The Changes Brought By The Reformation
The Reformation is where all of the altercations began. This broke the unity of the Latin Church and started many wars. The papacy, in 1500, had position as Europe’s authority. Popes used to have disputes over the church, but now show power that is paid for by donation and income from the church real estate holdings. The Renaissance was a time when fifty-four churches were in built in Rome. Saint Peters Basilica was major piece of art that glorified God. However, the cost to build all of these buildings caused problems.
Pope Leo was the head of the designing and financial part of the Saint Peters Basilica. He was a member of the Florence Medici family and had great talent in art. While he was pope, the church raised money through indulgences. Martin Luther, a professor of scripture, heard of this practice and called it to be shameful. He then wrote a letter to Pope Leo stating how he did not like the practice of indulgences and how he wanted to have a challenge over them. Pope Leo ended up silencing Luther because of the letter he sent. In 1519 the argument led Luther to disagreeing with the beliefs of the church. After, he decided to burn the papal document, reject the pope’s power, and start the Protestant Reformation.
A Frenchman, John Calvin, who decided to leave the study of theology became a Protestant leader. Calvin did agree with Luther but believed that “human faith alone could merit salvation”. Calvinists did their own thing by electing their own government groups and creating councils to balance out doctrinal issues. They did their best to show modesty in their everyday lives. Protestants declined celibate priests and nuns and encouraged Christian marriage for every adult.
When the Catholic Church heard of what was happening, they instituted a campaign of reforms. Between 1545 and 1563 a meeting in Trent in northern Italy searched for differences between Catholic doctrines and Protestant errors. It stated again the real and true meaning of salvation. It also declared the importance of confession, penance, and scriptures. The Bishops dominated the meeting and Luther’s practices were restricted.
The Catholic Reformation, also known as the counter-reformation, was a very important event in 1540. This reformation made clear the meaning of Catholic theology and restated discipline. Because the Protestant Reformation was so intense, both sides persecuted and executed the opposing views. Little war type things continued until 1648. Thankfully, the rulers of Spain and France helped to defend the Catholic tradition against the harsh Protestant challenges.
