114-657: The Kiribati Protestant Church ( KPC ) and earlier, the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church , is a Protestant Christian denomination in Kiribati . With approximately 10,000 members, and 136 congregations, the KPC was the second-largest religious group in Kiribati before creation of the new Kiribati Uniting Church and accounts now for approximately 8 percent of the population of the country. Because of their remoteness and
228-597: A consistory , where pastors and the elders established matters of religious discipline for the Genevan population. Calvin's theology is best known for his doctrine of (double) predestination , which held that God had, from all eternity, providentially foreordained who would be saved ( the elect ) and likewise who would be damned ( the reprobate ). Predestination was not the dominant idea in Calvin's works, but it would seemingly become so for many of his Reformed successors. Following
342-650: A Christian to come to God through Christ without human mediation. He also maintained that this principle recognizes Christ as prophet , priest, and king and that his priesthood is shared with his people. Protestants who adhere to the Nicene Creed believe in three persons ( God the Father , God the Son , and the God the Holy Spirit ) as one God. Movements that emerged around the time of
456-579: A broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church which subscribed to the main Protestant principles. A Protestant is an adherent of any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them. During the Reformation, the term protestant was hardly used outside of German politics. People who were involved in the religious movement used
570-625: A heresy that they perceived in the Catholic Church of their day. In the course of this religious upheaval, the German Peasants' War of 1524–1525 swept through the Bavarian , Thuringian and Swabian principalities, leaving scores of Catholics slaughtered at the hands of Protestant bands, including the Black Company of Florian Geier , a knight from Giebelstadt who joined the peasants in
684-582: A less critical reading of the Bible developed in the United States—leading to a " fundamentalist " reading of Scripture. Christian fundamentalists read the Bible as the "inerrant, infallible " Word of God, as do the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches, but interpret it in a literalist fashion without using the historical-critical method . Methodists and Anglicans differ from Lutherans and
798-652: A model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism. Luther's insights are generally held to have been a major foundation of the Protestant movement . The relationship between Lutheranism and the Protestant tradition is, however, ambiguous: some Lutherans consider Lutheranism to be outside the Protestant tradition, while some see it as part of this tradition. Luther's writings circulated widely, reaching France, England, and Italy as early as 1519, and students thronged to Wittenberg to hear him speak. He published
912-467: A priest with possessions, such as a pope, was in such grave sin), may have translated the Bible into vernacular English , and preached anticlerical and biblically centred reforms. His rejection of a real divine presence in the elements of the Eucharist foreshadowed Huldrych Zwingli's similar ideas in the 16th century. Wycliffe's admirers came to be known as " Lollards ". Beginning in the first decade of
1026-485: A reopening of the debate on the sale of indulgences . Luther's dissent marked a sudden outbreak of a new and irresistible force of discontent which had been pushed underground but not resolved. The quick spread of discontent occurred to a large degree because of the printing press and the resulting swift movement of both ideas and documents, including the 95 Theses . Information was also widely disseminated in manuscript form, as well as by cheap prints and woodcuts among
1140-752: A revolt erupted. Hussites defeated five continuous crusades proclaimed against them by the Pope . Later theological disputes caused a split within the Hussite movement. Utraquists maintained that both the bread and the wine should be administered to the people during the Eucharist. Another major faction were the Taborites , who opposed the Utraquists in the Battle of Lipany during the Hussite Wars . There were two separate parties among
1254-582: A short commentary on Galatians and his Work on the Psalms . At the same time, he received deputations from Italy and from the Utraquists of Bohemia; Ulrich von Hutten and Franz von Sickingen offered to place Luther under their protection. This early portion of Luther's career was one of his most creative and productive. Three of his best known works were published in 1520: To the Christian Nobility of
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#17328528326971368-557: A student of law to discipline the city of Geneva . His Ordinances of 1541 involved a collaboration of Church affairs with the city council and consistory to bring morality to all areas of life. After the establishment of the Geneva academy in 1559, Geneva became the unofficial capital of the Protestant movement, providing refuge for Protestant exiles from all over Europe and educating them as Calvinist missionaries. The faith continued to spread after Calvin's death in 1563. Christianity in
1482-528: A term roughly equivalent to Calvinism . The Reformed tradition was originally advanced by stalwarts such as Martin Bucer , Heinrich Bullinger and Peter Martyr Vermigli , and also influenced English reformers such as Thomas Cranmer and John Jewel . However, because of Calvin's great influence and role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates throughout the 17th century, this Reformed movement generally became known as Calvinism. Today, this term also refers to
1596-549: A thoroughly Catholic king, and in 1521 he defended the papacy against Luther in a book he commissioned entitled, The Defence of the Seven Sacraments , for which Pope Leo X awarded him the title Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith). However, the king came into conflict with the papacy when he wished to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon , for which he needed papal sanction. Catherine, among many other noble relations,
1710-418: A union of several Protestant denominations in Kiribati, including Congregationalists, Evangelicals , Anglicans , and Presbyterians , but this move provoked an immediate scission and the following recreation of the original KPC. The current head of KPC is Baranite Kirata (PI). Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone ,
1824-460: A violation of the first commandment , and the denial of the real presence in the Eucharist . Soon the city council had accepted Zwingli's doctrines, and Zürich became a focal point of more radical reforming movements. Followers of Zwingli pushed his message and reforms far further than even he had intended, such as rejecting infant baptism. This split between Luther and Zwingli formed the essence of
1938-446: A volume entitled The Book of Concord . Large numbers of Europeans were excommunicated under the 1521 Edict of Worms and subsequent attempts to reiterate it, including the majority of German speakers (the only German speaking areas where the population remained mostly in the Catholic Church were those under the domain or influence of Catholic Austria and Bavaria or the electoral archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier). Calvinism
2052-620: A whole. The English word traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States . Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran , preferring the term evangelical , which was derived from euangelion , a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. " gospel ". The followers of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other theologians linked to
2166-456: A worldwide scope and distribution of church membership , while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of Protestant denominational families; Adventists , Anabaptists , Anglicans/Episcopalians , Baptists , Calvinist/Reformed , Lutherans , Methodists , Moravians , Plymouth Brethren , Presbyterians , and Quakers . Nondenominational , charismatic and independent churches are also on
2280-413: Is Jovinian , who lived in the fourth century AD. He attacked monasticism , ascetism and believed that a saved believer can never be overcome by Satan. In the 9th century, the theologian Gottschalk of Orbais was condemned for heresy by the Catholic Church. Gottschalk believed that the salvation of Jesus was limited and that his redemption was only for the elect. The theology of Gottschalk anticipated
2394-635: Is "made right" (righteous) in the eyes of God. In Catholic theology, one is made righteous by a progressive infusion of grace accepted through faith and cooperated with through good works. Luther's doctrine of justification differed from Catholic theology in that justification rather meant "the declaring of one to be righteous", where God imputes the merits of Christ upon one who remains without inherent merit. In this process, good works are more of an unessential byproduct that contribute nothing to one's own state of righteousness. Conflict between Luther and leading theologians led to his gradual rejection of authority of
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#17328528326972508-452: Is a system of Christian theology and an approach to Christian life and thought within the Protestant tradition articulated by John Calvin and subsequently by successors, associates, followers and admirers of Calvin and his interpretation of Scripture , and perspective on Christian life and theology. Calvin's system of theology and Christian life forms the basis of the Reformed tradition ,
2622-429: Is most accurately used to define those who affirm the original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius, but the term can also be understood as an umbrella for a larger grouping of ideas including those of Simon Episcopius , Hugo Grotius , John Wesley , and others. There are two primary perspectives on how the system is applied in detail: Classical Arminianism, which sees Arminius as its figurehead, and Wesleyan Arminianism, which (as
2736-447: Is the guiding principle of the work of Luther and the later reformers. Because sola scriptura placed the Bible as the only source of teaching, sola fide epitomizes the main thrust of the teaching the reformers wanted to get back to, namely the direct, close, personal connection between Christ and the believer, hence the reformers' contention that their work was Christocentric. The other solas, as statements, emerged later, but
2850-505: Is the so-called " Elizabethan Religious Settlement " to which the origins of Anglicanism are traditionally ascribed. The political separation of the Church of England from Rome, beginning in 1529 and completed in 1536, brought England alongside this broad Reformed movement. However, religious changes in the English national church proceeded more conservatively than elsewhere in Europe. Reformers in
2964-462: Is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone: just as it is the heat alone of the sun which warms the earth, and yet in the sun it is not alone." Lutheran and Reformed Christians differ from Methodists in their understanding of this doctrine. The universal priesthood of believers implies the right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the Bible in
3078-657: The Institutes of the Christian Religion , in 1536 (later revised) and establishing himself as a leader of the Reformed church in Geneva , which became an "unofficial capital" of Reformed Christianity in the second half of the 16th century. He exerted a remarkable amount of authority in the city and over the city council, such that he has (rather ignominiously) been called a "Protestant pope." Calvin established an eldership together with
3192-537: The Anabaptists . These reformers are distinguished from previous ones in that they considered the root of corruptions to be doctrinal (rather than simply a matter of moral weakness or lack of ecclesiastical discipline), and thus they aimed to change contemporary doctrines to accord with what they perceived to be the "true gospel." The word Protestant is derived from the Latin protestatio meaning declaration which refers to
3306-676: The Catholic Church . On 31 October 1517, known as All Hallows' Eve , Martin Luther allegedly nailed his Ninety-five Theses , also known as the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences, on the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg , Germany, detailing doctrinal and practical abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the selling of indulgences . The theses debated and criticized many aspects of
3420-534: The Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church under King Henry VIII began Anglicanism , bringing England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement, under the leadership of reformer Thomas Cranmer , whose work forged Anglican doctrine and identity. Protestantism is diverse, being divided into various denominations on the basis of theology and ecclesiology , not forming a single structure as with
3534-713: The Far East . Under the Padroado treaty with the Holy See , by which the Vatican delegated to the kings the administration of the local churches, the Portuguese sent missions into Africa , Brazil and Asia. While some of these missions were associated with imperialism and oppression, others (notably Matteo Ricci 's Jesuit China missions ) were relatively peaceful and focused on integration rather than cultural imperialism . The expansion of
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3648-581: The Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities , who issued a protest (or dissent) against the edict of the Diet of Speyer (1529) , were the first individuals to be called Protestants. The edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier . The term protestant , though initially purely political in nature, later acquired
3762-558: The Holy Roman Empire and strong personalities on both sides. In 1526, at the First Diet of Speyer , it was decided that until a General Council could meet and settle the theological issues raised by Martin Luther, the Edict of Worms would not be enforced, and each prince could decide if Lutheran teachings and worship would be allowed in his territories. In 1529, at the Second Diet of Speyer ,
3876-537: The Holy Spirit and personal closeness to God. The belief that believers are justified , or pardoned for sin, solely on condition of faith in Christ rather than a combination of faith and good works . For Protestants, good works are a necessary consequence rather than cause of justification. However, while justification is by faith alone, there is the position that faith is not nuda fides . John Calvin explained that "it
3990-511: The Protestant Reformation and summarize the reformers' basic differences in theological beliefs in opposition to the teaching of the Catholic Church of the day. The Latin word sola means "alone", "only", or "single". The use of the phrases as summaries of teaching emerged over time during the Reformation, based on the overarching Lutheran and Reformed principle of sola scriptura (by scripture alone). This idea contains
4104-409: The Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed . The word also pertains in the same way to some other mainline groups, for example Evangelical Methodist . As time passed by, the word evangelical was dropped. Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in
4218-726: The Schmalkaldic League in 1531, which led to the Schmalkald War in 1547 that pitted the Lutheran princes of the Schmalkaldic League against the Catholic forces of Charles V. After the conclusion of the Schmalkald War, Charles V attempted to impose Catholic religious doctrine on the territories that he had defeated. However, the Lutheran movement was far from defeated. In 1577, the next generation of Lutheran theologians gathered
4332-889: The Unitas Fratrum —"Unity of the Brethren"—which was renewed under the leadership of Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf in Herrnhut , Saxony , in 1722 after its almost total destruction in the Thirty Years' War and the Counterreformation ("Catholic Reformation") . Today, it is usually referred to in English as the Moravian Church and in German as the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine . In the 15th century, three German theologians anticipated
4446-484: The letter of protestation by Lutheran princes against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which reaffirmed the edict of the Diet of Worms against the Reformation. Since that time, the term has been used in many different senses, but most often as a general term refers to Western Christianity that is not subject to papal authority. The term "Protestant" was not originally used by Reformation era leaders; instead, they called themselves "evangelical", emphasising
4560-651: The letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical . In the 16th century , Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark–Norway , Sweden , Finland , Livonia , and Iceland . Calvinist churches spread in Germany, Hungary , the Netherlands , Scotland , Switzerland , France , Poland , and Lithuania by Protestant Reformers such as John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli and John Knox . The political separation of
4674-410: The vernacular , but also to take part in the government and all the public affairs of the Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system which puts the essence and authority of the Church in an exclusive priesthood, and which makes ordained priests the necessary mediators between God and the people. It is distinguished from the concept of the priesthood of all believers, which did not grant individuals
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4788-469: The "return to the true gospel (Greek: euangelion )." The beginning of the Protestant Reformation is generally identified with Martin Luther and the posting of the 95 Theses on the castle church in Wittenberg , Germany in 1517. Early protest was against corruptions such as simony , episcopal vacancies, and the sale of indulgences . The three most important traditions to emerge directly from
4902-502: The 15th century, Jan Hus —a Catholic priest, Czech reformist and professor—influenced by John Wycliffe's writings, founded the Hussite movement. He strongly advocated his reformist Bohemian religious denomination. He was excommunicated and burned at the stake in Constance , Bishopric of Constance , in 1415 by secular authorities for unrepentant and persistent heresy. After his execution,
5016-674: The 16th century In 16th-century Christianity , Protestantism came to the forefront and marked a significant change in the Christian world. During the age of discovery, the Catholic Church established a number of missions in the Americas and other colonies in order to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples . At the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits , Augustinians , Franciscans and Dominicans were moving into Asia and
5130-578: The 16th century. Lutheranism would become known as a separate movement after the 1530 Diet of Augsburg , which was convened by Charles V to try to stop the growing Protestant movement. At the Diet, Philipp Melanchthon presented a written summary of Lutheran beliefs called the Augsburg Confession . Several of the German princes (and later, kings and princes of other countries) signed the document to define "Lutheran" territories. These princes allied to create
5244-520: The Bible as the highest source of authority for the church. The early churches of the Reformation believed in a critical, yet serious, reading of scripture and holding the Bible as a source of authority higher than that of church tradition . The many abuses that had occurred in the Western Church before the Protestant Reformation led the Reformers to reject much of its tradition. In the early 20th century,
5358-714: The Catholic Portuguese Empire and Spanish Empire with a significant role played by the Catholic Church led to the Christianization of the indigenous populations of the Americas such as the Aztecs and Incas . Later waves of colonial expansion such as the Scramble for Africa or the struggle for India by the Netherlands , England , France , Germany and Russia led to Christianization of other native populations across
5472-535: The Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy . Protestants adhere to the concept of an invisible church , in contrast to the Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East , and the Ancient Church of the East , which all understand themselves as the one and only original church—the " one true church "—founded by Jesus Christ (though certain Protestant denominations, including historic Lutheranism, hold to this position). Some denominations do have
5586-489: The Catholic Church. By 1215, the Waldensians were declared heretical and subject to persecution. Despite that, the movement continues to exist to this day in Italy, as a part of the wider Reformed tradition . In the 1370s, Oxford theologian and priest John Wycliffe —later dubbed the "Morning Star of Reformation"—started his activity as an English reformer. He rejected papal authority over secular power (in that any person in mortal sin lost their authority and should be resisted:
5700-419: The Church and the papacy, including the practice of purgatory , particular judgment , and the authority of the pope. Luther would later write works against the Catholic devotion to Virgin Mary , the intercession of and devotion to the saints, mandatory clerical celibacy, monasticism, the authority of the pope, the ecclesiastical law, censure and excommunication , the role of secular rulers in religious matters,
5814-409: The Church hierarchy. In 1520, he was condemned for heresy by the papal bull Exsurge Domine , which he burned at Wittenberg along with books of canon law . Luther's refusal to retract his writings in confrontation with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by Pope Leo X and declaration as an outlaw . His translation of the Bible into
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#17328528326975928-441: The Church of England alternated for centuries between sympathies for Catholic traditions and Protestantism, progressively forging a stable compromise between adherence to ancient tradition and Protestantism, which is now sometimes called the via media . During the Reformation the teachings of Martin Luther led to the end of the monasteries, but a few Protestants followed monastic lives. Loccum Abbey and Amelungsborn Abbey have
6042-409: The German Nation , On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church , and On the Freedom of a Christian . Finally on 30 May 1519, when the pope demanded an explanation, Luther wrote a summary and explanation of his theses to the pope. While the pope may have conceded some of the points, he did not like the challenge to his authority so he summoned Luther to Rome to answer these. At that point Frederick
6156-424: The Hussites: moderate and radical movements. Other smaller regional Hussite branches in Bohemia included Adamites , Orebites , Orphans , and Praguers. The Hussite Wars concluded with the victory of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund , his Catholic allies and moderate Hussites and the defeat of the radical Hussites. Tensions arose as the Thirty Years' War reached Bohemia in 1620. Both moderate and radical Hussitism
6270-452: The Protestant Reformation were the Lutheran , Reformed ( Calvinist , Presbyterian , etc.), and Anglican traditions, though the latter group identifies as both "Reformed" and "Catholic", and some subgroups reject the classification as "Protestant." The Protestant Reformation may be divided into two distinct but basically simultaneous movements, the Magisterial Reformation and the Radical Reformation . The Magisterial Reformation involved
6384-455: The Protestant Reformation, but are not a part of Protestantism (e.g. Unitarianism ), reject the Trinity . This often serves as a reason for exclusion of the Unitarian Universalism , Oneness Pentecostalism , and other movements from Protestantism by various observers. Unitarianism continues to have a presence mainly in Transylvania , England, and the United States. The Five solae are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged during
6498-415: The Protestant converts were served mainly by pastors from Hawaii , Samoa and Tuvalu until the early 20th century, after which Ellicean and Gilbertese , trained at Rongorongo , on Beru , took on this role. In 1968, the first general assembly of the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church (GIPC) met to organise an autonomous church. In 1979, when the Gilbert Islands were renamed Kiribati after independence,
6612-443: The Protestant division between Lutheran and Reformed theology. Meanwhile, political tensions increased; Zwingli and the Zürich leadership imposed an economic blockade on the inner Catholic states of Switzerland, which led to a battle in which Zwingli, in full armor, was slain along with his troops. John Calvin was a French cleric and doctor of law. He belonged to the second generation of the Reformation, publishing his theological tome,
6726-418: The Protestant reformation. Ratramnus also defended the theology of Gottschalk and denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; his writings also influenced the later Protestant reformation. Claudius of Turin in the 9th century also held Protestant ideas, such as faith alone and rejection of the supremacy of Peter. In the late 1130s, Arnold of Brescia , an Italian canon regular became one of
6840-593: The Protestants, or forming outside of the churches. After this first stage of the Reformation, following the excommunication of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various groups in Switzerland, Scotland , Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. As Luther began developing his own theology, he increasingly came into conflict with Thomistic scholars, most notably Cardinal Cajetan . Soon, Luther had begun to develop his theology of justification , or process by which one
6954-407: The Reformation and put heavy stress of holiness and piety, Starting in 1475, an Italian Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola was calling for a Christian renewal. Later on, Martin Luther himself read some of the friar's writings and praised him as a martyr and forerunner whose ideas on faith and grace anticipated Luther's own doctrine of justification by faith alone. Some of Hus' followers founded
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#17328528326977068-595: The Reformed on this doctrine as they teach prima scriptura , which holds that Scripture is the primary source for Christian doctrine, but that "tradition, experience, and reason" can nurture the Christian religion as long as they are in harmony with the Bible ( Protestant canon ). "Biblical Christianity" focused on a deep study of the Bible is characteristic of most Protestants as opposed to "Church Christianity", focused on performing rituals and good works, represented by Catholic and Orthodox traditions. However, Quakers , Pentecostalists and Spiritual Christians emphasize
7182-419: The Wise , the Saxon Elector, intervened. He did not want one of his subjects to be sent to Rome to be judged by the Catholic clergy so he prevailed on Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor to arrange a compromise. An arrangement was effected, however, whereby that summons was cancelled, and Luther went to Augsburg in October 1518 to meet the papal legate, Cardinal Thomas Cajetan . The argument was long, but nothing
7296-440: The alliance of certain theological teachers (Latin: magistri ) such as Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Cranmer, with secular magistrates who cooperated in the reformation of Christendom. Radical Reformers, besides forming communities outside state sanction, often employed more extreme doctrinal change, such as the rejection of tenets of the Councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon . Often the division between magisterial and radical reformers
7410-404: The body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. They disagreed with one another concerning the presence of Christ and his body and blood in Holy Communion. Protestants reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy , and have variant views on the number of sacraments , the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist , and matters of ecclesiastical polity and apostolic succession . Many of
7524-549: The church as a body works), they had a different understanding of the process in which truths in scripture were applied to life of believers, compared to the Catholics' idea that certain people within the church, or ideas that were old enough, had a special status in giving understanding of the text. The second main principle, sola fide (by faith alone), states that faith in Christ is sufficient alone for eternal salvation and justification. Though argued from scripture, and hence logically consequent to sola scriptura , this
7638-405: The church changed its name to the Kiribati Protestant Church. The church was originally established as a Congregationalist denomination. In 2014, after a Church Bi-annual Assembly ( Maungatabu ), which was held on the island of Arorae , the initial Kiribati Protestant Church changed its name to Kiribati Uniting Church . The word " uniting " should reflect that the church would like to become now
7752-403: The civil law, and the "pure Word of God" was to be preached in the churches and taught in the schools—effectively granting official sanction to Lutheran ideas. Under the reign of Frederick I (1523–1533), Denmark remained officially Catholic. But though Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he soon adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, of whom
7866-427: The closing of the chantries . Under Edward VI the reform of the Church of England was established unequivocally in doctrinal terms. Yet, at a popular level, religion in England was still in a state of flux. Following a brief Catholic restoration during the reign of Mary 1553–1558, a loose consensus developed during the reign of Elizabeth I , though this point is one of considerable debate among historians. Yet it
7980-461: The continent or to abandon their vocations. For around 300 years, there were no monastic communities within any of the Anglican churches. All of Scandinavia ultimately adopted Lutheranism over the course of the 16th century, as the monarchs of Denmark (who also ruled Norway and Iceland ) and Sweden (who also ruled Finland ) converted to that faith. In Sweden the Reformation was spearheaded by Gustav Vasa , elected king in 1523. Friction with
8094-418: The decision the previous Diet of Speyer was reversed—despite the strong protests of the Lutheran princes, free cities and some Zwinglian territories. These states quickly became known as Protestants. At first, this term Protestant was used politically for the states that resisted the Edict of Worms. Over time, however, this term came to be used for the religious movements that opposed the Catholic tradition in
8208-464: The doctrine of justification, the Reformation promoted a higher view of the Bible . As Martin Luther said, "The true rule is this: God's Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so." These two ideas in turn promoted the concept of the priesthood of all believers . Other important reformers were John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , Philipp Melanchthon , Martin Bucer and
8322-423: The doctrines and practices of the Reformed churches , of which Calvin was an early leader, and the system is perhaps best known for its doctrines of predestination and election . The Reformation foundations engaged with Augustinianism . Both Luther and Calvin thought along lines linked with the theological teachings of Augustine of Hippo . The Augustinianism of the Reformers struggled against Pelagianism ,
8436-569: The emergence of new religious orders aimed at both moral reform and new missionary activity. The Counter-Reformation reconverted approximately 33% of Northern Europe to Catholicism and initiated missions in South and Central America , Africa, Asia, and even China and Japan . Protestant expansion outside of Europe occurred on a smaller scale through colonization of North America and areas of Africa . The protests against Rome began in earnest in 1517 when Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar, called for
8550-575: The excommunication of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the Pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various groups in Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. After the expulsion of its Bishop in 1526, and the unsuccessful attempts of the Bern reformer William Farel , Calvin was asked to use the organizational skill he had gathered as
8664-451: The excommunication of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the pope, the work and writings of Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various groups in Switzerland, Scotland , Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. Geneva became the unofficial capital of the Protestant movement, led by the Frenchman, Jean Calvin , until his death when Calvin's ally, Zwingli, assumed
8778-620: The few European presence, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were ignored by Christian missions until the latter half of the 19th century. Protestant missionaries (e.g., Hiram Bingham ) sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions first arrived in the current Kiribati in 1857, and missionaries from the London Missionary Society arrived in 1870. The missions relied heavily upon Pacific islanders as teachers and pastors:
8892-595: The first theologians to attempt to reform the Catholic Church. After his death, his teachings on apostolic poverty gained currency among Arnoldists , and later more widely among Waldensians and the Spiritual Franciscans , though no written word of his has survived the official condemnation. In the early 1170s, Peter Waldo founded the Waldensians. He advocated an interpretation of the Gospel that led to conflicts with
9006-482: The four main doctrines on the Bible: that its teaching is needed for salvation (necessity); that all the doctrine necessary for salvation comes from the Bible alone (sufficiency); that everything taught in the Bible is correct (inerrancy); and that, by the Holy Spirit overcoming sin, believers may read and understand truth from the Bible itself, though understanding is difficult, so the means used to guide individual believers to
9120-408: The general outrage against the Catholic hierarchy. Ulrich Zwingli was a Swiss scholar and parish priest who was likewise influential in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Zwingli claimed that his theology owed nothing to Luther and that he had developed it in 1516, before Luther's famous protest, though his doctrine of justification was remarkably similar to that of Luther. In 1518, Zwingli
9234-611: The globe, eclipsing that of the Roman period and making it a truly global religion. The Renaissance yielded scholars the ability to read the scriptures in their original languages, and this in part stimulated the Protestant Reformation . Martin Luther , a Doctor in Bible at the University of Wittenberg , began to teach that salvation is a gift of God's grace , attainable only through faith in Jesus , who in humility paid for sin. Along with
9348-426: The goal of reforming the Catholic Church from perceived errors, abuses, and discrepancies . The Reformation began in the Holy Roman Empire in 1517, when Martin Luther published his Ninety-five Theses as a reaction against abuses in the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church, which purported to offer the remission of the temporal punishment of sins to their purchasers. The term, however, derives from
9462-414: The individual ideas that were taken up by various reformers had historical pre-cursors; however, calling them proto-reformers is controversial, as often their theology also had components that are not associated with later Protestants, or that were asserted by some Protestants but denied by others, or that were only superficially similar. One of the earliest persons to be praised as a Protestant forerunner
9576-486: The interweaving of two main strands of Christian doctrine during the English Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. The first strand is the Catholic doctrine taught by the established church in England in the early 16th century. The second strand is a range of Protestant Reformed teachings brought to England from neighbouring countries in the same period, notably Calvinism and Lutheranism. The Church of England
9690-656: The language of the people made the Scriptures more accessible, causing a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language , added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the King James Bible . His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set
9804-514: The longest traditions as Lutheran monasteries. Since the 19th century there have been a renewal in the monastic life among Protestants. Monastic life in England came to an abrupt end with Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of King Henry VIII . The property and lands of the monasteries were confiscated and either retained by the king or given to loyal protestant nobility . Monks , friars and nuns were forced to either flee for
9918-548: The middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists . The German word reformatorisch , which roughly translates to English as "reformational" or "reforming", is used as an alternative for evangelisch in German, and is different from English reformed ( German : reformiert ), which refers to churches shaped by ideas of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other Reformed theologians. Derived from
10032-498: The most famous was Hans Tausen . During his reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads among the Danish population. Frederick's son, Christian, was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death. However, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and began a reformation of the official state church . The Scottish Reformation culminated ecclesiastically in
10146-512: The name suggests) sees John Wesley as its figurehead. Wesleyan Arminianism is sometimes synonymous with Methodism. Within the broad scope of church history , Arminianism is closely related to Calvinism, and the two systems share both history and many doctrines. Nonetheless, they are often viewed as archrivals within Evangelicalism because of their disagreement over the doctrines of predestination and salvation . Anglican doctrine emerged from
10260-619: The nature of Jesus as fully human and fully God, the Resurrection of Jesus , Original Sin , and Excommunication (as affirmed by the Thirty-Nine Articles ), but also retained some Catholic teachings which were rejected by true Protestants, such as the three orders of ministry and the apostolic succession of bishops. Unlike other reform movements, the English Reformation began by royal influence. Henry VIII considered himself
10374-597: The poorer sections of society. Parallel to events in Germany was a movement began in Switzerland under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli . These two movements quickly agreed on most issues, but some unresolved differences kept them separate. Some followers of Zwingli believed that the Reformation was too conservative and moved independently toward more radical positions, some of which survive among modern day Anabaptists. Other Protestant movements grew up along lines of mysticism or humanism , sometimes breaking from Rome or from
10488-462: The pope over interference in Swedish ecclesiastical affairs led to the discontinuance of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy from 1523. Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås, the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church property, church appointments required royal approval, the clergy were subject to
10602-522: The re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in the triumph of English influence over that of France. John Knox is regarded as the leader of the Scottish Reformation The Reformation Parliament of 1560, which repudiated the pope's authority, forbade the celebration of the mass and approved a Protestant Confession of Faith . This was made possible by a revolution against French hegemony under
10716-685: The reformation: Wessel Gansfort , Johann Ruchat von Wesel , and Johannes von Goch . They held ideas such as predestination , sola scriptura , and the church invisible , and denied the Roman Catholic view on justification and the authority of the Pope, also questioning monasticism . Wessel Gansfort also denied transubstantiation and anticipated the Lutheran view of justification by faith alone. Electors of Saxony Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration The Protestant Reformation began as an attempt to reform
10830-491: The regime of the regent Mary of Guise , who had governed Scotland in the name of her absent daughter Mary, Queen of Scots (then also Queen of France). The Scottish Reformation decisively shaped the Church of Scotland and, through it, all other Presbyterian churches worldwide. A spiritual revival also broke out among Catholics soon after Martin Luther's actions, and led to the Scottish Covenanters' movement ,
10944-452: The relationship between Christianity and the law, good works, and the sacraments. The Reformation was a triumph of literacy and the new printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg . Luther's translation of the Bible into German was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy, and stimulated as well the printing and distribution of religious books and pamphlets. From 1517 onward, religious pamphlets flooded much of Europe. Following
11058-410: The right to interpret the Bible apart from the Christian community at large because universal priesthood opened the door to such a possibility. There are scholars who cite that this doctrine tends to subsume all distinctions in the church under a single spiritual entity. Calvin referred to the universal priesthood as an expression of the relation between the believer and his God, including the freedom of
11172-421: The rise, having recently expanded rapidly throughout much of the world, and constitute a significant part of Protestantism. These various movements, collectively labeled "popular Protestantism" by scholars such as Peter L. Berger , have been called one of the contemporary world's most dynamic religious movements. As of 2024 , Protestantism has a total of approximately 625 million followers. Six princes of
11286-580: The spiritual leadership of the group. Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought in Protestant Christian theology founded by the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius . Its acceptance stretches through much of mainstream Protestantism. Because of the influence of John Wesley , Arminianism is perhaps most prominent in the Methodist movement . Arminianism holds to the following tenets: Arminianism
11400-409: The teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace , the priesthood of all believers , and the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The five solae summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism. Protestants follow the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation , a movement that began in the 16th century with
11514-538: The term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area , such as the Protestant Church in Germany . Thus, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, while the German evangelikal , refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism . The English word evangelical usually refers to evangelical Protestant churches, and therefore to a certain part of Protestantism rather than to Protestantism as
11628-506: The thinking they represent was also part of the early Reformation. The Protestant movement began to diverge into several distinct branches in the mid-to-late 16th century. One of the central points of divergence was controversy over the Eucharist . Early Protestants rejected the Catholic dogma of transubstantiation , which teaches that the bread and wine used in the sacrificial rite of the Mass lose their natural substance by being transformed into
11742-508: The true teaching is often mutual discussion within the church (clarity). The necessity and inerrancy were well-established ideas, garnering little criticism, though they later came under debate from outside during the Enlightenment . The most contentious idea at the time though was the notion that anyone could simply pick up the Bible and learn enough to gain salvation. Though the reformers were concerned with ecclesiology (the doctrine of how
11856-572: The word evangelical ( German : evangelisch ). For further details, see the section below. Gradually, protestant became a general term, meaning any adherent of the Reformation in the German-speaking area. It was ultimately somewhat taken up by Lutherans, even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed faith in Christ. French and Swiss Protestants instead preferred
11970-536: The word reformed ( French : réformé ), which became a popular, neutral, and alternative name for Calvinists. The word evangelical ( German : evangelisch ), which refers to the gospel , was widely used for those involved in the religious movement in the German-speaking area beginning in 1517. Evangelical is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran, Calvinist, and United (Lutheran and Reformed) Protestant traditions in Europe, and those with strong ties to them. Above all
12084-472: The word "Reformation", the term emerged around the same time as Evangelical (1517) and Protestant (1529). Many experts have proposed criteria to determine whether a Christian denomination should be considered part of Protestantism. A common consensus approved by most of them is that if a Christian denomination is to be considered Protestant, it must acknowledge the following three fundamental principles of Protestantism. The belief, emphasized by Luther, in
12198-727: The work of the previous generation to define the doctrine of the persisting Lutheran church. This document is known as the Formula of Concord . In 1580, it was published with the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession , the Large and Small Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope . Together they were distributed in
12312-502: Was also a growing party of reformers who were imbued with the Zwinglian and Calvinistic doctrines. When Henry died he was succeeded by his Protestant son Edward VI , who, through his empowered councillors (with the king being only nine years old at his succession and not yet sixteen at his death) the Duke of Somerset and the Duke of Northumberland, ordered the destruction of images in churches, and
12426-469: Was as or more violent than the general Catholic and Protestant hostilities. The Protestant Reformation spread almost entirely within the confines of Northern Europe but did not take hold in certain northern areas such as Ireland and parts of Germany. The Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation is known as the Counter-Reformation which resulted in a reassertion of traditional doctrines and
12540-511: Was given a post at the wealthy collegiate church of the Grossmünster in Zürich , where he remained until his death. Soon he had risen to prominence in the city. Zwingli began preaching his version of reform, with certain points as the aforementioned doctrine of justification, but others (with which Luther vehemently disagreed) such as the position that veneration of icons was actually idolatry and thus
12654-463: Was increasingly persecuted by Catholics and Holy Roman Emperor's armies. In the 14th century, a German mysticist group called the Gottesfreunde criticized the Catholic church and its corruption. Many of their leaders were executed for attacking the Catholic church and they believed that God's judgement would soon come upon the church. The Gottesfreunde were a democratic lay movement and forerunner of
12768-454: Was resolved. What had started as a strictly theological and academic debate had now turned into something of a social and political conflict as well, pitting Luther, his German allies and Northern European supporters against Charles V , France, the Italian pope, their territories and other allies. The conflict would erupt into a religious war after Luther's death, fueled by the political climate of
12882-733: Was the aunt of Emperor Charles V , the papacy's most significant secular supporter. The ensuing dispute eventually led to a break from Rome. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy made Henry the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Between 1535 and 1540, under Thomas Cromwell , the policy known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries was put into effect. There were some notable opponents to the Henrician Reformation , such as Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher , who were executed for their opposition. There
12996-521: Was the national branch of the Catholic Church. The formal doctrines had been documented in canon law over the centuries, and the Church of England still follows an unbroken tradition of canon law. The English Reformation did not dispense with all previous doctrines. The church not only retained the core Catholic beliefs common to Reformed doctrine in general, such as the Trinity , the Virgin Birth of Jesus,
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