THE REFORMATION

I.

Leaders
1. John Wycliffe
Oxford scholar
Questioned the authority of the church and the Pope
2. John Hus
Bohemian; one of Wycliffes followers
Questioned the supremacy of the pope, wordliness of the Church and the sale of indulgence
(full or partial remission of the punishment of sin)
3. Martin Luther
Began the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century
Became one of the most influential figures in Christian history

II.

Martin Luther
Martin Luther was born in the village of Eisleben, in Thuringia, around 1483
Came from a family which was apparently reasonably well off
He attended the University at Erfurt, one of the largest and most famous in Germany
Abandoned his law studies for theology
When frightened by lightning in 1505, he vowed to become a monk
He entered a monastery of the Augustinian friars
While preparing for one of his lectures, he read,
Romans 1:17
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The
righteous shall live by faith.
He dwelled on this statement for some time. Finally, he realized the key to spiritual salvation
was not to fear God or be enslaved by religious dogma/authority but to believe that faith
alone would bring salvation and that the Bible is the central religious authority
Events
1. Pope Leo X
Around 1515, Pope Leo X wanted torebuild Saint Peters Basilica so he embraced the practice
of many bishops and popes. He issued a new round of indulgences to finance the
reconstruction of St. Peters Basilica in Rome.
St. Peter's basilica was being rebuilt, but there was no money. Leo decided to solve the problem
in time-honored fashion. On this day, March 15, 1517 he declared that anyone who contributed
to the cathedral would be granted an indulgence.
Although in theory, an indulgence was only a remission of penalties meted out in this world by
the church, in practice it was hawked as if it covered the actual guilt of sins and could release
souls from Purgatory.
2. John Tetzel
Lay a stone for Saint Peters and you lay the foundation for your own salvation
It did not bother Tetzel and the Pope that Jesus and Peter never preached indulgences. It did
not bother Tetzel and the Pope that the first claim that indulgences benefited souls in purgatory
appeared only in 1476. It did not bother Tetzel and the Pope that the theories of indulgences,
the temporal punishment for sin, and the Churchs treasury of merits had no basis in Scripture.
But it bothered Martin Luther, a renowned Scripture scholar. What disturbed him even more was
that those theories were being preached not for the spiritual benefit of Christians but for the
grandiose building plans of Pope Leo X.
3. 95 Theses
Acting on this belief, he wrote the The 95 Theses, a list of questions and propositions for
debate.
And on October 31, 1517, Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the
Wittenberg Castle church.
Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy, does a better
deed than he who buys indulgences.
It is not in accordance with Christian doctrines to preach and teach that those who buy off
souls, or purchase confessional licenses, have no need to repent of their own sins.
If the Pope can empty the Purgatory, why would he not do so out of love rather than money?
Why does not the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus,
build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?
Aided by the printing press, copies of the Ninety-Five Theses spread throughout Germany then
throughout Europe, making their way to Rome.
4. Excommunication
The Church eventually moved to stop the act of defiance.

III.

IV.

V.

In October 1518, at a meeting with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan in Augsburg, Martin Luther was
ordered to recant his Ninety-Five Theses by the authority of the pope.
Luther said he would not recant unless scripture proved him wrong. He went further, stating that
he didnt consider the papacy had the authority to interpret scripture.
The meeting ended in a shouting match and initiated his ultimate excommunication from the
Church.
Throughout 1519, Martin Luther continued to lecture and write in Wittenberg. In June and July of
that year he publicly declared that the Bible did not give the pope the exclusive right to interpret
scripture, which was a direct attack on the authority of the papacy.
In 1520, the pope had had enough and on June 15, issued an ultimatum threatening Luther with
excommunication.
On December 10, 1520, Luther publicly burned the letter.
In January 1521, Martin Luther was officially excommunicated from the Roman Catholic
Church.
5. Diet of Worms
February 1521
Elector Frederick III "the Wise" of Saxony, where Luther lived, believed Luther was being treated
unfairly. He reminded emperor Charles that the constitution empire, which he signed at his
coronation, said that no German would be taken out of Germany for trial. He also agreed that no
German be outlawed without first receiving a fair hearing.
March 6, 1521
Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to appear before the Diet ("dee-it" from Latin dies,
meaning "day"), at the ancient city of Worms (pronounced "vorms") in southwest Germany. He
promised Luther safe conduct.
In March, he was summoned before the Diet of Worms, a general assembly of secular
authorities. Again, Luther refused to recant his statements
6.
On May 8, 1521, the council released the Edict of Worms, banning Luthers writings and
declaring him a convicted heretic. This made him a condemned and wanted man.
Charles V, the emperor, was ready to seize and execute him, but, protected by Frederick of
Saxony, Luther withdrew to Wartburg Castle and safety. While in seclusion, he translated the
New Testament into the German language, to give ordinary people the opportunity to read
Gods word.
It wasnt the 1st German translation of the Bible but it was a translation that was more
understandable to lay people
Though still under threat of arrest, Martin Luther returned to Wittenberg Castle Church, in
Eisenach, in May 1522.
Miraculously, he was able to avoid capture and began organizing a new church, Lutheranism.
He gained many followers and got support from German princes. When a peasant revolt began
in 1524, Luther denounced the peasants and sided with the rulers, whom he depended on to
keep his church growing. Thousands of peasants were killed, but Luthers church grew over the
years. In 1525, he married Katharina von Bora, a former nun who had abandoned the convent
and taken refuge in Wittenberg. Together, over the next several years, they had six children.
Factions
Protestantism attained its highest acsendency. But it suffered from lack of unity.
Disunity among the rebels was evident from the beginning, marring the Lutheran movement
within a year of the drama in Worms.
The more extreme Protestants destroyed statues paintings, organs, and altars.
Luther wished to enforce unity on a reformed Church.
Protestant Sectors
In contrast to the Roman Catholic Church, where interpretation of scripture is carried out by the
Pope and his Bishops, Protestantism encourages 'Private Interpretation' of scripture by the
individual. As a direct result, differing denominational groups have emerged, each holding to
distinctive doctrines. Each regards itself as part of the 'Invisible Church' i.e. the union of
believers on earth and in heaven, known only to God.
Protestants agreed that the Word of God was authoritative in matters of faith and that the Bible
had unique status, but they did not agree on all interpretations of the Scripture, nor did they
unite in a single doctrine of scriptural authority.
Protestant mystics and the Quakers stressed an immediate experience of God and thus
qualified the importance of the Bible in shaping Christian life. But even among Lutherans,
Calvinists, Anabaptists, and Anglicans there were differences of opinion about the Bible.