Lesser-Known Reformers: John Oecolampadius (1482–1531)

“Oecolampadius” is a fancy Greek name, but John Oecolampadius was German-Swiss. His last name was the German name Hausshein. Like many reformers, after he learned Greek, he changed his last name to its Greek equivalent. Look at the name “Hausshein.” It sort of looks like “house-shine” and means “house lamp.” “Oeco” is from the Greek word that means “house,” and “lamp” is a Greek word.  A brief side note: Greek names are longer than German-Swiss names, aren’t they? I checked out what my last...