The causes for the manifestation of the Protestant Revolution in Central Europe during the 16th century can be found both in the ecclesiastical and in the political and economic conditions of the time. It would be inaccurate to claim that the backlash against her Roman Catholic Church it was exclusively a religious movement. For the majority of early supporters of his views Martin Lutherhowever, the movement he unleashed was a revolt against the material and moral perversions of the Catholic church.
The leader of the Reformation movement, Martin Luther, was born in November 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, into a fairly poor family. This, of course, did not prevent him from attending schools in Mansfeld, Magdeburg and Eisenach and then enrolling at the University of Erfurt in 1501 to study philosophy. In 1507 he was ordained a priest and a little later he completed his doctoral studies in Theology. He soon gained control of many Augustinian monasteries. Despite his young age, he was elected rector of the Theological School in Wittenberg.
Luther came to the view that faith, not good works, was the key to entering Heaven.
Especially often Luther was tormented by questions related to his faith in God. He spent endless hours either praying in his room or reading in the library looking for answers to these questions. Having been influenced by the reference in the letter of the Apostle Paul “To the Romans”, that “the righteous man will gain eternal life through his faith”, as well as the teachings of St. Augustine, Luther came to the view that faith and not good works were the key to entering Paradise.
He himself grew up in an era in which the Catholic church was criticized even by clerics such as the Dutch-born Erasmus for its deviation from the basic principles of Christianity. At the beginning of the 16th century, many clergy did not have sufficient education and theological trainingin order to respond to their role. Some had obtained their ecclesiastical positions using unscrupulous means, and others led extremely “worldly” lives. While some of the bishops lived in princely splendor, some of the lower clergy occasionally sought to supplement their income by running taverns, gambling clubs, and other businesses.
What provoked the reaction of those who saw that the Catholic church was slipping into sin, was the sale of pardons.
It was not uncommon for monks to break their vow of virginity. After all, Pope Innocent VIII himself had eight illegitimate children, some of whom were born before his election to the office of pontiff. But what provoked the reaction of those who saw that the Catholic church was slipping into sin was the sale of pardons. The pardon was a document, which certified the remission of sins and pardoned all or part of the punishment of the person who paid it.
Outraged by the state of affairs in the Catholic church and determined to do something to change it, Luther nailed his “95 Theses” to the door on October 31, 1517 in All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg. In the sealed form condemned the practice of selling forgiveness to believers on the part of the church. He even distributed his text to believers in the area, inviting those who wished to question him to come and debate with him on this matter.
The publication of Luther’s Theses caused an uproar in the local church as well as in Wittenberg society. Luther refused to obey Pope Leo I’s call to end his “crusade”. Over time he found many allies in his struggle to reform the Catholic churchamong whom was the elector of Saxony Frederick III the Wise.
Column editor: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigone-Despina Poimenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
