232
T
he Roman Catholic
Church was a formidable
institution in the late
Middle Ages. From his palace in
Rome, the Pope had power not only
over Europe’s religious life, but
also over its politics and economics.
The Church was a major landowner,
and, through the feudal system,
many peasants found themselves
indebted to it for their homes and
livelihoods, as well as for the care
of their souls. At the other end of
the spectrum, it was in the best
interests of nobles and rulers to
maintain good relations with the
Church, obeying its laws, and
paying tithes and taxes.
However, in the first decades
of the 16th century, a spiritual and
social revolution shifted power
away from the Catholic Church,
initiating a new chapter in the
history of Christianity in Europe.
This revolution, now known as the
Protestant Reformation, was based
on the idea that God could be
known and worshipped directly,
without the need for an authorized
hierarchy of priests to act as
intermediaries. The reformers
placed the teachings and traditions
of the Church under the authority ofScripture, and maintained that
salvation could only come from
personal faith rather than from
following the Church’s decrees.Renaissance Europe
By the 16th century, Europe had
begun to shake off the old ideas of
medieval life. The horizons of the
known world were expanding
rapidly, with Spanish, Portuguese,
and French explorers following in
the wake of Columbus’s voyage to
the Americas in 1492. Transport
and trade were flourishing as a
result of advances in seafaring,
including a new route around
Africa to India.
In Europe, the feudal system
was being abandoned in favor
of new kingdoms and city-states
controlled by rulers interested in
improving the economic prosperity
of their territories. Culturally,
artists, philosophers, and scientists
were rediscovering the classical
learning of the past, in a loosely
connected movement known as
the Renaissance. In short, a new
world was arriving and it seemed
that the Church, with its ancient
traditions and structures, was set
to have a smaller role within it.THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION
IN CONTEXT
KEY MOVEMENT
The ReformationWHEN AND WHERE
16th century,
Western EuropeBEFORE
1382 John Wycliffe publishes
the first major translation of
the Bible into English.1516 The Christian Humanist
thinker Erasmus publishes a
new edition of the Greek New
Testament, which includes his
new Latin translation.AFTER
1545–63 The Council
of Trent is convened. As
representatives of the Catholic
Church, the group condemns
the Protestant movement.1563 The Heidelberg
Catechism is published,
offering a Protestant statement
of faith for both Calvinists and
Lutherans. It becomes an
influential Reformed catechism.The first Christians
were encouraged to study
the Scriptures to make
their own mind up about
Christian faith.Restricting the Bible to
Latin during the Middle
Ages meant that most
people could not make
up their own minds
about what it said.The Bible was written
in the common language of
the day (the Old Testament
in Hebrew, the New
Testament in Greek).Translating the Bible
into the vernacular meant
that everyone could read
and hear God’s Word for
themselves.God’s word needs no
go-betweens.