Transcript The Reformation: Part I

The Reformation: Part I
The objectives for this slide show are:
• How did Jan Huss’ martyrdom inspire Luther?
• Identify the reasons for Luther’s criticisms of
the Catholic Church
• Why did Luther not support the peasants in
their rebellion?
• You will know the main terms of the Peace of
Augsburg, 1555.
Many early groups or people questioned
the Church
•The Cathars—were rooted out in the
Albigensian crusade. This was Innocent
III’s greatest test (Early 1200s)
John Wycliffe translates the bible
(1300’s)
•Ordinary devout citizens should be able to
read the bible and obtain salvation
Jan Huss was a Bohemian National
Hero, who came to be a touch point
for Czech Nationalism
• He, too, believed that
all should have access
to the bible
• But he also
represented
Bohemian (Czech)
independence against
the Holy Roman
Empire
Jan Huss was imprisoned by the Church
after he was promised safe conduct to
the Council of Constance
Even today, Huss’ statue is in an
honored place in
Prague, Czech Republic
Jan Huss became a Martyr of the Early
Reformation
• Many
Bohemian
nobles
protested
the
burning of
Jan Huss.
Here are
their seals
attached to
the protest
His followers continued to fight for his
cause, and there would be small wars
throughout the area for many years.
Erasmus, though he stayed in the
church, wrote several books of criticism.
•In Praise of Folly
paves the way for
further criticism by
those who feel “less
kindly” toward
Catholic doctrine
Three classes contribute
to the Reformation
The laboring poor who felt that their
tithes supported lavish displays of
wealth
• Anabaptists, Hutterites, Menonites, and Amish
are in these groups
• Today’s Baptists descend from this group
The Middle Classes
• Merchants and
Townspeople who
wanted to control
their spiritual and
economic destiny
• These became
followers of Calvin—
including Puritanism
and Presbyterianism
There were also the Kings and
Princes—who wanted to gain control
over their territory and diminish
church influence
•The Lutheran Church and
the English Anglican Church
were in this tradition
•The Anglican Church, or
Church of England, is the
Episcopalian Church of
today
And there were, of course, long
standing “wounds” that compounded
this dissatisfaction
Individuals, Groups, and
Events all contributed to the
dissatisfaction with the church
Luther’s early life
•Received an
excellent education
•Caught in a storm,
he prays to St.
Anne
•Becomes a priest
Luther comes to the belief that
Salvation is by faith alone
Tetzel was a fundraiser to help rebuild
St. Peter’s
He sold Indulgences, and said that with each
contribution a soul gained fewer years in
purgatory
Luther is outraged
• Like Jesus Christ,
he sees himself as
cleaning the temple
He posts the 95 Theses
Faith and repentance bring one to
heaven, not indulgences
There are various specific complaints in the
Theses
He also believed that the church had no
authority to burn or persecute righteous
Christians, such as Jan Huss
•The Bible was the
authority.
•He urged people to
read the bible and see
for themselves
He appeared before the young Charles
V (the emperor) at the Diet of Worms.
There he said “he would not go
against his own conscience.”
Friends, fearing that he would be captured and burned,
like Jan Huss, had him kidnapped and held in a
Wartburg Castle until things cooled down
Lutheranism caused national upheaval
in the various German states. Its affect
was immediate.
Soon, other groups adapted Luther’s
revolt to their own causes
•Peasants rebelled
against their unfair
landlords
•Luther condemned
their revolt
•He also condemned
Jews who would not
convert
The Anabaptists split over issues of
infant baptism
Other groups split off
into bizarre cults
•John of Leyden took over the city of
Munster and established a communal,
polygamous state.
•Leyden was tortured and burned at
the stake.
•The Anabaptists fled to parts of
Russia and Poland
•The Cages
of Munster
where
Anabaptists
were held
Luther was horrified by the
rebellions and splinter groups
He made it clear that in
worldly matter, a Good
Christian owed obedience to
established authority
Lutheranism supported authority and
became tied to various German
States.
The states of Germany felt it
was their right to choose what
religion they would support :
ius reformandi
The Emperor sought to suppress Luther
and the Lutheran States
The Lutheran princes and free cities
formed an alliance at the small
German town of Schmalkald
This became the Schmalkaldic League. It was
formed to defend the Lutheran Princes against
the Emperor
Even Catholic France supported Luther
against the Emperor
•France will continue to support other
Protestants against its fellow Catholic
nation. Religions do not stick together
•France wants Germany (at this time,
The Holy Roman Empire) to remain
weak and divided
One might call me a
backstabber. . .
•Let me explain my
self:
•I am Francois I of
France
•I’m intent on
keeping the
Emperor weak
•And, also,
Germany divided
The Emperor had other troubles
besides Lutheranism
•In 1529, the Turks began to threaten
the Eastern Hapsburg domains.
•Charles V had to stop and fight off
the Turks
In the meanwhile, a whole new
generation of Lutherans grew up!
The Schmalkaldic War ends with a
Lutheran Victory: The Peace of
Augsburg 1555
The rulers of the various
German states choose the
religion they belong to—
and their citizens follow
along
Cuius regio eius religio: whose the
region, his the religion
This is a plus for Lutheranism—but it results
in the division of the various German
States—just what France wants
The objectives for this slide show were:
• How did Jan Huss’ martyrdom inspire Luther?
• Identify the reasons for Luther’s criticisms of
the Catholic Church
• Why did Luther not support the peasants in
their rebellion?
• You will know the main terms of the Peace of
Augsburg, 1555.
Thus Ends the first stage of the
Reformation