RE 114:

Topic: The (Western) Christian Church Divided into Catholic and Numerous Protestant
Churches

Introduction: This lesson is a continuation of the previous lessons on the History of the Church.
After the recognition of Christianity as an official religion in the Roman Empire, the Church grew
much more in number and became very powerful. Practically, the whole of the western world
became Christian, thus, the name Christendom. In today’s time many Catholics and protestant
alike do not know the why and how the Christian Church split into many churches. The split
began when some well-intentioned Christians demanded real changes or reforms in the Church.
Below are some historical details about reformation and counter-reformation (Catholic
Reformation).

Historical Context: The Reformation

 The reformation in the 14-16th centuries was rooted in demands for spiritual renewal
and institutional change.
 The pope and traditional Catholic theology were challenged by theologians John Wycliffe
& John Huss.
 Both attacked the Church’s involvement in politics and urged a return to the simple
practices of the early apostolic church. Both claimed that the Bible-not the church- was
the highest authority for Christians.
 Both believed people should study the Bible by the on their own and sermons should be
in their languages

Several secular factors contributed to this heightening of spiritual feeling.

 The wars, famines, and plagues of the late 14th and 15th centuries traumatized Europe.
 The increasing educational level of the urban middle class and skilled laborers and the
invention of the printing press allowed the rapid and inexpensive spread of new ideas.

Humanism-back to the Renaissance

 Finally, there was the influence of the humanist movement.

 Many humanists promoted religious education.
 They stimulated public interest in biblical study by publishing new editions of the Holy
Scriptures and the writings of the church fathers, along with new devotional literature.

Economic and Political concerns

 In Germany, economic and political concerns joined with the demand for church reform.
 The middle class resented Rome taxing them.
 By supporting Martin Luther’s break with the church, nobles saw a way of taking church
property in their territories and of resisting Charles V’s attempts to centralize control over
the region, with the support of the Pope.

Indulgences

 Many more people were angered with the Catholic Church’s method spend lots of
money to pay for new churches (St Peter’s), art, etc.
 Popes authorized giving Indulgences away to those who agreed to perform some act of
charity, almsgiving, prayer, pilgrimage, or other pious work
 In 1515 the Pope began allowing people to buy Indulgences under the idea purchasing
an indulgence would give them entrance into heaven.

Martin Luther’s involvement…

 The reformation of the Western Christian church in the sixteenth century was
precipitated by Martin Luther
  A pious German Augustinian monk and theologian, Luther had no intention of founding a
new church or overthrowing the political and religious order of late medieval Europe.
 Luther sought a reform of morals and an end to abusive practices within the church.
 A visit to the papal court in Rome in 1510 left him profoundly shocked at its worldliness
and disillusioned with the papacy’s role in the church’s governance.

Luther’s contribution

 In 1517, Luther denounced the abuses connected with the preaching of papal
indulgences.
 This led to debating many other theological issues.
 His opponents defended the use of indulgence on the basis of papal authority, shifting
the debate to questions about the nature of the Pope’s powers
 Luther responded with a vigorous attack on the whole system of papal governance.

Source: http://shrdocs.com/presentations/44769/index.html

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Catholic Reformation : A Response to Protestant Reformation

Although the Counter-Reformation is usually understood to have officially started with Pope
Paul III (1534-1549) in the middle of the sixteenth century as a response to the Protestant
Reformation, a need for Catholic renewal in the areas of the clergy, Christian life, and Church
administration had been increasingly felt since the fourteenth century. . . . in the fifteenth
century, the papacy was spiritually not healthy enough to lead any reforms. The Renaissance
papal court was largely immoral, and many prelates were very secular.

The Council of Trent

Pope Paul III (1534-1549) initiated the Council of Trent (1545-1547, 1551-1552, 1562-1563), a
commission of cardinals tasked with institutional reform, to address contentious issues, such as
corrupt bishops and priests, indulgences, and other financial abuses.

The Council clearly repudiated specific Protestant positions and upheld the basic structure of
the Medieval Church, its sacramental system, religious orders, and doctrine. The Council clearly
upheld the dogma of salvation appropriated by faith and works. Transubstantiation, which holds
that during communion or the mass the consecrated bread and wine substantially becomes the
body and blood of Christ, was upheld, along with the Seven Sacraments. Other Catholic
practices that drew the ire of liberal reformers within the Church, such as indulgences,
pilgrimages, the veneration of saints and relics, and the veneration of the Virgin Mary, were also
strongly reaffirmed as spiritually vital.

However, while the basic structure of the Church was reaffirmed, there were noticeable changes
to answer complaints that the Counter-Reformers tacitly were willing to admit were legitimate.
This was especially true with respect to the accusation that the Church was too wealthy and too
materialistic at the cost of its spirituality. This is why the term "counter-reformation" was coined,
since many of the reforms were in response to the criticisms of Luther and other leading
Protestant reformists. Among what were addressed by Catholic reformers was the growing
divide between the priests and the flock; many members of the clergy in the rural parishes, after
all, had been poorly educated. Often, these rural priests did not know Latin and lacked
opportunities for proper theological training. Clergy education had long been a subject of
discussion. But now, parish priests became better educated, while papal authorities sought to
eliminate the distractions of the monastic churches. Notebooks and handbooks thus became
common, describing how to be good priests and confessors.

The organization of religious institutions was tightened, discipline was improved, and the parish
was emphasized. The appointment of bishops for political reasons was no longer tolerated. In
the past, the large landholdings and institutional rigidity of the Church—a rigidity to which the
excessively large ranks of the clergy contributed—forced many bishops to study law instead of
theology, relegating many "absent bishops" to the role of property managers trained in
administration. Thus, the Council of Trent combated "absenteeism," which was the practice of
bishops living in Roman or on landed estates rather than in their dioceses. Secular practices
were combated while the papacy clearly moved away from its Renaissance posture as a
political Church tantamount to one of the Italian city-states. The Council of Trent also gave
bishops greater power to supervise all aspects of religious life. Zealous prelates such as Milan's
Archbishop Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), later canonized as a saint, set an example by
visiting the remotest parishes and instilling high standards. At the parish level, the seminary-
trained clergy who took over in most places during the course of the seventeenth century were
generally faithful to the Church's rule of celibacy.

Religious revival

It should not be forgotten that the Counter-Reformation brought about a genuine revival of
Catholic piety. Pius V, in spite of his involvement with the Inquisition, improved popular piety in
an effort to firmly stem the appeal of Protestantism. A man of impoverished upbringing taken in
by the Dominican Order, he was trained in a solid and austere piety. It is thus no surprise that
he began his papacy by giving large alms to the poor, charity, and hospitals rather than focusing
on patronage. As pontiff he practiced the virtues of a monk, known for daily meditations on bent
knees in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. The exemplary piety of St. Charles Borromeo,
Archbishop of Milan, was already mentioned above. St. Philip Neri (1515-1595), an Italian
mystic based in Rome, founded the Congregation of the Oratory, whose core rule was love and
affection. His spiritual wisdom was sought not only by common people but also by popes and
cardinals.

Also notable were Spanish mystics such as St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) and St. John of the
Cross (1542-1591) and French spiritual leaders, such as St. Francis of Sales (1567-1622). The
Spanish mystics stressed the personal nature of faith and saw love as the basis of Christian
faith, not obligation or duty. Even though they met with strong opposition, their work bore fruit
and was eventually recognized by the popes. The French school of spirituality stressed the
Church's role in continuing Jesus' mission, as well as the need for Bible study and personal
faith. The Protestant emphasis on the Bible, on the necessity of an inner experience of renewal
and on the role of lay-people within the Church led to renewed Catholic interest in the Bible, in
spirituality as well as in lay-formation.

Source: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Counter-Reformation Retrieved: Jan. 9,

2014.

Glossary

Indulgence - is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been
forgiven (this was basically reduced to giving of money for the “forgiveness of sins” to be able
to “enter heaven”) .

Monastic - 1. of or relating to monasteries or to monks or nuns 2: resembling (as in seclusion

or ascetic simplicity) life in a monastery

Papacy - 1. The office and jurisdiction of a pope. 2. The period of time during which a pope
is in office. 3. Papacy Roman Catholic Church The system of church government headed by the
pope.

Piety - A devout act, thought, or statement.

Names: __________________________________ Date: _________________

Answer the question by explaining the concept/s clearly.

1. What are the reasons for the clamor for reforms in the 15th century church?
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2. What are the changes/ reforms the Council of Trent pronounced for the Catholic
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3. What are some theological beliefs upheld (affirmed) by the Church as truths but
rejected by the Protestant reformers?
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4. The division and separation of the many Christian Churches was a painful
experience in the life of the Church. But, what good did the protestant reformation bring
in the Catholic Church?
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