The Protestant Reformers And The Catholic Church

The Protestant Reformation was a major 16th century European movement aimed initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation in western and central Europe officially began in 1517 with Martin Luther and his 95 Theses. This was a debate over the Christian religion. At the time there was a difference in power. Roman Catholicism stands with the Pope as central and appointed by God. Luther’s arguments referred to a direct relationship with God and using the local vernacular to speak to the people. Luther’s arguments remove the absolute power from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in general. The revenue from the taxes paid to the Church would be reduced with Luther’s ideas, in part because of

The Protestant Reformation was a pivotal time of European history that occurred during the 16th century. The Protestant Reformation was comprised of people called “reformers” that challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice (“The Reformation”). The Protestant Reformation was revolutionary due to the fact that the reformers preached against everything the Catholic Church had been teaching. Some famous reformers are John Calvin and Martin Luther. However, Martin Luther-- to some--- is named the most successful and influential reformer of the 16th century. Martin Luther was tremendously effective and influential due to how resourceful he was, and his teachings spread across Europe swiftly.

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 would define the continent in the modern era.

Some of the heresies rejected include the belief that the church isn’t perfect, the idea that the church can change over time, the concept of separation of church and state and the theory of pluralism. Ultimately, Pius asserts that the Catholic Church is a true and perfect society, claiming precedence over the rules of civil society and law. More so than that, the traditional practices of the church shall be maintained and should be included in all aspects of life, including civil practice, philosophy and the education

The protestant reformation happened at the moment that it did because the Catholic Church was very a powerful force in Europe. It controlled people lives both spiritually and temporally. The church had so much power that it maintained political control over a large portion of Italy. The fact that the church held so much control over countries and governments became a point of contention among European countries such as the Holy Roman Empire, Italian city-states outside of Rome, England, France and Spain. The power of the rulers of these areas had greatly increased in the 14th century and they were eager to take the chances offered by a Reformation to weaken the grip of the Catholic Church in Europe and also to develop their own powers across the European continent. For quite some time the Catholic Church had been an institution rampant with internal struggles. Such as the Avignon Papacy from 1309 to 1377 when seven popes opted to live in Avignon, France and not reside in Rome which was and is the traditional home of the Papacy. The Pope and other high ranking church officials often lived opulent lifestyles rather than a more austere lifestyle that should befit a spiritual leader. Many church leaders and Popes maintained political powers. They led armies, waged wars and made many political decisions. Church offices were sold, and many Popes and bishops practiced nepotism to fill church offices. With all of these worldly issues for the Pope

The period immediately following the Protestant reformation and the Catholic counter reformation, was full of conflict and war. The entire continent of Europe and all of it's classes of society were affected by the destruction and flaring tempers of the period. In the Netherlands, the Protestants and the Catholics were at eachother’s throats. In France it was the Guise family versus the Bourbons. In Bohemia, the religious and political structures caused total havoc for over thirty years; and in England, the Presbyterians thought that the English Anglican Church too closely resembled the Roman Catholic Church. Religion was the major cause of the widespread

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.” Martin Luther. The Protestant Reformation was a great schism from the Roman Catholic Church initiated by Martin Luther. He was widely acknowledged to have started the Reformation with his 1517 work “The Ninety-Five Theses” in which he began by criticizing the selling of indulgences, insisting that the Pope had no authority over purgatory and that Catholic doctrine of the merits of the saints had no further foundation in the Gospel. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura and sola fide. The central drive behind these changes was theological, though many others factors played a part, including the rise of nationalism, the Western Schism that eroded people’s faith in the Papacy, the impact of humanism and the new learning of the Renaissance which questioned much of traditional thought.

It was known that the Catholic Church responded to the Protestant Reformation in a variety of different ways. However, the way in which the church responded could be broken down into two parts. Some of these ways in which the church responded were initiatives in order to gain wider acceptance by other individuals and in an attempt to reinforce the power and authority of the Pope by supporting papal authority anywhere the members of the church travelled. However, some people from the Catholic Church decided to take a more repressive approach.

The first picture shows a church that is full of paintings and sculptures, this is a photo of the Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church they worshiped relics and used many statues and other pieces of art. Along with the use of relics, the Catholic Church used the bible to teach and preach about God, whereas the protestant Church did not. The second picture is of a church that is mostly empty, this shows the protestant church, because they did not use relics and they focused on their relations with god.

The Protestant Reformation during the sixteenth century established a schism between Christian beliefs that lead to the emergence of divergent interpretations of the Bible. Through this transformation the Papacy was prosecuted for its unrelenting and restricted renditions of the gospel that was seen to oppress the populace and corrupt the true meaning of God’s Word. Though there were individuals such as Desiderius Erasmus who greatly criticized the Catholic Church yet remained loyal there were others who broke away entirely. With the increasing dissatisfaction across Europe factions began to be founded providing elucidation on the “truthful” interpretations of the Bible. Two various factions were known as Lutheranism after German priest

There are many different denominations of Christianity in the world today including the Anglican Church, Orthodox Church, Catholicism, and Episcopal for example. Nonetheless, in the early 1500s, Catholicism was the predominant denomination. An argument that often comes up against the validity of Christianity is the actions of the Catholic church in the era prior to the Protestant Reformation. To quote Jesus Christ, “…build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18). Many will interpret this as a broken promise when you consider Catholicism the church, which easily fell into serious error. However, even prior to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic church was not the only church. The Catholic

The Protestant Reformation called the Protestant Revolt and known too many as The Reformation. This movement was the European Christian reform movement this was the beginning of Protestantism the branch of

Following the Evangelical reform movements on the European continent against the Roman Catholic Church, England also experienced its own reform movements and reformists. During the fifteenth century and the early sixteenth century, the English monarchy was Catholic, and thus opposed to reform, prosecuting evangelicals as heretics. In the first half of the reign of Henry VIII, the second Tudor monarch, this pattern continued under the administration of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey as Lord Chancellor, and later with Sir Thomas More in that same office (Marshall 31). However, in 1526, Henry VIII was in love with Anne Boleyn, and the delay of Pope Clement VII to grant him an annulment of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon set in motion the events

The Counter-Reformation was the response of the Catholic Church to the Protestant Reformation set in motion by Martin Luther. It was a period of revival for Catholicism stemming from the Council of Trent. The Council was established to address the numerous issues disputed by Protestantism, defining and reforming Church teachings, doctrine, and structure. Catholicism and Protestantism were also divided regarding the visual arts. The Protestant Reformation promoted iconoclasm, calling for the removal and destruction of religious images. Idolatry, the worshiping of an image or physical object as God, was prohibited. In response, the Catholic Church called for greater production of religious art, becoming the most prominent patron. These new artworks were meant to glorify God and assert the authority of the Catholic Church.

The four (4) marks of the Catholic Church are one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. These marks date back to the ecumenical councils of Nicea in 325 and First Constantinople in 381 and were reaffirmed at the Council of Trent in the 16th century and echoed by the Holy Vatican Office in the 19th century (Suprenant 1). These are distinctive characteristics of the church because of its oneness of doctrine (one), ability to dispense sanctification (holy), mission to the world (catholic), and succession of ministry (apostolic) (Catholic Encyclopedia 371). These marks are professed every time the Nicene Creed is prayed and proclaims the Church “serves as a leaven and as a kind of soul for human society as it is to be renewed in Christ and transformed