The Christian Church in the Middle Ages Essay

“The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that have defined the continent in today's modern era.”(History.com/2009) Many historians have argued that the beinging of the reformation goes back to 1517 when Martin Luther wrote 95 Theses. Its ending can be placed anywhere from the 1583-1648, right around the time of the Treaty of Westphalia. The key ideas of the Reformation were to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, not tradition, should be the sole source of spiritual authority. However, Luther and multiple other men contributed on a large scale that widely affected the Reformation. “Martin Luther who was a monk and professor in Germany when he composed his 95 Theses, in which he protested the popes sale of indugences were corrupting church members faith”(Biography.com/2013). With the aid of the printing

The Catholic Church during the early 16th Century was rooted throughout Europe. The Church influenced every country and its respective monarchs through the Church’s wealth and power. The Catholic Church placed a tight hold on the general populace with individuals who went against the Church being branded as heretics and excommunicated. The wealth and power of the Church eventually caused the quality of the clergy to deteriorate. Priests became corrupt and subjected to their physical desires. They frequented taverns, gambled and kept mistresses. The reputation of the clergy were horrid as the general populace was relieved that “their priest [kept] a mistress” because it “[secured] their wives from seduction” The knowledge of the clergy degenerated as well as they were no longer required to learn and teach the Holy Scriptures because the Church dictated their actions. The pinnacle of the Church’s corruption was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence was the “extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment” sold by priests as a temporary relief from sins. The indulgences were then sold to the general populace for money as the monetization of a priest’s services. Johannes Tetzel was a prominent preacher of indulgences who relied on the money from the sales to subsidize the rebuilding of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. The corrupt sales did not go unnoticed as Martin Luther, in an effort to stop the corruption of the Church, posted the 95 Theses on the door of a Castle

The Reformation was one of the most important act in history of all time. There are two main contributors to the Reformation in the 16th Century: Martin Luther and King Henry VIII. Although these two both were part of the Reformation they played two different parts in it. Martin Luther’s reform was based on his beliefs, and trying to stop the Catholic Church from all their wrongdoings. On the other hand Henry VIII wanted reformation for more personal reasons. Even though these two examples were different they both had a forceful impact on the Reformation that we still see effects of today.

In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Church's power was so great that they could order and control knights and sends them to battle whenever they wished to. The Church also had the power to influence the decision of Kings and could stop or pass laws which benefited them in the long run, adding to this, the Church had most of the wealth in Europe as the

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

“There is strength in numbers” (Mark Shields). This well-known quote emphasizes the importance of working together. However, “strength in numbers” would never be achieved without a great leader. Great leaders are the basis for success in all aspects of society because without someone to lead, plans cannot be executed and ideas remain mere thoughts in people’s minds. One such great leader was Martin Luther, a German theologian, who is credited with beginning the Protestant reformation. Part of the reason why his name is so readily associated with the reformation is because he had the courage to create change. Luther was not the first to have radical ideas about reforming the Roman Catholic Church: there must have been others who loathed indulgences or were cognizant that the papacy often corrupted its power. However, Luther was the one to gather his ideas and stand up against the Church, for the sake of Christianity and its followers. Even though he often faced the threat of harsh consequences, he never recanted his teachings or gave up hope. Despite encouraging mass violence, Martin Luther should be known as a great leader since he reformed the Roman Catholic Church and helped make Christianity more accessible to the common people.

The reformation was a major movement in the 16th century aimed at reforming the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther’s theses were a response directed to the church in demand of changing the religious views of society but led an immense religious and political division in Europe.

The rise of papacy in the Western Catholic Church is debatably the most corrupt and darkest time in Christianity. The collapse of the greatest and longest running empire in human history created an immense void in society which the church attempted to fill. The bishops of the roman churches who had previously been politicians were now in a position to usurp even more power. The power of the pope continued to rise even to the point of deposing and appointing the kings of Europe. The ramifications of the papacy on history are many.

During the time of the Middle Ages, the prime unifier of all people in western Europe was the Catholic Church, headed by the pope. Also at that time, the only people who could read and interpret the Bible were the clergy officials, because they were the ones who could read and write Latin. These two things combined gave the Church a significant amount of power over all people. As usual, the power corrupted the Church and they began to take advantage of the unknowing common people. An example of their corruption was the selling of indulgences, or the pardon of all the sins committed by the buyer and his family for a price (“The Spanish Massacre…”).

As Esther Dyson said, “Change means that what was before wasn't perfect. People want things to be better.” The Protestant Reformation was a revolution caused by Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a monk of the Catholic Church. Like Esther Dyson said that things are changed because it was not perfect and at that time the Catholic Church was not perfect. Martin brought up many great ideas to perfect the church, but they did not listen. The Protestant Reformation was caused by the dishonesty of the Catholic Church and they should have listened to Martin Luther.

Christianity in Europe during the Medieval Period encountered many hindrances such as corruption, sex, the Avignon Captivity, and the Great Schism. However, even though the church encountered many controversies which eventually undermined the foundation of the church, monastic revival reformed the church and ultimately restored the original beliefs. Corruption was present in many forms within the church during the medieval period. Many clergy members were landowners in late medieval Christianity and if they were not, the church would count on the nobles to share their profits from their peasants work. (Christian History, 2015)

Martin Luther: Martin Luther is one of the fathers’ of the Reformation movement. Martin Luther’s had Justification Early in his life and Martin Luther dedicated himself to the monastic life. His joining of the Augustinian friary at Erfurt, Germany in 1505 would begin a journey that would eventually create the foundation for a new religious movement within Christendom called protestant reformation.

Martin Luther has been called the reformer of the Christian church. When googeling his name and the word reformist the hits on the Internet show over 90 000. When googeling his name and the word revolutionary the hits show just over 12 000. When reading about him, he is mainly described as a priest, monk and theologist, and as someone who initiated the reformation of the Christian church. Yes, he did start the process of reformation of the Christian church, but the changes that occured during his lifetime were revolutionary. The later changes in the Protestant church, or fine tuning of the changes, were reformation.

Since its beginnings, Christianity has been guided by the concepts of humbleness and good morals. However, there exists evidence that in the Middle Ages, Church officials in western Europe used Christianity as a cover for corrupt acts, such as war and torture, as well as financial extortion and bribery. The medieval Roman Catholic church began with the fall of Rome in 476 CE. With Roman emperor Constantine’s moving of Rome’s capital to the ancient city Byzantium in eastern Europe, which he renamed to Constantinople, Rome’s ability to enforce its rule in the west declined greatly, allowing Germanic invaders to successfully take rule.

By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not