The Great Schism Analysis

Superior Essays
One of the largest chief political factors leading up to the decline of the Western church in the 15th century would have to be marked by “The Great Schism” or “Papal Schism” during the year of 1378. During this time there were three Popes who believed they were the one true Pope. Before the beginning of the schism, there was power of the papal in Avignon, France. Gregory XI, had wanted to return the papacy to Rome, and no longer have it in France (Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity 402). However he passed away and the Cardinals of Avignon had gathered in Avignon to elect a new leader, but those in Rome had argued that the new leader should be from Rome or Italy. Soon after Urban VI would resume as Pope, however there were Cardinals would …show more content…
Luther was not so much moved by the offering of the penances to the people, as much as he was moved by the church charging people for the forgiveness of their sins by selling certificates of indulgences. Luther thought it was way out of line for the church to be charging people for the forgiveness of sins. The church made these certificates seem necessary for one to be forgiven. This influx of money helped the church be built up and they raised enough money to erect St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. The church was reliving the lives of those who were making profits off of sin offerings at the temple during Jesus’ days on earth. Luther objected to this practice in his written 95 Theses, when he posted it to the door of the Wittenberg church. Pope Leo X tried to sway Luther and his thoughts, but Luther was not willing to change his perspective so the pope labeled him a heretic, and excommunicated him. The Pope waited to excommunicate Luther, because at the time there was an election in place, and he did not want the election to go a different direction since Prince Frederick favored Luther. Following the election, the new emperor Charles V met with Luther to discuss his writings and his controversial stance. Luther’s work was condemned, the 95 Theses, and three of his treaties written in 1520: Address to German Nobility, and Babylonian Captivity of the …show more content…
While also adopting the approach at grace from the protestant reformation. Thomas Cranmer seemed to be the best of both worlds in that he was willing to adopt some of the ancient traditions and ideas from the Catholic Church, but also revisit the new understanding of grace from the Protestant Reformation lead by Martin Luther. In addition Cranmer was also the chief reformer in the English Reformation. He was appointed by King Henry the VIII, and played a major part in helping draft The Articles of the Church of England (Cranmer, The Royal Injunctions, Cited in Bettenson, 245). Most of Cranmer’s work is contained in the Book of Common Prayer. Two of the major things that Cranmer affirmed during the reformation was the Reformed view of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, and Salvation from the grace of God. Cranmer believed that our works came out of our receiving of grace and salvation, not that they were what produced it (Cranmer, A Short Declaration of the True, Lively, and Christian Faith, Cited in Kerr, 173). This was one of the major differences from the continental

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Religion In The 1500s

    • 2008 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Luther began his studies with Law, but one day he was struck by lightning and cried “Help me Saint Anne, I will become a monk” Adopting the monk hood Luther had begun learnings of the Bible and studying it incisively at his study place of Wittenberg (Germany). He then visited Rome to discover the Churches relaxed approach to their methods and rules of the Bible itself. Then after he discovered writings from Saint Paul the Apostle quotes in Romans 1:17 “The just shall live by faith” Meaning that to be righteous you don’t need to Prayer, Fast or do any action a person can take to help one’s faith. While the acknowledgement of this Luther had come into contact with a Friar who had been selling Indulgences which was a purchased guarantee from the Pope that it will reduce one’s time in Purgatory*. Luther however did not find this monetization of faith very just at all. Believing his people -(Often impoverished) were paying large sums of money for a meaningless piece of paper. Then came his action Luther wrote out a list stating his critiques of the sale of Indulgences. After placing this on the door to the church for the whole world to see his claim began to grow in accusation. Starting off with claiming the church had no spiritual power above its fellow man, then going to digress that priesthood was an advent by the church itself. This meant Luther…

    • 2008 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A lot of Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses was based around indulgences that the papacy uses to gain wealth. Luther believes that the Pope is being selfish with his money by not donating to those in need or to St. Peter (Dutton, 419). The response made by the church was the Council of Trent, which was made to “address” the indulgences and issues of the papacy, (Dutton,…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    At this point of history there was only one church in the West- Catholic church which was controlled by the pope. The church was corrupted and the pope and cardinal were living like kings. Popes claimed more power as well as commanded armies and more political alliances. The corruption of the church was well known and several attempt had been made to reform the church but none of them were successful until Martin Luther came.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Protestant Reformation was a religious revolution lead by Martin Luther and John Calvin. The Roman Catholic Church of the medieval world was complex and had its hand in the politics, especially the papacy, of Western Europe. The Churches increasing power and wealth along with their political influence corrupted the church’s spirituality. The chief of the liberal Catholic Reform attacked favored superstitions, which revealed the concerns of the within the church. Martin Luther claimed that his reform was different because it focused on the church’s doctrine of redemption and grace, the underlying cause of the problems. Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses in which he attacked the indulgence system and stated that the pope had no right to control purgatory. The church would sell indulgences to penitents for a promise of forgiving sins. Luther made it known that faith alone would be our salvation and not doing good work. His word spread throughout Europe, making its way to the pope and the council of the Holy Roman Empire’s attention. When Luther refused to recant his writings, he was excommunicated. The church established the Council of Trent who affirmed the teachings of the Catholic Church. These events caused violence and pitted families against each other, each religion thinking they were correct. Those who followed with Luther’s reform found another meaning for things such as the Catholic…

    • 2026 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In response to these actions, Martin Luther wrote a list of 95 questions and debatable propositions and later nailed them to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. These 95 theses stated that salvation came through faith and grace through God, not by the selling of indulgences. The first two theses stated Luther's main idea within all 95 theses which stated that he believed God’s intention with the people is to seek repentance for their sins by faith alone and not the deeds that the Catholic church claimed would save them of their sins. The other 93 theses directly criticized the selling of indulgences supporting the first two theses. The 95 theses are believed to have started the protestant…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many people have dreamed of traveling to another planet. Since the technology is there, the clock is ticking for the day the announcement is made that a spaceship is making its way to Mars. Most people do not think about what will happen once there are people on Mars, however, and what they will do then. Survival and living a sufficient life away from the civilization on Earth are common things one might think of. “The Coming Schism” by James E. and Alcestis R. Oberg explores what will happen when people finally colonize Mars. The Obergs make assumptions according to what they believe will be the future for not only the people on Mars but also for the people on Earth. The Obergs persuade their audience that not only is it inevitable for people…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abolition Of Images

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the Early 16th Century, some scholars including Luther began to question the teachings and the authority of the Roman Catholic Church; this came about after studying translations of original texts from the bible, which became more widely available. Philosopher Augustine (340–430) proclaimed the bible was more authoritative than church officials. He also believed that salvation could only be obtained by god’s forgiveness, and therefore, the men of the church had no authority at all when it came to forgiveness. The Catholic Church taught that salvation was possible by attending mass and good works, which would please God. Luther agrees with Augustine’s beliefs, which formed the basis of Protestantism. The 95 Theses questioned the Roman Catholic faith and became the foundation of the Protestant reformation. In the next few years, attempts were made by Habsburg Emperor Charles V (1519-56) and Pope Leo X (1513-21) to subdue Luther. He was summoned before Pope Leo to appear before Charles to explain his actions at what we now know as the Diet of worms. (Grell, Chapter 4.2 The Protestant Reformation and iconoclasm, The Wittenberg iconoclasm. P.174, 2014) It was feared that not only was Luther challenging the authority of the Catholic Church but that he was also destroying the respect people had for tradition and rules. It was feared that these challenges would cause upset, especially among the poor. After Luther’s excommunication, he was held under armed protection at Wittenberg castle. During this time, 1521, Karlstadt began to assume a position of influence or authority. Karlstatdt began to gain the trust of Lutherans and believed it was his Christian duty to remove all images because he was doing gods will, which lead to iconoclastic disturbances in Wittenberg. In march of 1522, Frederick the wise agreed to release Luther, to…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Luther fought back against the Catholic Church and sparked the Protestant Reformation, which freed Christians from Catholic Church control. Luther could no longer keep silent about the corruption in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church had a great deal of power over Christians and Christian practices. The Catholic Church sold 1. indulgences, which is a payment for the forgiving of a person’s sin. The indulgence were bought for oneself, alive or deceased family members or friends, and even for sins committed in the future. If a person knew they committed a sin or was going to commit one he or she could go to a priest and pay for their sins. Luther wrote in his 95 Theses about how Priest had no control over Purgatory and gave people a false…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    During a period in time known as the Middle Ages the Catholic Church was the subject to ample criticism and displeasure especially among low income families. The Great Schism or separation of the Roman Catholic Chruch into east and west, brought about feelings of distrust to a climatic level. Citizens all across Europe were began to lose their faith in the church's leadership especially with the Pope. A man Martin Luther who had spent his life dedicated to the monastery lifestyle ignited a collection of people who whispered that the Church had fallen away from the teachings of Jesus. They believed that the Church was overly obsessed with money selling indulgences for exuberant amounts of money and giving nothing back to the common citizens. Theses as well as other factors led Luther to begin his reformation to bring about a much needed change in the corrupt Catholic Church. In 1517 on the eve of the famous All…

    • 1745 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Corruption and division within the Papacy, poor economic conditions, persecution, and scientific advances all contributed to growing pressure for reform within the Church. Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin saw this as a disgrace and a complete violation of the idea of confession and penance. This was a serious offense to justice and salvation. Based on Luther’s understanding of the scriptures, forgiveness could not and should not be bought, but rather was a free gift of God’s own everlasting mercy to his sinful children. Luther then looked to open the debate by nailing a copy of the “Ninety-Five Theses” to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church. It was an open invitation to have a open public debate on the issues discussed in the theses. Luther began to distribute the “Ninety-Five Theses” to the common people. Within two weeks the Theses had spread like wildfire throughout Germany. Within two months they had covered Europe and eventually moved to Latin to distribute the Theses. They also pushed through printing presses in all the major nations. Among other things, Luther’s Theses would call into question the limits of the pope’s authority. Particularly, Luther questioned whether the pope could remit guilt of sin and whether it was possible to grant anyone the remission of all penalties. The “Ninety-Five Theses” had asked questions and brought up points of contention that many had wanted to ask, but few had dared to. Luther was the voice for a growing discontent within the Catholic…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He attended a school where he developed an interest for monastic life. He was withdrawn from that school to be put in another school to become a lawyer. During his time spent studying to become a lawyer, he was caught in a very savage storm. Luther was struck down by lightning and vowed that if he made it through this storm he would become a monk. He made it through the storm and in 1505 he entered an Augustinian monastery. As a monk, Luther did not quit his studies and received his doctorate and became a professor in biblical studies. Soon after, many theologist and scholars began to question the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther believed that salvation could be reached through faith and by divine grace only, so he eagerly protested against the churches idea of selling indulgences. Acting on this he then wrote the “95…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    and the Holy Roman Emperor. Luther addresses the Diet and does not recant his teachings and took sole responsibility of writing his books and pamphlets. Luther’s reasons for not rescinding his claims is that the truth was in the scriptures and not with the opinions of the Catholic Church. If he did recant what he had written, Luther said it would strengthen the tyranny, referring to the Catholic Church. As a result, Luther was declared an outlaw of the Roman Empire. During his excommunication his guardian, Frederick the Wise, had Luther “kidnapped” and taken to the Wartburg castle for refuge where he translated the bible into German so everyone could read and interpret the bible for themselves; before this Europeans would meet exactly one person who could read the bible because it was in Latin.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On The Reformers

    • 1745 Words
    • 7 Pages

    France was in a weakened and reduced state. This forced the country to raise taxes and borrow from other nations, which increased France 's debt. The Concordat of Bologna allowed the rule of France to appoint all abbots and bishops. This helped France rebuild its financial structure, and it led the investors of France to the Catholic religion. Unfortunately, many of those in power in France were drawn to the religion of Calvinism. This led to conflicts between Catholics and Huguenots, who are French Calvinists, and resulted in another religious war between the two religions. This war resulted in the nation of France being split because of the intense fighting between both…

    • 1745 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The reformation refers to the 16th-century movement for the reform of the Roman Catholic Church based on Martin Luther’s criticisms. The Catholic Church responded with the counter-reformation. This addressed some key criticism but retained central beliefs such as the intervening role of the clergy and saints in one’s relationship with God. In general, historians agree that the failures of Catholicism, influence of charismatic preachers and political structures were key factors in bringing about the Reformation. However, there is some debate over where the driving forces originate and if different forces drove the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.…

    • 1862 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays