At the beginning of the sixteenth century, some Western Christians rebelled against the enormous power that the Roman Catholic Church had. They decided to expose the abuses within the Church and (openly) questioned the authority and power of the Pope. The struggle that these ‘protesting’ Christians waged against the Church was called the Protestant Reformation – or Reformation for short – and ultimately led to a schism within Western Christianity. In the hope of suppressing the Reformation and averting the schism, the Roman Catholic Church initiated the so-called Counter-Reformation – also known as the Catholic Reformation.
Contents
- The Protestant Reformation
- Spread of Protestantism
- Religious peace
- The Reformation in the (Spanish) Netherlands
- The Counter-Reformation
The Protestant Reformation
According to Protestant historiography, the Protestant Reformation began on October 31, 1517. The day that the German theologian, Martin Luther (1483-1546), published his ’95 theses’ and openly protested against the abuses that prevailed within the Roman Catholic Church.
Martin Luther
Two years later, Martin Luther went one step further when, during a dispute with the Roman theologian Johannes Eck (1486-1543), he openly questioned the power of the pope and the council. The Roman Catholic Church could not ignore this and called Martin Luther to account during the Diet of Worms (from January 28 to May 25, 1521). Luther was kindly but urgently asked to recant his theses, but when he refused he was excommunicated by the Pope and declared an outlaw by the Roman German Emperor. Despite everything, Martin Luther decided to found his own church in 1524 and worked on his ‘Luther Bible’ in the years that followed; the first German translation of the New Testament.
Spread of Protestantism
Following Martin Luther, various reformers also arose in other European countries, such as the French-Swiss theologian, John Calvin (1509-1564), who converted in 1532. Calvin made an important contribution to the development of Protestantism through his (most important) book: ‘Institutio religionis Christianae’ (Education in the Christian faith). Here Calvin summarized the Christian faith in his own words, after which his ideas became known as Calvinism.
European reformers
John Calvin was not the first reformer in Switzerland, that honor was reserved for Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531). Zwingli fought for recognition of Protestantism at the same time as Martin Luther, but he had no ties with or was not a supporter of Luther. The Reformation also managed to gain a foothold in Scotland, partly due to the efforts of John Knox (1505, 1513 or 1514), who published his first article on Protestantism in 1545. Under the leadership of John Knox, Calvinism in England and Scotland was reformed into the Presbyterian Church. In the Netherlands, the Protestant Anabaptist (also called Anabaptist) Menno Simmons (circa 1496-1561) was an important advocate of the Reformation. But Simmons had to be extremely careful, because in the Catholic south, openly proclaiming Protestantism was still very dangerous at the time.
The Anglican Church
In contrast to the aforementioned European countries, England had its own Reformation, which was due to the then English king, Henry VIII (1478-1534). King Henry VIII did not agree with Protestantism, but was also not a fan of Catholicism, which led to the Anglican Church; a middle ground because the church united evangelical and Catholic faith elements. The Anglican Church today describes itself as ‘Catholic and Reformed’.
Religious peace
The Reformation brought a lot of unrest, because the Protestants fought not only against the Catholics, but also against each other. Various radical movements quickly emerged, especially in Germany, of which the Anabaptists were a well-known example. In 1534 they even went so far as to violently depose the bishop of the German city of Münster.
The Anabaptists
From now on, only Anabaptists would be allowed to live in Münster and they would live in community of property. When the Dutchman, Jan van Leiden (1509-1536), took control of the radical Anabaptists, he also allowed polygamy. In 1534, the Catholics and Protestants, led by the former Bishop of Münster Frans van Waldeck (1491-1553), joined forces and together expelled the Anabaptists from the city. Jan van Leiden was captured and put to death, after which his body was hung – in a cage – from the tower of the St. Lambertus Church in Münster.
The Mennonites
After the death of John of Leiden, the Anabaptists in Germany were violently persecuted and they fled en masse to remote areas in Eastern Europe. In some parts they were given religious freedom by the local monarch, in other areas they were forced to hide. Over the centuries, the radical Anabaptists gave rise to the peaceful Mennonites (called Mennonites in Dutch), who strove for a total separation of church and state. The Mennonites also preferred and preferred a personal confession over the text recorded by the church.
Religious Peace of Augsburg
The Reformation reached all corners of the Holy Roman Empire and after a period of forty years it was agreed that the many religious wars and uprisings had to come to an end. On September 15, 1555, Emperor Ferdinand (1503-1564) – who acted as a representative of his brother, the Roman-German Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) -, the Catholic Empire and the alliance of Protestant Imperial Princes (called the Schmalkaldic Alliance) reached an agreement an agreement. The peace agreement was called the ‘Cuius regio, eius religio’ (‘whose territory, his prayer’), which meant that from now on each monarch could decide for himself which faith would be leading in his area.
The Reformation in the (Spanish) Netherlands
When Martin Luther heralded the start of the Reformation, the Netherlands was under the leadership of the Spanish king, Philip II (1527-1598). Unfortunately, King Philip II was a convinced Catholic and in his view there was no room for Protestantism in the Spanish Netherlands.
The Dutch Confession of Faith
In the hope of stopping the violent persecution of Protestants by King Philip II, Guido de Brès (1522-1567) wrote the ‘Dutch Confession of Faith’ in 1561. With this confession, De Brès wanted to make it clear to King Philip II that Protestants were not rioters or heretics, but simply Christians. Just like the Catholics. Three years later, Stadtholder William of Orange (1533-1584) also revolted and asked King Philip II, in vain, to moderate his policy towards Protestants in the Netherlands. Despite the intense persecution, the number of Protestants in the Netherlands, especially the north, continued to grow.
Dutch Revolt
After the Dutch Revolt broke out in 1568, a division quickly arose in the Netherlands. In the north people fought for the Protestant faith and the deposition of the Spanish king, while in the south they remained loyal to the king and the Catholic faith. The result was that the Netherlands divided into a northern part, called the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, and a southern part, called the Spanish Netherlands. While the Republic designated Calvinism as the state religion, the Spanish Netherlands remained loyal to the Catholic faith, which caused many Protestants from the south to emigrate to the north.
The Synod of Dordrecht
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the States General of the Republic of the Netherlands decided to organize the Synod of Dordrecht. The Synod had to put an end to the difference of opinion that had arisen between Protestant Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants about the doctrine of predestination. During the Synod, which began in 1618 and lasted until 1619, it was determined that the Counter-Remonstrants’ doctrine regarding predestination was correct and those present drew up a list of positions to refute the Remonstrant doctrine. The list of positions became known as the ‘Dordtse Precepts’ and today they are still part of the three confessions of the Dutch Reformed and Reformed Church.
The Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation – also called the Catholic Reformation – could be seen as a continuation of the ecclesiastical reforms that the Roman Catholic Church had already initiated in the fourteenth century. In the hope of tackling abuses within the Church and setting a good example, several new monastic orders were founded in the sixteenth century.
Monastic orders
The Counter-Reformation began in 1524 when the Theatine order was founded; a Catholic priest congregation which was named after the episcopal city of Theatinum (current Chieti, Italy). Four years later, the Capuchins (also called Friar Minor Capuchins) were founded, which order was a branch of the – already existing – order of the Franciscans. The Barnabites were founded in 1530, four years later the Society of Jesus (also called Jesuits) was founded and in 1547 the order of Oratorians was created. After 1547, several bishops decided to take the lead in pushing through ecclesiastical reforms, such as the Archbishop of Milan, Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) and Francis de Sales (1567-1622), the Bishop of Geneva and Annecy.
The Jesuits and the Counter-Reformation
In 1540, Pope Paul III (1468-1549) decided to officially recognize the Society of Jesus and asked them to take on an important role. During the Counter-Reformation, the Jesuits were not only actively involved in converting pagans, but also in reclaiming and re-educating apostate Catholics. The Italian cardinal, theologian and Jesuit, Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino (1542-1621), in particular, was a great advocate of the Counter-Reformation and he fiercely opposed the Protestant students. More than three centuries after his death, the Roman Catholic Church recognized the role that Roberto Bellarmino had played during the Counter-Reformation by canonizing him and declaring him a Doctor of the Church.
The Council of Trent
In 1545, Pope Paul III organized the Council of Trent with the aim of combating abuses and abuses within the Church and clarifying the Catholic doctrines disputed by Protestants. The Council drew up 126 theses in which parts of Protestant doctrine were characterized as errors. And from that moment on, the ‘Anathema Sit’ or ‘he is under the ban’ applied (and applies) to Catholics who did approve of Protestant doctrine. During the Council, clear agreements were also made to improve church functioning, such as combating abuses, reorganizing the administration and improving priest training. Because the council provided clarity in the position of the Roman Catholic Church vis-à-vis the Protestants and the Reformation, the council could be seen as the heart of the Counter-Reformation.