The Protestant Reformation

Religious reform movement that divided the

western Church into Catholic and Protestant

groups.

Why reform?

Church officials, especially the bishops and the

Renaissance popes, used their church offices to

advance their careers and wealth. They seemed

more interested in politics than religion.

Julius II-”The

Warrior Pope,”

personally

went into

battle

Pope Leo X-

Medici Pope

Another perceived problem: the church sold

indulgences. According to church teaching,

indulgences are a release from punishment

for sin that the soul undergoes in purgatory.

The soul is purified in purgatory on its way to

heaven.

“As soon as the

coin in the coffer

rings, the soul

from purgatory

springs.”

Johann Tetzel

Martin Luther • Martin Luther

was the German priest who started the Reformation in the early 1500’s

• Luther was concerned about the corruption he saw in the church

The 95 Theses

A thesis is a statement of belief.

In 1517, Luther sent a list of 95 theses to church superiors and nailed it to the church door in Wittenberg in defiance. These were an attack on abuses and the sale of indulgences.

Luther attacked the 7

sacraments, keeping

only baptism and

communion. He

thought clergy

should marry.

Baptism

Confirmation

Communion

Confession

Marriage

Holy Orders

Anointing of the sick

Printing Press - In the 1430’sJohannes Guttenberg

introduced movable-type printing to Europe. It

became easier and cheaper to produce books.

During the Renaissance and later, literacy rates

began to rise.

Luther translated the

Bible into vernacular

German. His Bible and

other ideas gained a

wide audience because

of the printing press.

The Edict of Worms

Luther was excommunicated by the church, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, made Luther an outlaw in his edict. However, Luther was protected by his ruler, Frederick, the Elector of Saxony.

Luther’s religious movement soon became a

revolution. In the course of the 16th and 17th

centuries, it divided Europe. Luther inspired an

alternative to the Catholic church, called

Lutheranism, or (later) Protestantism.

The Holy Roman Empire experienced religious and

dynastic war in the 16th century. At the Peace of

Augsburg (1555), Charles V allowed the German

states to choose either Catholicism or

Lutheranism.

Protestantism Develops In 1536, John Calvin published the

Institutes of the Christian Religion, a summary of Protestant thought.

Calvin agreed with Luther in the idea of justification by faith alone (sola fide) – one is saved only by faith in God.

They both agreed in sola scriptura – the idea that the Bible (not church tradition) was the ultimate authority.

Calvin taught predestination: God determined in advance who would be saved and who would be damned.

Calvin established Geneva, Switzerland, as a center of Protestantism.

Citizens were punished for sinful behavior such as dancing, drunkenness, swearing, and playing cards.

John Calvin

Calvin and the Geneva

magistrates

Catholic and Protestant beliefs

compared

Protestantism in England

King Henry

VIII rule

England,

1509-1547.

He

belonged to

the Tudor

Dynasty.

Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, did not give

Henry a son. Henry decided to marry Anne

Boleyn, but needed the pope to annul the

marriage. The pope refused.

Random review: Reformation

• Protestant Reformation

• Why did Luther want reform?

• Purgatory

• Indulgences

• Martin Luther

• The 95 Theses

• Sacraments

• Married clergy

• Printing Press

• Johannes Guttenberg

• literacy rates

• The Edict of Worms

• excommunication

• Lutheranism

• Protestantism

• John Calvin

• justification by faith alone (sola fide)

• sola scriptura

• predestination

• King Henry VIII

• Tudor Dynasty

• annulment

Henry defied the church

and parliament

passed the Act of

Supremacy. From that

time on, the king or

queen has been the

head of the Church of

England. Henry

confiscated many

church properties.

The Anglican (English) Church

Salisbury Cathedral

The Counter Reformation

The Catholic church’s response to Protestantism is known as the Counter Reformation. It consisted of three “pillars:”

1. The Jesuits

2. Reform of the papacy

3. The Council of Trent

The Jesuits

Spanish priest Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits. This order of priests preached the Catholic faith and helped restore Catholicism to parts of Europe that were beginning to embrace Lutheranism.

Reform of the papacy

In response to the

accusations of the

Protestant Reformers

that the popes were too

worldly, Reformation

popes devoted more

energy to the spiritual

needs of the church. Pope Pius V began his pontificate

by giving alms to the poor, charity,

and hospitals rather than focusing

on patronage

Council of Trent

The Catholic Church met to reform and define its teaching in a council of bishops:

• Belief in purgatory and indulgences was strengthened; selling them was forbidden

• Seven sacraments were upheld

• Faith and good works were necessary for salvation

The Catholic Church was united under the pope’s supreme leadership with clear teachings to fight the Reformers.