Ulrich Zwingli (d. 1531), like his contemporary Martin Luther (d. 1546), was a courageous reformer of the church, to whom Protestant Christians owe a debt of gratitude. He began his reform at Zurich in 1519 by preaching through the gospel of Matthew, reviving the practice of Chrysostom of consecutive Bible exposition. Zwingli simplified the worship of the church, purging it of unbiblical elements, and limiting it to what God had expressly commanded. In his theology, Zwingli exalted God's sovereign will in providence and salvation, and affirmed the chasmic difference between Creator and created. Zurich became a hub from where the Reformation spread out to other cities such as Berne, Strasburg and Geneva. On one point, however, Zwingli was deficient, namely in respect of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Zwingli's paradigm for understanding the sacraments was the Latin word sacramentum , equivalent to the German word "Eid". This referred to a soldier's oath of