Part+8

In the year 1517, the town of Wittenberg, Saxony was visited by the famous Catholic missionary and indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel. A 34 year old man by the name of Martin Luther, who had recently returned from a trek to Rome, found fault with the concept of indulgences. He believed that the Pope had no power when it came to forgiving people’s sins, except those committed to himself. Luther also thought that entry to heaven was gained not through giving money to the Church for a piece of parchment, but by faith and good works. In response to Johann Tetzel, Luther nailed a parchment to the door of the local catholic church. This paper had a list of 95 theses, a list of things that Luther found wrong with the current Catholic Church. The theses mostly spoke of the practice of selling indulgences. These 95 theses wouldn’t have had an impact on the world outside Wittenberg, had it not been taken down and used to make printed copies. Eventually, Luther was excommunicated by the Pope, but was given refuge in his country of Saxony by the elector, Frederick. The Reformation picked up pace as the thoughts of Luther spread quickly throughout Europe. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, attempted to put out the fire which threatened his power, but to no avail. Word of Luther’s rejection of the Catholic Church reached the ear of King Henry VIII of England, and caused him to create the Act of Supremacy in 1534, making him the head of the Church of England, and separating his country from the Catholic Church forever. In 1536, John Calvin published //Institutes of the Christian Religion////, laying down the believes of a new kind of church, which would become the basis for Presbyterianism. John believed things similar to Luther, and although they did not see eye to eye on all topics Christian, together they became a sort of figure head for this Reformation of the Church. // // The Reformation wasn’t just a movement that effected Christendom, but also art work, thinking, and a shift of power. It was a revolution against the authority of the lands, showing that people had the power to make their own decisions. The ideas of the Reformation were depicted in artwork and revolutionized art forever. // // [] //
 * The Protestant Reformation **

__**The Counter Reformation**__

The Catholic Church was slowly battling opposition during the Reformation for about 400 years. This opposition was demanding that the church be split in two. The Counter Reformation was the Catholic Church's response to the Protistant Reformation. The idas that the counter was based upon were: the reconfiguration of structures, religious orders, and political and spiritual movements. While the basic structure of the church stayed the same there were very noticable changes that answered many complaints. These new religious orders focused on helping the poor and homeless in their own location. Many people questioned the direction that the Catholic Church was going even though no one openly questioned the church. This work in helping the poor approved the catholic saying "salvation through good works" while it also improved the Catholic church im many cities. Another important movement was called the "Society of Jesus" and otherwise known as the Jesuits. It was founded by Ignatius of Loyola in the early 1530's but was offically recognized by the Catholic church about ten years later. The basis of these Jesuits was to return to the strictest obediance of the authority of the Catholic church. The original society had about ten members in it, but about one centurary later it had over 15,000 members all over the world. they traveled all over hoping to exteriminate people who did not obey the church. Over the few years, they became the most influential group of western culture. [] []