Reformation
16th-century movement in Western Christianity / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Protestant Reformation?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation and the European Reformation,[1] was a major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church. Following the start of the Renaissance, the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism.
It is considered one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe.[2] The end of the Reformation era is disputed among modern scholars.
Prior to Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers, there were earlier reform movements within Western Christianity. The Reformation, however, is usually considered to have started with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses, authored by Martin Luther in 1517. Four years later, in January 1521, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. In May 1521, at the Diet of Worms, Luther was condemned by the Holy Roman Empire, which officially banned citizens from defending or propagating Luther's ideas.[3] Luther survived after being declared an outlaw due to the protection of Elector Frederick the Wise.
The spread of Gutenberg's printing press provided the means for the rapid dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The initial movement in Germany diversified, and nearby other reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin with different theologies arose.
In general, the Reformers argued that salvation in Christianity was a completed status based on faith in Jesus alone and not a process that could involve good works, as in the Catholic view. Protestantism also introduced new ecclesiology.
The Counter-Reformation was the Catholic reform efforts initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation and its causes.[4]
In the 16th-century context, the term mainly covers four major movements: Lutheranism, Calvinism, the Radical Reformation, and the Catholic Reformation. Historian John Bossy criticized the term Reformation[5] for "wrongly implying that bad religion was giving way to good," but also because it has "little application to actual social behaviour and little or no sensitivity to thought, feeling or culture."[note 1] Some historians have also suggested a persisting Erasmian Reformation.[note 2] Anglican theologian Alister McGrath explains the term "Reformation" as "an interpretative category—a way of mapping out a slice of history in which certain ideas, attitudes, and values were developed, explored, and applied".
Those who write of the "Protestant Reformation" exclude the early modern Catholic reform movements. Magisterial Reformation has a narrower sense, as it refers only to mainstream Protestantism, primarily Lutheranism and Calvinism, contrasting it with more radical ideas.[7] Catholic Reformation is distinguished by the historian Massimo Firpo from Counter-Reformation. In his view, Catholic Reformation was "centered on the care of souls ..., episcopal residence, the renewal of the clergy, together with the charitable and educational roles of the new religious orders", whereas Counter-Reformation was "founded upon the defence of orthodoxy, the repression of dissent, the reassertion of ecclesiastical authority".[8] From the late 20th century, historians often use the plural of the term, writing of "Reformations" to emphasize that the Reformation was not a uniform and coherent historical phenomenon but the result of parallel movements.[9] Several aspects of the Reformation, such as the reformation of arts, music, rituals, and communities are frequently presented in specialised studies.[10]
The historian Peter Marshall emphasizes that the "call for 'reform' within Christianity is about as old as the religion itself, and in every age there have been urgent attempts to bring it about". Medieval examples include the Cluniac Reform in the 10th–11th centuries, and the 11th-century Gregorian Reform,[11] both striving against lay influence over church affairs.[12][13] When demanding a church reform, medieval authors mainly adopted a conservative and utopian approach, expressing their admiration for a previous "golden age" or "apostolic age" when the Church had allegedly been perfect and free of abuses.[14]
Both the starting and ending date of the Reformation have always been debated.[15] The most commonly used starting date is 31 October 1517—the day when the German theologian Martin Luther (d. 1546) allegedly nailed up a copy of his disputation paper on indulgences and papal power known as the Ninety-five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg in Electoral Saxony.[note 3][18] Calvinist historians often propose that the Reformation started when the Swiss priest Huldrych Zwingli (d. 1531) first preached against abuses in the Church in 1516.[19] The end date of the Reformation is even more disputed, with 1555 (when the Peace of Augsburg was accepted), 1618, and 1648 (when the Thirty Years' War began and ended, respectively) being the most commonly mentioned terminuses. The Reformation has always been presented as one of the most crucial episodes of the early modern period, or even regarded as the event separating the modern era from the Middle Ages.[20]
The term Protestant, though initially purely political in nature, later acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church that subscribed to the main Reformation (or anti-Catholic) principles.[21] Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, who issued a protest (or dissent) against the edict of the Diet of Speyer (1529), were the first individuals to be called Protestants.[21] The edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier.
Calamities
Europe experienced a period of dreadful calamities from the early 14th century. These culminated in a devastating pandemic known as the Black Death hit Europe, killing about one third of the population.[22] Around 1500, the population of Europe was about 60–85 million people—no more than 75 per cent of the mid-14th-century demographic maximum.[23] Due to a shortage of workforce, the landlords began to restrict the rights of their tenants which led to rural revolts that often ended with a compromise.[24]
The constant fear of unexpected death was mirrored by popular artistic motifs, such as the allegory of danse macabre ('dance of death'). The fear also contributed to the growing popularity of Masses for the dead.[25] Already detectable among early Christians, these ceremonies indicated a widespread belief in purgatory—a transitory state for souls that needed purification before entering heaven.[26] Fear of malevolent magical practice was also growing, and witch-hunts intensified.[27]
From the end of the 15th century, a new, sexually transmitted infection spread in Europe. This was syphilis that destroyed its victims' looks with ulcers and scabs before killing them. Along with the French invasion of Italy, the syphilis gave the background to the success of the charismatic preacher Girolamo Savonarola (d. 1498) who called for a moral renewal in Florence. He was arrested and executed for heresy, but his meditations remained a popular reading.[28]
Clergy
Western Christianity displayed a remarkable unity. This was the outcome of the Gregorian Reform that established papal supremacy over the Catholic Church, and achieved the legal separation of the Catholic clergy from laity.[29] Clerical celibacy was reinforced through the prohibition of clerical marriage; ecclesiastical courts were granted exclusive jurisdiction over clerics, and also over matrimonial causes.[30] Priests were ordained by bishops in accordance with the principle of apostolic succession—a claim to the uninterrupted transmission of their consecrating power from Christ's Apostles through generations of bishops.[31] Bishops, abbots, abbesses, and other prelates might possess remarkable wealth.[32] Some of the ecclesiastic leaders were also secular princes, such as the prince-bishops in Germany and the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights in their Baltic Ordensstaat. Other prelates might be the power behind the throne.[note 4][33] Believers were expected to pay the tithe (one tenth of their income) to the Church.[34] Pluralism—the practice of holding multiple Church offices (or benefices)—was not unusual. This led to non-residence, and the absent priests' deputies were often poorly educated and underpaid.[35]
The clergy consisted of two major groups, the regular clergy and the secular clergy. Regular clerics lived under a monastic rule within the framework of a religious order;[36] secular clerics were responsible for pastoral care. The Church was a hierarchical organisation. The pope was elected by high-ranking clergymen, the cardinals, and assisted by the professional staff of the Roman Curia. Secular clerics were organised into territorial units known as dioceses, each ruled by a bishop or archbishop.[note 5] Each diocese was divided into parishes headed by parish priests who administered most sacraments to the faithful.[37] These were sacred rites thought to transfer divine grace to humankind. The Council of Florence declared baptism, confirmation, marriage, extreme unction, penance, the Eucharist, and priestly ordination as the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.[38] Women were not ordained priests but could live as nuns in convents after taking the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.[39]
Papacy
The authority of the papacy was based on a well-organised system of communication and bureaucracy.[40] The popes claimed the power of binding and loosing that Christ had reportedly granted to Peter the Apostle (d. c. 66), and offered indulgence—the reduction of the penance in both this world and the purgatory—to sinners from an allegedly inexhaustible treasury of merit.[41] The popes also granted dispensations to institutions or individuals, exempting them from certain provisions of canon law (or ecclesiastic law).[note 6][35] In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII (r. 1294–1303) declared obedience to the papacy as a precondition for salvation.[42] A year later, French troops arrested him, and in 1309, the seat of the papacy was transferred from the chaotic Rome to Avignon.[43] During the period of the Avignon Papacy, the popes assumed control of the appointment of all senior Catholic clerics. The appointees had to pay fees and other contributions to the Roman Curia.[44]
The idea that Rome was the legitimate center of Catholicism never faded away, and Pope Gregory XI (r. 1370–1378) returned to Rome.[45] Conflicts between his successor Urban VII (r. 1378–1389) and the College of Cardinals developed into the Western Schism when his opponents declared his election invalid and proclaimed the French Clement VII (r. 1378–1394) pope. Clement returned to Avignon, establishing a rival line of popes who were considered as antipopes by their opponents.[46] When taking sides between the two popes, church leaders mainly accepted the local ruler's decision, which weakened the supranational character of the Catholic Church.[47] In 1409, cardinals from both sides elected a new pope at the Council of Pisa but his two rivals refused to resign. More prudent preparations paved the way for the Council of Constance. Here, one of the three popes resigned, his two rivals were deposed, and the newly elected Martin V (r. 1417–1431) was acknowledged as the legitimate pope throughout Catholic Europe.[48]
The Council of Constance declared that the popes owed obedience to the ecumenical councils. This idea known as conciliarism was condemned by Pope Pius II (r. 1458–1467) in a papal bull, but ecclesiastic and secular leaders often referred to it during their conflicts with the papacy.[49][50] Relationships between the papacy and powerful Catholic rulers were regulated in special agreements known as concordats, limiting papal authority.[note 7][53][54]
As princes of the Papal States in Italy, the popes were deeply involved in the power struggles of the peninsula. In this respect, the Renaissance popes were not dissimilar to secular rulers. Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492–1503) appointed his relatives, among them his own illegitimate sons to high offices. Pope Julius II (r. 1503–1513) took up arms to recover papal territories lost during his predecessors' reign.[55] In the Age of Exploration, Pope Alexander VI claimed the right to distribute the newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal, and his decision was confirmed in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.[56][57] The Spanish and Portuguese conquests and developing trade networks contributed to the global expansion of Catholicism.[note 8][58] The popes were generous patrons of art and architecture. Julius II ordered the demolition of the ruined 4th-century St. Peter's Basilica in preparation for the building of a new Renaissance basilica.[59]
Church life
Latin was the language of public worship[note 9] in most dioceses[note 10] of Catholic Europe although few laymen understood it.[note 11] The Eucharist, the central element of liturgy, was also celebrated in Latin. Western Christians believed that the sacramental bread and wine of the Eucharist transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. This belief in the transubstantiation was declared a Catholic dogma in 1215. For unknown reasons, laymen only received the bread during the ceremony.[62] The Catholic Church taught that entry into heaven required dying in a state of grace.[26] Based on Christ's parable on the Last Judgement, the Church considered the performance of good works, such as feeding the hungry and visiting the sick, as an important condition of salvation.[63] The faithful made pilgrimages to the saints' shrines,[64] but the proliferation in the saints' number undermined their reputation.[note 12][66] The church buildings were richly decorated with paintings, sculptures, and stained glass windows. While Romanesque and Gothic art made a clear distinction between the supernatural and the human, Renaissance artists depicted God and the saints in a more human way.[67]
The sources of religious authority included the Bible and its authoritative commentaries, apostolic tradition, decisions by ecumenical councils, scholastic theology, and papal authority. Catholics regarded the Vulgate as the Bible's authentic Latin translation. Commentators applied several methods of interpretations to resolve contradictions within the Bible.[note 13] Apostolic tradition verified religious practices that had no explicit Biblical foundations, such as infant baptism. The ecumenical councils' decisions were binding to all Catholics. The crucial elements of mainstream Christianity had been first summarised in the Nicene Creed in 325. Its western text contained a unilateral addition which contributed to the schism between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.[69] The Creed contained the dogma of Trinity about one God uniting three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[70][71] Church authorities acknowledged that an individual might exceptionally receive direct revelations from God but maintained that a genuine revelation could not challenge traditional religious principles.[note 14][72]
Legitimate debates among scholastic theologians were not uncommon.[73] Predestination—God's decision about an individual's fate in afterlife—was frequently discussed. Ockhamist theologians taught that God destined to salvation those about whom foreknew that they would accept the divine offer of grace (by acquiring merit.)[74]: 164–167 In contrast, Duns Scotus (d. 1308) and Gregory of Rimini (d. 1358) argued that an individual's choice could not influence God's decision; Rimini also asserted that God predestined the fate of both the saved and the damned.[75] Justification before God and the timing of grace[76] was also the subject of controversy. Many theologians such as Scotus, Ockham, and Gabriel Biel (d. 1495)[note 15]: 470 taught that God established rules how the faithful could gain divine grace. Other theologians such as Rimini, and Hugolino of Orvieto (d. 1374) proposed that no one could deserve divine favour without God's direct intercession.[77]
Dissidents
After Arianism—a Christological doctrine condemned as heresy at ecumenical councils—disappeared in the late 7th century, no major disputes menaced the theological unity of the Western Church. Religious enthusiasts could organise their followers into nonconformist groups but they disbanded after their founder died.[note 16] The Waldensians were a notable exception. Due to their efficient organisation, they survived not only the death of their founder Peter Waldo (d. c. 1205), but also a series of anti-heretic crusades. They rejected the clerics' monopoly of public ministry, and allowed all trained members of their community, men and women alike, to preach.[79]
The Western Schism reinforced a general desire for church reform. The Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (d. 1384) was one of the most radical critics.[80] He attacked pilgrimages, the veneration of saints, and the doctrine of transubstantiation.[81] He regarded the Church as an exclusive community of those chosen by God to salvation,[82] and argued that the state could seize the corrupt clerics' endowments.[83] Known as Lollards, Wycliffe's followers rejected clerical celibacy and the grant of indulgences. The Parliament of England passed a law against heretics, but Lollard communities survived the purges.[82][84]
Wycliffe's theology had a marked impact on the Prague academic Jan Hus (d. 1415). He delivered popular sermons against the clerics' wealth and temporal powers, for which he was summoned to the Council of Constance. Although the German king Sigismund of Luxemburg (r. 1410–1437) had granted him safe conduct, Hus was sentenced to death for heresy and burned at the stake on 6 July 1415. His execution led to a nationwide religious movement in Bohemia, and the papacy called for a series of crusades against Hus's followers. The moderate Hussites, mainly Czech aristocrats and academics, were known as Utraquists for they taught that the Eucharist was to be administered sub utraque specie ('in both kinds') to the laity. The most radical Hussites, called Taborites after their new town of Tábor, held their property in common. Their millenarianism shocked the Utraquists who destroyed them in the Battle of Lipany in 1434.[85][86] By this time, the remaining Catholic communities in Bohemia were almost exclusively German-speaking. The lack of a Hussite church hierarchy enabled the Czech aristocrats and urban magistrates to assume control of the Hussite clergy from the 1470s. The radical Hussites set up their own Church known as the Union of Bohemian Brethren. They rejected the separation of clergy and laity, and condemned all forms of violence and oath taking.[87]
Marshall writes that the Lollards, Hussites and conciliarist theologians "collectively give the lie to any suggestion that torpor and complacency were the hallmarks of religious life in the century before Martin Luther."[80] Historians customarily refer to Wycliffe and Hus as "Forerunners of the Reformation". The two reformers' emphasis on the Bible is often regarded as an early example of one of the basic principles of the Reformation—the idea sola scriptura ('by the Scriptures alone'), although prominent scholastic theologians were also convinced that the Bible contained all knowledge necessary for salvation.[note 17][89]
Humanism
A new intellectual movement known as Humanism emerged in the Late Middle Ages. The Humanists' slogan ad fontes! ('back to the sources!') demonstrated their enthusiasm for Classical texts and textual criticism.[90] The rise of the Ottoman Empire led to the mass immigration of Byzantine scholars to Western Europe, and many of them brought manuscripts previously unknown to western scholarship. This led to the rediscovery of the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato (347/348 BC). Plato's ideas about an ultimate reality lying beyond visible reality posed a serious challenge to scholastic theologians' rigorous definitions. Textual criticism called into question the reliability of some of the fundamental texts of papal privilege: humanist scholars, like Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) proved that one of the basic documents of papal authority, the allegedly 4th-century Donation of Constantine was a medieval forgery.[91]
New religious movements promoted the deeper involvement of laity in religious practices. The Brethren of the Common Life dissuaded their members' priestly ordination and often placed their houses under the protection of urban authorities.[92] They were closely associated with the devotio moderna, a new method of Catholic spirituality with a special emphasis on the education of laypeople.[93] A leader of the movement the Dutch Wessel Gansfort (d. 1489) attacked abuses of indulgences.[94]
As the manufacturing of paper from rags and the printing machine with movable type were spreading in Europe, books could be bought at a reasonable price from the 15th century.[note 18] Demand for religious literature was especially high.[96] The German inventor Johannes Gutenberg (d. 1468) first published a two-volume printed version of the Vulgata in the early 1450s.[97] High and Low German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Czech and Catalan translations of the Bible were published between 1466 and 1492; in France, the Bible's abridged French versions gained popularity.[98] Laypeople who read the Bible could challenge their priests' sermons, as it happened already in 1515.[99]
Completed by Jerome (d. 420), the Vulgata contained the Septaguint version of the Old Testament.[100] The systematic study of Biblical manuscripts revealed that Jerome had sometimes misinterpreted his sources of translation.[note 19][101] A series of Latin-Greek editions of the New Testament was completed by the Dutch Humanist Erasmus (d. 1536). These new Latin translations challenged the scriptural proof texts for some Catholic dogmas.[note 20][104]
Failed reforms
The necessity of a church reform in capite et membris ('in head and limbs') was frequently discussed at the ecumenical councils from the late 13th century. However, most stakeholders—popes, prelates and kings—preferred the status quo because they did not want to lose privileges or revenues.[105] The system of papal dispensations was a principal obstacle to the implementation of reform measures, as the Holy See regularly granted immunities to those who did not want to execute them.[35]
Within regular clergy, the so-called "congregations of strict observance" spread. These were monastic communities that returned to the strict interpretation of their order's rule.[note 21] Reformist bishops tried to discipline their clergy through regular canonical visitations but their attempts mainly failed due to the resistance of autonomous institutions such as cathedral chapters. Neither could they exercise authority over non-resident clerics who had received their benefice from the papacy.[107] On the eve of the Reformation, the Fifth Council of the Lateran was the last occasion when efforts to introduce a far-reaching reform from above could have achieved but it was dissolved in 1517 without making important decisions.[108]