Henry VIII vs. John Calvin in the Protestant Reformation In the sixteenth century, stood the reformation of the Catholic Church in Western Europe. While the main focus was an internal renovation of the church, the outcome was much different than expected; the reformation led to a revolt against and an abandonment of principal Christian belief. The difference in the view and act of oneself was different from individual to individual during the reformation. While Calvin left for Geneva in 1536 from France because of the fear of persecution for the publically spread beliefs of his about the Church to the people, Henry VIII had manipulated the church for a way to receive a new wife in hopes for his first son. Different motivation stands for each of these people in what they did for the reformation.
Tyler Gilbert 10/20/14 Dr. Nardi AP Euro What were the responses of the Catholic authorities in the sixteenth century to the challenges posed by the Lutheran Reformation? Protestantism was a religion introduced to Europe 1517 by a man named Martin Luther when he published his book The Ninety-Five Theses, and nailed them to every door. As time went on, a schism occurred in which the Roman Catholic Church was split between both the Catholics and the Protestants. The Reformation occurred due to Luther’s disbeliefs of the Church’s current beliefs, one being the selling of indulgences, and other corrupt ideas such as nepotism and simony. With Protestantism growing ever since introduced, and many challenges against the church, the Catholic authorities responded in different ways in order to keep Protestantism from growing and correcting it of its mistakes at the Council of Trent (1545-1563).
Many people went to the bishops as their masters, and took orders from the pope, and not the king. In time, Germany peasants are inspired by the reformation, and seek to end serfdom. Several princes side up with Luther, who became identified as Protestants. In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg was established that stated each prince can decide religion of his state. Later on England parliament passes the Act of Supremacy ending the pope’s power.
The King was a keen theologian, and was prepared to incorporate evangelical ideas into his new Church where he saw fit. But he wasn't comfortable with the alterations, and from 1539 onwards he reversed most of his previous policies. In 1539 the Act of Six Articles returned the Church to unambiguous Catholic orthodoxy apart from papal supremacy. Amongst other things, transubstantiation and auricular confession were reaffirmed. Clerical marriage, which had crept in, was condemned, and vows of chastity were now held to be unbreakable.
Wolsey and Henry’s campaign for the annulment of his and Catherine of Aragon’s marriage failed in 1929, resultantly of the Pope’s resistance despite Wolsey’s different approaches. It is shown in source 4 that ‘in October 1529, Wolsey was stripped of his authority’. The two events occurred the same year suggesting that his failure to dissolve Henry’s marriage played a big part in his downfall, or at least acted as the final trigger. The idea that his failure to secure annulment played the part as a trigger is backed up in source 5 when Historian David Loades explains that ‘after 1525 the King’s confidence in him became increasingly uncertain’, which can lead us to infer that the annulment crisis could’ve been the last straw. However, from Loades book focusing on Henry VIII’s experiences with ‘Court, Church
Luther’s arguments referred to a direct relationship with God and using the local vernacular to speak to the people. Luther’s arguments removed the absolute power from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in general. The revenue from the taxes paid to the Church would be reduced with Luther’s ideas, in part because of the removal of buying souls out of purgatory. And thanks to the printing press, Luther’s 95 Theses was reprinted throughout Germany, which soon attracted many followers, as well as many enemies. In 1520, the Pope excommunicated with Martin Luther.
This act of treason meant that anyone who disagreed with the break with Rome would be executed due to heresy. Therefore, it seems as though Henry did not fully accept the protestant beliefs, because he killed Tyndale for spreading them. And if the King could not fully accept the new Protestant religion, then how was the rest of England expected to? Therefore, this leads to the conclusion that Protestantism made only limited gains in England, due to the fact that it was not as accepted as Catholicism was. The idea shown in source 7 of Henry not being able to fully separate himself from his catholic beliefs is further back up by the evidence found in source 8.
The next most important reason for the collapse was religion and Charles’ push toward Arminianism and absolutism. The fear of Charles becoming absolutist shaped how his policies were viewed and the MP’s political attitudes. Appello Ceasarum produced by Montagu and commissioned by the King angered many MPs as it argued the similarities between Protestantism and Catholicism. This brought MPs to call for the impeachment of Montagu as they felt it promoted anti-Calvinism. Charles’ reaction to this, as he imposed his prerogative as the Divine Right Monarch, promoted Montagu to Royal Chaplain.
Popes were competing with Italian princes for political power and fought wars, and many clergy led lavish lifestyles. John Wycliffe An early English reformer, using sermons and writing to call for changes, but was removed from his teaching position. Jan Hus An early reformer, preaching against the immorality and worldliness of the Church, excommunicated by the Pope, and later burned at the stake after being arrested and tried. What was the "last straw" for Luther? In 1517, he saw Johannes Tetzel selling indulgences in Wittenberg, Germany.
He believed that the Catholic church was corrupt for selling indulgences as penance for sins in that the sale was a way for the Church to exploit the unfortunate and poor (Reformation 5). The final push for the need to change was the English reformation. During King Henry VIII’s rule in the sixteenth century, the Church of England was formed. He established the church because the Pope of the Catholic Church would not grant him a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon. The Anglican church had many similarities to the Catholic church: similar rituals and a bible titled the Book of Common Prayere (Reformation 9).