This week I will be reviewing the Reformation of France.
The story begins when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the church door at Wittenburg, in 1517. Little did he know this would start a whole movement. The Protestant Reformation started in Germany, but included nearly every major nation in Europe. Luther’s original grievance against the Catholic church was the practice of selling indulgences. Over time, the church was also called to reform in many other areas as well, some more radical than others. The printing press also played an important role in the rapid spread of information during this time. That is when the five Sola came into play. The five Sola are Latin phrases that are used to sum up the beliefs of the Protestant reformers. While they were not actually used as law by the Reformers they have since been made into a single list. Sola means “alone” in English. The five Sola are: Sola scriputra-”Scripture Made Whole”,Sola fide-”Faith Alone”, Sola gratia-”Grace Alone”, Sola Christus-”Through Crist Alone”, and Sola Deo Gloria-”To God Alone Be The Glory”. As mentioned before, the Catholic Church was none too pleased with the new Protestant movement. To bring a stop to the Reformation, the Catholic church called the council of Trent and organized a counter reformation movement. The Council of Trent convened three separate times between 1545 and 1563. The Counter-Reformation included four parts: 1. Ecclesiastical or structural reconfiguration 2. Religious orders 3. Spiritual movements 4. political dimensions. The counsel of Trent restricted any compromise with the protestants or the ideas of the Reformers.
The Reformation could not be stopped, and it changed the future of Europe as it developed.
Leave a Reply