The Reformation By: Katie Hochberg

The Reformation The Christian Church Eastern Orthodox Roman Catholic Protestant Calvinist Lutheran Anabaptist

Protestant Reformation of the Sixteenth Century Protestant Calvinist Lutheran Anabaptist

Lutheran Martin Luther – Luther was a monk and a professor at the University of Wittenberg – Beliefs Human beings could never do enough good works to merit salvation Humans are not saved by their good works but through faith in the promises of God Ninety-Five Theses (1517) – A stunning indictment of the abuses in the sale of indulgences Began to make a more definite break with the Catholic Church – Called on the German princes to overthrow the papacy and reform the German Church Excommunicated – Church could not accept Luther’s ideas Luther was able to gain supporters – His religious movement became a revolution – Lutheran Churches in German quickly became territorial State supervised the affairs in the church

Calvinism John Calvin ( ) – French After converting to Protestantism he fled to Switzerland for safety – 1536 Published first edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion – A masterful synthesis of Protestant thought that immediately secured Calvin’s reputation as one for the new leaders of Protestantism Began working to reform the city of Geneva – Able to establish a tightly organized church – Enabled Geneva to become a vibrant center of Protestantism – Beliefs Humans achieved salvation by faith alone Stressed that there could be no absolute certainty of salvation Feels that God predestined some people to succeed and some people to fail

Anabaptists Radical Reformers – Advocated adult rather than infant baptism – Wanted to return to the practices and spirit of early Christianity – Considered all believers to be equal – All Christians were considered priests – COMPLETE SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE Government was to be excluded from the realm of religion Refused to hold political office or bear arms – Took commandment “Thou shall not kill” literally Protestants and Catholics agreed on the need to persecute the Anabaptists – Anabaptists were regarded as dangerous radicals who threatened society

Protestant Reformation John Calvin Martin Luther