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The Reformation The Schism of the catholic church
To contemporaries, the reordering of religion and the sundering of the social unity that it had once provided to European culture was the most significant development of the sixteenth century. It is impossible to understand the time without taking a look at this. Prior to the Renaissance, religion was not a matter of personal preference or opinion, - it was the very basis of society! The Reformation
Prelude to the Reformation The Renaissance belief in the "perfectibility of man" made people less content with things as they were, and more interested in improving them in the here and now.
Prelude to the Reformation • No one could argue that the church was not corrupt: • Holding vast wealth, • Exercising enormous political power • Waging war (Crusades), • It was also becoming very clear to the average person that their priests and the Catholic church, at the time, had more interest in lining their pockets than in promoting the welfare of their "flocks”
Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's magnum opus. He uses the tales and the descriptions of the characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. Prelude to the Reformation
The Canterbury Tales Two main Characters from the tales, the Pardoner and the Summoner, whose roles apply the church's secular power, are both portrayed as deeply corrupt, greedy, and abusive.
Papal Indulgences •A papal Indulgence was something an individual could buy in order to be forgiven for their sins by the Catholic church Some of the more extravagant indulgences ranged from a piece of the cross, to simply large donations to the church
Papal Indulgences http://holysee.biz/Papal_Indulgince/indulgence.htm
The Catalyst • In 1517, a dispute about who was entitled to a cut of the revenues generated by itinerant papal indulgence sellers provoked the controversy that led the Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, to nail his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenburg.
The main point of Luther's theses was that Christians are saved by faith, and faith alone, and that no amount of works (including the purchase of indulgences) made any difference at all. • This was a very radical view, but not one that was immediately perceived as having the ultimate consequences that it eventually did. Martin Luthor
Luther was not immediately burnt for a heretic; he was allowed to present his case in court and this had a powerful effect on the populace. Martin Luthor
Day of the Placards • On October 18, 1534, Parisians and many other citizens of northern France awoke to find the city plastered with posters denouncing the Catholic mass as "an insufferable abuse", condemning the Eucharist in very harsh language, and threatening the priesthood for "disinheriting" kings, princes, and so on by its practice
Day of the Placards • This was not just a theological debate, but an attack on the fundamental social fabric. • It confirmed the popular suspicion that the "Lutherans" were not only heretics, but rebels and traitors.
The Council of Trent Eventually the church mobilized itself to deal with splintering of its authority and held the Council of Trent. (between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods)
The Council of Trent It was the purpose of this council to try to define a common ground of belief and practice for all Christians, and to attempt to heal the schism.
The Council of Trent It met for 18 years, during which it healed nothing. There was little hope that the Protestant views would be truly accommodated and honestly debated, and the end result was that Trent ended up reinforcing the more uniquely Catholic aspects of religion in contradiction to the Protestant practice.
