Corruption in the Church• Absolute power corrupts

absolutely.• The Catholic Church up

through the 1300s was the most powerful and wealthy group in Europe.

• It ruled without question and allowed no dissention.

Corruption• Indulgences- selling

forgiveness of sin.• Simony- selling church

positions.– Rich people could control

the church.• Nepotism- giving church

positions to family members

• Relics- Fake objects that could “cure illnesses” and “bestow blessings.”

The Great Schism• In 1301, King Philip IV of

France tried to tax the French clergy.

• The Pope threatened excommunication, so Philip had him kidnapped.

• The pope died before returning to Rome.

• The next pope, Clement V, was friendly to the French and moved the papacy to Avignon in France.

The Great Schism (cont.)• With the papacy in

France, French cardinals and bishops were named.

• The Pope lost respect as the people realized France ruled the Church.

• Pope Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome, but he died within the year.

The Great Schism (cont.)• The next Pope was Italian and

refused to return to Avignon.• Many of the new French

cardinals left for Avignon where they elected their own Pope.

• With two competing Popes, the Church Council did the only rational thing left to do…they elected a third Pope.

• Catholics were confused over the next 40 years as all three Popes called the others imposters and excommunicated one another.

Terms

• Reformation: the religious reform of the early 1500-1600s that led to new formations of Christian groups.

• Protestant: a Christian who separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation.

• Denomination: a particular religious group within a larger faith.

• Heresy: opinions that contradict official doctrine.• Doctrine: the official beliefs and ideas of a

church.

Early Reformer:Desiderius Erasmus• Desiderius Erasmus

was a humanist from Holland.

• He was against simony and nepotism.

• He wanted to reform the Church, not break away from it.

• He wanted the Bible in people’s vernacular.

• “Erasmus laid the egg, Luther hatched it.”

Martin Luther

• The official start of the Reformation began with the German priest, Martin Luther.

• Luther decided that the Bible said salvation came from God through faith by grace and could not be earned by good works.

• He helped translate the Bible to German.

95 Theses• In 1517, Pope Leo X needed money

to finish St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

• To raise money, he sold lots of indulgences all over Europe.– Buyers were promised pardons for

their sins, their families’, and friends’ sins.

• Luther said this was false salvation.• He posted 95 theses, or arguments,

on a church door in Wittenberg and sent a list to the Pope.

John Calvin• 1509-1564• A French humanist who wrote

Institutes of the Christian Religion.

• He taught that salvation was from God’s grace for his elect.– Predestination was the key to

salvation. – God’s supremacy was stressed

over all things.– People could not determine or

choose their salvation.• Implications??

Predestination• Predestination teaches

that ALL events have been willed by God.

• Because of this, no one can choose their own salvation.

• Free will is impossible in this diagram.

• God has chosen, or elect, those who are destined for Heaven and those damned to hell.

King Henry’s Complaint• King Henry VIII was not an intentional reformer like the

rest.• His reform occurred because of personal and political

reasons.• Personal:– He wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, daughter of

Isabella I of Spain, niece of the Pope, because she couldn’t produce a son and he was interested in Anne Boleyn.

– Being a Catholic, he needed the Pope’s permission for a divorce.

– The Pope said “no.”– So, he broke away from the Pope.

• Political:– He no longer had the Pope interfering in his business.

Anglicanism• The Church of England,

or Anglicanism, was close to Lutheranism in that it taught that salvation was granted by God’s grace through a person’s faith and repentance of their sins.

• The ultimate source of authority was the Bible, as interpreted by the monarch.

Counter-Reformation

• The Catholic Church watched as Europe began embracing Protestantism.

• It responded with a Counter-Reformation at the Council of Trent (1545-1563).

• It reaffirmed:– Faith and good works for

salvation– Predestination was wrong.

Jesuits

• Ignatius of Loyola was a Counter-Reformer who founded the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits.

• The Jesuits were “soldiers for Christ” who were missionaries and teachers of Catholic teaching.

• They spread through Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Inquisition

• Sometimes, however, the Counter-Reformation wasn’t as peaceful as the Jesuits.

• Inquisitors were clergy assigned with the task of silencing heretics.– Inquisition means questioning.– What does that mean?

• Under the Inquisition, reformers, Jews, and Muslims were persecuted, imprisoned, and executed.

Religious Wars

• French Wars of Religion- from 1562-1598 between Catholics and Protestants (especially the Huguenots) that left over a million people dead.

• Thirty Years’ War- mostly within the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) between Catholics and Protestants and Protestants…– It ended with the Peace of Westphalia.– This was peace between the Protestants and

Catholics and set boundaries for the two.