Reformation and the Counter Reformation John Calvin, Henry VIII, and The Society of Jesus

John Calvin Born in France in 1509 He converted to Protestantism Forced into hiding due to persecution, he fled to Geneva His works resembled many beliefs of Luther but said the state and church were independent of each other, supreme authority rested in the Bible

Calvin Stressed omnipotent God or “all-knowing” Believed salvation was only granted to some not all Men and women can do nothing to change their fate, which was PREDESTINED People have no idea of who is saved but according to Calvin people were supposed to be upbeat about the uncertainty People were to going to do God’s work in order to convince themselves of salvation

Henry VIII King of England wanted an annulment from his 20-year marriage to Catherine of Aragon to marry his pregnant mistress Anne Boleyn The Catholic Church was slow to act on this situation so he turned to the Archbishop of Canterbury who annulled the marriage This allowed Henry to seek a true male heir to the English throne

Henry VIII and Children Before Henry died he had 6 wives, some were too ugly, some committed adultery, some borne him no sons Eventually Henry’s only son, Edward VI, sickly from the beginning died The throne was taken by Henry’s daughter Mary (Catherine’s) and then Elizabeth had Mary killed The Anglican Church was formed by Henry and Mary tried to go back to Catholicism and Elizabeth was able to balance the 2 sides

Counter Reformation Most effective weapon of Catholic Church in battling Protestants was the Society of Jesus Founded by Ignatius Loyola, a former soldier, structured the order after military discipline Applicants, later called Jesuits, were carefully screened and rigorously trained accompanied by long apprenticeship. Very effective missionaries carrying the word to nations across the world It was the field of education where the Jesuits won their greatest fame.