Read & Respond “…… And then there was the parish priest, who played a pivotal role throughout every person’s life, baptizing them, marrying them, hearing their confessions, providing last rites. The church also provided all of the social services: It distributed alms to the poor, and ran orphanages, and provided what education was available. And most Europeans would in their lives meet  exactly one person who could read the Bible, which was only available in Latin – their parish priest. And, the church owned over 1/3 of all the land in Europe, which helped make it the most powerful economic and political force on the continent. And the Pope claimed authority over all the kings of Europe, as the successor to the Roman Emperor. So this was a very powerful institution” –John Greene Prior to the reformation, John Greene refers to the Catholic Church as “the most powerful economic and political force on the continent”. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not. ( Provide evidence from the passage)

THE REFORMATION

ISSUES WITH THE CHURCH Many educated Europeans were influenced by Renaissance humanism. They began to criticize the wealth and power of the church Issues with the church Church officials had grown wealthy by collecting taxes Bishops started acting like kings by building palaces and providing jobs for their relatives The church began offering indulgences An indulgence is a certificate issued by the church. The certificate granted a pardon for a person’s sins. Church members who performed “good works”, such as giving money to build a church, could receive this pardon.

MARTIN LUTHER Born in 1483, Martin Luther became a monk and faithfully followed Church teachings and practices Overtime, Luther began to doubt the church as he witnessed the corruption of certain priests & the selling of indulgences. Luther thought the Church had moved too far away from the Bible in what they were teaching Luther saw this and other financial abuses by the Catholic Church as intolerable and submitted a long list of complaints against the Church in the form of a Ninety-Five Theses that he attached to the door of his local rectory in Wittenberg. Thousands of copies were printed and read all across Germany. How did the invention of the Gutenberg Press influence the spread of the reformation?

NINETY-FIVE THESIS Points of Discussion: 36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon. 43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons 62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God. 75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God —this is madness Points of Discussion: 1.What does Luther say is the true treasure of the church? 2. Judging from these, what is Luther’s opinion on the position of the pope? 3.Rather than buying pardons, people should spend their money on what? 4. What does Luther’s motivation seem to be?

LUTHERANISM Pope Leo X believed that Luther was dangerous. In 1521, he excommunicated him. Luther’s ideas eventually lead to the creation of the first Protestant church, known as Lutheranism. The new church was based on three main ideas: Faith in Jesus, not good works, brings someone a place in heaven The Bible is the final source for truth about God The church is made up of all its believers, not just the clergy Do you feel that the pope had a just cause for excommunicating Luther from the church?

The Ninety-Five Theses had asked questions and brought up points of contention that many had wanted to ask, but few had dared to. What Luther had done was become the voice for a growing discontent within the Catholic Church. Did the Church actually hold the keys to heaven as many felt it claimed to? Was the pope infallible? Did indulgences remove all sin? The Protestant Reformation would change Christianity from a religion with one omnipotent power, the Catholic Church, to now encompass a large number of new beliefs using a separate Protestant context

SPREAD OF PROTESTANTISM Protestantism had the support of some European rulers. Why? These rulers believed that it could increase their power & enable them to impose their own church taxes. ($ goes to them instead of the pope) Henry VIII of England also broke from the Catholic church when the pope refused to annul his marriage. When Protestantism spread to other parts of Europe, however, it was often modified by other religious leaders. While all Protestants were in some way discontent with Catholicism, they did not all agree on exactly what needed to be changed. This is why a number of different churches emerged in Europe during the Protestant Reformation; examples being the Anabaptist, Anglican, Calvinist and Presbyterian churches. (Different Denominations)

Different Branches

KEY INDIVIDUALS IN THE REFORMATION pg 303 John Wycliffe- produced the first hand-written English language Bible manuscripts in the 1380's AD. Wycliffe was well-known throughout Europe for his opposition to the teaching of the organized Church, which he believed to be contrary to the Bible. pg 303 Desiderius Erasmus - believed that people should use their reason to become better Christians. It was not enough to participate in religious activities like going to church on Sunday, He believed it was more important that Christians be good in their everyday lives. Wrote Praise of Folly pg 307 William Tyndale- first man to ever print the New Testament in the English language. Expanded the ability of normal people to understand the bible for themselves. pg 307 John Calvin-Founded Calvinism which is based on the idea that God decides the final outcome of all events in the universe. *Predestination- God has already chosen who will go to heaven and who will not

Color and label your map like the one below to represent where each branch of Christianity was prominent. Be sure to include a map key.