AP European History
AP European History
About the same time Luther’s ideas were spreading, the teachings of Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) were taking hold in Zurich. Greatly influenced by humanism, specifically the work of Erasmus, Zwingli preached against all practices of the church that were not substantiated by Scripture. Zwingli went on to rule Zurich as a theocracy. or a government ruled by someone who claims to have divine authority. He did away with monasteries, religious icons, mass, and confession, and he preached that man did not need the pope or the church. In 1531, Zwingli, who was much more concerned with politics than was Luther, died in battle during a religious civil war.
A few years after Zwingli, a French humanist scholar and theologian named John Calvin (1509-1564) arrived in Geneva. After spending some time in Geneva assisting the reformation of the city. he was asked to leave. In 1541, Calvin was invited back to continue his reform of the church there. Although Calvin never became a citizen of Geneva, he drew up new ordinances for the city that governed both religious and secular aspects of life in the city. He imposed strict laws, and he saw that the laws were enforced. On occasion, Calvin was very harsh. For example, a man named Michael Servetus, who had managed to survive the Inquisition, wandered into Geneva. Calvin, along with others, burned Serverus at the stake for being a heretic. At any cost, Calvin was determined to hold Genevans to a high moral standard of living.
During the 1540s and 1550s, Calvinism spread throughout Europe and found extraordinary success in Scotland under the leadership of John Knox (c.1513-1572), who founded the Presbyterian Church there. In England, the Ca1vinists were known as the Puritans, and in France, Calvin’s followers were known as the Huguenots.
Although the Reformation often appeared to be political in nature, the heart of the movement was theological. To better understand the Reformation, it is important to understand the theological beliefs of those involved. One of the greatest theologians of the Reformation was Martin Luther. Although Luther never compiled a systematic theology, Luther explained his beliefs in his many writings. One area in which Luther differed from the Church was salvation. Whereas the Church argued that salvation required both faith and good works, Luther contended that salvation was possible through faith alone. In addition, Luther maintained that the weakness and utter helplessness of man required the grace of God for salvation. Luther also differed from the Church regarding the sacraments. The Church maintained seven sacraments were valid, while Luther reduced the sacraments to three – penance, baptism, and the Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper. Luther also disagreed with the Church on the issue of transubstantiation, the idea that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Luther’s idea, later called consubstantiation, said that Christ was present in the bread and wine but the bread and wine did not change. He likened the process to putting an iron in a fire. The iron and fire are seemingly merged in the red-hot iron, but both the iron and the fire remain. Another point of contention between Luther and the Church was the role that Scripture and Church tradition played in the development of theology. Contrary to the theology of the Church, Luther claimed that the Scriptures alone were sufficient to determine theology and practice. Again contrary to the theology of the Church, Luther upheld the doctrine of the “priesthood of all believers.” In other words, humanity no longer needed a mediator between themselves and God; man was sufficient to stand alone before Chris£. This effectively reduced the need for a Church. Finally, Luther denounced the Church’s policy of clerical celibacy. In fact, Luther married and had a seemingly happy marriage.
Another leading figure of the Reformation, Ulrich Zwingli, agreed with Luther on most issues. However, Zwingli disagreed with Luther on the issue of the “body and blood of Christ.” Zwingli maintained that the Scripture should be taken figuratively and not literally when it spoke of the “body and blood of Christ” during the Last Supper.
John Calvin, too, agreed with Luther on more points than most people realize. But unlike Luther, Calvin developed a systematic theology that he outlined in his work, Institutes of the Christian Religion (translated 1561). Calvin, like Luther, believed in salvation by faith alone, but Calvin placed a great deal of emphasis on the sovereignty of God. Calvin’s belief in the sovereignty of God led him to develop the concept of predestination. Calvin believed that God had predetermined who was to be saved (the elect) and who was to be damned (the reprobate). Also stemming from the sovereignty of God was the idea that believers could not be certain of their salvation; to be certain meant infringement upon God’s sovereignty. Calvin reduced the sacraments to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Also, like Luther, Calvin argued that man had no free will.
Calvin’s theology is generally outlined in the acrostic “TULIP”. T represents the total depravity of man. In other words, according to Calvin, man was totally corrupt. U represents unconditional predestination. This concept was explained in the preceding paragraph. L represents limited atonement, or the idea that Christ died only for the elect. I represents irresistible grace. Calvin believed that the elect were to be saved, and they had no choice in the matter. Finally, P represents perseverance of the saints. This concept is often summarized by the phrase “once saved, always saved.” Calvin maintained that the elect always would be saved and never condemned.
Some of the more radical ideas that arose during the Reformation grew out of what is commonly called, believe it or not, the Radical Reformation. Among the leaders of the Radical Reformation were the Anabaptists. Anabaptism appealed particularly to the peasants, workers, and lower classes, although there were some middle-class people devoted to Anabaptism. The Anabaptists believed that the true church was a voluntarily organized body of believers in which all believers were equal. The Anabaptists advocated adult baptism, or believer’s baptism. Contrary to the teachings of the Church, they believed that the Lord’s Supper was purely symbolic and was observed simply as a remembrance. What made the Anabaptists part of the Radical Reformation was their belief in the total separation of church and state. The Anabaptists were perceived as a threat to both religious and secular authority. Although most Anabaptists advocated peace, several Anabaptist groups turned to violence later in the Reformation.
Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) – Both a lecturer and public examiner in divinity, Thomas Cranmer won the royal favor of Henry VIII in 1529. He suggested to the king that he not wait for an annulment order, but rather, refer the question of the legality of the marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) to legal scholars. Within three years, Cranmer had been appointed as the ambassador to the Holy Roman Empire. One year after that, in 1533, Henry VIII appointed Cranmer as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest religious position in the land other than that of the king. Less than two months after being named Archbishop, Cranmer declared Henry’s marriage to Catherine null and void, and Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn legal.
During the Reformation, Cranmer played the role of perhaps the greatest reformer in England. Cranmer renounced his allegiance to the pope and removed the pope’s name from the prayer book. He created the new liturgy for the new Church of England. When Henry VIII died, Cranmer became one of the regents of Edward VI, the new king. During the reign of Edward VI, Cranmer wrote two prayer books and the Thirty-Nine Articles (originally forty-two articles). When Edward died, Cranmer carried out the wishes of the dying king and helped Lady Jane Grey ascend to the throne where she sat for only nine days. When Mary Tudor overthrew Jane Grey, Cranmer was charged with treason, sentenced to death, spared, and then thrown in the Tower of London. Later, Cranmer was removed and taken to another prison. There he was forced to recant, only to be excommunicated and sentenced to death anyway. Upon the day of his execution, Cranmer recanted his recantations.
John Calvin (1509-1564) – Born in France in 1509. John Calvin was educated to become a priest. However, Calvin had some additional education because his father wanted him to pursue a career in law. Calvin became fascinated with the humanists and began studying Greek. In 1532, he published a commentary on De Clementia, a work by Seneca. In 1536, Calvin published the first of his Institutes on the Christian Religion, in which he began to lay out his systematic theology. Calvin also published a number of hymns and many commentaries on books of the Bible. Aside from his theology, Calvin made a mark on European history because of the government he established in Geneva. Calvin helped adopt a new constitution for Geneva. He instituted a school system for the children of Geneva with a special academy for the best students. He sought good hospitals and care for the sick in Geneva. He encouraged new industries and hard work. The “Protestant work ethic” can be traced to Calvin and his ideals.
John Knox (c. 1513-1572) – A Scottish religious reformer with a varied religious background, John Knox is remembered most for founding Presbyterianism in Scotland in the sixteenth century. Educated in Glasgow, Knox became a Catholic priest. However, after being exposed to Protestantism, Knox converted to Protestantism and began preaching the Protestant message. After serving with the Church of England under Edward VI, Knox found himself in danger when the Catholic “Bloody” Mary Tudor ascended to the English throne in 1553. He fled to Geneva, where he was influenced by John Calvin. Knox later returned to Scotland where he helped the Protestants gain power. The Scottish Parliament eventually adopted Knox’s ideology, which was similar to that of Calvin’s, and it remained prominent in Scotland for nearly two hundred years. When the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, returned to Scotland in 1561, Knox spoke out against Mary and against Catholicism in general. Knox became even more influential in Scotland when he delivered sermons at the coronation of James VI of Scotland (who later became James I of England), a Protestant.