The Reformation Corruption in the Church Absolute power

The Reformation

Corruption in the Church • Absolute power corrupts absolutely. • The Catholic Church up through the 1300 s was the most powerful and wealthy group in Europe. • It ruled without question and allowed no dissention.

Corruption • Indulgences- selling forgiveness of sin. • Simony- selling church positions. – Rich people could control the church. • Nepotism- giving church positions to family members • Relics- Fake objects that could “cure illnesses” and “bestow blessings. ”

The Great Schism • In 1301, King Philip IV of France tried to tax the French clergy. • The Pope threatened excommunication, so Philip had him kidnapped. • The pope died before returning to Rome. • The next pope, Clement V, was friendly to the French and moved the papacy to Avignon in France.

The Great Schism (cont. ) • With the papacy in France, French cardinals and bishops were named. • The Pope lost respect as the people realized France ruled the Church. • Pope Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome, but he died within the year.

The Great Schism (cont. ) • The next Pope was Italian and refused to return to Avignon. • Many of the new French cardinals left for Avignon where they elected their own Pope. • With two competing Popes, the Church Council did the only rational thing left to do…they elected a third Pope. • Catholics were confused over the next 40 years as all three Popes called the others imposters and excommunicated one another.

Terms • Reformation: the religious reform of the early 1500 -1600 s that led to new formations of Christian groups. • Protestant: a Christian who separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation. • Denomination: a particular religious group within a larger faith. • Heresy: opinions that contradict official doctrine. • Doctrine: the official beliefs and ideas of a church.

Early Reformer: Desiderius Erasmus • Desiderius Erasmus was a humanist from Holland. • He was against simony and nepotism. • He wanted to reform the Church, not break away from it. • He wanted the Bible in people’s vernacular. • “Erasmus laid the egg, Luther hatched it. ”

Martin Luther • The official start of the Reformation began with the German priest, Martin Luther. • Luther decided that the Bible said salvation came from God through faith by grace and could not be earned by good works. • He helped translate the Bible to German.

95 Theses • In 1517, Pope Leo X needed money to finish St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. • To raise money, he sold lots of indulgences all over Europe. – Buyers were promised pardons for their sins, their families’, and friends’ sins. • Luther said this was false salvation. • He posted 95 theses, or arguments, on a church door in Wittenberg and sent a list to the Pope.

John Calvin • 1509 -1564 • A French humanist who wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion. • He taught that salvation was from God’s grace for his elect. – Predestination was the key to salvation. – God’s supremacy was stressed over all things. – People could not determine or choose their salvation. • Implications? ?

Predestination • Predestination teaches that ALL events have been willed by God. • Because of this, no one can choose their own salvation. • Free will is impossible in this diagram. • God has chosen, or elect, those who are destined for Heaven and those damned to hell.

King Henry’s Complaint • King Henry VIII was not an intentional reformer like the rest. • His reform occurred because of personal and political reasons. • Personal: – He wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Isabella I of Spain, niece of the Pope, because she couldn’t produce a son and he was interested in Anne Boleyn. – Being a Catholic, he needed the Pope’s permission for a divorce. – The Pope said “no. ” – So, he broke away from the Pope. • Political: – He no longer had the Pope interfering in his business.

Anglicanism • The Church of England, or Anglicanism, was close to Lutheranism in that it taught that salvation was granted by God’s grace through a person’s faith and repentance of their sins. • The ultimate source of authority was the Bible, as interpreted by the monarch.

Counter-Reformation • The Catholic Church watched as Europe began embracing Protestantism. • It responded with a Counter-Reformation at the Council of Trent (1545 -1563). • It reaffirmed: – Faith and good works for salvation – Predestination was wrong.

Jesuits • Ignatius of Loyola was a Counter-Reformer who founded the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. • The Jesuits were “soldiers for Christ” who were missionaries and teachers of Catholic teaching. • They spread through Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Inquisition • Sometimes, however, the Counter-Reformation wasn’t as peaceful as the Jesuits. • Inquisitors were clergy assigned with the task of silencing heretics. – Inquisition means questioning. – What does that mean? • Under the Inquisition, reformers, Jews, and Muslims were persecuted, imprisoned, and executed.

Religious Wars • French Wars of Religion- from 1562 -1598 between Catholics and Protestants (especially the Huguenots) that left over a million people dead. • Thirty Years’ War- mostly within the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) between Catholics and Protestants… – It ended with the Peace of Westphalia. – This was peace between the Protestants and Catholics and set boundaries for the two.