neustadt.

After his death, Zanchi’s heirs compiled his voluminous writings into an eight-volume opera omnia. It included, among other things, both Old and New Testament commentaries, methodological works, polemics, theological treatises, a confession of the faith, and large portions of a massive but unfinished summa of theology. His writings, most of which are accessible only in Latin, proved deeply influential for the development of Reformed theology, piety, and practice.

Available in Translation

Zanchi Resources

  • Bibliography
    • A complete bibliography of Zanchiana, including all printed primary sources as well as secondary sources from the seventeenth century to the present.
  • Outline
    • A detailed outline of Zanchi’s Opera omnia with live links and folio/column/page numbers.
  • Correspondence
    • A survey of letters (prepared by Dr. Dolf te Velde) to and from Zanchi (as well as a few about him) based on the correspondence published in the eighth tome of the Opera omnia.
  • Meeter Center Materials
    • In 2025, Dr. Christopher Burchill donated his personal notes to the Meeter Center at Calvin University, which subsequently digitized the material and made it publicly available.
  • Works
  • Biography