Church History 1500 2000 Ann T Orlando 27

Church History 1500 - 2000 Ann T. Orlando 27 January 2005

Overview • • • Summary from last week Beginnings of Reformation Spread of Reformation Council of Trent European voyages of discovery and colonization Enlightenment Revolutions Vatican II

Review from Last Week • Very weakened papacy – Avignon papacy – Counciliar movement; multiple claimants to papacy – Papacy ‘captured’ by wealthy Roman and Florentine families • Increasingly independent kings – 100 years war between France and England • Social disruption: plague, fall of Constantinople • Universities places of increasingly obscure scholastic disputations

Beginnings of Reformation • The straw that broke the camel’s back: 1517, Albrecht of Mainz wants to be Archbishop – Albrecht buys his archbishopric from Rome (sin of simony); Rome needs the money in part to help pay for rebuilding of St. Peters – Rome authorizes the preaching of a special indulgence in Germany, with the money to go to Albrecht to repay him • Martin Luther (1483 -1546) – Responds to this situation with 95 Thesis – Go far beyond denouncing sin of simony and corruption; fundamentally calls into question Rome’s primary and theology of indulgences; denounces scholasticism – German princes support Luther against Rome • Note: 16 th C reform movements attacked doctrine, not just practice as Medieval reform movements had done

Lutheran Theology • Sola Scriptura – Rejection of philosophical developments; Scripture is all that one needs – Scripture should be available to everyone, unmediated; Luther translates Bible into German – Return to original Biblical languages for Biblical study; reject any OT books not written in Hebrew (deutrocanonical books) • Sola Fides – Faith in Jesus Christ is necessary and sufficient for salvation – Universal priesthood of all believers • Sola gratia – Only God’s grace can save you – Only two sacraments: Baptism and Eucharist

John Calvin • Calvin (1509 - 1564) born in France, studied law • Accepted Luther’s maxim “Sola Scriptura, Sola Fides, Sola Gratia) and extended it – Accepted double predestination – Rejected real presence in Eucharist • Established a ‘holy’ city in Geneva • Calvinism, had an extensive influence on Protestant movement, especially in Scotland (Presbyterians), France (Huguenots) and England (Puritans) • Note that all reformers looked to Augustine as their ‘patron saint’

Catholic Response: Jesuits • • • Jesuits (Society of Jesus) founded by Ignatius Loyola (1491 -1556) NOT founded to counter Reformation; but charter put Jesuits on front lines against Reformers Key points in early Jesuit charter (1541): – the vow not to accept ecclesiastical dignities; – special relationship to Pope – increased probations. The novitiate is prolonged from one year to two, with a third year, which usually falls after the priesthood. Candidates are moreover at first admitted to simple vows only, solemn vows coming much later on; – the Society does not keep choir; – it does not have a distinctive religious habit; – it is also said to have been the first order to undertake officially and by virtue of its constitutions active works such as the following: • • foreign missions, at the pope's bidding; the education of youth of all classes; the instruction of the ignorant and the poor; ministering to the sick, to prisoners, etc.

Catholic Response: Council of Trent • Lengthy, intermittent (1545 -1563) – Purpose was both to address reform of practice and to uphold Catholic doctrine • Jesuits play a major theological role at Trent; encouraged explicit statement of Catholic doctrine in opposition to Protestant views – Scripture and tradition – Sacraments are effect through performance of sacramental action; affirmed 7 sacraments – Good works together with faith brings about salvation

Shift in European Culture 16 th-17 th C • Rise of nations and a sense of national culture – Vernacular over Latin as official language • Official religion of a country is defined by the religion of the prince (Peace of Augsburg, 1555) – Definitively settled in West the question of ‘who is in charge’: the king – Development of theory of ‘divine right of kings’

Expansion of European Culture 16 th – 17 th C • Voyages of discovery – Driven by economics – Religion followed economics • Jesuits and Franciscans were primary Catholic missionary orders • Many saw colonization of new world (Western Hemisphere) as a way to escape turmoil of old world

Development of a new secular philosophy: Enlightenment • Science (as we now define it) as the basis for knowledge • Toleration (as we now believe in it) as the basis for religious action in world • Individual rights (as we now accept it), not individual duty, as basis for political systems and law • Human reason can figure it (anything, everything) out; is always making progress – Devalue history, tradition

Catholicism and Science • Galileo (1564 -1642) controversy – Church silences Galileo because of his theory that earth revolved around sun – But the Jesuits also supported Keppler against Protestant attackers – Note part of Robert Bellarmine’s argument against Galileo was that his circular orbits were not consistent with observations; that epicycles explained astronomical observations better • Real question: Where is knowledge to be found? – Church rejects the argument that only science has access to truth; rejects attempts to relativize (trivialize) revelation – In 17 th C Church is in good company: Newton, Boyle

American Revolution: New Political Structures • American Revolution (1776 -1781), based on philosophy of John Locke (1632 -1704) – Champion of individual rights – Religious toleration • Not clear (still isn’t) what is relation between religion and politics in America – Most States have official religion (First Amendment to Constitution only Congress will not establish a religion); see for instance John Adams’ Constitution of Massachusetts – Thomas Jefferson extends this to separation of Church and State (1802) • John Locke, while a champion of individual rights, also a believer in natural law as a subset of eternal law as basis for justice – Thomas Jefferson champions only individual rights; contractual view of justice – T. Jefferson also believed that a new Constitution should be written every 19 years (each generation); no permanence to law

French Revolution: Extreme Enlightenment • Impetus comes from group of 18 th C French philosophers: philosophes • Philosophes embraced John Locke and science; encouraged by American Revolution • Use it as a weapon against ‘throne and altar’ – ‘Smile of Reason’ turns into glare of tyranny – Individual rights and toleration get replaced by suspicion of ‘enemy of people’ and a new ‘religion’; active persecution of Church • Just before the Terror an important defector from Enlightenment: Voltaire; but a defection to skepticism (we really can’t know anything) and disengagement from society

19 th and 20 th C New Nationalisms • 19 th and early 20 th C period of violent revolutions in Europe (France, Italy, Germany, Russia) – Also a period of violent revolutions and wars of independence throughout Western Hemisphere, Asia and Africa • Growth of labor movements opposed to oppression of laissez faire capitalism • Under the pretense of ‘will of the people’ new totalitarian regimes form in many countries • Marxism develops a theory of history and society that portrays religion as a phase that enlightened peoples will out grow • No child of 20 th C can think that Enlightenment has led to a golden age: Shoah, gulags, Rwanda, World Wars, etc.

Catholicism’s Response • Vatican I (1866 -1870) – Reaffirmed that we can have sure knowledge in faith and morals (infallibility of Pope, Thomism as official theology) – Reaffirmed that religion is important to society’s well being – Reaffirm the importance of natural law • Vatican II (1962 -1965) – Toleration defined as toleration of religion against secular societies trying to prevent religious practice – Concern about new economic systems and materialism, whether Marxist or capitalist, that in fact undermine dignity of individual and families – Renewal of liturgical practices; often based upon early Christian practice