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The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and in particular to
papal authority, arising from what were perceived to be
errors, abuses, and discrepancies by the Catholic Church. The Reformation was the start of
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and the split of the Western Church into Protestantism and what is now the Roman Catholic Church. It is also considered to be one of the events that signified the end of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and the beginning of the
early modern period in Europe.
[Davies ''Europe'' pp. 291–293]
Prior to
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
, there were many
earlier reform movements. Although the Reformation is usually considered to have started with the publication of the ''
Ninety-five Theses'' by Martin Luther in 1517, he was not
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
by
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
until January 1521. The
Diet of Worms of May 1521 condemned Luther and officially banned citizens of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
from defending or propagating his ideas.
[Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2003). ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. p. 362.] The spread of
Gutenberg's printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
provided the means for the rapid dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. Luther survived after being declared an outlaw due to the protection of Elector
Frederick the Wise
Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise ( German ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the worldly protection of his subject Martin Luther.
Frede ...
. The initial movement in Germany diversified, and other reformers such as
Huldrych Zwingli
Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...
and
John Calvin arose. In general, the Reformers argued that
salvation in Christianity
In Christianity, salvation (also called deliverance or redemption) is the "saving fhuman beings from sin and its consequences, which include death and separation from God" by Christ's death and resurrection, and the justification following t ...
was a completed status
based on faith in Jesus alone and not a process that requires
good works
In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's (exterior) actions or deeds, in contrast to inner qualities such as grace or faith.
Views by denomination
Anglican Churches
The Anglican theological tradition, including The ...
, as in the Catholic view. Key events of the period include:
Diet of Worms (1521), formation of the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...
(1525),
English Reformation (1529 onwards), the
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
(1545–63), the
Peace of Augsburg (1555), the
excommunication of Elizabeth I (1570),
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
(1598) and
Peace of Westphalia (1648). The
Counter-Reformation, also called the ''Catholic Reformation'' or the ''Catholic Revival'', was the period of Catholic reforms initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. The end of the Reformation era is disputed among modern scholars.
Overview
Movements had been made towards a Reformation prior to Martin Luther, so some Protestants, such as
Landmark Baptists, and the tradition of the
Radical Reformation prefer to credit the start of the Reformation to reformers such as
Arnold of Brescia,
Peter Waldo
Peter Waldo (; c. 1140 – c. 1205; also ''Valdo'', ''Valdes'', ''Waldes''; , ) was the leader of the Waldensians, a Christian spiritual movement of the Middle Ages.
The tradition that his first name was "Peter" can only be traced back to the f ...
,
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...
,
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...
,
Petr Chelčický
Petr Chelčický (; c. 1390 – c. 1460) was a Czech Christian spiritual leader and author in the 15th century Bohemia, now the Czech Republic. He was one of the most influential thinkers of the Bohemian Reformation. Petr Chelčický inspire ...
, and
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
. Due to the reform efforts of Hus and other
Bohemian reformers,
Utraquist
Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds") or Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', mug, borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', shell, husk; Czech: kališníci) was a belief amongst Hussites, a reformist Christi ...
Hussitism
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Hussi ...
was
acknowledged by the
Council of Basel
The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
and was
officially tolerated in the
Crown of Bohemia
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bo ...
, although other movements were still subject to persecution, including the
Lollards
Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...
in England and the
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
in France and Italian regions.
Luther began by criticising the sale of
indulgences
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...
, insisting that the Pope had no authority over
purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
and that the
Treasury of Merit The treasury of merit or treasury of the Church (''thesaurus ecclesiae''; el, θησαυρός, ''thesaurós'', treasure; el, ἐκκλησία, ''ekklēsía''‚ convening, congregation, parish) consists, according to Catholic belief, of the mer ...
had no foundation in the Bible. The Reformation developed further to include a distinction between
Law and Gospel, a complete reliance on Scripture as the only source of proper doctrine (''
sola scriptura
, meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of aut ...
'') and the belief that
faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people ofte ...
in
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
is the only way to receive God's pardon for sin (''
sola fide
''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, fr ...
'') rather than good works. Although this is generally considered a Protestant belief, a similar formulation was taught by
Molinist and
Jansenist
Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
Catholics. The
priesthood of all believers
The priesthood of all believers or universal priesthood is a biblical principle in most Protestant branches of Christianity which is distinct from the institution of the ''ministerial'' priesthood ( holy orders) found in some other branches, incl ...
downplayed the need for saints or priests to serve as mediators, and mandatory
clerical celibacy was ended. ''
Simul justus et peccator
The theology of Martin Luther was instrumental in influencing the Protestant Reformation, specifically topics dealing with justification by faith, the relationship between the Law and Gospel (also an instrumental component of Reformed theolog ...
'' implied that although people could improve, no one could become good enough to earn forgiveness from God. Sacramental theology was simplified and attempts at imposing Aristotelian epistemology were resisted.
Luther and his followers did not see these theological developments as changes. The 1530 ''
Augsburg Confession'' concluded that "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Church Catholic", and even after the ''Council of Trent'',
Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz (9 November 1522 – 8 April 1586) was an eminent second-generation German, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theologian, and a Protestant reformer, churchman, and confessor. In the Evangelical Lutheran tradition he is known as ...
published the 1565–73 ''
Examination of the Council of Trent
''Examination of the Council of Trent'' (Latin: ''Examen Concilii Tridentini'', 1565–73) is a large theological work of Lutheran Reformer Martin Chemnitz.
The work was published in Latin as four volumes. It includes the decrees and canons of th ...
'' as an attempt to prove that Trent innovated on doctrine while the Lutherans were following in the footsteps of the Church Fathers and Apostles.
The initial movement in Germany diversified, and other reformers arose independently of Luther such as
Zwingli
Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...
in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
and John
Calvin Calvin may refer to:
Names
* Calvin (given name)
** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
* Calvin (surname)
** Particularly John Calvin, theologian
Places
In the United States
* Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet
* Calvi ...
in Geneva. Depending on the country, the Reformation had varying causes and different backgrounds and also unfolded differently than in Germany. The spread of
Gutenberg's printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
provided the means for the rapid dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular.
During Reformation-era
confessionalization
In Protestant Reformation history, confessionalization is the parallel processes of "confession-building" taking place in Europe between the Peace of Augsburg (1555) and the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). During this time prior to the Thirty Y ...
, Western Christianity adopted different confessions (
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
,
Reformed,
Anglican,
Anabaptist,
Unitarian, etc.). Radical Reformers, besides forming communities outside
state sanction, sometimes employed more extreme doctrinal change, such as the rejection of the
tenets of the councils of
Nicaea
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...
and
Chalcedon
Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...
with the Unitarians of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
.
Anabaptist movements were especially persecuted following the
German Peasants' War.
Leaders within the Roman Catholic Church responded with the
Counter-Reformation, initiated by the ''
Confutatio Augustana
The ''Confutatio Augustana'' was the Roman Catholic refutation ( confutation) of the ''Augsburg Confession'', often referred to in the theological literature as simply the ''Confutatio''.
On 25 June 1530 the Protestant Imperial States of the rea ...
'' in 1530, the ''
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
'' in 1545, the formation of the
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
in 1540, the
Defensio Tridentinæ fidei
''Defensio Tridentinæ fidei'' (full title: ''Defensio Tridentinæ fidei catholicæ et integerrimæ quinque libris compræhensa aduersus hæreticorum detestabiles calumnias & præsertim Martini Kemnicij Germani'', or "A Defence of the Catholic and ...
in 1578, and also a series of wars and expulsions of Protestants that continued until the 19th century. Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, came under the influence of Protestantism. Southern Europe remained predominantly Catholic apart from the much-persecuted
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
. Central Europe was the site of much of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
and there were continued expulsions of Protestants in Central Europe up to the 19th century. Following World War II, the removal of ethnic Germans to either East Germany or Siberia reduced Protestantism in the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
countries, although some remain today.
The absence of Protestants, however, does not necessarily imply a failure of the Reformation. Although Protestants were excommunicated and ended up worshipping in communions separate from Catholics (contrary to the original intention of the Reformers), they were also suppressed and persecuted in most of Europe at one point. As a result, some of them lived as
crypto-Protestants, also called
Nicodemite
A Nicodemite () is a person suspected of publicly misrepresenting their religious faith to conceal their true beliefs. The term is sometimes defined as referring to a Protestant Christian who lived in a Roman Catholic country and escaped persecuti ...
s, contrary to the urging of John Calvin, who wanted them to live their faith openly. Some
crypto-Protestants have been identified as late as the 19th century after immigrating to Latin America.
History
Origins and early history
Earlier reform movements
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...
questioned the privileged status of the clergy which had bolstered their powerful role in England and the luxury and pomp of local parishes and their ceremonies. He was accordingly characterised as the "evening star" of
scholasticism and as the
morning star or of the
English Reformation. In 1374,
Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...
began travelling with her followers throughout northern and central Italy advocating reform of the clergy and advising people that repentance and renewal could be done through "the total love for God." She carried on a long correspondence with
Pope Gregory XI
Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pop ...
, asking him to reform the clergy and the administration of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the
Moravian Church
, image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
, main_classification = Proto-Prot ...
, date their origins to
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...
(John Huss) in the early 15th century. As it was led by a Bohemian noble majority, and recognised, for some time, by the Basel Compacts, the Hussite Reformation was Europe's first "
Magisterial Reformation
The Magisterial Reformation "denotes the Lutheran, Calvinist eformed and Anglican churches" and how these denominations "related to secular authorities, such as princes, magistrates, or city councils", i.e. "the magistracy". While the Radical Ref ...
" because the ruling magistrates supported it, unlike the "
Radical Reformation", which the state did not support.
Common factors that played a role during the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation included the rise of the
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
,
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
,
simony, the appointment of
Cardinal-nephew
A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...
s, and other corruption of the
Roman Curia and other ecclesiastical hierarchy, the impact of
humanism
Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...
, the new learning of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
versus
scholasticism, and the
Western Schism
The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon b ...
that eroded loyalty to the
Papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
. Unrest due to the
Great Schism of Western Christianity (1378–1416) excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, especially from
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...
at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
and from
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...
at the
Charles University in Prague
)
, image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, established =
, type = Public, Ancient
, budget = 8.9 billion CZK
, rector = Milena Králíčková
, faculty = 4,057
, administrative_staff = 4,026
, students = 51,438
, undergr ...
.
Hus objected to some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and wanted to return the church in
Bohemia and
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
to earlier practices:
liturgy in the language of the people (i.e. Czech), having lay people receive
communion in both kinds (bread ''and'' wine—that is, in Latin,
communio sub utraque specie), married priests, and eliminating
indulgences
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...
and the concept of
purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
. Some of these, like the use of local language as the liturgical language, were approved by the pope as early as in the 9th century.
The leaders of the Roman Catholic Church condemned him at the
Council of Constance (1414–1417) and he was burnt at the stake, despite a promise of safe-conduct.
[Oberman and Walliser-Schwarzbart ]
Luther: Man between God and the Devil
' pp. 54–55 Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428. The Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the previous century and could not prevent
schism and the
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...
in Bohemia.
Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484) established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, thereby establishing a new stream of revenue with agents across Europe.
Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503) was one of the most controversial of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
popes. He was the father of seven children, including
Lucrezia and
Cesare Borgia. In response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote ''The Ninety-Five Theses''.
A number of theologians in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
preached reformation ideas in the 1510s, shortly before or simultaneously with Luther, including
Christoph Schappeler
Christoph Schappeler (1472 – August 25, 1551) was a German religious figure, reformer, and a preacher at St. Martin's in Memmingen during the early 16th century and during the Protestant Reformation and the German Peasants' War. He tended t ...
in
Memmingen
Memmingen (; Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-W ...
(as early as 1513).
Magisterial Reformation
![Luther at the Diet of Worms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Luther_at_the_Diet_of_Worms.jpg)
The Reformation is usually dated to 31 October 1517 in
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...
, Saxony, when Luther sent his ''
Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences'' to the
Archbishop of Mainz. The theses
debate
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
d and criticised the Church and the papacy, but concentrated upon the selling of indulgences and doctrinal policies about
purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
,
particular judgment
Particular judgment, according to Christian eschatology, is the divine judgment that a departed person undergoes immediately after death, in contradistinction to the general judgment (or Last Judgment) of all people at the end of the world.
...
, and the authority of the pope. He would later in the period 1517–1521 write works on devotion to
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, the intercession of and devotion to the saints, the sacraments, mandatory clerical celibacy, and later on the authority of the pope, the ecclesiastical law, censure and excommunication, the role of secular rulers in religious matters, the relationship between Christianity and the law,
good works
In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's (exterior) actions or deeds, in contrast to inner qualities such as grace or faith.
Views by denomination
Anglican Churches
The Anglican theological tradition, including The ...
, and monasticism.
[Schofield ''Martin Luther'' p. 122] Some nuns, such as
Katharina von Bora
Katharina von Bora (; 29 January 1499 – 20 December 1552), after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ("the Lutheress"), was the wife of Martin Luther, German reformer and a seminal figure of the Protestant Reform ...
and
Ursula of Munsterberg
Ursula of Munsterberg (german: Ursula von Münsterberg; cs, Uršula z Minstrberka, Voršila Minstrberská, kněžna a Kladská hraběnka; c. 1491/95 or 1499,Cf. Siegismund Justus Ehrhardt: ''Abhandlung vom verderbten Religions-Zustand in Schlesien ...
, left the monastic life when they accepted the Reformation, but other orders adopted the Reformation, as Lutherans continue to have
monasteries today. In contrast, Reformed areas typically secularised monastic property.
Reformers and their opponents made heavy use of inexpensive pamphlets as well as vernacular Bibles using the relatively new printing press, so there was swift movement of both ideas and documents.
[Rubin, "Printing and Protestants" Review of Economics and Statistics pp. 270–286][Atkinson Fitzgerald "Printing, Reformation and Information Control" ''Short History of Copyright'' pp. 15–22] Magdalena Heymair
Magdalena Heymair (variously Heymairin, Haymerin, Haymairus; c. 1535 – after 1586) was a teacher and Lutheran evangelical poet who wrote in the Middle Bavarian dialect. Born a Roman Catholic, she converted to evangelical Lutheranism. In her ed ...
printed pedagogical writings for teaching children Bible stories.
Parallel to events in Germany, a movement began in
Switzerland under the leadership of
Huldrych Zwingli
Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...
. These two movements quickly agreed on most issues, but some unresolved differences kept them separate. Some followers of Zwingli believed that the Reformation was too conservative, and moved independently toward more radical positions, some of which survive among modern day
Anabaptists.
After this first stage of the Reformation, following the
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
of Luther in ''
Decet Romanum Pontificem
(from Latin: "It Befits the Roman Pontiff"; 1521) is the papal bull which excommunicated the German theologian Martin Luther; its title comes from the first three Latin words of its text. It was issued on January 3, 1521, by Pope Leo X to ...
'' and the condemnation of his followers by the edicts of the 1521 Diet of Worms, the work and writings of
John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various churches in Switzerland,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere.
Although the
German Peasants' War of 1524–1525 began as a tax and anti-corruption protest as reflected in the
Twelve Articles
The Twelve Articles (German ''Zwölf Artikel'') were part of the peasants' demands of the Swabian League during the German Peasants' War of 1525. They are considered the first draft of human rights and civil liberties in continental Europe after t ...
, its leader
Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer w ...
gave it a radical Reformation character. It swept through the Bavarian,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
n and
Swabian principalities, including the
Black Company
The Black Company or the Black Troops () was a unit of Franconian farmers and knights that fought on the side of the peasants during the Peasants' Revolt in the 1520s, during the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
Name
The original German nam ...
of
Florian Geier Florian Geyer von Giebelstadt (also spelled ''Geier''; ''c''. 1490 – 10 June 1525) was a German nobleman, diplomat, and knight. He became widely known for leading peasants during the German Peasants' War.
Early life
Florian Geyer was born ...
, a knight from
Giebelstadt
Giebelstadt is a municipality in the district of Würzburg in Bavaria in Germany.
History
The town is the birthplace of Florian Geyer (1490–1525), also known as "Florian Geier from Giebelstadt", a Franconian nobleman who led the Black Compa ...
who joined the peasants in the general outrage against the Catholic hierarchy. In response to reports about the destruction and violence, Luther condemned the revolt in writings such as ''
Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants''; Zwingli and Luther's ally
Philipp Melanchthon also did not condone the uprising. Some 100,000 peasants were killed by the end of the war.
Radical Reformation
The Radical Reformation was the response to what was believed to be the corruption in both the Roman Catholic Church and the
Magisterial Reformation
The Magisterial Reformation "denotes the Lutheran, Calvinist eformed and Anglican churches" and how these denominations "related to secular authorities, such as princes, magistrates, or city councils", i.e. "the magistracy". While the Radical Ref ...
. Beginning in Germany and Switzerland in the 16th century, the Radical Reformation developed radical Protestant churches throughout Europe. The term includes
Thomas Müntzer
Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Roman Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer w ...
,
Andreas Karlstadt, the
Zwickau prophets
The Zwickau Prophets () were three men of the Radical Reformation from Zwickau in the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire, who were possibly involved in a disturbance in nearby Wittenberg and its evolving Reformation in early 1522.
Th ...
, and
Anabaptists
Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
like the
Hutterites
Hutterites (german: link=no, Hutterer), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century ...
and
Mennonites
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
.
In parts of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, a majority sympathised with the Radical Reformation despite intense persecution.
Although the surviving proportion of the European population that rebelled against Catholic,
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
and
Zwinglian
The theology of Ulrich Zwingli was based on an interpretation of the Bible, taking scripture as the inspired word of God and placing its authority higher than what he saw as human sources such as the ecumenical councils and the church fathers. He ...
churches was small, Radical Reformers wrote profusely and the literature on the Radical Reformation is disproportionately large, partly as a result of the proliferation of the Radical Reformation teachings in the United States.
Despite significant diversity among the early Radical Reformers, some "repeating patterns" emerged among many Anabaptist groups. Many of these patterns were enshrined in the
''Schleitheim Confession'' (1527) and include
believers' (or adult) baptism, memorial view of the
Lord's Supper
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, belief that Scripture is the final authority on matters of faith and practice, emphasis on the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
and the
Sermon on the Mount, interpretation of Scripture in community, separation from the world and a
two-kingdom theology,
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
and
nonresistance Nonresistance (or non-resistance) is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of pri ...
, communal ownership and economic sharing, belief in the freedom of the will, non-swearing of oaths, "yieldedness" (''Gelassenheit'') to one's community and to God, the
ban (i.e., shunning), salvation through divinization (''Vergöttung'') and ethical living, and discipleship (''Nachfolge Christi'').
Literacy
![Lutherbibel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Lutherbibel.jpg)
The Reformation was a triumph of literacy and the new printing press.
Luther's translation of the Bible into German was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy, and stimulated as well the printing and distribution of religious books and pamphlets. From 1517 onward, religious pamphlets flooded Germany and much of Europe.
[Edwards ''Printing, Propaganda, and Martin Luther'']
By 1530, over 10,000 publications are known, with a total of ten million copies. The Reformation was thus a media revolution. Luther strengthened his attacks on Rome by depicting a "good" against "bad" church. From there, it became clear that print could be used for propaganda in the Reformation for particular agendas, although the term propaganda derives from the Catholic ''
Congregatio de Propaganda Fide'' (''Congregation for Propagating the Faith'') from the Counter-Reformation. Reform writers used existing styles, cliches and stereotypes which they adapted as needed.
Especially effective were writings in German, including Luther's translation of the Bible, his
Smaller Catechism for parents teaching their children, and his
Larger Catechism
The Westminster Larger Catechism, along with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is a central catechism of Calvinists in the English tradition throughout the world.
History
In 1643 when the Long Parliament of England called the Westminster Ass ...
, for pastors.
Using the German vernacular they expressed the Apostles' Creed in simpler, more personal, Trinitarian language. Illustrations in the German Bible and in many tracts popularised Luther's ideas.
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...
(1472–1553), the great painter patronised by the electors of Wittenberg, was a close friend of Luther, and he illustrated Luther's theology for a popular audience. He dramatised Luther's views on the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, while remaining mindful of Luther's careful distinctions about proper and improper uses of visual imagery.
[Weimer "Luther and Cranach" ''Lutheran Quarterly'' pp. 387–405]
Causes of the Reformation
![Holbein-erasmus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Holbein-erasmus.jpg)
The following
supply-side
Supply-side economics is a macroeconomic theory that postulates economic growth can be most effectively fostered by lowering taxes, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade. According to supply-side economics, consumers will benefit fr ...
factors have been identified as causes of the Reformation:
* The presence of a
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
in a city by 1500 made Protestant adoption by 1600 far more likely.
* Protestant literature was produced at greater levels in cities where media markets were more competitive, making these cities more likely to adopt Protestantism.
* Ottoman incursions decreased conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, helping the Reformation take root.
* Greater political autonomy increased the likelihood that Protestantism would be adopted.
* Where Protestant reformers enjoyed princely patronage, they were much more likely to succeed.
* Proximity to neighbours who adopted Protestantism increased the likelihood of adopting Protestantism.
* Cities that had higher numbers of students enrolled in heterodox universities and lower numbers enrolled in orthodox universities were more likely to adopt Protestantism.
The following demand-side factors have been identified as causes of the Reformation:
* Cities with strong cults of saints were less likely to adopt Protestantism.
* Cities where
primogeniture was practised were less likely to adopt Protestantism.
* Regions that were poor but had great economic potential and bad political institutions were more likely to adopt Protestantism.
* The presence of bishoprics made the adoption of Protestantism less likely.
* The presence of monasteries made the adoption of Protestantism less likely.
A 2020 study linked the spread of Protestantism to personal ties to Luther (e.g. letter correspondents, visits, former students) and trade routes.
Reformation in Germany
In 1517, Luther nailed the ''Ninety-five theses'' to the Castle Church door, and without his knowledge or prior approval, they were copied and printed across Germany and internationally. Different reformers arose more or less independently of Luther in 1518 (for example
Andreas Karlstadt,
Philip Melanchthon
Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...
,
Erhard Schnepf,
Johannes Brenz
Johann (Johannes) Brenz (24 June 1499 – 11 September 1570) was a German Lutheran theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg.
Early advocacy of the Reformation
Brenz was born in the then Imperial City of Weil der S ...
and
Martin Bucer) and in 1519 (for example
Huldrych Zwingli
Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...
,
Nikolaus von Amsdorf
Nicolaus von Amsdorf (German: Nikolaus von Amsdorf, 3 December 1483 – 14 May 1565) was a German Lutheran theologian and an early Protestant reformer. As bishop of Naumburg (1542–1546), he became the first Lutheran bishop in the Holy Roman E ...
,
Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten (21 April 1488 – 29 August 1523) was a German knight, scholar, poet and satirist, who later became a follower of Martin Luther and a Protestant reformer.
By 1519, he was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church. Hu ...
), and so on.
After the
Heidelberg Disputation
The Heidelberg Disputation was held at the lecture hall of the Augustinian order on April 26, 1518. It was here that Martin Luther, as a delegate for his order, began to have occasion to articulate his views. In the defense of his theses, which c ...
(1518) where Luther described the
Theology of the Cross
The theology of the Cross (Latin: ''Theologia Crucis'', german: Kreuzestheologie) or staurology (from Greek ''stauros'': cross, and ''-logy'': "the study of") is a term coined by the theologian Martin Luther to refer to theology that posits the c ...
as opposed to the Theology of Glory and the
Leipzig Disputation
The Leipzig Debate (german: Leipziger Disputation) was a theological disputation originally between Andreas Karlstadt, Martin Luther and Johann Eck. Karlstadt, the dean of the Wittenberg theological faculty, felt that he had to defend Luther ...
(1519), the faith issues were brought to the attention of other German theologians throughout the Empire. Each year drew new theologians to embrace the Reformation and participate in the ongoing, European-wide discussion about faith. The pace of the Reformation proved unstoppable by 1520.
The early Reformation in Germany mostly concerns the life of Martin Luther until he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X on 3 January 1521, in the bull ''
Decet Romanum Pontificem
(from Latin: "It Befits the Roman Pontiff"; 1521) is the papal bull which excommunicated the German theologian Martin Luther; its title comes from the first three Latin words of its text. It was issued on January 3, 1521, by Pope Leo X to ...
''. The exact moment
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
realised the key doctrine of
Justification by Faith
''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, fr ...
is described in German as the ''
Turmerlebnis''. In ''
Table Talk'', Luther describes it as a sudden realization. Experts often speak of a gradual process of realization between 1514 and 1518.
Reformation ideas and Protestant church services were first introduced in cities, being supported by local citizens and also some nobles. The Reformation did not receive overt state support until 1525, although it was only due to the protection of Elector
Frederick the Wise
Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise ( German ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the worldly protection of his subject Martin Luther.
Frede ...
(who had a strange dream the night prior to 31 October 1517) that Luther survived after being declared an outlaw, in hiding
at Wartburg Castle and then
returning to Wittenberg. It was more of a movement among the German people between 1517 and 1525, and then also a political one beginning in 1525. Reformer
Adolf Clarenbach
Adolf Clarenbach (or Klarenbach) (c. 1497 – 28 September 1529), burnt at the stake in Cologne, died as one of the first Protestant martyrs of the Reformation in the Lower Rhine region in Germany.
Life
Adolf Clarenbach was born shortly before ...
was burned at the stake near Cologne in 1529.
The first state to formally adopt a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
confession was the
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...
(1525).
Albert, Duke of Prussia
Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the s ...
formally declared the "Evangelical" faith to be the
state religion. Catholics
labeled self-identified Evangelicals "Lutherans" to discredit them after the practice of naming a heresy after its founder. However, the
Lutheran Church traditionally sees itself as the "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during the Reformation, the
Church of Rome fell away.
Ducal Prussia was followed by many
imperial free cities
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
and other minor
imperial entities. The next sizable territories were the
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen) was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.
History
In the early Midd ...
(1526; at the
Synod of Homberg
Synod of Homberg consisted of the clergy, the nobility, and the representatives of cities, and was held October 20–22, 1526. The synod is remarkable for a premature scheme of democratic church government and discipline, which failed for the time, ...
) and the
Electorate of Saxony (1527; Luther's homeland),
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
(1530s), and the
Duchy of Württemberg (1534). For a more complete list, see the
list of states by the date of adoption of the Reformation
This is the list of states by the date of adoption of the Reformation, meaning the date of an official conversion of a ruler or that of making a Protestant confession an official state religion. The list is incomplete due to the persisting feuda ...
and the table of the
adoption years for the Augsburg Confession. The reformation wave swept first the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, and then extended beyond it to the rest of the European continent.
Germany was home to the greatest number of
Protestant reformers. Each state which turned Protestant had their own reformers who contributed towards the ''Evangelical'' faith. In
Electoral Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz.
In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charl ...
the
Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony (''Evangelisch-Lutherische Landeskirche Sachsens'') is one of 20 member Churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), covering most of the state of Saxony. Its headquarters are in Dresden, and its b ...
was organised and served as an example for other states, although Luther was not dogmatic on questions of polity.
Reformation outside Germany
The Reformation also spread widely throughout Europe, starting with Bohemia, in the Czech lands, and, over the next few decades, to other countries.
Austria
Austria followed the same pattern as the German-speaking states within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, and Lutheranism became the main Protestant confession among its population. Lutheranism gained a significant following in the eastern half of present-day Austria, while Calvinism was less successful. Eventually the expulsions of the Counter-Reformation#politics, Counter-Reformation reversed the trend.
Czech lands
The Hussites were a Christian movement in the Kingdom of Bohemia following the teachings of Czech reformer
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...
.
=Jan Hus
=
Czech reformer and university professor
Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...
(c. 1369–1415) became the best-known representative of the Bohemian Reformation and one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation.
Jan Hus was declared a heretic and executed—burned at stake—at the
Council of Constance in 1415 where he arrived voluntarily to defend his teachings.
=Hussite movement
=
![Tranoscius](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Tranoscius.JPG)
This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened Czech national awareness. In 1417, two years after the execution of Jan Hus, the Czech reformation quickly became the chief force in the country.
Hussites made up the vast majority of the population, forcing the Council of Basel to recognize in 1437 a system of two "religions" for the first time, signing the Compacts of Basel for the kingdom (Catholic and Czech Ultraquists, Ultraquism a Hussite movement). Bohemia later also elected two Protestant kings (George of Poděbrady, Frederick V of the Palatinate, Frederick of Palatine).
After Habsburgs took control of the region, the Hussite churches were prohibited and the kingdom partially recatholicised. Even later, Lutheranism gained a substantial following, after being permitted by the Habsburgs with the continued persecution of the Czech native Hussite churches. Many Hussites thus declared themselves Lutherans.
Two churches with Hussite roots are now the second and third biggest churches among the largely agnostic peoples: Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, Czech Brethren (which gave origin to the international church known as the
Moravian Church
, image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
, main_classification = Proto-Prot ...
) and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, the teachings of the reformers and especially those of Zwingli and Calvin had a profound effect, despite frequent quarrels between the different branches of the Reformation.
= Huldrych Zwingli
=
![Ulrich-Zwingli-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Ulrich-Zwingli-1.jpg)
Parallel to events in Germany, a movement began in the Swiss Confederation under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli. Zwingli was a scholar and preacher who moved to
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
—the then-leading city state—in 1518, a year after Martin Luther began the Reformation in Germany with his
Ninety-five Theses. Although the two movements agreed on many issues of theology, as the recently introduced
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
spread ideas rapidly from place to place, some unresolved differences kept them separate. Long-standing resentment between the German states and the Swiss Confederation led to heated debate over how much Zwingli owed his ideas to Lutheranism. Although Zwinglianism does hold uncanny resemblance to Lutheranism (it even had its own equivalent of the ''Ninety-five Theses'', called the 67 Conclusions), historians have been unable to prove that Zwingli had any contact with Luther's publications before 1520, and Zwingli himself maintained that he had prevented himself from reading them.
The German Prince Philip of Hesse saw potential in creating an alliance between Zwingli and Luther, seeing strength in a united Protestant front. A meeting was held in his castle in 1529, now known as the Colloquy of Marburg, which has become infamous for its complete failure. The two men could not come to any agreement due to their disputation over one key doctrine. Although Luther preached consubstantiation in the Eucharist over transubstantiation, he believed in the real presence of Christ in the Communion bread. Zwingli, inspired by Dutch theologian Honius, Cornelius Hoen, believed that the Communion bread was only representative and memorial—Christ was not present. Luther became so angry that he famously carved into the meeting table in chalk ''Hoc Est Corpus Meum''—a Biblical quotation from the Last Supper meaning "This is my body". Zwingli countered this saying that ''est'' in that context was the equivalent of the word ''significat'' (signifies).
Some followers of Zwingli believed that the Reformation was too conservative and moved independently toward more radical positions, some of which survive among modern day
Anabaptists. One famous incident illustrating this was when radical Zwinglians fried and ate sausages during Lent in Zurich city square by way of protest against the Church teaching of
good works
In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's (exterior) actions or deeds, in contrast to inner qualities such as grace or faith.
Views by denomination
Anglican Churches
The Anglican theological tradition, including The ...
. Other Protestant movements grew up along the lines of mysticism or humanism (cf. Desiderius Erasmus, Erasmus and Louis de Berquin who was martyred in 1529), sometimes breaking from Rome or from the Protestants, or forming outside of the churches.
= John Calvin
=
![John Calvin - Young](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg)
Following the
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the Pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various churches in Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. After the expulsion of its Bishop in 1526, and the unsuccessful attempts of the Berne reformer William Farel, Guillaume (William) Farel, Calvin was asked to use the organisational skill he had gathered as a student of law to discipline the "fallen city" of Geneva. His "Ordinances" of 1541 involved a collaboration of Church affairs with the City council and Consistory (Protestantism)#Reformed usage, consistory to bring morality to all areas of life. After the establishment of the Geneva academy in 1559, Geneva became the unofficial capital of the Protestant movement, providing refuge for Protestant exiles from all over Europe and educating them as Calvinist missionaries. These missionaries dispersed Calvinism widely, and formed the French Huguenots in Calvin's own lifetime and spread to Scotland under the leadership of John Knox in 1560. Anne Locke translated some of Calvin's writings to English around this time. The faith continued to spread after Calvin's death in 1563 and reached as far as Constantinople by the start of the 17th century.
The Reformation foundations engaged with Augustinians, Augustinianism. Both Luther and Calvin thought along lines linked with the theological teachings of Augustine of Hippo. The Augustinianism of the Reformers struggled against Pelagianism, a heresy that they perceived in the Catholic Church of their day. Ultimately, since Calvin and Luther disagreed strongly on certain matters of theology (such as double-predestination and Holy Communion), the relationship between Lutherans and Calvinists was one of conflict.
Nordic countries
![Henrik sormi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Henrik_sormi.JPG)
All of Scandinavia ultimately adopted Lutheranism over the course of the 16th century, as the monarchs of Denmark (who also ruled Norway and Iceland) and Sweden (who also ruled Finland) converted to that faith.
=Sweden
=
In Sweden, the Reformation was spearheaded by Gustav Vasa, elected king in 1523, with major contributions by Olaus Petri, a Swedish clergyman. Friction with the pope over the latter's interference in Swedish ecclesiastical affairs led to the discontinuance of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy since 1523. Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås, the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church property, church appointments required royal approval, the clergy were subject to the civil law, and the "pure Word of God" was to be preached in the churches and taught in the schools—effectively granting official sanction to Lutheran ideas. The Apostolic succession#Lutheran churches, apostolic succession was retained in Sweden during the Reformation. The adoption of Lutheranism was also one of the main reasons for the eruption of the Dacke War, a peasants uprising in Småland.
=Finland
=
= Denmark
=
Under the reign of Frederick I of Denmark, Frederick I (1523–33), Denmark remained officially Catholic. Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, yet he quickly adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, of whom the most famous was Hans Tausen. During his reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads among the Danish population. In 1526, Frederick forbade papal investiture of bishops in Denmark and in 1527 ordered fees from new bishops be paid to the crown, making Frederick the head of the church of Denmark. Frederick's son, Christian, was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death. In 1536, following his victory in the Count's War, he became king as Christian III of Denmark, Christian III and continued the Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein, Reformation of the state church with assistance from Johannes Bugenhagen. By the Copenhagen recess of October 1536, the authority of the Catholic bishops was terminated.
= Faroe Islands
=
= Iceland
=
Martin Luther, Luther's influence had already reached Iceland before King Christian's decree. The Germans fished near Iceland's coast, and the Hanseatic League engaged in commerce with the Icelanders. These Germans raised a Lutheran church in Hafnarfjörður as early as 1533. Through German trade connections, many young Icelanders studied in Hamburg. In 1538, when the kingly decree of the new Church ordinance reached Iceland, bishop Ögmundur and his clergy denounced it, threatening excommunication for anyone subscribing to the German "heresy".
[Jón R. Hjálmarsson, ''History of Iceland: From the Settlement to the Present Day'', (Iceland Review, 1993), p. 70.] In 1539, the King sent a new governor to Iceland, Klaus von Mervitz, with a mandate to introduce reform and take possession of church property.
Von Mervitz seized a monastery in Viðey with the help of his sheriff, Dietrich of Minden, and his soldiers. They drove the monks out and seized all their possessions, for which they were promptly excommunicated by Ögmundur.
United Kingdom
=England
=
Church of England
![After Hans Holbein the Younger - Portrait of Henry VIII - Google Art Project](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/After_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger_-_Portrait_of_Henry_VIII_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
The separation of the Church of England from Rome under Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII, beginning in 1529 and completed in 1537, brought England alongside this broad Reformation movement. Although Robert Barnes (martyr), Robert Barnes attempted to get Henry VIII to adopt Lutheran theology, he refused to do so in 1538 and burned him at the stake in 1540. Reformers in the Church of England alternated, for decades, between sympathies between Catholic tradition and Reformed principles, gradually developing, within the context of robustly Protestant doctrine, a tradition considered a middle way (''via media'') between the Catholic and Protestant traditions.
The English Reformation followed a different course from the Reformation in continental Europe. There had long been a strong strain of anti-clericalism. England had already given rise to the Lollard movement of
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...
, which played an important part in inspiring the Hussites in
Bohemia. Lollardy was suppressed and became an underground movement, so the extent of its influence in the 1520s is difficult to assess. The different character of the English Reformation came rather from the fact that it was driven initially by the political necessities of Henry VIII.
Henry had once been a sincere Catholic and had even authored a book strongly criticising Luther. His wife, Catherine of Aragon, bore him only a single child who survived infancy, Mary I of England, Mary. Henry strongly wanted a male heir, and many of his subjects might have agreed, if only because they wanted to avoid another dynastic conflict like the Wars of the Roses.
![Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Thomas_Cranmer_by_Gerlach_Flicke.jpg)
Refused an annulment of his marriage to Catherine, King Henry decided to remove the Church of England from the authority of Rome. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy recognised Henry as "the only Supreme Head on earth of the Church of England".
[Bray (ed.) ''Documents of the English Reformation'' pp. 113–] Between 1535 and 1540, under Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, Thomas Cromwell, the policy known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries was put into effect. The veneration of some saints, certain pilgrimages and some pilgrim shrines were also attacked. Huge amounts of church land and property passed into the hands of the Crown and ultimately into those of the nobility and gentry. The vested interest thus created made for a powerful force in support of the dissolution.
There were some notable opponents to the Henrician Reformation, such as Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher, who were executed for their opposition. There was also a growing party of reformers who were imbued with the Calvinistic, Lutheran and Zwinglian doctrines then current on the Continent. When Henry died he was succeeded by his Protestant son Edward VI of England, Edward VI, who, through his empowered councillors (with the King being only nine years old at his succession and fifteen at his death) the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of Northumberland, ordered the destruction of images in churches, and the closing of the chantry, chantries. Under Edward VI the Church of England moved closer to continental Protestantism.
Yet, at a popular level, religion in England was still in a state of flux. Following a brief Catholic restoration during the reign of Mary (1553–1558), a loose consensus developed during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I, though this point is one of considerable debate among historians. This "Elizabethan Religious Settlement" largely formed Anglicanism into a distinctive church tradition. The compromise was uneasy and was capable of veering between extreme Calvinism on one hand and Catholicism on the other. But compared to the bloody and chaotic state of affairs in contemporary France, it was relatively successful, in part because Queen Elizabeth lived so long, until the Puritan Revolution or English Civil War in the seventeenth century.
English dissenters
![Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Oliver_Cromwell_by_Samuel_Cooper.jpg)
The success of the
Counter-Reformation on the Continent and the growth of a Puritan party dedicated to further Protestant reform polarised the Elizabethan Age, although it was not until the 1640s that England underwent religious strife comparable to what its neighbours had suffered some generations before.
The early ''Puritan movement'' (late 16th–17th centuries) was Reformed (or Calvinism, Calvinist) and was a movement for reform in the Church of England. Its origins lay in the discontent with the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. The desire was for the Church of England to resemble more closely the Protestant churches of Europe, especially Geneva. The Puritans objected to ornaments and ritual in the churches as idolatry, idolatrous (vestments, surplices, organs, genuflection), calling the vestments "Papist, popish pomp and rags" (see Vestments controversy). They also objected to ecclesiastical courts. Their refusal to endorse completely all of the ritual directions and formulas of the ''Book of Common Prayer'', and the imposition of its liturgical order by legal force and inspection, sharpened Puritanism into a definite opposition movement.
The later Puritan movement, often referred to as dissenters and Nonconformist (Protestantism), nonconformists, eventually led to the formation of various
Reformed Christian denomination, denominations.
The most famous emigration to America was the migration of Puritan separatists from the Anglican Church of England. They fled first to Holland, and then later to America to establish the English Massachusetts Bay Colony, colony of Massachusetts in New England, which later became one of the original United States. These Puritan separatists were also known as "the Pilgrim Fathers, Pilgrims". After establishing a colony at Plymouth Colony, Plymouth (which became part of the colony of Massachusetts) in 1620, the Puritan pilgrims received a charter from the King of England that legitimised their colony, allowing them to do trade and commerce with merchants in England, in accordance with the principles of mercantilism. The Puritans persecuted those of other religious faiths, for example, Anne Hutchinson was banished to Rhode Island during the Antinomian Controversy and Quaker Mary Dyer was hanged in Boston for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony.
[Rogers, Horatio, 2009. ]
Mary Dyer of Rhode Island: The Quaker Martyr That Was Hanged on Boston
' pp. 1–2. BiblioBazaar, LLC She was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs. Executions ceased in 1661 when Charles II of England, King Charles II explicitly forbade Massachusetts from executing anyone for professing Quakerism.
In 1647, Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting any Society of Jesus, Jesuit Roman Catholic priests from entering territory under Puritan jurisdiction. Any suspected person who could not clear himself was to be banished from the colony; a second offence carried a death penalty.
The Pilgrims held radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas, and its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681.
The ban was revoked in 1681 by the English-appointed governor Edmund Andros, who also revoked a Puritan ban on festivities on Saturday nights.
Nevertheless, it was not until the mid-19th century that celebrating Christmas became fashionable in the Boston region.
= Wales
=
Bishop Richard Davies (bishop), Richard Davies and dissident Protestant cleric John Penry introduced Calvinist theology to Wales. In 1588, the Bishop of Llandaff published the entire Bible in the Welsh language. The translation had a significant impact upon the Welsh population and helped to firmly establish Protestantism among the Welsh people. The Welsh Protestants used the model of the Synod of Dort of 1618–1619. Calvinism developed through the Puritan period, following the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, and within Wales' Calvinistic Methodist movement. However few copies of Calvin's writings were available before mid-19th century.
= Scotland
=
![John Knox preaching](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/John_Knox_preaching.JPG)
The Reformation in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the establishment of a church along Reformed theology, reformed lines, and politically in the triumph of English influence over that of France. John Knox is regarded as the leader of the Scottish reformation.
The Scottish Reformation Parliament, Reformation Parliament of 1560 repudiated the pope's authority by the ''Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560'', forbade the celebration of the Mass (liturgy), Mass and approved a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Confession of Faith. It was made possible by a revolution against French hegemony under the regime of the regent Mary of Guise, who had governed Scotland in the name of her absent daughter Mary, Queen of Scots (then also Queen consort, Queen of France).
Although Protestantism triumphed relatively easily in Scotland, the exact form of Protestantism remained to be determined. The 17th century saw a complex struggle between Presbyterianism (particularly the Covenanters) and Anglicanism, Episcopalianism. The Presbyterians eventually won control of the Church of Scotland, which went on to have an important influence on Presbyterian churches worldwide, but Scotland retained a relatively large Scottish Episcopal Church, Episcopalian minority.
Estonia
France
![Richelieu, por Philippe de Champaigne (detalle)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Richelieu%2C_por_Philippe_de_Champaigne_%28detalle%29.jpg)
Besides the Waldensians already present in France, Protestantism also spread in from German lands, where the Protestants were nicknamed ''Huguenots''; this eventually led to decades of civil warfare.
Though not personally interested in religious reform, Francis I of France, Francis I (reigned 1515–1547) initially maintained an attitude of tolerance, in accordance with his interest in the Renaissance Humanism, humanist movement. This changed in 1534 with the Affair of the Placards. In this act, Protestants denounced the Catholic Mass in placards that appeared across France, even reaching the royal apartments. During this time as the issue of religious faith entered into the arena of politics, Francis came to view the movement as a threat to the kingdom's stability.
Following the Affair of the Placards, culprits were rounded up, at least a dozen heretics were put to death, and the persecution of Protestants increased. One of those who fled France at that time was John Calvin, who emigrated to Basel in 1535 before eventually settling in Geneva in 1536. Beyond the reach of the French kings in Geneva, Calvin continued to take an interest in the religious affairs of his native land including the training of ministers for congregations in France.
As the number of Protestants in France increased, the number of heretics in prisons awaiting trial also grew. As an experimental approach to reduce the caseload in Normandy, a special court just for the trial of heretics was established in 1545 in the Parlement de Normandie, Parlement de Rouen. When Henry II of France, Henry II took the throne in 1547, the persecution of Protestants grew and special courts for the trial of heretics were also established in the Parlement de Paris. These courts came to known as Chambre Ardente, "''La Chambre Ardente''" ("the fiery chamber") because of their reputation of meting out death penalties on burning gallows.
Despite heavy persecution by Henry II, the Reformed Church of France, largely Calvinist in direction, made steady progress across large sections of the nation, in the urban bourgeoisie and parts of the aristocracy, appealing to people alienated by the obduracy and the complacency of the Catholic establishment.
![La masacre de San Bartolomé, por François Dubois](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/La_masacre_de_San_Bartolom%C3%A9%2C_por_Fran%C3%A7ois_Dubois.jpg)
French Protestantism, though its appeal increased under persecution, came to acquire a distinctly political character, made all the more obvious by the conversions of nobles during the 1550s. This established the preconditions for a series of destructive and intermittent conflicts, known as the French Wars of Religion, Wars of Religion. The civil wars gained impetus with the sudden death of Henry II of France, Henry II in 1559, which began a prolonged period of weakness for the French crown. wikt:atrocity, Atrocity and outrage became the defining characteristics of the time, illustrated at their most intense in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of August 1572, when the Catholic party killed between 30,000 and 100,000 Huguenots across France. The wars only concluded when Henry IV of France, Henry IV, himself a former Huguenot, issued the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
(1598), promising official toleration of the Protestant minority, but under highly restricted conditions. Catholicism remained the official state religion, and the fortunes of French Protestants gradually declined over the next century, culminating in Louis XIV's Edict of Fontainebleau (1685), which revoked the Edict of Nantes and made Catholicism the sole legal religion of France, leading some Huguenots to live as
Nicodemite
A Nicodemite () is a person suspected of publicly misrepresenting their religious faith to conceal their true beliefs. The term is sometimes defined as referring to a Protestant Christian who lived in a Roman Catholic country and escaped persecuti ...
s. In response to the Edict of Fontainebleau, Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg declared the Edict of Potsdam (October 1685), giving free passage to Huguenot refugees and tax-free status to them for ten years.
In the late 17th century, 150,000–200,000 Huguenots fled to England, the Netherlands, Prussia, Switzerland, and the English and Dutch overseas colonies. A significant community in France remained in the Cévennes region. A separate Protestant community, of the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
faith, existed in the newly conquered province of Alsace, its status not affected by the Edict of Fontainebleau.
Spain
In the early 16th century, Spain had a different political and cultural milieu from its Western and Central European neighbours in several respects, which affected the mentality and the reaction of the nation towards the Reformation. Spain, which had only recently managed to complete the reconquest of the Peninsula from the Moors in 1492, had been preoccupied with converting the Muslim and Jewish populations of the newly conquered regions through the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition in 1478. The rulers of the nation stressed political, cultural, and religious unity, and by the time of the Lutheran Reformation, the Spanish Inquisition was already 40 years old and had the capability of quickly persecuting any new movement that the leaders of the Catholic Church perceived or interpreted to be religious heterodoxy.
[Pettegree ''Reformation World'' p. 304] Emperor Charles V, Charles V did not wish to see Spain or the rest of Habsburg Europe divided, and in light of continual threat from the Ottomans, preferred to see the Roman Catholic Church reform itself from within. This led to a
Counter-Reformation in Spain in the 1530s. During the 1520s, the Spanish Inquisition had created an atmosphere of suspicion and sought to root out any religious thought seen as suspicious. As early as 1521, the Pope had written a letter to the Spanish monarchy warning against allowing the unrest in Northern Europe to be replicated in Spain. Between 1520 and 1550, printing presses in Spain were tightly controlled and any books of Protestant teaching were prohibited.
![Contemporary illustration of the Auto-da-fe held at Validolid Spain 21-05-1559](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Contemporary_illustration_of_the_Auto-da-fe_held_at_Validolid_Spain_21-05-1559..jpg)
Between 1530 and 1540, Protestantism in Spain was still able to gain followers clandestinely, and in cities such as Seville and Valladolid adherents would secretly meet at private houses to pray and study the Bible.
[Estep ''Renaissance and Reformation'' p. 299] Protestants in Spain were estimated at between 1000 and 3000, mainly among intellectuals who had seen writings such as those of Erasmus. Notable reformers included Dr. Juan Gil and Juan Pérez de Pineda who subsequently fled and worked alongside others such as Francisco de Enzinas to translate the Greek
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
into the Spanish language, a task completed by 1556. Protestant teachings were smuggled into Spain by Spaniards such as Julián Hernández, who in 1557 was condemned by the Inquisition and burnt at the stake. Under Philip II of Spain, Philip II, conservatives in the Spanish church tightened their grip, and those who refused to recant such as Rodrigo de Valer were condemned to life imprisonment. In May 1559, sixteen Spanish Lutherans were burnt at the stake: fourteen were strangled before being burnt, while two were burnt alive. In October another thirty were executed. Spanish Protestants who were able to flee the country were to be found in at least a dozen cities in Europe, such as Geneva, where some of them embraced Calvinism, Calvinist teachings. Those who fled to England were given support by the Church of England.
The Kingdom of Navarre, although by the time of the Protestant Reformation a minor principality territoriality restricted to southern France, had French Huguenot monarchs, including Henry IV of France and his mother, Jeanne III of Navarre, a devout Calvinist.
Upon the arrival of the Protestant Reformation, Calvinism reached some Basques through the translation of the Bible into the Basque language by Joanes Leizarraga. As Queen of Navarre, Jeanne III commissioned the translation of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
into Basque and Béarnese language, Béarnese for the benefit of her subjects.
Molinism presented a soteriology similar to Protestants within the Roman Catholic Church.
Portugal
During the Reformation era Protestantism was unsuccessful in Portugal, as its spread was frustrated for similar reasons to those in Spain.
Netherlands
![Dirk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Dirk.willems.rescue.ncs.jpg)
The Reformation in the Netherlands, unlike in many other countries, was not initiated by the rulers of the Seventeen Provinces, but instead by multiple popular movements which in turn were bolstered by the arrival of Protestant refugees from other parts of the continent. While the
Anabaptist movement enjoyed popularity in the region in the early decades of the Reformation, Calvinism, in the form of the Dutch Reformed Church, became the dominant Protestant faith in the country from the 1560s onward. In the early 17th century internal Synod of Dort, theological conflict within the Calvinist church between two tendencies of Calvinism, the Gomarists and the liberal Arminians (or Remonstrants), resulted in Gomarist Calvinism becoming the ''de facto'' state religion.
Belgium
The first two Lutheran :Protestant martyrs, martyrs were monks from Antwerp, Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes, Johann Esch and Heinrich Hoes, who were burned at the stake when they would not recant.
Harsh Inquisition of the Netherlands, persecution of Protestants by the Spanish government of Philip II of Spain, Philip II contributed to a desire for independence in the provinces, which led to the Eighty Years' War and, eventually, the separation of the largely Protestant Dutch Republic from the Catholic-dominated Southern Netherlands (present-day Belgium).
In 1566, at the peak of Belgian Reformation, there were an estimated 300,000 Protestants, or 20% of the Belgian population.
Latvia
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, a part of the Spanish Netherlands, remained Catholic during the Reformation era because Protestantism was illegal until 1768.
Hungary
![4k ref portre bocskai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/4k_ref_portre_bocskai.jpg)
Much of the population of the Kingdom of Hungary adopted Protestantism during the 16th century. After the 1526 Battle of Mohács, the Hungarian people were disillusioned by the inability of the government to protect them and turned to the faith they felt would infuse them with the strength necessary to resist the invader. They found this in the teaching of Protestant reformers such as
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
. The spread of Protestantism in the country was assisted by its large ethnic German minority, which could understand and translate the Martin Luther (resources), writings of Martin Luther. While Lutheranism gained a foothold among the German- and Slovak-speaking populations, Calvinism became widely accepted among ethnic Hungarians.
In the more independent northwest, the rulers and priests, protected now by the Habsburg monarchy, which had taken the field to fight the Turks, defended the old Catholic faith. They dragged the Protestants to prison and the stake wherever they could. Such strong measures only fanned the flames of protest, however. Leaders of the Protestants included Matthias Dévay, Mátyás Dévai Bíró, Mihály Sztárai, István Szegedi Kis, and Ferenc Dávid.
Protestants likely formed a majority of Hungary's population at the close of the 16th century, but
Counter-Reformation efforts in the 17th century reconverted a majority of the kingdom to Catholicism. A significant Protestant minority remained, most of it adhering to the Calvinist faith.
In 1558 the
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
n Diet (assembly), Diet of Turda decreed the free practice of both the Catholic and Lutheran religions, but prohibited Calvinism. Ten years later, in 1568, the Diet extended this freedom, declaring that "It is not allowed to anybody to intimidate anybody with captivity or expulsion for his religion". Four religions were declared to be "accepted" (''recepta'') religions (the fourth being Unitarianism, which became official in 1583 as the faith of the only Unitarian king, John Sigismund Zápolya, John II Sigismund Zápolya, r. 1540–1571), while Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christianity was "tolerated" (though the building of stone Orthodox churches was forbidden). During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
, Royal (Habsburg) Hungary joined the Catholic side, until Transylvania joined the Protestant side.
Between 1604 and 1711, there was a series of anti-Habsburg uprisings calling for equal rights and freedom for all Christian denominations, with varying success; the uprisings were usually organised from Transylvania. The Habsburg-sanctioned Counter-Reformation efforts in the 17th century reconverted the majority of the kingdom to Catholicism.
The center of Protestant learning in Hungary has for some centuries been the University of Debrecen. Founded in 1538, the university was situated in an area of Eastern Hungary under Ottoman Turkish rule during the 1600s and 1700s, being allowed Islamic toleration and thus avoiding Counter-Reformation persecution.
Romania
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
in what is today's Romania was a "dumping ground for undesirables" by the Habsburg monarchy. People who did not conform to the will of the Habsburgs and the leaders of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
were forcibly sent there. Centuries of this practice allowed diverse Protestant traditions to emerge in Romania, including Lutheranism, Calvinism and Unitarianism.
Ukraine
Calvinism was popular among Hungarians who inhabited the southwestern parts of the present-day Ukraine. Their descendants are still there, such as the Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church.
Belarus
The first Protestant congregation was founded in Brest-Litovsk in the Reformed tradition, and the Belarusian Evangelical Reformed Church exists today.
Ireland
![Anthonis Mor 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Anthonis_Mor_001.jpg)
The Reformation in Ireland was a movement for the reform of religious life and institutions that was introduced into Ireland by the English administration at the behest of King Henry VIII of England. His desire for an annulment of his marriage was known as the King's Great Matter. Ultimately Pope Clement VII refused the petition; consequently it became necessary for the King to assert his lordship over the church in his realm to give legal effect to his wishes. The English Parliament confirmed the King's supremacy over the Church in the Kingdom of England. This challenge to Papal supremacy resulted in a breach with the Roman Catholic Church. By 1541, the Parliament of Ireland, Irish Parliament had agreed to the change in status of the country from that of a Lordship of Ireland, Lordship to that of Kingdom of Ireland.
Unlike similar movements for religious reform on the continent of Europe, the various phases of the English Reformation as it developed in Ireland were largely driven by changes in government policy, to which public opinion in England gradually accommodated itself. However, a number of factors complicated the adoption of the religious innovations in Ireland; the majority of the population there adhered to the Catholic Church. However, in the city of Dublin the Reformation took hold under the auspices of George Browne (Archbishop of Dublin), George Browne, Archbishop of Dublin.
Italy
![Waldenser-Wappen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Waldenser-Wappen.jpg)
Word of the Protestant reformers reached Italy in the 1520s but never caught on. Its development was stopped by the Counter-Reformation, the Inquisition and also popular disinterest. Not only was the Church highly aggressive in seeking out and suppressing heresy, but there was a shortage of Protestant leadership. No one translated the Bible into Italian; few tracts were written. No core of Protestantism emerged. The few preachers who did take an interest in "Lutheranism", as it was called in Italy, were suppressed or went into exile to northern countries where their message was well received. As a result, the Reformation exerted almost no lasting influence in Italy, except for strengthening the Catholic Church and pushing for an end to ongoing abuses during the Counter-Reformation.
[MacCulloch ''Reformation'' pp. 401–417][Firpo "Italian Reformation" ''Companion to the Reformation World'' pp. 169 ff]
Some Protestants left Italy and became outstanding activists of the European Reformation, mainly in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (e.g. Giorgio Biandrata, Bernardino Ochino, Giovanni Alciato, Giovanni Battista Cetis, Fausto Sozzini, Francesco Stancaro and Giovanni Valentino Gentile), who propagated Nontrinitarianism there and were chief instigators of the movement of Polish Brethren.
[Church "Literature of the Italian reformation" ''Journal of Modern History'' pp. 457–473] Some also fled to England and Switzerland, including Peter Vermigli.
In 1532, the
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
, who had been already present centuries before the Reformation, aligned themselves and adopted the Calvinist theology. The Waldensian Church survived in the Western Alps through many persecutions and remains a Protestant church in Italy.
[Cameron ''Reformation of the Heretics'']
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
![Johannes a Lasco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Johannes_a_Lasco.JPG)
In the first half of the 16th century, the enormous Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a country of many religions and Churches, including: Roman Catholics, Byzantine Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Oriental Orthodox, Ashkenazi Jews, Crimean Karaites, Karaites, and Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims. The various groups had their own juridical systems. On the eve of the Protestant Reformation, Christianity held the predominate position within the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Catholicism received preferential treatment at the expense of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox.
The Reformation first entered Poland through the mostly German-speaking areas in the country's north. In the 1520s Luther's reforms spread among the mostly German-speaking inhabitants of such major cities as Danzig (now Gdańsk), Toruń, Thorn (now Toruń) and Elbing (now Elbląg). In Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), in 1530, a Polish-language edition of Luther's Small Catechism was published. The
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...
, a vassal of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Polish Crown ruled by the Teutonic Order, Teutonic Knights, emerged as a key center of the movement, with numerous publishing houses issuing not only Bibles, but also catechisms, in German, Polish and Lithuanian. In 1525 the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights secularised the territory, became Lutheran, and established Lutheranism as the state church.
Lutheranism found few adherents among the other peoples of the two countries. Calvinism became the most numerous Protestant group because Calvin's teachings on the role of the state within religion appealed to the nobility (known as szlachta), mainly in Lesser Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Several publishing houses were opened in Lesser Poland in the mid-16th century in such locations as Słomniki and Raków, Kielce County, Raków. At that time, Mennonites and Moravian Church, Czech Brothers came to Poland. The former settled in the Vistula Delta where they used their agricultural abilities to turn parts of the delta into plodders. The latter settled mostly in Greater Poland around Leszno. Later on, Socinus and his followers emigrated to Poland. Originally the Reformed Church in Poland included both the Calvinists and the Anti-trinitarians (also known as the Socinians and the Polish Brethren); however, they eventually split due to an inability to reconcile their divergent views on the Trinity. Both Catholics and Orthodox Christians converts became Calvinists and the Anti-Trinitarians.
The Commonwealth was unique in Europe in the 16th century for its widespread tolerance confirmed by the Warsaw Confederation. This agreement granted religious toleration to all nobles: peasants living on nobile estates did not receive the same protections. In 1563, the Brest Bible was published (see also Bible translations into Polish). The period of tolerance came under strain during the reign of King Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmunt Wasa). Sigismund, who was also the King of Sweden until deposed, was educated by Jesuits in Sweden before his election as King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During his reign, he selected Catholics for the highest offices in the country. This created resentment amongst the Protestant nobility; however, the country did not experience a religiously motivated civil war. Despite concerted efforts, the nobility rejected efforts to revise or rescind the Confederation of Warsaw, and protected this agreement.
The Deluge (history), Deluge, a 20-year period of almost continual warfare, marked the turning point in attitudes. During the war with Sweden, when King John II Casimir Vasa, John Casimir (Jan Kazimierz) fled to Silesia, the Icon of Black Madonna of Częstochowa, Mary of Częstochowa became the rallying point for military opposition to the Swedish forces. Upon his return to the country Kihn John Casimir crowned The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland, Mary a Queen of Poland. Despite these wars against Protestant, Orthodox, and Muslim neighbours, the Confederation of Warsaw held with one notable exception. In the aftermath of the Swedish withdrawal and truce, attitudes throughout the nobility (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant) turned against the Polish Brethren. In 1658 the Polish Brethren were forced to leave the country. They were permitted to sell their immovable property and take their movable property; however, it is still unknown whether they received fair-market value for their lands. In 1666, the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sejm banned apostasy from Catholicism to any other religion, under penalty of death. Finally, in 1717, the Silent Sejm banned non-Catholics from becoming deputies of the Parliament.
The strategy the Catholic Church took towards reconverting the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth differed from its strategy elsewhere. The unique government (Poland was a republic where the citizen nobility owned the state) meant the king could not enforce a religious settlement even he if so desired. Instead the Catholic Church undertook a long and steady campaign of persuasion. In the Ruthenian lands (predominately modern day Belarus & Ukraine) the Orthodox Church also undertook a similar strategy. Additionally, the Orthodox also sought to join the Catholic Church (accomplished in the Union of Brest, Union of Brześć [
Brest, Belarus, Brest]); however, this union failed to achieve a lasting, permanent, and complete union of the Catholics and Orthodox in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. An important component of the Catholic Reformation in Poland was education. Numerous colleges and universities were set up throughout the country: the Jesuits and Piarists were important in this regard but there were contributions of other religious orders such as the Dominican Order, Dominicans. While in the middle of the 16th century the nobility mostly sent their sons abroad for education (the new German Protestant universities were important in this regard), by the mid-1600s the nobility mostly stayed home for education. The quality of the new Catholic schools was so great that Protestants willingly sent their children to these schools. Through their education, many nobles became appreciative of Catholicism or out-right converted. Even though the majority of the nobility were Catholic circa 1700, Protestants remained in these lands and pockets of Protestantism could be found outside the German-speaking lands of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth into the 20th century.
Among the most important Protestants of the Commonwealth were Mikołaj Rej, Marcin Czechowic, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski and Symon Budny.
For more information see the following:
* Kot, Stanislas. ''Socinianism in Poland: The Social and Political Ideas of the Polish Antitrinitarians in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries''. Translated by Earl Morse Wilbur. Bacon Hill Boston: Starr King Press, 1957.
* Tazbir, Janusz. ''A State without Stakes: Polish Religious Toleration in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries''. Translated by A. T. Jordan. Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1973.
* Kłoczowski, Jerzy. ''A History of Polish Christianity. [Dzieje Chrześcijaństwa Polskiego]''.English. Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
* Gudziak, Borys A. Crisis and Reform: The Kyivan Metropolitanate, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Genesis of the Union of Brest. Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies, 2001.
* Teter, Magda. Jews and Heretics in Catholic Poland: A Beleaguered Church in the Post-Reformation Era. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
* Nowakowska, Natalia. King Sigismund of Poland and Martin Luther: The Reformation before Confessionalization. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2018.
Moldova
![Reformation and Counterreformation in Moldavia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Reformation_and_Counterreformation_in_Moldavia.svg)
The Reformation was very insignificant in what is now Moldova and saw single congregations of Hussitism and Calvinism being founded across Besserabia. During the Reformation era, Moldova was repeatedly invaded.
Slovenia
![Primoz-Trubar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Primoz-Trubar.jpg)
Primož Trubar is notable for consolidating the Slovene language and is considered to be the key figure of Slovenian cultural history, in many aspects a major Slovene historical personality.
He was the key figure of the Protestant Church of the Slovene Lands, as he was its founder and its first superintendent. The first books in Slovene, ''Catechismus'' and ''Abecedarium (Trubar), Abecedarium'', were written by Trubar.
Slovakia
At one point in history, the majority of Slovaks (~60%) were Lutherans. Calvinism was popular among the Hungarians who inhabited the southernmost parts of what is now Slovakia. Back then, Slovakia used to be a part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The
Counter-Reformation implemented by the Habsburgs severely damaged Slovakian Protestantism, although in the 2010s Protestants are still a substantial minority (~10%) in the country.
Croatia
Lutheranism reached northern parts of the country.
Serbia
Vojvodina turned partially
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
.
Greece
The Protestant teachings of the Western Church were also briefly adopted within the Eastern Orthodox Church through the Greek people, Greek Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Patriarch Cyril Lucaris in 1629 with the publishing of the ''Confessio'' (Calvinistic doctrine) in Geneva. Motivating factors in their decision to adopt aspects of the Reformation included the East–West Schism, historical rivalry and mistrust between the Greek Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches along with their concerns of Jesuit priests entering Greek lands in their attempts to propagate the teachings of the
Counter-Reformation to the Greek populace. He subsequently sponsored Maximos of Gallipoli's Bible translations into Greek, translation of the New Testament into the Modern Greek language and it was published in Geneva in 1638. Upon Lucaris's death in 1638, the conservative factions within the Eastern Orthodox Church held two synods: the Synod of Constantinople (1638) and Synod of Iași (1642) criticising the reforms and, in the 1672 convocation led by Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem, Dositheos, they officially condemned the Calvinistic doctrines.
In 2019, Christos Yannaras told Norman Russell that although he had participated in the Zoë movement, he had come to regard it as Crypto-Protestant.
Ottoman Empire
Spread
The Reformation spread throughout Europe beginning in 1517, reaching its peak between 1545 and 1620. The greatest geographical extent of Protestantism occurred at some point between 1545 and 1620. In 1620, the Battle of White Mountain defeated Protestants in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) who sought to have the 1609 Letter of Majesty upheld.
![The Protestant Reformation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/The_Protestant_Reformation.svg)
.
The
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
began in 1618 and brought a drastic territorial and demographic decline when the House of Habsburg introduced counter-reformational measures throughout their vast possessions in Central Europe. Although the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
concluded with the
Peace of Westphalia, the French Counter-Reformation#Politics, Wars of the Counter-Reformation continued, as well as the expulsion of Protestants in Austria.
![The Counterreformation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/The_Counterreformation.svg)
According to a 2020 study in the ''American Sociological Review'', the Reformation spread earliest to areas where Luther had pre-existing social relations, such as mail correspondents, and former students, as well as where he had visited. The study argues that these social ties contributed more to the Reformation's early breakthroughs than the printing press.
Conclusion and legacy
There is no universal agreement on the exact or approximate date the Reformation ended. Various interpretations emphasise different dates, entire periods, or argue that the Reformation never really ended. However, there are a few popular interpretations.
Peace of Augsburg in 1555 officially ended the religious struggle between the two groups and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, allowing rulers to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official Creed, confession of their state. It could be considered to end with the enactment of the Creed#Christian confessions of faith, confessions of faith. Other suggested ending years relate to the
Counter-Reformation or the 1648
Peace of Westphalia. From a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
perspective, the Second Vatican Council called for an end to the Counter-Reformation.
*In the history of theology or philosophy, the Reformation era ended with the Age of Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Period, also termed the Template:17th-century scholasticism, Scholastic Period, succeeded the Reformation with the 1545–1563 ''Council of Trent'', the 1562 Anglican ''Thirty-nine Articles'', the 1580 ''Book of Concord'', and other Creed#Christian confessions of faith, confessions of faith. The Orthodox Era ended with the development of both Pietism and the Enlightenment.
* The
Peace of Westphalia might be considered to be the event that ended the Reformation.
* Some historians argue that the Reformation never ended as new churches have splintered from the Catholic Church (e.g., Old Catholics, Polish National Catholic Church, etc.), as well as all the various Protestant churches that exist today. No church splintering from the Catholic Church since the 17th century has done so on the basis of the same issues animating the Reformation, however.
Thirty Years' War: 1618–1648
![Westfaelischer Friede in Muenster (Gerard Terborch 1648)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Westfaelischer_Friede_in_Muenster_%28Gerard_Terborch_1648%29.jpg)
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation era conflicts are termed the European wars of religion. In particular, the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
(1618–1648) devastated much of Early Modern history of Germany, Germany, killing between 25% and 40% of its entire population. The Catholic House of Habsburg and its allies fought against the Protestant princes of Germany, supported at various times by Denmark, Sweden and Kingdom of France, France. The Habsburgs, who ruled Spain, Austria, the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, Crown of Bohemia, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, Slovene Lands, the Spanish Netherlands and much of Germany and Italy, were staunch defenders of the Catholic Church. Some historians believe that the era of the Reformation came to a close when Catholic France allied itself with Protestant states against the Habsburg dynasty.
Two main tenets of the
Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War, were:
* All parties would now recognise the
Peace of Augsburg of 1555, by which each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state, the options being Catholicism, Lutheranism, and now Calvinism (the principle of ).
* Christians living in principalities where their denomination was ''not'' the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their faith in public during allotted hours and in private at their will.
The treaty also effectively ended the Papacy's pan-European political power. Pope Innocent X declared the treaty "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all times" in his apostolic brief ''Zelo Domus Dei''. European sovereigns, Catholic and Protestant alike, ignored his verdict.
[Cross, (ed.) "Westphalia, Peace of" ''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'']
Consequences of the Reformation
Six princes of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free City, Imperial Free Cities, who issued protestation at Speyer, a protest (or dissent) against the edict of the Diet of Speyer (1529), were the first individuals to be called Protestants.
The edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V Diet of Speyer (1526), three years earlier. The term ''Protestant'', though initially purely political in nature, later acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church which subscribed to the main Protestant principles.
Today, Protestantism constitutes the List of Christian denominations by number of members, second-largest form of Christianity (after Catholicism), with a total of 800 million to 1 billion adherents worldwide or about 37% of all Christians.
Protestants have developed Protestant culture, their own culture, with major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts and many other fields.
[Karl Heussi, ''Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte'', 11. Auflage (1956), Tübingen (Germany), pp. 317–319, 325–326] The following outcomes of the Reformation regarding human capital formation, the Protestant work ethic, Protestant ethic, economic development, governance, and "dark" outcomes have been identified by scholars:
Human capital formation
* Higher literacy rates.
* Lower gender gap in school enrollment and literacy rates.
* Higher primary school enrollment.
* Higher public spending on schooling and better educational performance of military conscripts.
* Higher capability in reading, numeracy, essay writing, and history.
Protestant ethic
* More hours worked.
* Divergent work attitudes of Protestant and Catholics.
* Fewer referendums on leisure, state intervention, and redistribution in Swiss cantons with more Protestants.
* Lower life satisfaction when unemployed.
* Pro-market attitudes.
* Income differences between Protestants and Catholics.
Economic development
![Katharina-v-Bora-1526](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Katharina-v-Bora-1526.jpg)
* Different levels of income tax revenue per capita, % of labor force in manufacturing and services, and incomes of male elementary school teachers.
* Growth of Protestant cities.
* Greater entrepreneurship among religious minorities in Protestant states.
* Different social ethics.
*Industrialization.
Governance
* The Reformation has been credited as a key factor in the development of the state system.
* The Reformation has been credited as a key factor in the formation of transnational advocacy movements.
* The Reformation impacted the Western legal tradition.
* Establishment of state churches.
* Poor relief and social welfare regimes.
* James Madison noted that
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
's two kingdoms doctrine, doctrine of the two kingdoms marked the beginning of the modern conception of separation of church and state.
* The Calvinist and Lutheran doctrine of the lesser magistrate contributed to resistance theory in the Early Modern period and was employed in the United States Declaration of Independence.
* Reformers such as Calvin promoted mixed government and the separation of powers,
[Jan Weerda, ''Calvin'', in ''Evangelisches Soziallexikon'', col. 210–11] which governments such as the United States subsequently adopted.
Other outcomes
* Witch trials became more common in regions or other jurisdictions where Protestants and Catholics contested the religious market.
* Christopher J. Probst, in his book ''Demonizing the Jews: Luther and the Protestant Church in Nazi Germany'' (2012), shows that a large number of German Protestant clergy and theologians during the Nazi Third Reich used Luther's hostile publications towards the Jews and Judaism to justify at least in part the anti-Semitic policies of the National Socialists.
* In its decree on Unitatis redintegratio, ecumenism, the Second Vatican Council of Catholic Bishops declared that by contemporary dialogue that, while still holding views as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, between the churches "all are led to examine their own faithfulness to Christ's will for the Church and accordingly to undertake with vigor the task of renewal and reform" (''Unitatis Redintegratio'', 4).
Historiography
Margaret C. Jacob argues that there has been a dramatic shift in the historiography of the Reformation. Until the 1960s, historians focused their attention largely on the great leaders and theologians of the 16th century, especially Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. Their ideas were studied in depth. However, the rise of the social history, new social history in the 1960s led to looking at history from the bottom up, not from the top down. Historians began to concentrate on the values, beliefs and behavior of the people at large. She finds, "in contemporary scholarship, the Reformation is now seen as a vast cultural upheaval, a social and popular movement, textured and rich because of its diversity."
[Jacob ''Living the Enlightenment'' p. 215]
Music and art
Painting and sculpture
*Northern Mannerism#Northern Mannerism, politics and religion, Northern Mannerism
*Lutheran art#Reformation era, Lutheran art
*German Renaissance#Art, German Renaissance Art
*Swedish art#Renaissance and Baroque art, Swedish art
*English art#16th and 17th centuries, English art
*Old master print#The North after Dürer, Woodcuts
*Art in the Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation, Art conflicts
*Beeldenstorm
Building
*Church architecture#The Reformation and its influence on church architecture, Influence on church architecture
Literature
*Elizabethan literature, Elizabethan
*Metaphysical poets
*Propaganda during the Reformation, Propaganda
*Welsh-language literature#16th and 17th centuries, Welsh
*Scottish literature#Early modern era, Scottish
*Irish literature#The manuscript tradition, Anglo-Irish
*German literature#German Renaissance and Reformation, German
*Czech literature#Reformation, Czech
*Swiss literature#Emergence of vernacular literature, Swiss
*Slovak literature#1500-1650, Slovak
*Sorbian literature, Sorbian
*Romanian literature#Beginnings, Romanian
*Danish literature#16th and 17th centuries, Danish
*Faroese literature#Reformation era, Faroese
*Norwegian literature#"Four Hundred Years of Darkness", Norwegian
*Swedish literature#Reformation literature, Swedish
*Finnish literature#Pre-Nineteenth century, Finnish
*Icelandic literature#Middle Icelandic literature, Icelandic
*Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature, Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age
*Folklore of the Low Countries#In folk tales, Folklore of the Low Countries
*Renaissance humanism#Sixteenth century and beyond, 16th century Renaissance humanism
*16th century in poetry
*16th century in literature
*English Renaissance theatre
Musical forms
*Hymnody of continental Europe#Reformation, Hymnody of continental Europe
*Early music of the British Isles#Reformation, Music of the British Isles
*Hymn tune#The Reformation, Hymn tune
*Lutheran chorale
*Lutheran hymn
*Anglican church music#History, Anglican church music
*Exclusive psalmody
*Anglican chant
*Homophony vs. Polyphony#European polyphony, Polyphony
Liturgies
*Reformed worship#General principles and historical overview, Reformed worship
*Regulative principle of worship#John Calvin's Liturgy, Calvin's liturgy
*Formula missae
*Deutsche Messe
*Ecclesiastical Latin
*Mass (music)#Renaissance, Lutheran and Anglican Mass in music
*Cyclic mass vs. Paraphrase mass
*Pre-Tridentine Mass, Roman vs. Use of Sarum, Sarum Rites
*Sequence (musical form), Sequence (retained by Lutherans, mostly banned by Trent)
Hymnals
*First Lutheran hymnal, First and Erfurt Enchiridion, Second Lutheran hymnals
*Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn, First Wittenberg hymnal
*Swenske songer eller wisor 1536, Swenske songer
*Thomissøn's hymnal
*Ausbund
*Book of Common Prayer
*Metrical psalters
*Souterliedekens
*Book of Common Order
*Genevan Psalter
*Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland#Scottish Psalter (1564), Scottish Psalter
Secular music
*English Madrigal School
*''Greensleeves''
*Madrigal#Continental Europe, German madrigals
*Moravian traditional music#History, Moravian traditional music
*Meistersinger
Partly due to Martin Luther's love for music, music became important in Lutheranism. The study and practice of music was encouraged in Protestant-majority countries. Songs such as the Lutheran hymns or the Calvinist Psalter became tools for the spread of Protestant ideas and beliefs, as well as identity flags. Similar attitudes developed among Catholics, who in turn encouraged the creation and use of music for religious purposes.
[Chiara Bertoglio ''Reforming Music. Music and the Religious Reformations of the Sixteenth Century (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017)'']
See also
* Women in the Protestant Reformation
* Anti-Catholicism
* Criticism of Protestantism
* Book of Concord
* Catholic-Protestant relations
* Concordat of Worms
* Confessionalization
*
Counter-Reformation, the Catholic response
* European wars of religion
* Free Grace theology
* Historiography of religion
* List of Protestant Reformers
* Propaganda during the Reformation
* Protestant culture
* Protestantism in Germany
* Proto-Protestantism
* Church architecture#The Reformation and its influence on church architecture, The Reformation and its influence on church architecture
* European City of the Reformation
Notes
References
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Further reading
Surveys
* Appold, Kenneth G. ''The Reformation: A Brief History'' (2011
online* Collinson, Patrick. ''The Reformation: A History'' (2006)
* Elton, Geoffrey R. and Andrew Pettegree, eds. ''Reformation Europe: 1517–1559'' (1999
excerpt and text search* Elton, G.R., ed. ''The New Cambridge Modern History, Vol. 2: The Reformation, 1520–1559'' (1st ed. 1958
online free* Gassmann, Günther, and Mark W. Oldenburg. ''Historical dictionary of Lutheranism'' (Scarecrow Press, 2011).
* Hillerbrand, Hans J. ''The Protestant Reformation'' (2nd ed. 2009)
* Hsia, R. Po-chia, ed. ''A Companion to the Reformation World'' (2006)
* Lindberg, Carter. ''The European Reformations'' (2nd ed. 2009)
* Mourret, Fernand. ''History of the Catholic Church'' (vol 5 1931) online free; pp. 325–516; by French Catholic scholar
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* Sascha O. Becker, Steven Pfaff and Jared Rubin. ''Causes and Consequences of the Protestant Reformation'' (2015
online* Reeves, Michael. ''The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation'' (2nd ed. 2016)
* Spitz, Lewis William (2003). ''The Protestant Reformation: 1517–1559''.
Theology
* Bagchi, David, and David C. Steinmetz, eds. ''The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology'' (2004)
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* Barrett, Matthew, and Michael Horton. ''Reformation Theology: A Systematic Summary'' (2017).
* Carl Braaten, Braaten, Carl E. and Robert W. Jenson. ''The Catholicity of the Reformation''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996. .
* Cunningham, William. ''The Reformers and the Theology of the Reformation'' (2013).
* Payton, James R., Jr. ''Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings'' (IVP Academic, 2010)
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Primary sources in translation
* Fosdick, Harry Emerson, ed. ''Great Voices of the Reformation [and of other putative reformers before and after it]: an Anthology'', ed., with an introd. and commentaries, by Harry Emerson Fosdick. (Modern Library, 1952). xxx, 546 pp.
* Janz, Denis, ed. ''A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions'' (2008
excerpt and text search* Littlejohn, Bradford, and Jonathan Roberts eds. ''Reformation Theology: A Reader of Primary Sources with Introductions'' (2018).
* Martin Luther, Luther, Martin ''Luther's Correspondence and Other Contemporary Letters'', 2 vols., tr. and ed. by Preserved Smith, Charles Michael Jacobs, The Lutheran Publication Society, Philadelphia, Pa. 1913, 1918. vol.2 (1521–1530) from Google Books. Reprint of Vol. 1, Wipf & Stock Publishers (March 2006). .
* Spitz, Lewis W. ''The Protestant Reformation: Major Documents''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1997. .
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* Howard, Thomas A. and Mark A. Noll, eds. ''Protestantism after 500 Years'' (Oxford UP, 2016) pp. 384.
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* Kooi, Christine. "The Reformation in the Netherlands: Some Historiographic Contributions in English." ''Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte'' 100.1 (2009): 293–307.
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* Walsham, Alexandra. "Toleration, Pluralism, and Coexistence: The Ambivalent Legacies of the Reformation." ''Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte-Archive for Reformation History'' 108.1 (2017): 181–190
Online*
External links
16th Century Reformation Reading Room Extensive online resources, Tyndale Seminary
From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Divisionat the Library of Congress
An ecumenical official valuation by Lutherans and Catholics 500 years later*
{{Authority control
Protestant Reformation,
Anti-Catholicism
16th-century Lutheranism, Reformation
Schisms in Christianity
Schisms from the Catholic Church