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The final installment in my Time Line of the Reformation. Remember check out the links note it isn't always the same link for the same subject. Also if you could comment to let mw know if you would liek to see more of this type stuff in the future it would be greatly appreciated.
1564
The term “Puritan” first used
Calvin dies
William Shakespeare born
1577
Alliance between England and Netherlands;
Francis Drake sails around the world (to 1580)
1587
Mary I dies; succeeded by Elizabeth I
1588
Defeat of Spanish Armada
1598
Boris Godunov seizes throne on death of Fyodor I of Russia
1600
Elizabeth I grants charter to East India Company
1603
Elizabeth I dies; James VI proclaimed King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, as James I
1605
"Gunpowder plot"; Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators fail in attempt to blow up Parliament
1607
Parliament rejects proposals for union between England and Scotland
Colony of Virginia is founded at Jamestown by John Smith;
Henry Hudson begins voyage to eastern Greenland and Hudson River (Hudson Bay discovered 1610)
1611
Publication of King James Bible; approximately 85% of the New Testament and the first half of the Old Testament are rendered as Tyndale translated them
English and Scottish Protestant colonists settle in Ulster
1620
Separatists (“Pilgrims”) land at Plymouth Rock on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the "Mayflower"; found New Plymouth
1643
Scots adopt the Solemn League and Covenant
1647
Westminster Assembly drafts Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms
1648
Scots invade England and are defeated by Cromwell at battle of Preston Pride's Purge
1664
England siezes New Amsterdam from the Dutch, change name to New York
1665
Great Plague in London
1666
Great Fire of London
1667
John Milton publishes Paradise Lost
1670
Secret Treaty of Dover between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France to restore Roman Catholicism to England
Hudson's Bay Company founded
1679
Act of Habeas Corpus passed, forbidding imprisonment without trial
1687
James II issues Declaration of Liberty of Conscience, extends toleration to all religions
1688
England's 'Glorious Revolution'; William III of Orange is invited to save England from Roman Catholicism, lands in England, James II flees to France
1689
Convention Parliament issues Bill of Rights; establishes a constitutional monarchy in Britain; bars Roman Catholics from the throne; William III and Mary II become joint monarchs of England and Scotland (to1694),
Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to dissenters in England
Category: The Reformation
Today Part 2 of Three on a Time Line of the Reformation. Part 3 Will be posted on Monday. So on Monday there will be 2 posts, the 2nd Week of our On-Line Bible Study and the conclusion of thsi time Line.
1535
King’s agent Henry Phillips arrives in Antwerp and “befriends” Tyndale, then arranges to have him arrested while Thomas Poyntz is out of town; Tyndale is cast into Vilvoorde prison near Brussels
Myles Coverdale, a close aide of Tyndale, translates the portions of the Old Testament not completed by Tyndale (relying heavily on Tyndale's early drafts) and publishes the "Coverdale Bible"; This is the first printing of the entire Bible in the English language
Thomas More and Cardinal Fisher beheaded for opposing Henry VIII
Anabaptist uprising at Münster put down, and Anabaptists executed
Charles V conquers Tunis and frees 20,000 Christian slaves; Emperor forms Catholic Defense League
France makes pact with Suleiman I
1536
Following a fifteen month imprisonment William Tyndale is strangled and burned at stake for heresy (6th October)
Luther agrees to Wittenberg Concord on the Lord’s Supper, in an attempt to resolve differences with other reformers, but the Zwinglians do not accept it
Denmark and Norway become Lutheran;
Erasmus dies
Menno Simons breaks with Rome; becomes Anabaptist leader in Netherlands
Calvin is persuaded by Farel to remain in Geneva; publishes the first edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion
Henry VIII dissolves 376 monasteries and nuneries
1537
John Rogers, a close aide of Wm. Tyndale, publishes the second complete English Bible. Because the major part of this Bible was the translation of Tyndale, whose writings had been condemned by the English authorities, it is published under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". The "Matthew's Bible" is a composite made up of Tyndale's Pentateuch and New Testament (1534-1535 edition) and Coverdale's Bible and a small amount of Roger's own translation.
1538
Landgrave Philip of Hesse arranges debate between Anabaptists and Bucer; results in Hessian Anabaptists returning to state church and state church deciding to excommunicate immoral Christians
Calvin and Farel are banished from Geneva. Calvin goes to Strasbourg as pastor to the French-speaking congregation.
Luther writes against the Jews in Against the Sabbatarians
1539
Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the bequest of the King Henry VIII commissions Myles Coverdale to publish a large pulpit Bible. It became the first English Bible authorized for public use, distributed to every church and chained to the pulpit. The Great Bible was approved by Henry VIII: “sent abroad among the people” to be read by all and “set forth with the king’s most gracious license”.
This Bible — mostly comprised of Tyndale’s translation — was known as the "Great Bible" due to its great size: a large pulpit folio measuring over 14 inches tall. Seven editions of this version were printed between April of 1539 and December of 1541. Printers and sellers of books were encouraged to provide for the “free and liberal use of the Bible in our own maternal English tongue”. By the decree of the king every church was to provide a reader so that the illiterate could hear the Word of God in their own tongue. It would seem that William Tyndale's last prayer had been granted three years after his martyrdom.
The Six Articles, against Lutheranism. Hugh Latimer, bishop of Winchester, resigns in protest. Henry VIII is still occasionally burning Lutherans and hanging Roman Catholics.
Henry VIII marries and divorces Anne of Cleves, executes the now-unpopular Thomas Cromwell, and marries Katherine Howard.
Cardinal Sadeleto writes letter to Geneva. Calvin is asked to respond on behalf of Geneva.
Frankfurt Truce declared between Catholic and Protestant territories
1539–40
Simons publishes the Foundation Book of Anabaptist faith
1540
Pope recognizes order of Jesuits; will make them the chief agents of Counter Reformation
Conferences at Hagenau and Worms fail to reconcile Protestants and Catholics
1541
John Calvin establishes theocracy in Geneva
John Knox establishes Calvinist Reformation in Scotland
Peter Riedeman writes Hutterite Confession of Faith
Henry VIII assumes titles of King of Ireland and Head of Irish Church
At Conference of Regensburg, Melanchthon and Bucer reach agreement with Catholics on most doctrines, but Luther and Rome reject their work
Calvin writes a treatise on free will against the Roman Catholic theologian Albert Pighius
1543
Luther writes On the Jews and Their Lies
Copernicus writes that earth revolves around sun
Alliance between Henry and Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) against Scotland and France
1544
Ferdinand I and Suleiman I agree to truce
Council of Trent, for reform of Catholic Church, opens
Cranmer instructed to write prayers and a litany (for the army) in English. He does this so well that he is asked to make a prayer book in English, based on the service at Salisbury Cathedral
1545
Henry VIII's last speech to Parliament; He says Papist, Lutheran, Anabaptist are names devised by the devil to sunder one man's heart from another
Luther writes Against the Papacy at Rome, an Institution of the Devil
Peace of Augsburg allows rulers to determine religion of their region
1546
Luther dies
1547
Henry VIII dies
1553
Edward VI dies; succeeded by Mary I (“Bloody Mary”)
Servetus, Spanish theologian and physician executed in Geneva as a heretic
1554
Mary I marries Philip (later Philip II of Spain); Catholicism restored in England; Elizabeth is imprisoned. During Mary’s reign, about 300 Protestants are burned, including 5 bishops, 100 priests, 60 women. John Rogers, Tyndale's close assistant (alias "Thomas Matthew"), is the first to burn. Protestants are forced into exile or hiding. An attempt by Cardinal Pole (Mary's archbishop of Canterbury) to restore monasticism fizzles when, among 1500 surviving monks, nuns, and friars, fewer than 100 are willing to return to celibacy.
In the 1550's the Church in Switzerland was very sympathetic to the reformer refugees and was one of only a few safe havens for a desperate people. Many of them gathered in Geneva, led by Myles Coverdale and John Foxe as well as Thomas Sampson and William Whittingham. Over 200 including 8 pastors and 2 bishops found refuge in John Knox’s congregation and there were many more English Protestants in exile elsewhere. There, with the protection of John Calvin, the Church of Geneva determined to produce a Bible that would educate their families while they continued in exile.
1555
Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley are burned at the stake as Cranmer watches; Later John Hooper and John Bradford are also burned
1556
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, is forced to recant but later repudiates; He is burned at the stake
1557
Publication of Geneva New Testament
1560
Publication of Geneva Bible (complete Old and New Testament); This is the first time a Bible is printed with verse divisions
1563
Thirty-Nine Articles drafted as a doctrinal statement by a convocation of the Church of England.
John Foxe's publishes Acts & Monuments ("Foxe’s Book of Martyrs"); to this day it remains the only exhaustive reference work on the persecution and martyrdom of Early Christians and Protestants from the first century up to the mid-16th century
Category: The Reformation
Part I of a Time Line of the Reformation. Since this is geared towards homeschoolers I thought it should be Educational so there are a lot of hyper links that give more detail. There's some interesting ones including a complete orginal copy of a work (actual photos of each page you can turn and read) and of course for those classically minded even a link to a Latin Document.
I will be posting part II tommorow, but for now enjoy.
1516–17
Erasmus publishes his edition of Greek-Latin New Testament, Novum Instrumentum; this translation powerfully demonstrated the corruption of the Latin Vulgate’s text; Erasmus promotes the translation of the Bible into vernacular tongues for reading by the plowboy and the “simplest woman”
Pope Julius II convenes the Lateran Council to undertake reforms in abuses of Church in Rome
Sir Thomas More writes Utopia
1517
Martin Luther posts 95 theses in protest against saleable indulgences
Erasmus publishes anti-war tract
Tetzel hired by Albert of Mainz to sell indulgences
1518
At meeting of Augustinians in Heidelberg, Luther defends his theology; later he appears before Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg, but refuses to recant; in December, Frederick the Wise protects Luther from being handed over to Rome.
1518–22
The Spanish carry out their conquest of Mexico
1519
Luther questions papal infallibility in a debate
Luther begins New Testament sermon series, signaling new era of Biblical preaching
Zwingli begins New Testament sermons; Swiss reformation is born
Cortes enters Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan
Charles V (of Spain) succeeds Maximilian as Holy Roman Emperor
1520
Papal bull “Exsurge Domine” gives Luther 60 days to recant or be excommunicated; writes 3 seminal documents: To the Christian Nobility, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and The Freedom of a Christian; burns papal bull and canon law
Suleiman I (the Magnificent) becomes sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Turks)
1521
Cambridge students form a study-group at the White Horse Tavern Little Bilney, William Tyndale, John Frith, and Thomas Cranmer are among them
Luther is Excommunicated by the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem; at Diet of Worms in April, he refuses to recant writings, and edict (in May) condemns him as heretic and outlaw; he is “kidnapped” and hidden at Wartburg Castle; begins translating the New Testament into German
Religious unrest in Wittenberg: private masses abolished, Karlstadt serves Communion in both elements, religious statues destroyed
Pope titles Henry VIII “Defender of the Faith” for attacking Luther’s views of the sacraments
Lutheran books appear in England
“Zwickau prophets,” early Anabaptists, arrive in Wittenberg
Pope Leo X dies, succeeded by Hadrian VI
The Turks capture Belgrade
Carlstadt celebrates first Protestant communion at Wittenburg
Diet of Worms; Luther refuses to recant; gets backing of German princes; begins German translation of Bible
1521–1523
William Tyndale begins teaching at Little Sodbury; disputes with local clergy and is arraigned on charges of heresy; translates Erasmus’s Enchiridion
1522
Anabaptist movement begins in Germany
Stump and Reublin challenge paying of tithes
Luther introduces German liturgy in Wittenburg
1523
Tyndale resides with Humphrey Monmouth in London
1524
Tyndale seeks patronage of Bishop Tunstall and is rebuffed; then, assisted by Monmouth, he travels to Germany and registers at the University of Wittenburg
1524
Luther debates Karlstadt on the Lord’s Supper
Erasmus publishes On Freedom of the Will
Peasant Wars breaks out in southern Germany
Diet of Nuremberg fails to enforce Edict of Worms condemning Luther
1525
In Cologne, Tyndale prepares to print an English New Testament; but he is discovered and escapes with only a few printed portions
Anabaptist movement begins in Zürich, spreads to Germany; First Zürich disputation with those opposed to infant baptism; First believer’s baptism in Zürich; Denck banished from Nuremberg for views on Lord’s Supper; First Anabaptist congregation of 35 converts established in Zollikon; First imprisonment of Anabaptists occurs in Zürich; they escape
Luther marries Katherine von Bora; writes Bondage of the Will (against Erasmus).
Charles V defeats Francis I; Elector Frederick the Wise dies;
France makes pact with Suleiman I
1526
Tyndale completes the printing of New Testament (in Worms); (It is the first printing of the New Testament in English and the first English translation of the scriptures from the Biblical Greek); smuggled copies of his New Testaments are soon being circulated throughout England
Cardinal Wolsey presides at a massive burning of “Lutheran” books
Reformation spreads to Sweden and Denmark
League of Torgau formed; First Diet of Speyer postpones enforcement of Edict of Worms
Erasmus publishes the works of St. Augustine
1527
Bishop Tunstall orders the purchase and burning of all the testaments; but this serves only to finance Tyndale’s second edition of the New Testament
The German and Spanish Imperial troops of Charles V sack Rome
Basel orders corporeal punishment and confiscation of property for adult baptism and sheltering Anabaptists
Luther pens “A Mighty Fortress”; writes against Zwingli’s views on the Lord’s Supper
First Protestant university (Marburg) founded
Plague strikes Wittenberg
1527–1530
English agents seek to capture Tyndale on the Continent; he keeps moving and continues to translate and write
1528
Reformation established in Bern
Swabian League authorizes military division of 400 horsemen to scout for Anabaptists
Thomas Bilney, respected Cambridge preacher and “Lutheran sympathizer,” is dragged from his pulpit and imprisoned
Simon Fish, a London attorney and amateur actor who has fled to Antwerp after spoofing the clergy, writes "A Supplication for Beggars", which urges an end to taxes for Rome. (Henry VIII really likes this book.)
1529
Tyndale publishes Obedience of a Christian Man; Sir Thomas More begins writing against Tyndale and Luther (Dialogue)
Henry VIII dismisses Lord Chancellor Thomas Wolsey for failing to obtain the Pope's consent to his divorce from Catherine of Aragon; Sir Thomas More appointed Lord Chancellor; Henry VIII summons the “Reformation Parliament" and begins to cut the ties with the Church of Rome
Reformation becomes official in Basel
Diet of Speyer—Luther’s followers name Protestants (first use of the term)
Luther and Zwingli attend Marburg Colloquy, but no agreement reached on the Lord’s Supper
Tyrolean Anabaptists flea homeland for Moravia
Diet of Speyer restores death penalty for rebaptizing
Turks lay siege to Vienna
1530
Tyndale’s translation of the the first five books of the Old Testament appears in England (printed in Worms); he also publishes Practice of Prelates
Hoffman baptizes 300 Anabaptists in Emden and sends lay preachers to Netherlands
Luther, as outlaw, cannot attend the Diet of Augsburg, held in attempt to end religious division in the empire; Melanchthon presents Augsburg Confession, a statement of Lutheran beliefs
Protestants form Schmalkaldic League against Emperor Charles V
1531
Tyndale meets Henry VIII’s agent Steven Vaughan, but declines the king’s invitation to return to England; Tyndale’s translation of the Book of Jonah and his Exposition of the first Epistle of St. John are printed; Tyndale responds to Thomas More’s Dialogue, with An Answer
Thomas Bilney is burned at stake
Bullinger succeeds Zwingli and publishes first book against Anabaptists
Zwingli angles for French support for the Reformation by allowing Swiss mercenaries to be hired
Dressed in battle armor, Zwingli joins the forces on October 11 and is killed in battle
1532
Thomas More responds to Tyndale’s An Answer with his Confutation; Tyndale, choosing to spend his energies in more essential endeavors, breaks off debate with More
English clergy submit to Henry VIII
Calvin starts Protestant movement in France; publishes his first work—a commentary on Seneca’s De Clementia.
Diet of Regensburg and Peace of Nuremberg guarantee religious toleration in face of Turkish threat
1533
Tyndale’s translation of Erasmus’s Enchiridion and his revision of chapters five, six, and seven of Matthew’s Gospel are printed; his beloved friend, John Frith, is burned at the stake in Smithfield;
Thomas Cranmer appointed Archbishop of Canterbury; (This effectly ends clerical celibacy among Anglicans, as Cranmer is twice-married)
The Act in Restraint of Appeals prohibits appeals to the bishop of Rome.
Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine is declared void; Anne Boleyn crowned Queen
Calvin and Nicolas Cop flee Paris. At about this time Calvin undergoes a “sudden conversion.”
Hutter joins Moravian group who become known as Hutterites
Pizarro conquers Peru
Ivan “the Terrible” (age 3) ascends Russian throne
1534
Tyndale’s revised New Testament is printed; he moves into Thomas Poyntz’s English merchants’ boarding house in Antwerp (English House)
Pope Paul III, the father of three illegitimate children, comes to power
Luther completes translation of Bible into German
Act of Supremacy Henry VIII establishes himself as Supreme Head of Church and Clergy of England
Ignatius Loyola founds Society of Jesus to spread Counter Reformation
Strassburg decrees that Anabaptists must leave the city
Category: The Reformation
As we approach Reformation Day Oct 31st where we celebrate a great act of Liberation within the Christian church I thought it would be good to take a look at Martin Luther's 95 Theses that started the rebirth and Reformation of the Christian Church. Over the next week I will be posting more about the Reformation and it's importance and need for continuing but I thought it would be best as with all things to start at teh beginning.
Martin Luther's 95 Theses
Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.
In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.
2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.
3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.
4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.
6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.
7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.
8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.
9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.
10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.
11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.
12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.
14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.
15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.
16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.
17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.
18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.
19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.
20. Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself.
21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;
22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.
23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.
24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.
25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.
26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.
27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].
28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.
29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.
30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.
31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.
32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.
33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;
34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.
35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.
36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.
37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.
38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.
39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.
40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].
41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.
42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.
43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;
44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.
45. 45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.
46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.
47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.
48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.
49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.
50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.
51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.
52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.
53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.
54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.
55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.
57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.
58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.
59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.
60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;
61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.
62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.
66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.
67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.
68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.
69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.
70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.
71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!
72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!
73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.
74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.
75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.
76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.
77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.
78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.
79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.
80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.
81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.
82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."
83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"
85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"
86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"
87. Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"
88. Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"
89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"
90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.
91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!
93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!
94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.
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Category: The Reformation
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Category: The Reformation
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