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Protestant and Catholic Reformation

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Protestant & Catholic Reformation

On October 31st 1517, Martin Luther started the beginning of the Protestant Revolution by posting his 95 theses at Wittenberg’s castle. These 95 theses argued on the power and efficacy of indulgences and explained the fundamentals of justification by faith. Thus opened the eyes of the people who had begun to question centuries of Catholic beliefs. Luther and his supporters believed that the Church had been corrupted by power and wealth and therefore it needed to change for the better, however, the Church held strong to their own beliefs. With the constant attacks from the Protestants they fought back in what is known as the Counter-Reformation, also known as the Catholic Reformation. The goal of both reformations was to change the same basic cores of the Church that had been lost. The Protestant Revolution depicts the church as ruled in a totalitarian and authoritarian way by corrupt popes. They viewed the selling of indulgences, which had been initially given to people who went on the crusades, as a commercial exploitation to raise funds for non-religious purposes. The Catholic Church on the other hand, viewed this practice as a way of salvation for the community of Christian believers. Most of the funds raised by the selling of indulgences were used to build St. Peter’s Church. Luther’s followers and other Protestants believed that this was not a religious cause but a way to please the pope’s desire to show his superiority. Luther’s belief in Sola Fide damaged the Catholic Church by proving false their claims that indulgences remove sin and their sale was eventually abolished. Pope Paul III established the Council of Trent to deal with the constant attacks from Protestants. Members of the Church began to see its corruptness and the reason why believers had commenced to doubt hence they began to reform the Church in their own way without submitting to Protestant beliefs. The council consisted of Catholic cardinals who were responsible for handling the reforms of the Catholic Church. It was the council’s duty to address issues such as salvation, indulgences, corruption, and usury. In the end the council determined the sale of indulgences, transubstantiation and the Seven Sacraments should be practiced.
One of the most remarkable changes accomplished by the Catholic Reformation was the promotion of education. It was thanks to the Guttenberg’s printing press that the number of Protestants rose, however the printing press also aided the Church to expand education to rural areas. Some priests, especially those living in rural areas, were not as knowledgeable and educated as those from urban areas. In fact, some of them did not know Latin, and therefore they were unable to conduct the traditional Catholic services that were held in Latin. Furthermore the foundation of the Jesuits by Ignatius of Loyola also helped the spread of education. During his life time, Loyola helped establish nearly one hundred colleges and seminaries.
In order to prove the word of God does not need materialistic or expensive settings in order to be spread, Protestants, (particularly in the north) sacked churches, stealing and destroying symbolic relics, portraits of saints etc. In return the Catholic Church began an era of magnificent architecture and art. The baroque era emphasized dramatic and elaborated ornamentation which can still be appreciated in some of today’s Catholic Churches. Even in modern days the effects of the both reformations can still be observed from the great contrast left between the north and south of Europe.

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