REFORMATION AND COUNTER - REFORMATION

1. What caused the Reformation?

The Reformation was a religious movement in 16th century Europe. It was caused by the following factors:

• Critics of the Catholic Church claimed that its leaders were wealthy and corrupt (priests did not carry out their duties properly)
• Humanist influence made people look for a more personal religion.

2. What was the Lutheran Reformation:

The Reformation began in 1517 when Martín Lutero, a German monk wrote “The Ninety-five Theses”. In this text, Luther strongly criticised the Pope. As a result, Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church by the Pope and Carlos V (emperor of the Holy Roman Empire). Lutero, who developed a new type of Christianity called Lutheranism, based on the following principles:

• Salvation was reached by faith (salvación por la sola gracia) (inutilidad de las obras caritativas en vida
• para lograr una salvación)
• Rejection of the Pope and the Catholic Church
• There were only two sacraments: baptism and the Eucharist

3. Other Protestant movements

  In England

• King Enrique VIII broke with the Papacy when the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catalina de Aragón,

Reyes Católicos´s daughter. Enrique VIII became Head of the Church of England, that it was how Anglicanism appeared.

  In Switzerland:

• Juan Calvino was the founder of this new type of Protestantism. They believed in the predestination. Calvin based his studies and theories in Luther´s theses.

  In France:

• They were Calvino´s followers, the same as in Switzerland, but they were called “Hugonotes”.

In this period, our founder Santa Juana de Lestonnac and her family suffered the riots (revueltas) between catholics and hugonotes in Paris and Burdeos.

4. What was the Counter-Reformation?

 The Reformation and protestants led to a reaction by the Catholic Church called the Counter -Reformation. The Council of Trent adopted a series of resolutions in 1545:

• It confirmed Catholic doctrine and Papal authority
• Confirmed the worship of the Virgin and the saints.
• Good works were necessary to achieve salvation
• There were seven sacraments
• Priests were not allowed to get married (celibato)

New religious orders were created, for example la “Compañía de Jesús” founded by Ignacio de

Loyola.

ACTIVITIES:

 1. What were the causes of the Reformation?

2. What types of Christianity were found in Europe in the 16th  century?

3. How did the Catholic Church react to the Reformation?