Chapter

14
The Reformation
 The Great Schism
•  In 1305, King Philip IV (4) of France used his political
power to get Clement V (5) elected as Pope.
•  2 years later Pope Clement V moved the center of the
Roman Catholic Church from Rome, Italy to Avignon,
France.
•  After the move to Avignon most of the popes were French,
which upset many church officials because they felt the
French kings controlled the popes (for example, the arrest of
the Knights Templar).
•  In 1378, there was a split in the Roman Catholic Church
when church leaders in Avignon and Rome elected different
popes. The split is known as the Great Schism.
•  From 1414 to 1418, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
who ruled much of central Europe held conferences in
Germany to end the schism.
•  Church officials removed the French pope and persuaded the
Roman Pope to resign. In 1417, church officials elected
Pope Martin V (5) of Rome who began to unify the Catholic
Church once again.
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 Criticism of the Church
•  The Church owned a lot of land, about one-fifth
(20%) to one third (33%) of all of land in Europe.
•  The Church did not have to pay taxes on the
property they owned.
•  Many Europeans who lived outside of Italy disliked
having to pay taxes to the Church in Rome.
•  People were angry that the Church sold indulgences.
•  Indulgences were sold as pardon for sin, and people
bought indulgences thinking they could avoid
punishment in the afterlife.
•  People also did not like how the Church spent
money. During the Renaissance the Popes spent
large sums of money on the arts.
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 Reformers Take A Stand
•  John Wycliffe who taught in Oxford, England questioned
the right of Popes to levy taxes and appoint church
officials without the king’s approval.

•  Dutch priest and scholars Desiderius Erasmus believed

the Church teachings needed to be purified and that
many Church officials were corrupt.

•  Martin Luther was born in Germany in 1483.

•  Luther’s father wanted him to study law, but in 1505

Luther was caught in a thunderstorm. Fearing for his life
Luther vowed to become a monk.

•  Luther believed people could only be saved if they had

faith in teachings of Jesus Christ, and questioned the idea
that salvation could be achieved through good works.

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 Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses
•  In 1517 in Wittenberg, Germany the Catholic Church was
selling indulgences to finance St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome.

•  Luther disapproved, and wrote all problems with the

Catholic Church in the Ninety-Five Theses which included:
ü  The Bible is the only source of religious truth.
ü  People do not need the clergy to interpret the Bible.
ü  Salvation can be gained only through faith in Christ.

•  After Luther wrote the Ninety –Five Theses he was forced

to hide in Wartburg Castle.

•  Supporters of Luther signed a protest agreement, and earned

the name Protestants.

•  Protestants became the name for Christians who separated

with the Catholic Church.

•  Protestants used the term Reformation to describe the

opposition movement against the Catholic Church.
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 Reform and Reaction
•  Luther created Lutheranism and his ideas quickly spread
because:
1)  Printing,
2)  Priests who supported Luther,
3)  Merchants who spread Luther’s ideas along trade routes.

•  For many years bibles were only printed in Latin, but during
Luther’s time printers made Bibles in local languages.

•  The ability for people to read and interpret the Bible

challenged the authority of the Catholic Church.

•  In 1521, Charles V(5) who was a Catholic was emperor of

the Holy Roman Empire, and was at war with many Lutheran
princes throughout Germany.

•  In 1555, Catholic and Lutheran princes met to agree to a

peace treaty known as the Peace of Augsburg.

WATCH The Old Firm Rivalry (Celtics vs. Rangers)

 The Reformation Grows
•  People who read the Bible had many different
interpretations, and many different Protestant
religions were formed.
•  John Calvin a French reformer believed that God
had chosen people for salvation even before they
were born, an idea called predestination.
•  John Calvin’s interpretation of the Bible created a
Protestant religion called Calvinism.
•  Reformation in England was started by King
Henry VIII (8) when he wanted to divorce his
wife, but the pope would not permit it.
•  Henry started the Church of England, also called
the Anglican Church.
•  The Anglican Church kept most Catholic beliefs,
but rejected the power of the Pope.
WATCH King Henry VIII (8) Mini Bio
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 The Counter Reformation
•  Catholic leaders gathered at the Council of Trent
(1545-1563) to stop the spread of Protestantism, this
movement was called the Counter Reformation.

•  At the Council of Trent, Catholic said that the truth also

came from Church traditions.

•  St. Ignatius of Loyola created the Society of Jesus, or

Jesuits, to support the Counter Reformation and spread
Catholicism to Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

•  The Roman Catholic Church used the Inquisition, a

court established to investigate people “who wander form
the way of the Lord and the Catholic faith.”

•  The Papacy created a list of books considered a threat to

the Catholic faith.
WATCH Ignatius Trailer
 Expansion of Christianity
•  Catholic and Protestants sent members to do religious
work called missions. A person who goes on missions are
called missionary.

•  Religious groups organize missions to persuade people to

convert, or adopt, to their religion.

•  During the 16th century (1501-1600), Catholic missions

were successful in the Americas.

•  English Puritans and Quakers settled in North America.

•  By 1556, there was about 1,000 missionaries in Europe,

Asia, and Africa. By 1626, the number of missionaries
increased to more than 15,000.
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 Legacy of the Reformation
•  From 1051 (East-West Schism) until
Reformation all Christians in western Europe
belonged to the Catholic Church.
•  After Reformation, Christianity in western
Europe was divided into Catholics and
Protestants.
•  Spain, Portugal, and France were Catholic.
•  England, Holland (the Netherlands), and
Prussia (Germany/Poland) were Protestant.
•  Historians say that Protestantism helped the
development of federalism, the sharing of
power between an organization or government
and its members.