REFORMATION
702
REFORMATION
dogma, and would find widespread support in human-
istic circles.
The soil was thus ready for the growth of revolu- tionary movements in the religious sphere. Many grave warnings were indeed uttered, indicating the approaching danger and urging a fundamental reform of the actual evil conditions. Much had been effected in this direction bj- the reform movement in various religious orders and by the apostolic efforts of zealous individuals. But a general renewal of ecclesiastical life and a uniform improvement of evil conditions, beginning with Rome itself, the centre of the Church, were not promptly undertaken, and soon it needed only an external impulse to precipitate a revolution, which was to cut off from the unity of the Church great territories of Central and almost all Northern Europe.
II. Okiginal Ideas and Purposes of the Re- formers. — The first impulse to secession was sup- plied by the opposition of Luther in Germany and of Zwingli in German Switzerland to the promulga- tion by Leo X of an indulgence for contributions towards the building of the new St. Peter's at Rome. For a long time it had been customary for the popes to grant indulgences for buildings of public utility (e. g. bridges). In such cases the true doctrine of indulgences as a remission of the punishment due to sin (not of the guilt of sin) had been always up- held, and the necessary conditions (especially the obligation of a contrite confession to obtain absolu- tion from sin) always inculcated. But the almsgiving for a good object, prescribed only as a good work supplementary to the chief conditions for the gaining of the indulgence, was often prominently emphasized. The indulgence commissaries sought to collect as much money as possible in connexion with the in- dulgence. Indeed, frequently since the Western Schism the spiritual needs of the people did not receive as much consideration as a motive for pro- mulgating an indulgence, as the need of the good object by promoting which the indulgence was to be gained, and the consequent need of obtaining alms for this purpose. The war against the Turks and other crises, the erection of churches and monasteries, and numerous other causes led to the granting of indulgences in the fifteenth century. The conse- quent abuses were heightened by the fact that secular rulers frequently forbade the promulgation of in- dulgences within their territories, consenting only on condition that a portion of the receipts should be given to them. In practice, therefore, and in the public mind the promulgation of indulgences took on an economic aspect, and, as they were frequent, many came to regard them as an oppressive tax. Vainly did earnest men raise their voices against this abuse, which aroused no little bitterness against the ecclesiastical order and particularly the Papal Curia. The promulgation of indulgences for the new St. Peter's furnished Luther with an opportunity to attack openly indulgences in general, and this at- tack was the immediate occasion of the Reforma- tion in Germany. A little later the same motive led Zwingli to put forth his erroneous teachings, thereby inaugurating the Reformation in German Switzerland (see Luther, Martin; Zwingli, Hul- dreich). Both declared that they were attack- ing only the abuses of indulgences; however, they soon taught doctrine in many ways contrary to the teaching of the Church.
The great applause which Luther received on his first appearance, both in humanistic circles and among some theologians and some of the earnest-minded laity, was due to dissatisfaction with the existing abuses. His own erroneous views and the influence of a portion of his followers very soon drove Luther into rebellion against ecclesiastical authority as such, and eventually led him into open apostiisy and schism.
His chief original supporters were won among the
Humanists, the immoral clergy, and the lower grades
of the landed nobility unbued with revolutionary
tendencies. It was soon evident that he meant to
subvert all the fundamental institutions of the
Church. Beginning by proclaiming the false doc-
trine of "justification by faith alone", he later re-
jected all supernatural remedies (especially the sacra-
ments and the Mass), denied the meritoriousness of
good works (thus condemning monastic vows and
Christian asceticism in general), and finally rejected
the institution of a genuine hierarchical priesthood
(especially the papacy) in the Church. His doctrine
of the Bible as the sole rule of faith, with rejection
of all ecclesiastical authority, established subjectivism
in matters of faith. By this revolutionary assault
Luther forfeited the support of many serious persons
indisposed to break with the Church, but on the other
hand won over all the anti-ecclesiastical elements,
including numerous monks and nuns who left the
monasteries to break their vows, and many priests
who espoused his cause with the intention of marry-
ing. The support of his sovereign, Frederick of
Saxony, was of great importance. Very soon secular
princes and municipal magistrates made the Reforma-
tion a pretext for arbitrary interference in purely
ecclesiastical and religious affairs, for appropriating
ecclesiastical property and disposing of it at pleasure,
and for deciding what faith their subjects should
accept. Some followers of Luther went to even
greater extremes. The Anabaptists and the "Icono-
clasts" revealed the extremest possibilities of the
principles advocated by Luther, while in the Peasants'
War the most oppressed elements of German society
put into practice the doctrine of the reformer. Ec-
clesiastical affairs w-ere now reorganized by the Luth-
eran princes on the basis of the new teachings;
henceforth the .secular power is ever more clearly
the supreme judge in purely religious matters, and
completely disregards any independent ecclesiastical
authority.
A second centre of the Reformation movement was established by Zwingh at Zurich. Though he differed in many particulars from Luther, and was much more radical than the latter in his transforma- tion of the ceremonial of the Mass, the aims of his followers were identical with those of the Lutherans. Political considerations played a great role in the development of Zwinglianism, and the magistracy of Zurich, after a majority of its members had de- clared for Zwingli, became a zealous promoter of the Reformation. Arbitrary decrees were issued by the magistrates concerning ecclesiastical organization; the councillors who remained true to the Catholic Faith were expelled from the council, and Catholic services were forbidden in the city. The city and the canton of Zurich were reformed by the civil au- thorities according to the ideas of Zwingli. Other parts of German Switzerland experienced a similar fate. French Switzerland developed later its own peculiar Reformation; this was organized at Geneva by Calvin (q. v.). Calvinism is distinguished from Lutheranism and Zwinglianism by a more rigid and consistent form of doctrine and by the strictness of its moral precepts, which regulate the whole domestic and public life of the citizen. The ec- clesiastical organization of Calvin was declared a fundamental law of the Republic of Geneva, and the authorities gave their entire support to the reformer in the establishment of his new court of morals. Calvin's word was the highest authority, and he tolerated no contradiction of his \'iews or regulations. Calvinism was introduced into Geneva and the sur- rounding country by violence. Catholic priests were banished, and the people oppressed and compelled to attend Calvinistic sermons.
In England the origin of the Reformation was en-
