The Sardisean Church Age
Intro
Background
Major events in church history
The Protestant Reformation (movement)
On October 31, 1517, Luther posted his famous 95 theses challenging any and all to debate with him concerning the doctrine of indulgences.
Between A.D. 1518 and 1521, he, assisted by his closest associate, Melanchthon, was gradually forced to take stronger and stronger positions against the Roman church. In June, A.D. 1520, he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X but Luther publicly burned the bull of excommunication. He, protected by Prince Frederick, defended himself and his views at the Diet of Worms, A.D. 1521.
Between A.D. 1522 and 1546 (the year of his death) Luther translated the Bible into the German language, led a host of followers, organized the Lutheran church, made many enemies, and developed (through Melanchthon) the Augsburg Confession (which became the official creed of the Lutheran church). He died in A.D. 1546.
Huldreich Zwingli (A.D. 1484–1531) beginning in A.D. 1519, led this movement from Zurich in northern Switzerland. Soon the German speaking cantons of northern Switzerland followed him and his teachings. Zwingli was more radical in his reformation views than was Luther. He abolished everything in religion that could not be supported by the Scriptures and he taught the commemoration view of the Lord’s Supper
Conrad Grebel (A.D. 1490–1526) founded the Swiss Anabaptist movement in A.D. 1525 after he and Zwingli parted company because of Grebel’s more radical views. The Anabaptists (and later the English Separatists) were the radicals among the reformation groups. They gave the Bible a literal interpretation, they rebaptized believers who had been baptized in their infancy, they baptized by immersion, they believed in the separation of the church and the state, and they were Millennial in their escha-tology. Severely persecuted at Zurich, the Anabaptists fled to Germany and Holland, where under the leadership of Menno Simons (A.D. 1496–1561) they came to be called “Brethren” (and later, after Simon’s death, “Mennonites”). The Anabaptists were the forerunners of present-day Baptists.
John Calvin (A.D. 1509–1564) came to Geneva in A.D. 1536 after he had been forced to leave his homeland of France because of his religious convictions and after he had at Basil written his great theological masterpiece, The Institutes of the Christian Religion. He lived and worked in Geneva the remainder of his life. Calvin was the leader of the second generation of Protestant Reformers. He was more radical than Luther, but less radical than the Anabaptists, in his reformation views. He is the author of the system of theology called “Calvinism” (also called “The Reformed Faith”) and he is the originator of the system of church government called “Presbyterianism.” He believed that church and state should work together in the promotion of Christianity.
Soon after Luther began the Reformation, it began to take root in France and by A.D. 1550 perhaps one sixth of the French were Protestants, who came to be known as Huguenots. From the beginning, the Protestants of France were persecuted by the French state. In “the Edict of Nantes,” A.D. 1598, they were granted religious toleration. In A.D. 1685, Louis XIV canceled “the Edict of Nantes” and forced the Protestants to flee from France. From this time forward, Protestants in France have been few in number.
The Reformed faith at first made great headway in Hungary but severe persecution checked its further spread. The Magyar Reformed Church of Hungary yet exists today.
Soon after the beginning of the Reformation in Germany, the Lutheran faith found a ready reception in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland and the Lutheran church became the state church in these countries.
Before A.D. 1540, a small minority of the Dutch people accepted Lutheranism and a larger number accepted the teachings of the Anabaptists. After A.D. 1540, Calvinism made great gains in Holland.
Promoted by the fiery reformer John Knox, (a great admirer of Calvin) and opposed by Mary Stuart (the queen of Scotland), the Reformed faith grew rapidly in Scotland after A.D. 1560 and The Presbyterian Church in Scotland became the established (state) church in Scotland in A.D. 1592.
For political and personal reasons, Henry VIII (A.D. 1509–1547) in A.D. 1534 took the church of England from the dominion of the papacy and made himself to be its head. This new state church, The Anglican Church was little reformed for it retained the ritual and the theology of the Roman church.