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## 500 years of the Reformation. What exactly happened in Europe in those far times?

... It all started on October 31, 1517, the German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses about God and the Church to the gates of the Cathedral in Wittenberg.

Here are just some of them: "The remission of sins for money is only a good salary, since the true absolution is not given by the Pope, but God himself," Why the Pope, who is richer than the king of the Croesus, will not at least build St. Peter's Cathedral for his own money , and not for the money of the poor? "," The only source of Truth is the Holy Letter. "It's very bold, as for the XVI century, is not it?


The reaction of Pope Leva X to this was predictable: Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and proclaimed a heretic. But the words of a rebellious monk caught thousands of people alive. Thus began the long struggle of the world view, which ended in the split of Christianity - Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Evangelists, Calvinists ...

## What exactly happened in Europe at that time? What were Luther's reformist ideas? Why, supporting them, thousands of people rebelled against the Church?


To begin with, in the XIV-XV centuries the Catholic Church felt a strong secular opposition. After all, at that time science, philosophy, literature developed rapidly, and the Church remained conservative. The clergy did not want to give up feudal property on land, the papacy did not agree to give the right to appoint church officials to the hands of the national secular authorities. That's why the society was gradually developing the movement, which aimed to restore the Church to its purely spiritual purpose.


## This Reformation began with Germany

In 1517 the Augustinian monk Martin Luther resolutely opposed the sale in Wittenburg of indulgences from the Pope for the forgiveness of sins for money, saying that the funds from this went to the construction of St. Peter's church in Rome. Luther urged his fellow countrymen "to rush with weapons against the cardinals and popes, to the whole pack of Roman Sodom." Throughout Germany, they responded warmly to his words.


And after the dramatic events connected with the military performance of the imperial knights and the peasant war, the Diet in Spier in 1526 granted the right to individual princes and cities to act on the matter of faith for their consideration.

## How they acted


Reformers began with the confiscation and re-division of the property of the clergy and monasteries. Luther and his supporters abolished the solemn mass, fasting, confession of relics, introduced divine services in their native language instead of Latin. The rite of baptism was suggested to be held at the age of 16, when a person makes a meaningful choice. Luther also suggested that new priests be elected freely.

## How quickly did the Reformation sweep through the rest of the country?


Since the late twenties of the XVI century the Reformation spread to Sweden and Denmark, and in these countries there was a break with Rome. In the future, England set foot on the path to the creation of the national Church (known as the Anglican Church). King Henry VIII proclaimed himself the head of the Church. Protestantism became pan-European.