1.4 the reform continues

Ch. 1 Section 4

John Calvin- born in 1509 in France, he published his Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536 (in Latin).

Woodcut of Calvin preaching in Geneva.

Calvin’s Institutes, expressed his ideas about God, Salvation and human nature. His writings helped create a new system of Protestant theology…Calvinism.

Calvin’s beliefs include:•Men and women are sinful by nature.•Humans cannot earn salvation but God Chooses only a very few people to save called the “elect.” These people have been chosen since the beginning of time, this is called predestination.•Ideal government is a theocracy (government ruled by religious leaders.)

Protestants in Geneva, Switzerland established strict rules by 1536 such as:

Mandatory religious classes

No bright clothing No card playing No blasphemy or cursing All holidays were outlawed

except for Sunday. Rule breakers were excommunicated,

imprisoned or burned at the stake. Geneva became a model city of highly moral citizens.

Preacher from Scotland who visited Geneva, Switzerland and took back home some of what he saw. He established in each community church a small group of leaders of laymen called elders or presbyters.

The followers of John Knox became known as Presbyterians and they were later able to establish Calvinism as Scotland’s official religion in the 1560’s.

They also were able to depose Mary Queen of Scots after a scandal with her husband, Lord Darnley’s murder in 1567.

Calvinists in France were called Huguenots. Persecution by the Catholic crown in France occurred often. Violence between the Catholics and Huguenots peaked in the city of Paris on August 24, 1572, the Catholic feast of St. Bartholomew’s Day. More then 3,000 Huguenots were killed between the 24th

and 30th in Paris. Close to 70,000 were slaughtered throughout France in the following 6 months.

King Charles IX of France, under the sway of his mother, Catherine de Medici, orders the assassination of Huguenot Protestant leaders in Paris.

According to Luther’s teachings, the bible is the only source of truth about religion. As people read the bible and began to interpret it for themselves, new Protestant groups began to form over differences in beliefs.

Anabaptists (from the Greek meaning baptize again) believed that only those old enough to decide to be Christians should be baptized and if they were baptized as children then they should be baptized again as adults. Unlike Calvinists, they believed in a separation of church and state. They also refused to fight in wars and were considered radicals. They were consequently persecuted by both Catholics and Protestants.

Anabaptists survived the persecutions and became the forerunners of the Mennonites and the Amish. Their teachings further influenced the later Quakers and Baptists, who split from the Anglican church.

Was the efforts of the Catholic Church to keep its members loyal to the church and Rome. Ignatius of Loyola was a prominent Catholic reformer.

Ignatius grew up in his father’s castle in Loyola, Spain but underwent a great change in 1521 after being injured in war (he was hit by a cannonball in his legs.) His recovery included reflections on his sins, Jesus’ life and daily devotions to cleanse his soul. He wrote Spiritual Exercises in 1522. This laid out a day-by-day plan of meditation, prayer and study. Ignatius would continue his education and travel.

Spiritual Exercises laid out a day-by day plan of meditation, prayer and study. Ignatius gained followers and most were ordained by the pope in 1537. Later, 1540, Pope Paul III approved the plan for the new monastic order, the Society of Jesus. Members of the order were commonly called Jesuits.

Jesuits focused on 3 activities:

The founding of schools

Conversion of non-Christians to Catholicism through missionaries.

Stopping the spread of Protestantism throughout Europe.

THE CATHOLIC REFORMATION AND THE 1500’S SAW SEVERAL POPES INITIATING REFORMS.

Pope Paul III (1534-1549) born into the noble Farnese family, was a worldly and educated pope who would endeavor to answer the concerns of the Protestant Reformation.

Pope Paul III and his Grandsons, by Titian

Pope Paul III, once elected, began the work of countering the effects of the Protestant Reformation sweeping through Europe. He took 4 important steps toward reform:

1. Directed a council of cardinals to investigate indulgence selling and other abuses.

2. Approved the Jesuit order3. Used the Inquisition to seek

out and punish heresy in papal territory.

4. Called a great council of Church leaders to meet in Trent, Italy with the goal of settling several Catholic doctrines.

The Council of Trent met during 25 different meetings from 1545 to 1563 and settled several issues within the Catholic Church.

The church’s interpretation of the Bible was final. Any Christian who substituted his or her own interpretation was a heretic.

Christians need faith and good works for salvation. They were not saved by faith alone, as Luther argued.

The Bible and Church traditions were equally powerful authorities for guiding Christian life.

Indulgences were valid expressions of faith. (But the false selling of indulgences was banned.)

The celibacy of the Church clergy was reaffirmed.

Under Paul IV, the Roman Inquisition, that was re-established in 1542 and launched a reign of terror. Following the trend in the Roman Catholic Church that wrongly suspected Jews of influencing the Reformation to some degree, Paul in 1555 established the ghetto at Rome. He enforced perpetual wearing of the Jewish badge and drastic separation of Jews from Christians. The antagonisms he aroused proved fatal to his reforming cause.

He was also anti-Spanish and helped renew a war between the French and the Hapsburgs (Spain).

1559- Index of Forbidden Books, list of books considered dangerous to the Catholic faith. Bishops were ordered to gather up the offensive books and burn them.

Because of the decline of the Catholic Church in Europe, religion no longer united Europe. Individual monarchs and states gained power, paving the way for the modern nation-state. The groundwork for a modern Europe was laid with these reforms.