Highlights of material covered in lecture.

1. History of Europe:
Renaissance to 1815

2. Since God has given us
the papacy, let us enjoy it.
∼ Pope Leo X
(allegedly)

3. The Protestant Reformation
Role of the Papacy in Renaissance Europe

4. Reformation
• The Papacy and Politics
• Growing unrest with the Church
• Increasing emphasis on rituals
• Devoid of meaning for many
• Popes acting more like kings
• Rather than spiritual guides
• Abuses at all levels of organization
• More people living in urban areas
• Sharing views with each other
Pope Alexander VI, born Rodrigo Borgia

5. Reformation
• The Great Western Schism
• Late Middle Ages
• Rivalry between popes
• Holy Roman Emperors re. secular power
• 1302: Papal bull – Unam Sanctam
• it is necessary to salvation that every human
creature be subject to the Roman pontiff
• Issued by Pope Boniface VIII
• Response of King Philip IV of France:
• Your venerable conceitedness may know that we
are nobody's vassal in temporal matters
Philip IV “the Fair” because of his reputed good looks

6. Reformation
• Avignon Papacy
• Boniface VIII
• Enforced Unam Sanctum, excommunicated King Philip IV
• Beaten to death before enforced
• 1305: Clement V elected pope
• Frenchman, friend of Philip IV, refused to move to Rome
• 1309: Moved papal court to Avignon, stayed for 67 yearsPapal Palace in Avignon, France

7. Reformation
• The Great Western Schism
• 1309-1377, the Avignon Papacy
• 7 successive popes in Avignon, France
• Rather than in Rome
• Under influence of French monarchy
• Reputation for corruption
• 1376, Gregory XI returned to Rome
The Babylonian Captivity:
Map of Rome, with allegorical figure of Rome as a widow

8. Reformation
• Achievements of Avignon Papacy
• Some of the popes tried to improve Church
• Including:
• Reorganized, centralized bureaucracy of Church
• Expanded missionary activity
• Promoted university education
• Stronger role for College of Cardinals in Church
government
• Attempted to settle secular conflicts

9. Reformation
• The Great Western Schism
• 1378-1417
• Urban VI elected pope
• Majority of Cardinals split
• Moved back to Avignon
• Elected Clement VII
• Resulted in two lines of elected popes, a
crisis dividing Europe
• 2, even 3 at times, men claiming to be
pope at same time
Avignon

10. Reformation
• The Great Western Schism
• Council of Pisa (1409)
• Lay theologians, ambassadors, clergy
• Claimed council of bishops had more power
than one bishop
• Even if the one bishop was the pope
(bishop of Rome)
• Council of Constance (1414)
• Ecumenical council ending the Schism
• Elected Pope Martin V
Bishops debating with the pope at the Council of Constance

11. Reformation
• The Great Western Schism
• Council of Constance (1414)
• Sacrosancta Decree:
• Affirmed ecumenical council of
church
• Superior in authority to any pope
• Lawfully assembled in the Holy
Spirit … it holds power directly
from Christ.
• Reflected Conciliarism movement
• Counterpoint to Unam Sanctam

12. Reformation
• Renaissance Popes – beg. 1420
• Era of renewed power for papacy
• Move of papal seat back to Rome
• Increasingly temporal motives
• To secure Rome & the Papal States
• To point of leading armies
• Focus on building the treasury
• Like most monarchs
From left:
Pope Pius II, Pope Paul II, Pope Alexander
VI, Pope Julius II

13. Reformation
• Renaissance Popes
• Focus on making Rome the capital of Christendom
• Projecting it as center of a Golden Age
• Of unity, order, peace
• Through art, architecture, literature
• Papal officials came from all over Europe
• Humanists who studied all aspects of antiquity
• Producing modern work based on the ancient
models

14. Reformation
Nicholas V (r. 1447-55) moved papacy to the Vatican Palace
• Beginning of vast building & art projects
• Works served as political statements, much as in Imperial Rome
• Best artists & architects converged on Rome
“Not for, nor pomp, nor vainglory, nor fame, nor the eternal perpetuation of
my name, but for the greater authority of the Roman church and the
greater dignity of the Apostolic See … we conceived such buildings in mind
and spirit.”
~ Nicholas V, on his deathbed

15. Reformation
• Renaissance Popes
• Most popes were worldly during this era
• Engaging in abuses spurring political
unrest in Italy
• Financial confusion within the papacy
• Bankrupted by end of Leo X’s reign
• And a neglect to the spiritual interests of
the Church
Ring with the Name of Pope Paul II (r. 1464-71)

16. The Protestant Reformation
Crisis in the Church

17. Reformation
• The Stufetta del Bibbiena
• Cardinal Bibbiena (Bernardo Dovizi)
• Friend of Pope Leo X (Giovanni Medici)
• Appointed him cardinal – for his friendship &
political support
• Not due to experience or Church dedication
• Author of first prominent comedy written in
Italian prose: La Calandra
• With alarmingly immoral scenes
• Main character borrowed from Decameron

18. Reformation
• The Stufetta del Bibbiena
• During papacy of Leo X, moved into Vatican
• Raphael created murals for his bathroom
• Wall frescoes depicting mythological beasts,
playful nudes
• Reading like a graphic novel
• Some images more titillating:
• Venus, goddess of love & Cupid, god of erotic
desire
• Another image shows Pan, aroused & later
censored

21. Reformation
• Pope Leo X (1475-1521)
• Born Giovanni de’Medici
• Son of Lorenzo de’Medici
• Epitome of criticisms of medieval Church
• Education: taught by Humanists
• Never took Church orders
• Entered Church at age 8; by 11, made an Abbot;
age 16, a Cardinal
• Became Pope at the age of 37
• Last of the popes to not take Church orders

22. Reformation
• Pope Leo X
• Living in Florence when Savonarola exiled Medicis
• Devoted much of his time to arts and sciences
• Drew leading scholars to Rome, promoted study of ancient writings
• Gave strong support to printing
• Supported scholars, poets, musicians, and artists
• Continued, initiated building projects & artistic works

23. Reformation
• Pope Leo X & the Murder at the Vatican
• 1517 – Cardinal Alfonso Petrucci strangled in his cell
• Accused of poison plot against Pope Leo X
• 1 of 5 accused cardinals
• Public questioned whether this really a plot
• Or a frame-up by Leo X
• In pursuit of power, glory, wealth for the Medici
family
• Focus of pope on temporal, not spiritual, matters
• In this case – it’s the realm of political power
Cardinal Petrucci, 26 yrs old at time of his death

24. Reformation
• Pope Leo X & Murder at the Vatican
• Political rivalry between Florence & Siena
• 1516 – Leo X ousted Petrucci as ruler of
Siena
• Siena came under “protection” of papacy
• Not a stand-alone event
• Cardinal Petrucci led effort to retake Siena
• Leo X saw this as “lèse majesté”
• Crime committed against sovereign ruler;
treason

25. Reformation
• Pope Leo X & the Murder at the Vatican
• Strappado – torture to confession
• Arrested servants
• Got confession implicating 5 cardinals
• All from leading families of Italy
• Others named
• Included numerous bishops and abbots
• All rivals of the Medici family

26. Reformation
• Pope Leo X & Murder at the Vatican
• Cardinals named in poison plot
• Cardinal Petrucci – angry over Siena
takeover
• Cardinal Sauli – Genovese banking family
• Cardinal Riario – nephew of Sixtus IV, who
conspired against Medici
• Cardinal Castellisi – witness to the plot
• Cardinal Soderini – rival family from
Florence
Section from Meeting of Leo the Great & Attila, 1514

27. Reformation
• Pope Leo X & the Murder at the Vatican
• Cardinals arrested, many confessed
• Lower level figures executed
• But for many of the accused, monetary fines
• Cardinals Soderini & Castellisi confessed to hearing the plot: 12,500 ducats
• Leo X’s motive for framing cardinals?
• Was able to turn the alleged plot into a major money-making ploy
• And secure Medici influence in Tuscany, Florence in particular

28. Reformation
• Leo X: Profiting from the Conspiracy
• Struggling financially at the time
• Confiscated the offices of convicted cardinals
• Could then be resold
• Then created 31 new cardinals, doubling the size of
college
• Diluting the power of the “old guard” opposing the
Medici
• New men owed Leo for their appointments
• Pope had the compliant college he wanted

29. Reformation
• Leo X: Profiting from the Conspiracy
• Cardinal Petrucci strangled in his cell on July 4, 1517
• Cardinal Riario exiled, fined 150,000 ducats
• Cardinal Sauli fined 25,000 ducats, house arrest
• Leo X made half a million ducats
• From the Cardinals’ Conspiracy
• Ten times annual income of richest cardinal
• 250 times income of the poorest cardinal
2.5 Ducat Coin, Pope Leo X
Papal States

30. The Protestant Reformation
Early Reform Efforts

31. Reformation
• Criticism of Church practices in Late Middle Ages
• Nepotism:
• Favoritism based on family relationships
• Simony:
• Buying/selling something spiritual
• Or closely connected to it
• Pluralism & Absenteeism:
• Churchmen holding several benefices
• (Church offices)
• Moral failures of Church officeholders
Sixtus IV with four of his nephews. Giuliano della Rovere,
third from left, later became Pope Julius II

32. Reformation
• Attempts at Reform
• John Wycliffe (1320s-1384)
• English priest, professor, reformer
• Followers were the “Lollards”
• Attacked privileged class of clergy
• Role in community life
• Vernacular translation of the Bible
• Attacked specific Church doctrines
• Sacraments, saint veneration, monasticism,
transubstantiation
• Very existence of the papacy

33. Reformation
• John Wycliffe
“The Church is the totality of those who are predestined to
blessedness. It includes the Church triumphant in heaven and the
Church militant or men on earth. No one who is eternally lost has part
in it. There is one universal Church, and outside of it there is no
salvation. Its head is Christ. No pope may say that he is the head, for
he can not say that he is elect or even a member of the Church.”

34. Reformation
• Earlier Attempts at Reform
• Jan Hus (1369-1415)
• Czech university professor, student of Wycliffe
• Popular preacher, writer, leader of Hussites
• Outspoken critic of Church doctrine, practices
• Especially denounced indulgences
• Biblical authority over Church authority
• Charged with heresy, burned at the stake
• For sovereign territorial churches under a secular
ruler

35. Reformation
God is my witness that I have never
taught that of which I have by false
witnesses been accused.
In the truth of the Gospel which I have
written, taught, and preached, I will die
today with gladness.
~ Jan Hus

36. Reformation
• Reform Efforts
• Some reformers worked in advisory manner
• Devotio Moderna
• 14th c. religious movement
• Ideas of Geert Groote in the Netherlands
• “Brethren of the Common Life”
• Emphasis on study of scripture, private meditation
• Desire to imitate Christ in simplicity, purity of life

37. Reformation
• Reform Efforts
• Thomas à Kempis
• 15th c. German-Dutch spiritual reformer
• The Imitation of Christ
• Handbook for spiritual life; devotional
classic
• Part of devotio moderna movement
• Steering the average Christian to a moral,
more spiritual life

38. Reformation
• Reform Efforts
• Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536)
• Christian Humanist
• Educated in the devotio moderna
• Used humanism to spark religious reform
• Produced version of New Testament in
Greek
• Encouraged use of vernacular
• Sought widespread reading of the
Scriptures
• Inspiring change in common men, women

39. Reformation
• Reform gets serious:
• Martin Luther (1483-1546)
• Middle class family, educational opportunities
• Father wanted him to study law
• Even in university, seeking way to know God
• 1505: caught in thunderstorm
• Terrified he would die, face divine judgment
• Entered Augustinian monastery
• With some doubts, and father’s objection

40. Reformation
• Martin Luther
• Dedicated self to Augustinian order
• Fasting, prayer, pilgrimage
• Frequent confession
• Continual reflection on his sins
• Period of deep spiritual despair
• 1507: Ordained as a priest
St. Augustine’s Monastery, Erfurt, 16th c.

41. Reformation
• Luther as a Monk
“Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt
that I was a sinner before God with an extremely
disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he
was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love,
yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes
sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously,
certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with
God.”

42. Reformation
• Martin Luther – 1510 Trip to Rome
• Business for the Augustinian order
• Walked 700 miles
• Staying at monasteries along the way
• Noting the worldly, unspiritual behavior of
many of the monks
• Arrived excited to be in Capital of
Christendom
• Disenchanted with what he saw
• Experience on steps of St. John Lateran Basilica
• Heard “the righteous shall live by faith”

43. Reformation
• Luther in Rome
• Disillusioned by corruption, lack of spirituality,
luxurious living
“The city, which he had greeted as holy, was a sink of
iniquity; its very priests were openly infidel, and
scoffed at the services they performed; the papal
courtiers were men of the most shameless lives; he
was accustomed to repeat the Italian proverb, ‘If
there is a hell, Rome is built over it.’ ”
• Martin Luther

44. Reformation
• While in Rome
• Luther studied Hebrew & Greek
• Returned to his studies in Wittenberg
• Disillusioned with Rome
• During University faculty years, focus on the Bible
• Came to see a distinction between law & gospel
• Righteousness (grace) available to all through faith
• The accepted theology useless, untrustworthy
• Sole test of truth was the Holy Scriptures

45. Reformation
• Martin Luther: Justification by Faith
• Had a major “aha moment” while reading Romans 1:17
• I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the
righteous lives but a gift of God, namely by faith. …
• … Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself
through open gates.
• Martin Luther

46. Reformation
• Luther came to believe the Church had strayed
• Need to end the abuses, the harsh rituals & superstitions
• And focus on the Bible
• Ephesians 2:8-9 & the doctrine of sola gratia
• For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is
not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that
no one can boast.

47. Reformation
• Luther & Indulgences
• Early 1500s, flagrant abuse of
indulgences
• Pope Leo X
• Lavish lifestyle, building of St. Peter’s
Basilica
• Albert, Archbishop of Mainz
• Multiple church offices
• Secret arrangement with Pope, splitting
profits
• From sale of indulgences
Plan for St. Peter’s Basilica as imagined in 1513

48. Reformation
• Luther & Indulgences
• Johann Tetzel (1465-1519)
• German Dominican prior, inquisitor
• 1503, began preaching indulgences
• Not the first, but maybe the best
• Equivalent of televangelist in his delivery
• Extravagant claims
As soon as a coin in the coffer rings / the soul
from purgatory springs.

49. Reformation
• Luther & Indulgences
• Appalled at the idea of selling salvation
• Argues against indulgences in his sermons
• 95 Theses
• Drafted, circulated when his complaints
went unheeded
• Mailed copy with letter to Archbishop of
Mainz

50. Reformation
• 95 Theses
• Originally distributed in Latin, but quickly
translated
• Published in pamphlet form
• Spread throughout Germany
• Content
• Repentance & forgiveness dominate
• Considering role of indulgences in obtaining
forgiveness
• And the role of Christ
• Addressed by 1st 3 Theses

51. Reformation
• 95 Theses – Key Points
• True repentance & forgiveness come from Christ alone
• Faith Alone
• God’s grace given freely, it’s not something we can earn
• Scripture Alone
• Bible the only reliable source of instruction
• As opposed to teachings of the Church

52. Reformation
• 95 Theses
• Targets Indulgences as invented by humans
27. They preach only human doctrines who
say that as soon as the money clinks into the
money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.
28. Those who believe that they can be
certain of their salvation because they have
indulgence letters will be eternally damned,
together with their teachers.

53. Reformation
• 95 Theses
• God’s grace comes through Christ, not
Indulgences
36. Any truly repentant Christian has a right
to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without
indulgence letters.
37. Any true Christian, whether living or dead,
participates in all the blessings of Christ and the
church; and this is granted him by God, even
without indulgence letters.

54. Reformation
• 95 Theses
• Christians spending money outside of family
• Should focus on the poor, not on
Indulgences
43. Christians are to be taught that he who
gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a
better deed than he who buys indulgences.

55. Reformation
• 95 Theses
• 2nd half: preach true word of the Gospel
• Preach the Word of God, not sales pitch for
Indulgences
62. The true treasure of the church is the
most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious,
for it makes the first to be last [MATT. 20:16].

56. Reformation
• 95 Theses
• Preaching a false hope = no hope at all
• In fact, it pushes people away from true
salvation
92. Away then with all those prophets who
say to the people of Christ, “Peace, peace,” and
there is no peace! [JER. 6:14].
93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to
the people of Christ, “Cross, cross,” and there is
no cross!
95. And thus be confident of entering into
heaven through many tribulations rather than
through the false security of peace [ACTS 14:22].

57. Reformation
• 95 Theses
• Before the printing press, would have circulated
slowly
• But with it, copies of the 95 Theses in various
forms
• All over Europe within a few weeks
• Luther followed up with subsequent pamphlets
• By 1523, over 1300
• Translation of Bible to vernacular German

58. Reformation
• Response of the Church
• Diet of Worms (1521):
• Luther urged to recant
• Refuses - Here I stand. I can do no
other.
• Edict of Worms:
• Luther declared a heretic & an
outlaw - excommunicated
• Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
• Banned Luther’s writings, ordered
his arrest

59. The Protestant Reformation
Protestant Doctrine

60. Reformation
• The Five Solas
• Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)
• Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
• Solus Christus (Christ Alone)
• Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)
• Soli Deo Gloria (To the Glory of God
Alone)
• These lie at the heart of Protestant belief

61. Reformation: Major Denominations
EarlyChristianity
“Great Church”
Council of Ephesus, 431
Council of Chalcedon, 451
Great Schism
11th century
Church of the East
Protestant Reformation
16th century
Evangelicalism
Anabaptism
Anglicanism
Calvinism
Lutheranism
Catholic Church
(Latin Church)
(Eastern Catholic Churches)
Eastern Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodoxy
Assyrian Church of the East
Ancient Church of the East

62. Reformation
• Diverging Protestant Ideologies
• Controversy over the Eucharist
• Roman Catholic theology:
• Transubstantiation
• In communion, bread & wine actually
transformed into body & blood of Christ
• Lutheran theology:
• Sacramental Union
• Body & Blood of Christ present “in, with &
under the forms” of bread & wine
Lutheran depiction of Last Supper, 1547

63. Reformation
• Diverging Protestant Ideologies
• Controversy over the Eucharist
• Reformed Churches
• Real spiritual presence of Christ, not physical presence
• Sometimes called symbolic presence of Christ, through shared faith
of those taking communion
• Anglican Church (Church of England)
• Refused to define the Presence
• Leaving it as a “mystery” unknowable by humans

64. Reformation
• Reform Movement splintered
• Ulrich Zwingli
• Leader of Reformation in Switzerland
• Condemned Indulgences even before Luther
• Opposed many practices of Catholic Church
• But split from Luther on question of the
Eucharist
• Luther: Consubstantiation
• Zwingli: Symbolic

65. Reformation
• For God’s sake, do not put yourself at odds
with the Word of God. For truly it will persist
as surely as the Rhine follows its course. One
can perhaps dam it up for awhile, but it is
impossible to stop it.
• Ulrich Zwingli

66. Reformation
• Question of Salvation & Forgiveness
• Major split among Christianity
• Catholic Church:
• Salvation by faith and good works
• Lutheran & Church of England:
• Salvation by faith through grace
• Calvinism:
• God has predetermined who will be
saved and who will be damned

67. Reformation
• Reform Movement splintered
• John Calvin
• Institutes of the Christian Religion
• Predestination – two groups of people
• The Elect, and the Damned
• Jesus died for the Elect, not for everyone
• Based on teaching that God is all-knowing,
all-good, all-powerful

68. Reformation
• “[Predestination is] the eternal decree of God, by which he
determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard
to every man. Not all are created on equal terms, but some are
preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and,
accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these
ends, we say that he has been predestined to life or to death.”
• John Calvin, The Institutes

69. Reformation
• Interpretation & Revelation of Beliefs
• Major split among Christianity
• Catholic Church:
• Priests interpret Bible & Church
teachings
• Lutheran & Church of England:
• Believers read & interpret Bible
for themselves
• Calvinism:
• Believers read & interpret Bible
for themselves

70. Reformation
• Baptism
• Major split among Christianity
• Catholic Church: sacrament
• Removes original sin; infant baptism
• Lutheran & Church of England: sacrament
• Initiates God’s life in one baptized; infant
baptism
• Calvinism:
• Sign of God’s promise to forgive sin
• But not a covenant of grace (sacrament)
Baptism in Huguenot Temple de Lyon

71. Reformation
• The Anabaptists
• Founded in 1527 on the Schleitheim Confession
• Baptism only valid when candidates confess faith
in Christ
• Must want to be baptized (as opposed to infant
baptism)
• Ie, old enough to make a conscious choice
• Name comes from “one who baptizes again”
• Adhered to literal interpretation of Sermon on
the Mount
• Roman Catholics & Protestants persecuted
Anabaptists
• Torture, execution