CHURCH

HISTORY II
(CHST 132)

Course Notes

Paul O. Kolawole Ph.d

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................
MARTIN LUTHER AND THE REFORMATION.......................................................................................................
REFORMATION OF ULRICH ZWINGLI AT ZURICH, 1519-1531..........................................................................
REFORMATION OF JOHN CALVIN (1509 – 1564)...............................................................................................
REFORMATION IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.................................................................................................
EFFECTS OF REFORMATION...............................................................................................................................
RADICAL PROTESTANT MOVEMENTS...............................................................................................................
MODERN AGE........................................................................................................................................................
EARLY AFRICAN CHURCH HISTORY..................................................................................................................

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 INTRODUCTION
Reformation is a religious and political movement of the 16th century inEurope that began as an
attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the establishment of the
protestant church.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REFORMATION

1. Corruption of Papacy
The reformation did not emerge in a vacuum, many factors were responsible. The
church had gone through some degrading conditions before this time. This happened
because the church fathers who were supposed to be an epitome of discipline turned out
to be [Link] with this, there was cheating of the lower class by those that were
supposed to protect them. “The hypocrisy of those officers was well exposed through
their attitude by which the priest had concubines, and got illegitimate children through
them.”

In the midst of all these, it was necessary for the people to clamour for reform both in the
ecclesiastical, social, as well as in political [Link] the fifteenth century came to an
end it was clear that the church was in need of reformation. The reasons are not far-
fetched. The corruption of papacy and its decline of power were well exposed.

2. Abuse of the Papal Power

During the greater part of the Middle Ages, Roman law was the basic law. But by the
thirteenth century Church law was placed on par with it. However, in a new collection
called Decretalium Gregorii IX Compilato, church law was placed above the old imperial
law of Rome. From the twelfth century the pope claimed exclusive right to appoint
candidates for church offices.

Pope’s favourites held a number of offices in various countries and proper attention
could not be given to each office. At times a certain office would be given to two
candidates. Sometimes, several candidates were on the waiting list for the same office
and when the vacancy occurred lawsuits resulted.

The practice of selling and buying spiritual or church benefits such as pardon, relics -
became normal procedure. Simony flourished openly at the papal court, church offices
and decisions were sold for money. The entire personnel around the pope from the
porter to the cardinal demanded fees. Popes and cardinals enriched their relations,
especially their illegitimate children. Nepotism was practised to such an extent that it
scandalised the church. Celibacy was enforced upon the clergy and upon the monks, but
lack of proper ethical principles led to an appalling immorality. Beside simony and the
sale of indulgence the pope had the following financial resources:
● The Annatesor the first fruits. The first year’s revenue (income) of an
ecclesiastical benefice, paid to the Papal curia. Note that benefice is a term

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 originally used for a grant of land for life as a reward for service. However, in
canon law it came to imply an ecclesiastical office which prescribed certain duties
or conditions for the due discharge of which it provided certain revenues.
● The Expectanciesin which the pope sold to the highest bidder the nomination as
the successor to rich benefices before the death of the incumbent.
● The Commendations, Consisting of indefinite provisional appointments on
conditions of payment of an annual tax.
● The Juspolavium, the claim that the pope was the rightful heir to all property
acquired by officials of the church during their tenure of office.
● Tithing of church property for urgent wants.

However, Philip of France prohibited the export of money from his kingdom. He also
transferred the papal curia to the French city of Avignon where the papacy had his
headquarters for about seventy years. Hence, the term “Babylonians captivity,” was
used metaphorically for the exile of the Popes at Avignon. During this period papacy was
manifestly subservient to French interests, seven successive popes being French men.
Thus, the Babylonian captivity weakened papacy. In addition to this, the prevailing
immorality at the papal court undermined papal prestige and led to demands for reform.
Pope Urban V (1362-1370) made a brief break in the Babylonian captivity by returning to
Rome but soon went back to Avignon. However, Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378) put a
definite end to the exile.

SOME NOTABLE FORERUNNERS OF THE REFORMATION

The Waldenses
Early in the 12th century there lived in Lyons - a city in the Rhone Valley in France - a wealthy
merchant named Peter Waldo. In or about 1170 he employed a priest to translate from Latin into
French the Four Gospels together with certain other books of Scripture. He began to realize that
the Scriptures alone are to be the basis of faith, and not the word of any human being, be the
priest or bishop or pope. He learned that there is but one Mediator, that saints should not be
worshipped, and that two sacraments and two only – baptism and the Lord’s Supper were
instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ. Waldo embraced these and other related truths, and in 1177
he organised a society of men and women who were willing to help him bring Bible truth before
their fellows. The members of this society are known in Church history by the name of
Waldenses, or Waldensians, so called after their eminent instructor and leader. At first the
Church authorities were lenient towards them, but when they began to realise the dangers of
the movement to themselves, they placed the Waldenses under a ban. The Council of Valencia
(1229) forbade men who were not priests to read the Bible, whether in Latin or in the vernacular.
Thus, they were severely persecuted. A murderous campaign was carried out against them for
many years. Many thousands of them were slain; many were tortured with great cruelty. Those
who fled to the cave were set on fire.

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Marsillius of Padoxa and John
By 1334 a book called “Defensorpacis” was written by two men Marsillius of Padoxa and John
of Jandun. It gave important contribution on the relation between church and state in the later
middles ages. A new idea for the church was set forth: the church should become more
democratic and limit herself to her proper sphere- the spiritual welfare of mankind.

The book promulgated (promoted) the sovereignty (independence) of the common people as
applied to the church. The church should first of all address herself to her proper duties of the
spiritual welfare of mankind. The church members should themselves elect their priests and
officials. These properly elected church officials should constitute the General Council which
should be the highest spiritual power on earth. The Priest should not have property or secular
power. Their salaries should be paid by the state. The essential duty of the priest was to preach
the gospel and to administer the sacraments. The priest and the church were not an essential
medium through which man must approach God. Every individual had direct access to God
through faith. In summary it may be said that the book asserted:
● The need for Reformation
● The state church principle
● Religious individualism
● Political Liberation
● Modern democracy and
● Holy Scriptures as the only source of faith.

William of Occam (1285-1347)

He was a philosopher, theologian and polemicist. He was a native of Ockham in Surrey, he
joined the Franciscan Order and taught at Oxford. In 1323 he was denounced at Avignon for
teaching dangerous doctrines. He contributed to the development of formal logic. On the
theological side much of his thinking was determined by the resolute attempt to do away with
anything that limited God’s omnipotence and freedom. His radical criticism of Realism and his
rethinking of the relationship between theology and philosophy prepared the ground for a more
scientific approach to reality. His theological influence was felt up till the 15th century and Martin
Luther regarded himself as his follower. William of Occam, made some of these ideas better
known through his writings:
● The pope is not infallible
● That the General Council and not the pope is the highest authority in the church.
● That Holy Scripture is the only infallible source in matters of faith and conduct.
● That in all secular matters the church and the pope are subordinate to the state.
Occam’s philosophy exerted a strong influence on Martin Luther.

In France the reform movement was fostered chiefly in the University of Paris. The most
prominent was perhaps John Charlier of Gerson (1363-1429), the moving spirit in the council of
Pizza in 1409. He believed that:
● A visible head of the church at Rome was necessary, but that a General Council was
superior to the pope.
● A Genuine Reformation was necessary in the “head and members” of the church, and

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 ● The Bible was the only source and rule of Christian knowledge.

Several Germans, Henry of Langestein, Theodore in Niem, Nicholas of Cusa, and Gregory of
Heimburg insisted on church reform. But of more importance was the German Mysticism as
represented by Meister Eckhart (1260-1327) and John Tauler (1290-1361). The mystics were
dominated by two specific sentiments.
● Genuine sorrow for the decay of the church;
● A strong longing for reformation.

John Wycliffe (1320-1384)

John Wycliffe became the leader of a strong reform movement that spread over England and
certain parts of the continent. This movement contended that the reform must aim not merely at
correction of outward corruption of the church but also at the removal of the hidden causes.
Wycliffe and Huss proclaimed the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith in the crucified
Saviour. The Bible was acknowledged as the only source of truth. The pope was not infallible,
and his bulls (i.e. a written mandate of the Pope of a serious and weighty kind than a brief) and
decree had no authority except they were based on scripture.

He also believed that the clergy were not to rule but to serve and help their people. Wycliffe
declared the pope to be Antichrist. He declared that the bread and the wine in the Lord’s Supper
were not changed into the body and blood of Christ. He gave England the first complete version
of the Bible in the English language. The Roman Church used the Latin Bible only, in the
version called the Vulgate, and refused to have it translated into the language of the people.
Wycliffe did not know the Hebrew or Greek of the original Scriptures; he had to make his
translation from the Latin, and so it was not as accurate as could be wished: but still it proved to
be a great blessing to the people. Wycliffe sent out lay evangelists to instruct the people. He
was condemned by Pope Gregory XI in 1377. But the English parliaments protected him. He
retired to his parish at Lutterworth where he died in 1384. His followers were called the Lollards.
In 1401 heresy was made a capital offence in England, and the mere possession of Wycliffe
writings was punishable by death, Wyclifism was suppressed by force.

John Huss (1369-1415)

John Huss, a professor at the University of Prague was a follower of Wycliffe who placed
himself at the head of a reform movement in Bohemia. He was a powerful preacher. He
exposed the superstitions of men and the sins of the clergy. Huss was excommunicated, first by
the Archbishop of Prague, and next by the Pope. He was summoned before the council of
Constance where he was condemned as a heretic and burnt at the stake.

Jerome Savonarola (1452-98)

Jerome Savonarola. While John Wycliffe was an Englishman and John Huss a Bohemian,
Jerome Savonarola was an Italian. Whereas, Wycliffe and Huss were involved in attacking the
unbiblical teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, Savonarola was not a doctrinal reformer; he
was a man who attacked the evil lives and immoral habits of many of his fellow-countrymen. He
was influenced by the writings of Augustine of Hippo. Savonarola was unanimously chosen as

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ruler of Florence. For three years Savonarola governed Florence and he certainly gave it good
government. But many people began to resent the strictness of the new ruler. He outlawed
gambling, vanities of dress by both male and female were restrained and godly living was to be
promoted. Cards, dice, costumes used in carnivals, and licentious books and pictures were to
be destroyed in a ‘bonfire of vanities.’ Savonarola claimed to have the gift of prophecy and he
actually predicted that certain things would happen. But his prophecies failed and even his
supporters began to distrust him. In consequence his influence waned.

At the same time the Pope, a man of notoriously evil life named Alexander Borgia – he was the
sixth of the papal Alexander – took the lead in attacking the reformer of Florence. When he
became Pope he had five children and it was his aim to use his power to promote their temporal
welfare. First of all Alexander VI tried bribery with Savonarola. He offered to make him a
cardinal. Cardinals rank next to the Pope as the highest dignitaries in the Roman Catholic
Church. The Pope is chosen by them and from their number. Savonarola, however, rejected the
glittering price, saying, ‘I do not desire any other crown than the crown of a martyr.’

The Pope used other tactics to belittle the power of the reformer. The monks were persuaded to
speak against him and to undermine his authority, and then the Pope excommunicated and
imprisoned him. In May, 1498 the reformer was put to death by burning.

Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536)

Desiderius Erasmus was a humanist. He was a promoter of the Reformation in two ways. First,
he exposed the abuses of the church by writing against the moral corruption of all ranks, and by
unsparingly denouncing the ignorance, idleness and dissoluteness of the monks. In one of his
books, 'In Praise of Folly,’ he revealed how most men rested their hopes for salvation on a strict
conformity to religious ceremonies. The second contribution made by Erasmus to the
Reformation was his editing of the first printed Greek New Testament in the year 1516.

In these ways Erasmus helped to introduce reformation, but he lacked the convicting power of
truth. He loved peace so well that he would sacrifice a part of truth rather than cause
dissension. Erasmus by his literary work prepared the way for the Reformation. With Erasmus
dawn set in; with the later reformers the light of divine truth reached its zenith.

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 MARTIN LUTHER AND THE REFORMATION
There is no way we will discuss the history of Reformation without mentioning the important part
played by the “Great Reformer” Martin [Link] protestant Reformation in the sixteenth
century constituted one of the most powerful spiritual movements in the history of the Christian
church. October 31, 1517 the day when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in
Wittenberg is known and designated as the birthday of the Reformation. At the same time this
single event cannot be isolated from the general historical setting of Europe.

When Martin Luther appeared as a reformer, there had been for more than two centuries of an
increasing criticism of the church. The demand for reform was general and of long standing. The
protestant Reformation was peculiarly favoured by a timely convergence of forces as to time,
place; persons, circumstances, and religious and political relations.

This favourable environment did not produce the Reformation. Luther worked out his own
position regardless of previous rebellious and repeated refusals of reform. The origin of Luther’s
reformation must be seen not in a favourable environment but in his personal experience of the
truth of the gospel and in the growth of his religious conviction based upon the word of God.

LUTHER BIRTH AND EARLY EDUCATION

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 at Eisleben in what is now Germany. According
to prevailing records, he was baptised on the next day and named Martin because the day after
his birth was the feast of St. Martin as observed by the Roman Catholic Church. His parents
were Hans (John) Luther and Gretha (Margaret). They were peasants. From his parents, Luther
received some hereditary traits which were of great value to him in his work. His peasant nature,
the powerful physical and mental energies had helped him to survive the abuses of the
monastic life and the vigorous work connected with the Reformation.

He also inherited that fearless fighting spirit and hard work, determination of will from his
parents. His understanding of the language of the common people who were oppressed and his
close contact with nature and with the people of the lower classes, his knowledge of the popular
religious life and his thorough education made him a man of the people in the best sense.
Therefore German people recognized him as one of their own. They listened to him and loved
him.

EDUCATION
Luther received his elementary education in a village school of Mansfield which he attended
from the age of six or seven to fourteen. The school discipline was very severe. All schoolboys
had to attend the church festivals where the impressive ceremonies and especially singing
made lasting impressions upon him. At age of fourteen he was sent to a school at Magdeburg.

The severe discipline both at home and at school and the strict legalism of the Catholic religion
as taught implanted in Luther a feeling of religious uncertainty and fear. God was not present to

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him as a loving father but as a terrifying, unapproachable being. Christ was not a merciful
Saviour but a threatening and a severe judge. Salvation was to be gained through the mediation
of saints and of the church and by good works.

By 1497, the economic condition of his parents improved such that they could send him to a
higher institution. Between 1498 and 1501 he was sent to St. George’s school in Eisenach.
From Eisenach at the age of 18, he went to the University of Erfurt in Germany. Luther
distinguished himself as a University student such thatMelanchthon states that “the
extraordinary talent of the young man was at that time the admiration of the whole university” He
had Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1502 and his Master of Arts degree in 1505.

As a university student Luther was a good pious Catholic. He observed his daily religious
devotions. He began everyday with prayer and attended the church mass. The general
religious environment in Erfurt did not bring Luther in contact with any reformatory tendencies
and reformatory tendencies were conspicuously absent in the university of Erfurt. Luther took a
course in philosophy at Erfurt. He also studied classics and law. But his several external events
increased his religious tension.

His casual acquaintance with the Bible in the university library may have helped him to see
some of the differences between the word of the New Testament and the practices of the
contemporary church.

During his early student days at Erfurt he accidentally cut one of his arteries and was in grave
danger of bleeding to death twice in 24 hours. This event awakened his thoughts of dying.
Similar thoughts came to him during a serious attack of sickness somewhat later. A friend of
Luther named Lang became a Monk. The sudden death of another friend, Hieronymus Buntz,
made a profound impression upon him. A pestilence which at that time raged in and around
Erfurt turned his thoughts towards the future life and the destiny of men.

The study of law did not appeal to him, and he is quoted as saying show me a lawyer who loves
the truth.

His Damascus experience came (like Paul) on July 2, 1505 as he returned alone from Mansfield
to Erfurt. Near the village of Sotterheim, he was caught in a terrible thunderstorm and became
frightened. Terribly afraid he said “help me Holy Saint Anna, I will become a monk” there is no
record that for some time previous to this event, Luther, thought seriously of becoming a monk.
But the future reformer like Paul of old had his Damascus experience like Apostle Paul has
been “three days without sight, and did neither eat nor drink” (Acts 9:9) but prayed fervently
(Acts 9:11) so also Luther had to spend three years (1505-1508) in the monastery of Erfurt
before he saw the first way of spiritual light.

Four factors are easily distinguished during this time.

1. He entered the monastery in order that he might live a life that was pleasing to God.
2. The problem of guilt of his sin was the central concern in his spiritual struggle.

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 3. He has been influenced by the theology of Occam and Gabriel Biel, that man was
capable of giving to God what man willed to give; but Luther’s trouble was that he was
not willing to give up his sin.
4. He also argued within himself that why should divine redemption of mankind be sought
in God’s will and not in God’s love? Occam’s theology.

After he had finished the customary probation period in the Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt he
became consecrated monk in September 1506. In 1507 he was consecrated a priest. In 1509
he was recalled back to teach at the University of Erfurt. In 1510-1511 he was sent to Rome on
an important mission for the Augustinian order. Upon his return, he was sent by John von
Staupitz to Erfurt to complete his training for doctorate in theology. On October 4th, 1512 he
passed the examination. Three weeks later he succeeded Staupitz as professor in theology in
the University of Wittenberg, a position he held until his death in 1546. John von Staupitz gave
some help to Luther in his spiritual struggle. As the head of Augustinian Order he visited
Germany from time to time. In his deep concern for his sinful habits, Staupitz consoled him that
Christ came into the world for the pardon of our sins.

LUTHER’S TEACHING AND DISCOVERIES FROM 1512-1517

Luther developed a system or methods of lectureship which was distinguished from other
biblical professors. It was his study as a Doctor of Biblicus to lecture at the University on books
of the Bible. He lectured on the Psalms, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews and was appointed sub-
prior of the Augustinian order. Students from all parts of Germany came to hear him. We may
ask, why did he become so popular? There are many reasons for his popularity.
He was the first German professor who in the academic lecture room made use of his mother
tongue

His fame as a great scholar was based on his lectures and not on traditional scholastic
theology.
Luther was more than a great teacher, he was a prophet and his constant appeal to the Bible
made his lectures and his sermons remarkably original and refreshing.
He simplified the religious language and laid it much closer to the common people.
Lastly Luther’s power and influence was found in his heroic faith. He gave them bread of life
instead of the straw of philosophy and legend.

When did Luther first clearly understand the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith as set forth
in Romans and Galatians? Luther himself declared that he did not know the light at the time he
became a Doctor of theology in 1512. But it is evident, from his lectures on the Psalms, that he
had experienced this new revelation by the time he started these lectures. In his preparation for
his lectures on the psalms, he constantly turned to Romans for help and, illumined by the Holy
Spirit, he saw the prophetic word in Romans 1:17 in the same light as Paul himself had seen it
and like Paul, he made justification by faith the fundamental principle of the Christian life.

The Bible had done for him what Staupitz, Bernhard of Clairvaux, St. Augustine, and others
could not do. Therefore, Luther came to consider the Bible as the only source and standard for

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faith and life. The new revelation which Luther experienced laid the foundation for the birth of his
Reformation. In the light of this experience, of Luther, the following Reformation principles may
be understood.
Man is justified by faith alone and not by work.
There is a general priesthood of all believers. That is God is accessible to every Christian
without the mediation of a priest of the church.
The Bible is the only source and standard for faith and life.
The Bible must be interpreted by the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Luther’s discovery of the Biblical doctrine of salvation did not immediately cause him to
break with Rome. He was still a good pious Catholic. He did not feel that he should oppose the
system of the doctrine of the church. He still believes in the divine origin and the divine right of
papacy, the episcopacy, the priesthood and the infallibility of the church. In the year 1510 he
was commissioned to go to Rome in the interests of the Augustinian Order. The visit to Rome
was a landmark in Luther’s life. On seeing Rome from a distance, he fell upon his knees,
exclaiming ‘Hail, holy Rome, thrice holy for the blood of martyrs shed here.’ But at the end of his
stay he saw Rome in a different light. While in Rome he heard about the wicked deeds of popes
and other high dignitaries. Julius II, the Pope at the time, was scarcely anything more than a
scheming statesman, greedy of gain, and willing to achieve his ends by fair means or foul.

But after this survey of Luther’s life and activity it became evident that by 1517, he had been
fully prepared for his great Reformation work like the great apostle he could say “I know him
whom I have believed.” His preaching and his teaching were with authority. In April 1517 he
published 151 theses on justification. In September 1517, he published 95 theses. But the
Lutheran Reformation dates began from October 31, 1517 when he nailed his 95 theses against
the sales of indulgences to a door of the castle church in Wittenberg.

Effects of Luther’s 95 Theses

Julius II (1503-1513) started the building of the magnificent church of St. Peter in Rome in 1506
but the work was interrupted and threatened with failure for lack of funds. Pope Leo X (1513-
1521) tried to raise the necessary fund by proclaiming the sale of indulgences. England, France
and Spain refused to be taxed. But Germany, under Macmillan I, yielded to the papal demand.
The pope divided Germany into three and appointed leaders who collected the money.

Luther wanted to rid the church of this degrading practice of selling indulgences. Luther,
therefore, wrote 95 theses, tersely stating the evils of indulgences; and on the 31st October,
1517, he nailed them to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. This was the beginning of
the Reformation. The Pope, first treated the matter lightly but quickly changed his mind when he
found out how serious the threat to his authority was. He demanded that Luther should recant.
He also demanded that Frederick the Wise should deliver him to the papal legate. In response
Frederick suggested that the pope should send a delegate before whom Luther might appear
and plead his cause. Pope, therefore, sent Cardinal Cajetan to Germany in October 1518 and
Luther duly appeared before him. Before Cajetan Luther insisted that he would do nothing
against his conscience. On 15th June, 1520 a bull of excommunication (Latin ‘bulla’ – seal) was
sent to him by the Pope. However, Luther burnt the bull in the presence of a great crowd,

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saying, “As thou (the Pope) has vexed the Holy One of the Lord (Christ), may eternal fire vex
thee.’ Soon afterwards he denounced the pope as Antichrist. It should be noted that among
others Philip Melanchthon and Frederick the Wise stood by Luther during this period of
persecution.

The monarch at the time Emperor Charles V was requested to deal with the case of Luther. So,
he ordered Luther to appear before him at the Diet of Worms. On the 16th April, 1521 Luther
arrived at Worms. The day fixed for the first meeting was April 17 of that year. The presiding
officer was Johann von Eck. Also, with him were the Emperor (who occupied the principal seat),
six electors of the empire, 24 dukes, and 8 magraves; 30 archbishops, bishops and abbots; 7
ambassadors, papal nuncios, and the deputies of free cities. In all there were 206 persons of
rank. On the first meeting he was asked whether he was the author of the writings and whether
he was willing to retract the doctrines contained in the books. Luther acknowledged he was the
author but for the second question he asked for time of reflection. The meeting was therefore
adjourned till the following day. Luther spent much of the night in prayer.

April 18, 1521. April 18, 1521 was the greatest day in Luther’s life as a reformer. He was asked
by Dr. Eck as before if he would defend his theses or withdraw them. Luther replied, “Unless I
am convinced by testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear arguments that I am in error – for
popes and councils have often erred and contradicted themselves – I cannot withdraw, for I am
subject to the Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. It is
unsafe and dangerous to do anything against one’s conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do
otherwise. So help me God.” The Emperor was offended by this. On April 25th he was allowed
to leave Worms to Wittenberg but he was placed under the ban of the Empire. He was declared
an outlaw, and thereafter any who lodged him or gave him food and drink were liable to be
charged with high treason against the Emperor.
In the seclusion of Wartburg he wrote some books. These include:
1. On Monastic vows. In which he appealed to all monks and nuns to leave the monastic
life and to marry.
2. Epistle and Gospel Pastel, written as a help for pastors.
3. New translation of the Bible which was printed in September 1522. The Old Testament
followed later and was printed in [Link] Bible translation in original language made
Luther based his translation from epoch Greek and Hebrew texts.
4. Large and Small Catechisms.
5. The Bondage of the Will. Written against Erasmus who claimed that man’s will was not
totally depraved by the Fall.

Luther was also a musician and a poet. He gave Germany a unified language by producing
small catechism hymns and development of German tongue in worship.

His friends carried on the work of the reformation during his absence when he went into the
hideout. Melanchthon formulated doctrines called “Loci communes remain theologicarum.” In
the book he laid down the foundation of Dogmatic for the Evangelical Church. But the
reformation was also endangered by the destructive zeal of those who turned it into a revolution.

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More fanatical spirit began to manifest itself in the village of Zwickau and produced Zwickau
prophets. The situation could not be checked by Melanchthon and others. This made Luther to
preach in a city church for eight successive days to check the situation thereby making himself
the master of the situation.

Luther's new theory of individual judgement and individual responsibility called for a general
education of all citizens. In his Reformation program he has substituted the religious authority of
the Bible for religious authority of the church etc.

The rapid spread of his teachings made it possible for him to arrange an evangelical order of
divine service and that for the basis for evangelical church even though he had no intention of
forming one. In arranging the form of worship Luther preserved some aspects of Catholic
Church Worship which he considered was not contrary to the scriptures. He also revised the
order of Baptism and solemnization of marriage. Private confessionals were retained as an
important means for doing pastoral work.

By 1524, the division of Germany into Lutheran and Catholic camps could be distinctly noticed.
By the edict of Worms 1521, the Reformation had been thrown into German politics. Although
possibility of a civil war was eliminated at this time because of many reasons:
● The Turks (Muslims) were threatening the eastern frontiers of Europe.
● Because the Emperor and the king of France were at war with one another between
1521 and 1528 and the emperor needed money, soldiers and Lutherans.
● Because the relations between Pope and Emperor were so stained that an imperial army
even marched against Rome in 1527. Captured the pope, held him a prisoner for several
months

The socio economic revolution, the peasant’s war of 1524-1525 broke out with unexpected force
and violence. The peasants had long been suffering under a heavy burden laid upon them by
their heartless masters. They were spurred by fanatic revolution preacher Thomas Munza but
the underlying causes of the revolt were economic and religious. The peasants stated their
grievances in twelve articles and appealed to Luther. But when these articles reached Luther at
Wittenberg he protested most emphatically against any kind of revolution. His answer was “Let
every soul be in subjection to the higher authority for there is no power but of God and
the powers that be are ordained by God.” But at the same time, he rebuked the princes and
the bishops for their oppression of the common people. He appealed to both sides to seek a
peaceful settlement of their disputes.

At this point it has become evidently clear that the peasants would not turn back their revolution,
between hundred and hundred and fifty thousand people lost their lives in the peasant war. The
peasant war had a marked influence upon the Lutheran Reformation. Large number of peasants
who had looked to Luther as a prophet of Liberty now became indifferent or hostile to him.

13
In 1524, he exchanged his monastic gown for a clerical robe which was given to him by his
Elector. On June 13, 1525, he married Catherine Von Bora, a poor ex-nun of noble birth.
Augsburg monastery at Wittenberg was deserted by nearly all the monks and the old monastery
was given to the couple as a home. Luther’s marriage was an important public event because
by this act he founded the evangelical personage. His parents, Hans and Greta Luther were
present because they believed the truths which God had used their son to proclaim so loudly
and effectively. Luther died in the year 1546 in Eisleben, the city in which he was born. At his
dying bed Justus Jonas, one of his trusted friends and fellow-workers, asked him whether he
remained determined to stand fast in Christ and in the doctrine which he had preached! To
which he gave a distinct ‘Yes’ in reply. He was buried in the castle church at Wittenberg, on the
door of which, 29 years before, he had nailed his famous 95 theses.

EVENTS FROM THE PEASANT WAR TO THE DIET OF AUGSBURG

The period 1525-1530, Western Christendom became permanently divided into Protestant and
Catholic groups. But the most threatening alliance against the Reformation movement was the
treaty of Madrid (Spain) January 1526 in which the Emperor and King Francis I agreed to
excommunicate Lutheranism. In consequence of these threats, a number of princes who earlier
favoured Reformation entered into a defensive confederation known as the “Holy League.” Pope
Clement VII, King Francis I of France and the Duke of Milan fought against Charles V of Spain
and the resulting war gave temporary respite to the Lutherans.

But in 1529, the Catholic party immediately revived its policy of repression at the Diet of spires.
The edict revoked the right of the prince to manage their church affairs. They were forbidden to
introduce or tolerate any changes whatsoever in doctrine, discipline and worship until a general
Christian council could be held. The evangelical members of the Diet presented a formal protest
that the unanimous decision of the Diet of spires in 1526 could not be rescinded by a majority
vote in a second Diet. From this protest, issued on April 19, 1529, the Evangelical party
received the name “Protestants.”

The Lutherans prepared the Augsburg confession written by Melanchthon and approved by
Luther. In Zurich, Zwingli was also preparing his reformation move. He presented a separate
confession thus separating himself permanently from the Lutheran. The emperor refused to give
Zwinglians a hearing. The Augsburg confession was read before the Diet on June 25, 1529 in
the hall of Episcopal palace. The confession was based on the principle which was in full
harmony with the old Christian church. Thus, the years 1525-1530 were years of separation not
only of Protestants and Catholics but also of Lutherans and Zwinglians, and of Lutherans and
Radicals.

The Radicals embraced a wide variety of religious opinions, but they had at least two common
characteristics:
● They rejected every form of Christianity connected with the state and insisted on the
strictest separation of the church and state.
● They tried to promote spiritual religion by proclaiming immediate divine revelations which
they placed above the authority of the Bible.

14
15
 REFORMATION OF ULRICH ZWINGLI AT
ZURICH, 1519-1531
While the Reformation of Luther centred on Germany, Zwingli’s reformation centred on Zurich.
Ulrich Zwingli was born on January 1, 1484 at Wildhaus Switzerland. He was distinguished for
his clear and logical mind. He was first educated in Basel and Bern and later University of
Vienna. He received his Master’s Degree (M.A.) at the University of Basel and became a parish
priest at Glarus in 1506. He studied Greek and the writing of the early church fathers. He was
not interested in theology but Humanities.

At Eisleben, he matured as a Bible Humanist of the Erasmus type while Luther focused his
interest on Paul’s doctrine of salvation, Zwingli focused on the Pauline ethics. In December
1518, he was elected to the position of chief pastor in the Great Minster Church at Zurich.
Zwingli by this time had come to recognize the Bible as the absolute authority in matters of faith
and life. He was also convinced that the church needed a thorough moral reformation and that
the way to affect it is to preach the word of God in its entirety. His sermons impressed the
people of Zurich unlike Luther; he abolished the Catholic system of prescribed Gospel and
Epistle lessons insisting on personal freedom in selection of texts.

The turning point of his life came when he became acquainted with some of the writings of
Luther in 1519. (There are few things that are common to both). Both of them were born,
baptised, confirmed and educated as Roman Catholics and were consecrated to the Catholic
priesthood. They were both with humble origin, possessed physical and mental energies and a
fearless, upright spirit. Although Zwingli was influenced by humanism, he was superior to Luther
in his manner and tolerance but inferior to him in originality and force and inability to inspire
others.

Zwingli’s theology centred on God as Absolute Will, while Luther’s theology centred on God as
the absolute love. Zwingli states that salvation of man depends on the absolute will of God, for
God had from eternity elected certain individuals to eternal life and others to eternal death.
Luther emphasised the love and grace of God in Christ and the objective efficiency of the
means of Grace. However, the two differed in their explanations of original or hereditary sin, but
regarded sin as a moral disease only, which of itself did not evolve personal guilt, even in new-
born children, and that infant baptism was necessary.

The difference between Zwingli and the Roman Church came in 1522 in connection with a
controversy about fast. In 1522, he preached a sermon in which he undertook to show that the
prohibition of meat during lent has no foundation in scripture. Several of his followers made
practical use of this liberty by eating meat and sausage during the Lenten season.

Zwingli’s break with Rome came with his publication of “Archteless” (Beginning and End) in
August 1522 in which he rejected the Catholic co-ordination of scripture and Tradition and

16
maintained that the Bible was the only infallible authority which Christian could accept. He also
defied the authority of the church by his secret marriage to Ann Reinhart in July 1522 and made
public the marriage in 1524. Zwingli’s indifference with the church in Zurich caused conflict.
Zwingli prepared sixty-seven articles as the basis for the first disputation on January 29, 1523.
He attacked the primacy of the pope, the worship of saints, the merit of good works, fasts,
festivals, pilgrimages, monastic orders, celibacy, auricular confession (i.e. confession of sins to
God in the hearing of a priest), absolution, indulgences, penances and purgatory as human
invention with no foundation in scripture. As a result, the monasteries in and around Zurich were
forsaken and priests and nuns married.

His second debate was held October 26-28, 1523 to discuss the use of images in the churches
and the Roman doctrine of the Mass. Zwingli maintained that statues and pictures in churches
should be removed because he considered them to be idolatrous or to be sinful against the first
commandment. He maintained that the mass was not a sacrifice but a memorial of the death of
Christ and should be abolished. On November 17, 1523 he wrote to explain the principles of the
Reformation.

On January 20, 1524 the third debate was held. His views were endorsed. With his last radical
step of abolition of Episcopal Jurisdiction his reformation was completed. Zwingli Reformation
spread from Zurich to other parts of Switzerland but the Catholic formed a league against it in
1531 hostilities broke and protestants were defeated. Zwingli was killed. However, after this
incident a peace meeting was held which drew the lines between the protestant and the
Catholics.

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 REFORMATION OF JOHN CALVIN (1509 – 1564)
Calvin was born on 10th July, 1509 in the city of Noyon in Picardy about sixty miles northeast of
Paris. He was trained as a pious Catholic. In 1523, he entered the college de la marche in Paris.
He also studied at the University of Paris. He completed his studies in 1528 the same year
Ignatius Loyala entered as a student. He was a French reformer and theologian. By the middle
of the 16th century John Calvin was the dominant figure of the Protestant Reformation. After
Luther’s death in 1546 all who had become convinced of the errors of the Roman Catholic
Church looked to Calvin for guidance and instruction in Geneva. It was in Geneva that several
of the English and Scottish refugees set about the task of preparing a new translation of the
whole Bible into English.

John Calvin broke away from the Roman Catholic Church after a religious experience in which
he believed he had received a mission to restore the Church to its original purity. He resigned
his benefices and in 1535 fled to Basel. He issued the first edition of his Institutes in 1536. Later
that year he yielded to Farel’s request to help organise the Reformation at Geneva. His Articuli
de Regimine Ecclesiae (1536), containing regulations for admission to the Lord’s Supper and
requiring a profession of faith from all citizens, were accepted, but his use of the discipline of
excommunication and his refusal to conform the usages of the Church of Geneva with those of
Berne led to the expulsion of both Farel and Calvin in 1538. Calvin spent the next three years as
minister to the French congregation and lecturer at Strasburg. There he issued a fresh edition of
the Institutes (1539), and a commentary on Romans (1540), and wrote his famous letter to Card
Sadoleto, defending Reformation principles. In 1541 he returned to Geneva, where he devoted
himself to establishing a theocratic regime on OT lines. This was achieved by a series of
‘Ordinances’ which placed the government in the hands of pastors, elders, and deacons,
assisted by a consistory court, which was chiefly a tribunal of morals. It wielded the power of
excommunication, and new legislation inflicted severe punishments purely for various religious
offences.

Calvin possessed a very weak and sickly physical frame. His body was also weakened by
fasting and study, for he passed days without food and nights without sleep. It would have been
a laborious task for a robust man to accomplish what Calvin did; much more was it so for one of
frail physique and constant illnesses. Through him Calvinism was developed which is a
theological system generally accepted in non-Lutheran reformed Churches. It shares with
Lutheranism belief in the Bible as the only rule of faith, the denial of human free will after the fall
of Adam, and the doctrine of justification by faith alone. However, he added the doctrine of
predestination of some to salvation and others to damnation.

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 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
The movement which John Wycliffe inspired in the 1370, known as Lolllards, never completely
died out before the Reformation began to take root in English soil. The Lollards had much in
common with other medieval anticlerical parties. Two emphases seem to have been basic to the
movement.
● The authority of scripture
● The priority of preaching

Their expressions were often couched in crude forms. They were opposed to transubstantiation
(the bread and the wine changing to the real body and blood of Jesus); Church bells, relic
worship, the use of images, purgatory, the payment for the forgiveness of sins, indulgences,
pilgrimages and the papacy itself.

The Lollards paid the price with their lives. However, in spite of the persecutions and numerous
martyrs, the scriptures were translated into English and circulated in manuscript forms. The
teachings of Lollards began to fade away because Luther’s teaching began to find adherence
throughout the country.

It should be noted that the greatest catalyst of the English Reformation was William Tyndale, a
humanist turned reformer. William was born in Gloucestershire around 1494. He earned his
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Oxford in 1512 and his Master three years later. After a year of
lectures at Oxford he went to Cambridge, there he began to acquire knowledge of Greek and
demonstrated his ability as a linguist.

Tyndale made his way to Wittenberg where he compared notes with Luther and Melanchthon.
Tyndale became dedicated to the Reformation. After a year in Wittenberg he took residence in
cologne where he published the Tyndale Edition of the New Testament in 1526. The Bishop of
London, Cuthbert Tunstall and Sir Thomas More became Tyndale’s opponents. Tyndale was
killed before he could complete the Translation of the Old Testament.

The eventual Reformation of the Church in England had connection with royalty of England and
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey whose ambition was to make England an international power and to
become elected pope. But, he was not elected as the Pope; therefore, he turned his hatred on
Charles V and the Emperor’s aunt Queen Catherine of [Link] hatred had a bearing on
the divine suit of Henry VIII and Catherine later. Catherine of Aragon daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella of Spain had been married to Henry VIII's older brother but Arthur did not live to inherit
the crown. Pope Julius II had in 1503 permitted Henry to marry his deceased brother’s wife. Six
children were born to the family but only Mary survived.

By 1527, the king Henry VIII desired to divorce Catherine because she could not bear him a
son. Because absence of a male heir would probably cause civil war, as no woman has ever sat
on the throne of England. Henry has declared to the pope that the marriage of his brother’s

19
widow was a sin and that he had fallen in love with one of the ladies of the court Anne Boleyn
but this he failed to mention to the pope. The case was brought before Wolsey in England but
the proceedings were terminated in 1529 when Pope Clement VII referred the case to Rome.
Henry VIII then turned to the repudiation of papal authority.

So,the king formed friendly relations with the Reformed and the anti-clerical parties to gain the
necessary popular support. Protestant books were allowed to circulate at court. These books
advocated the confiscation of church property and the return to a simpler religious life. Thomas
Cranmer became archbishop of Canterbury in 1532 because of his gratifying suggestion to
Henry VIII. In 1533, Cranmer annulled Catherine’s marriage with Henry and three years later
pronounced a similar judgement on the King’s marriage with Anne Boleyn.

The parliament in 1532 gave the king authority to abolish the payment of innate to Rome. Later
the same year the Act of submission of the clergy was passed decreeing that the clergy in
convocation could pass no laws without the king’s permission. This Act completely reversed the
previous relation between church and state in England. In 1533 the Act of Restraint of Appeals
was passed, making it a crime for an English man to carry an appeal to a court of Rome.

The pope excommunicated Henry VIII in 1534. The king answered by the Act of Supremacy.
Passed by parliament in November, 1534 by which Henry and his successors were declared
“the only Supreme head on Earth of the church of England.”

As the supreme head of the Church of England, the King abolished the smaller monasteries in
1535. Five years later monasticism was abolished [Link] attention was given to the
inner life of the church. Ten articles were published in 1536.

Cranmer and other theologians prepared the first English Protestant Catechism. Henry had no
intention of introducing Protestant doctrine or practice in England, what he wanted was a
reformed Roman Catholic Church with national character strictly under royal control. Edward VI
the son of Henry VIII made the Church of England protestant. During the reign of Edward, clergy
could be married, doctrine and worship moved toward Protestantism of the Calvinistic variety.
Scotland

John Knox (1515 – 1572)

A Scotch priest, about 1540 began teaching Reformation ideas. However, there was no chance
for Reform of the Scotch Church as long as it was under French control. John Knox believed
that the future of Protestantism was bound up in an alliance between Protestant England and
Protestant Scotland. The Reformed Church was established in 1560; and, with the help of
England, by 1567, the French were driven out, and Romanism was more completely swept
away than in any other country.

It was under the influence of John Knox that the Presbyterian system of church government was
introduced into Scotland. The Presbyterian system is based upon the authority entrusted by the
church to elders (Greek ‘presbyteros’). Another aspect of Reformation work in Scotland was in

20
the area of education. An attempt was made to establish a school in every parish for the
instruction of youth in true religion, grammar, and Latin tongue. Knox denounced Mass. Knox
died in 1572. He was buried in Edinburgh, the Regent of Scotland speaking over his grave the
long remembered words, “Here lies one who never feared the face of man.’

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 EFFECTS OF REFORMATION
As a result of the Reformation the distinct influences were exerted on Europe in the areas of
Religious, political and social influences.

Religious Influences
As a result of the Reformation, Europe was divided between the Catholic countries of the south
and the protestant countries of the North many protestant denominations developed, and they
were organised in a variety of ways. In many parts of Europe this diversity of religious life
created a mood of religious toleration and a respect for the importance of the individual
conscience. The Reformation also stimulated many reforms within the Catholic Church. The
church gained new purity and strength during the late 1500’s and the 1600’s in a movement
called the Counter Reformation.
Political and Social Effect

The establishment of state churches as occurred in England contributed to the growth of

nationalism. Lutheran religion tended to be conservative and supported a strong central
government. Calvinist areas, where Protestants were often in the minority, tended to support
democracy and argued for a citizen’s right to oppose tyranny by monarchs.

Luther and other Protestants regarded life in the world as the “sphere of faith’s work.” They
idealised family life and participation in community activities. The Protestants stressed on the
holiness of a person’s note in daily life and encouraged industriousness and careful
management of material things. This attitude became known as protestant ethics. It contributed
to the growth of industry and commerce in the 1700’s and 1800’s.

Protestant leaders also promoted education believing that education can free the church from
ignorance of the papacy. Both Protestants and Catholics contributed to the great scientific
achievements.

Counter Reformation
Counter Reformation is the name generally given to the renewal movement in Roman Catholic
Church during the 1500’s and 1600”s many Catholic scholars prefer to name it Catholic
Reformation or Catholic Revival to avoid the implication that the movement was merely a
reaction to the protestant Reformation. The reform movement had begun long before the rise of
Protestantism. But the spark that set off a complete renewal of Catholic faith and practice was
the rejection of the pope by the Protestant reforms. This action awakened the zeal of Catholics
to purify the church “in head and members” from the pope down to the members.

The Counter Reformation took two main forms:

● A rebirth of faith among the people and

22
 ● A re-assessment of principle by church leaders. Religious zeal was stimulated by the
establishment of new religious orders in the early 1500’s. With the founding of the
society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1534, the Counter Reformation became an established fact.
Two factors contributed to the success of the Counter Reformation:
i. The discovery of the new world
ii. Industrial Revolution. The colonisation of North America helped the church to realise its
desire to extend the frontiers of Christianity.

23
 RADICAL PROTESTANT MOVEMENTS
The Protestant Reformation produced three large groups:
i. the Lutherans
ii. the Reformed
iii. the Anglicans.
But the Reformation was accompanied by a number of radical religious revolts which demand a
brief consideration.

Several extremist groups claimed that Luther, Zwingli and Calvin had not gone far enough in
their reformation. These groups include
The Anabaptist
Anabaptist was the collective name given to a variety of religious opinions held by various
groups. Promoters were from mystical piety of the Middle Ages with which they combined
socialist principles and apocalyptic visions. Anabaptist followers are found among artisans and
the working men of the common.

While the group differed from one another they had at least three things in common.
1. They all reject infant Baptism and re-baptized those members who had been baptised as
children hence the name. “Anabaptist” which means re-baptizers.
2. They would have nothing to do with the state churches because those they claimed
numbered many nominal Christians, while the true church should be an association of
true believers only.
3. They subordinated the outward word of God and the sacraments to the subjective
experience of the “Inner light” of the spirit.

Two types of Anabaptists were distinguished: the quietest and the revolutionaries. The quietists
were devout and peaceful in Spirit. The revolutionaries were fanatics who advocated the
abolition of all existing authorities in church and state.

The leader of the quietists was BalthasarHubmeir, a devout Catholic who studied under John
Eck.

The Zwickau prophets were among the early revolutionary Anabaptists and their chief exponent
was Thomas Munzer.

The Mennonites- Anabaptist were scattered in Europe after the catastrophe at munster.
However, Menno Simons helped to gather them in 1536. Before he became an Anabaptist he
was a Catholic priest. The early Mennonites agreed to the following views:
1. The need for personal conversion and of adult baptism as its sign and seal.
2. Denial of the guilt of original or transmitted sin, and hence rejection of infant baptism.
3. Refusal to bear arms, to hold civil office, to take oaths, to take revenge and to participate
in worldly amusement.

24
 4. Obedience to civil magistrates in all things not contrary to conscience and the word of
God.
5. Rejection of state control over the church.
6. Strict supervision over the lives of the members.
7. Introduction of feet washing in accordance with the thirteenth chapter of the book of
John.
8. A low estimate of the sacraments and a nearly Unitarian view of the incarnation of
church.

The Baptists
They originated in England near the beginning of the seventeenth century by retaining
Congregationalist constitutions and rejecting infant baptism. They generally adhered to
Calvinistic doctrines. But the Armenian views caused a general Baptist division in I701. The
larger number held to Calvinistic doctrine of predestination and was called regular Baptist or
particular Baptist. Those who held to Armenian views were called General “Baptist” or “Free will”
Baptist. Towards the end of the seventeenth century Francis Bampfield organised a new group
known as “Seventh Day Baptist” because they observed the seventh day as the day of rest.

From England the Baptists spread to America and to various countries of Europe. In England
and America they were found in practically every town and city. They are divided into many
different groups, some of which do not adhere to any general confession of faith. The
“Confession of the American free-Will Baptists” last Revised in 1886; is the most authoritative
statement of the Armenian Baptist views. The historic manifesto of the particular Baptists is the
“Confession” of 1677, as revised in 1689.

The Libertines
During his early labours at Geneva, John Calvin had much opposition known as the libertines.
This particular group was made up of two elements, one political and one religious, but in other
regions the libertines or spirituals were usually thought of as a religious sect.

They made their first appearance in the Netherlands where they called themselves the
spirituals. From the Netherlands they spread to France, then to Switzerland, Germany, and
England. Their main tenets are
i. There was but one spirit in the universe, the spirit of God, who lived in all creatures,
hence there could be no evil and no angels, good or bad.
ii. Since there was but one spirit, nothing could be essentially bad, and sin was merely an
illusion.
iii. Regeneration consisted in the knowledge that the distinction between good and bad was
baseless, and those who had this knowledge had aligned to the innocence which Adam
had before the fall.
iv. Salvation consisted in the deliverance from the phantom of sin.
v. There was no truth in Gospel history and the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ
had, at the best, only a symbolic meaning.

25
 vi. The word of the Bible was a dead letter which must either be entirely rejected or else be
interpreted according to libertine views.
vii. Spiritual marriage was superior to legal marriage which was merely canal and not
binding; hence there was to be a community of women as well as a community of goods.
It was this last view that stigmatised them as libertines.

Unitarians (Socinians)
The modern Unitarians originated during the reformation period. A number of humanists of
central and Southern Europe began to register their intellectual objections to various doctrines
of the church, especially to the belief in the divinity of Christ. Prominent among them were
LelioSocini and his nephew Faustus Socini

The early Unitarians held to the following doctrines

i. God’s plan of salvation is revealed in the New Testament but not in the Old Testament
ii. This divine revelation supplements human reason, but does not contradict it; hence all
religious teaching must be tested by human reason
iii. The doctrine of the trinity and eternal divinity of Christ conflicts with reason and must be
denied; Christ was only a man, although divine honours are due to him.
iv. Man has no original sin and guilt, hence the reality and necessity of atonement must be
denied.
v. The natural worth and dignity of man made it possible for him to obtain salvation
provided he gets the proper instruction in the truth.
vi. This truth has been imported through the man Jesus Christ.
vii. There is no predestination and no eternity of hell.

The Unitarian doctrines were repudiated by Catholics and by Protestants alike. Modern or
present-day Unitarians have no formal creed but form a free fellowship under the authority of
reason and conscience.

26
 MODERN AGE
Modern age is a period when information becomes easily accessible through publications.
Modern age was influenced by renaissance (which started around 1350 and ended in 1620).
Renaissance was a historical period in learning, in the areas of politics, literature, art, religion,
social life, and music. Modern age was also influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightenment
was an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries emphasising reason and
individualism rather than tradition. It was heavily influenced by 17th century philosophers such
as Descartes, Locke and Newton.

The modern age can therefore be divided into two periods: the early modern period and the late
modern period. Notable things that happened during the late modern age included: French
Revolution, the American Revolution, the Russian Revolution. This period also affected the
church positively and negatively in several ways. For example, from the dawn of modern age
Christians began to face issues of preservation of faith and how to advance the gospel in an
acceptable manner in the modern age. The reason for these challenges is obvious, it was the
period that intellectualism, secularisation and science were embraced, like Darwin’s
evolutionary hypothesis.

The most potent instruments in effecting this change of atmosphere were the rise of modern
science and philosophy, with the immense consequent transformations in outlook upon the
universe and upon man’s position in it, and the subsequent development of the historic method
of examining and interpreting thought and institutions. People began to develop independent
thought. As such there was the rise of professionals, free thinkers and political class. During this
period three specific movements had influence on the church, these were: orthodoxy, pietism
and enlightenment. Orthodoxy is a right belief or pure doctrine in contrast with heresies. Pietism
places emphasis on spirituality. It instituted devotional circles for prayer and Bible reading, and
proclaimed the universal priesthood of all believers. Enlightenment promoted human reason as
the highest authority in religious matters.

The Age of Orthodoxy

The truth which the great reformers of the sixteenth century had discovered in the scriptures
had been stated by them in the several protestant confessions of faith. Hence the 16th century
was a period of creeds. But the need was soon felt to have the protestant doctrines formulated
in a systematic or scientific form to differentiate them with Roman and Greek Catholic views.

Protestant schoolmen and professors in the Universities set themselves to organise and
systematise the evangelical faith and doctrines into good teaching forms. Hence theology
science, especially dogmatic, flourished in various protestant denominations during the
seventeenth century. Most prominent among them were John Gerhard (1583-1637),
GysbertVoetius (1589-1676). The Bible became an arsenal from which doctrines were to be
proved.

27
However, orthodoxy did not merely produce quarrelsome theologians and a parched
Protestantism but it also produced strong religious personalities simultaneously with the
orthodoxy movement came several counter-acting tendencies known as mysticism, theosophy
(divine wisdom) and syncretism.

Pietism
Pietism is the name given to a great religious awakening within the protestant churches of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on behalf of practical religion. From their religious
gatherings called collegia pietatis, the movement was called pietism.

They combined mystical and practical tendencies within Lutheranism and reformed churches.
The movement started simultaneously in Holland, Germany and Switzerland. Gradually there
was a fusion of orthodoxy and pietism which produced a healthy vigorous type of Christianity
from their enlightenment.

English Methodism
Methodism emerged as a reaction against English Rationalism and the general spiritual and
moral decline of the English nation. John Wesley (1703-91) was the man who called the revival
but was strongly assisted by his brother Charles Wesley (1708-88) and by George Whitefield
(1714-1779). The Anglican Church had failed to take up its special and world-wide mission.
When the Methodist revival started it provided to a large extent the religious need which the
Anglican Church had failed to meet. The Methodist Movement began around 1735. The first part
of the 18th Century was a period of spiritual decay in England. In the Church of England
bishops and parish clergy alike were often given to worldliness. Sports, politics, entertainment,
as their chief interest. Ease rather than labour characterised them. Much of the preaching of the
period was remote from gospel truth, and it almost seemed as if true religion would die out
altogether. As for the people at large, drunkenness, immorality, cruel and pernicious sports,
unbelief, and complete indifference to the divine message were their most obvious features.

John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield had studied at the University of Oxford.
Revival began in the University of Oxford where, in 1729, several students formed a society
nicknamed, “The Holy Club” by their irreligious fellows. Their purpose was to promote the
growth of personal piety. Another name applied to them was that of ‘Methodist,’ – those who
practised living according to a fixed plan. At that time, no person became a Methodist without a
conversion experience born of the convicting work of the Spirit of God. Regeneration by the
Spirit’s initial work, sanctification by the Spirit’s continued work, forgiveness through the atoning
work of Christ on Calvary, justification by faith in Christ – these, and related doctrines, were
preached in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, North America, and wherever Methodist
preachers penetrated. John Wesley was totally committed to the work. Rising about four in the
morning, he often preached his first sermon of the new day at five, and usually two or three
more sermons before the day ended. He regarded the entire world as his parish.

Methodism carried on with no intention of separating from the Church of England but met with a
hostile reception from bishops and clergy. Yet as long as he lived he (John Wesley) and his

28
followers remained within the Established Church. The break with the Church of England came
in 1795, four years after his death at the age of 87.
Protestantism and Modernity

The drift of history in the nineteenth and twentieth Centuries had been toward world unity.
Education has made thought and scholarship international. These influences have also affected
religion. The various religious systems of the world have been subjected to careful historical
study and comparison. Numerous international religious federations have been formed from the
Holy Alliance in 1815 to the world council of churches in 1948.

There has been a distinct tendency from the middle of the eighteenth century to the present to
make church and state mutually independent. A free church unhampered by state council and
free state unhampered by church control.

There was also a renewed interest in works of charity and mercy and a remarkable expansion of
foreign mission activities. The Protestant churches founded and maintained foreign mission
societies, inner mission societies, Bible societies, tract societies, Christian Alliance, Sunday
Schools, institution of mercy, training schools for nurses, and the like. Foremost of these
practical enterprises was the foreign mission work. The nineteenth century was the great
missionary century. However, a more extensive protestant missionary activity commenced at
the beginning of the 18th century.

William Carey (1761-1834) initiated this new state in protestant world missions. The voyages of
discovery by captain James Cook, from 1768-1779, aroused his interest in the heathen world.
He persuaded a group of 12 Baptist Ministers in England to engage the particular society for
propagation of the gospel among the heathen (Later it was called the Baptist Missionary
Society) in 1792 and the next year Carey was in India as its first missionary p.393.

This organisation was followed by the formation of the London Missionary Society in 1705 which
was Interdenominational at first but later became congregational. Its first missionaries went to
Tahiti in 1796. Robert Morrison was sent to China in 1807. He was the first protestant
missionary to that country. Robert Moffat was sent to Africa in 1818. William Ellis was sent to
Madagascar- David Livingstone the famous son-in-law of Moffat also entered into mission
service and went to central and South Africa.

The growing sense of missionary obligation caused a group of Anglicans to form the church
missionary society of the Evangelicals in the Church of England in 1709. The society for the
propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, a High-Church English mission society was founded
in 1801.

General interest in foreign missions was aroused in other protestant countries. The foreign
mission movement created a demand for a wider circulation of the Bible. The British and
Foreign Bible Society was formed in 1804 and the American Bible Society organised in 1815.

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Catholic and Modernity
At the opening of the nineteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church was in a distracted
condition. In the New Awakening pope Pius the VII (18000-23) pursued a policy in accord with
the spirit of the council of Trent and the Jesuit order. In 1802, he formulated a new church
constitution known as the organic articles. The two documents decreed the Roman Church to
be the religion of the majority of the French people, but Calvinists, Lutherans, and Jews were to
be tolerated.

Romanticism especially afflicted literature, art and religion. It also laid a new emphasis on the
emotions, pleading for return from the complexities of a modern civilization to the simpler life of
the early days. The principle of rationalism was applied by the Catholic liberals to the sphere of
politics. Its principles were freedom of the press, freedom of conscience, freedom of
organisation and strict separation of church and state.

The intellectual and religious awakening which ushered in the modern period were
accompanied by an era of great geographical discoveries and a corresponding colonial
expansion. The theatre of world history expanded tremendously and a part of the new scene
was the European contact with a large number of primitive tribes in various colonies. This
situation was in turn bound to influence the course of Christian missions.

Division of modern Europe into protestant and Roman Catholic camps was also destined to
influence the basis, history and results of modern mission.

According to the protestant conception the missionary task consisted in Christianizing the non-
Christians, while Roman Catholicism conceived of it as the catholicism of non-Christianity and
submission to the authority of scriptures: Catholic missions emphasised the submission of the
pagan masses to the external authority of the Roman hierarchy. This difference in conception
resulted in a corresponding difference as to missionary methods and lasting result. The first
modern colonial empires were founded by Roman Catholic nations, Spain, Portugal, and
France. Hence the Roman Catholic Church enjoyed the priority in bringing the gospel to the
Roman Catholic populations in the colonies. Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuit missionaries
followed the colonisers to the new fields which soon were dotted with fortresses, factories and
Roman Catholic Missions. Many imposing gains were made for the Roman Catholic Church, but
conversion was in many instances by coercion, and the missions usually depended upon
military protection and government support. Hence, the downfall of political power usually meant
a rapid decline or complete collapse of the mission concerned.

The organisation and mobilisation of the Catholic force during the counter-reformation era gave
new impetus to foreign missions; zealous missionaries planted stations and churches and
schools in nearly every known portion of the world. The central agency for this great work was
the congregation for the propagation of faith and the pope was the chief leader. There are also a
number of missionary seminaries established for the purpose of training missionaries.

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Excessive Jesuit leniency toward pagan culture and customs gave cause for much comment
and criticism.

Catholic mission history is surrounded with names of prominent missionaries and self-sacrificing
missionaries and martyrs such as Francis Xavier, a missionary to India and Japan.
Bartholomew de las casas, Catholic missionary to the West Indies and central South America.
He was accused by some historian as being the instigator of Negro slavery.

The Ecumenical Movements

The history of Christian church has constantly been marked by two major drives, toward
expansion and toward integration. In the nineteenth century, especially in the protestant world,
the theme of expansion was dominant, but in the twentieth century the movements towards
consolidation have been the most conspicuous. The term “Ecumenical Movement” is a generic
one which refers to a whole range of movements and tendencies towards re-union. The
Ecumenical movement was very important in protestant affairs. It has also involved the
orthodoxy of the Eastern church. The Roman Catholic Church for a long time took no official
part in ecumenical discussion or action.

Ecumenical movements became prominent in the twentieth century but historically it is traced
back to the sixteenth century (i) The first and foremost in their agenda was missionary
enterprise. Missionary thrust of the nineteenth century had many interdenominational features.
Many of the missionary societies drew support from Christians across denominational lines.
Gathering missionaries for fellowship and discussion developed. The first such meeting was
held in London and New York in 1854. The world missionary Conference was held at Edinburgh
in 1910.

The second (2) area of growing ecumenical activity was that of youth work and Christian
education. One of such was the Young men’s Christian Association founded in London by
George Williams in (1821-1905) [Link] World’s Alliance of the Y.M.C.A. was formed in 1894.
Another important movement was the student volunteer movement for foreign Missions
organised in 1886 during one of Moody’s Conferences. Under John R. Motte was the world’s
student Christian Federation which was created in a safe den in 1895.

The third (3) area of ecumenical development was the Federation for Christian service and
common ethical action. A pioneer of this was Samuel S. Schumacher with his article published
in 1838 titled. Fraternal Appeal to the American Churches with a plan for Catholic Union on
Apostolic Principles Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America was founded in 1898 by
Josiah strong. Finally founded in 1908 were the Federal Council and its objects include:
● To express the following and Catholic unity of the Christian church.
● To bring the Christian bodies of America into united service for Christ and the world.
● To encourage devotional fellowship and mutual counsel concerning the spiritual life and
religious activities of the churches.
● To secure a large combined influence for the churches of Christ in all matters affecting
the word and social condition of the people.

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 ● To assist in the organisation of the local branch of the Federal Council.

The World Council of churches emerged from this movement and became a fellowship of
churches which accepts our Lord Jesus Christ as God and saviour. The international missionary
council merged with the world council of churches at New India in 1961.

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 EARLY AFRICAN CHURCH HISTORY
There are three major Christian missionary periods in Africa: the early Christian centuries, the
15th century and the modern period, from the 19th century. There is no record of any
missionary activity in the New Testament. However, there were contacts or accessibility with
Africa and some Africans. These included:
● The flight of Joseph and Mary with Jesus into Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15).
● Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus’ cross (Luke 23:26).
● Some other Cyrenian Jews (Acts 2:20; 6:9; 11:20; 13:1).
● Apollos, an Alexandrian, missionary preacher to Corinth and Ephesus in Europe (Acts
18:24-19:1).
● The Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26 – 40).

There are also the traditions that Thomas stopped over in Africa on his way to India and that
John Mark established churches in Alexandria. However, we must note that from a historical
perspective Egypt has a longer history of Christianity in Africa. Christianity developed in Egypt
along two different lines: among “the Greek-speaking population of the towns of the Delta, and
notably of Alexandria, which shared the religious and cultural influences common to the
Hellenized provinces of the Empire and among the native Egyptian population, the Copts.
According to Hildebrandt:

From the period AD 30 to 180 we actually know very little about the history of the Church in
Africa. However, by AD 180 there was a large church in Egypt, so it must have started long
before that date… In addition to Egypt, the church made early progress in the Roman
province of ‘Africa’ and Numidia… by the beginning of the third century (AD 200) there were
many local Christian churches and Christianity was continuing to spread.

Another nation where the Gospel came before 200 AD was Nubia. It is believed that the
Ethiopian Eunuch went back and witnessed to his people with the result that some were
converted. The next period was 200 – 500 AD. The major characteristic features of the church
in Africa at this time were Growth, Persecution, Distinguished Leaders and Controversies. This
period is regarded as the Golden Age of African Christianity starting again with Egypt, we note:

In Egypt the Church continued to grow from 200 to 300. This period of time saw a great
increase in the number of Coptic Christians. Churches continued to grow. The local churches
were organised into ‘sees or church districts and these were directed by a bishop. Around AD
300 there were more than 80 bishops in Egypt. This would mean that there were very many
local churches.

In Abyssinia, the Gospel was established in the 4th century. Moreover, the growth of the church
in Africa at this period was smothered both by the persecutions and theological controversies
that plagued the church. The result of the persecutions was that Christians moved into other
areas and began to preach the Gospel to people, so the church actually grew larger. However,

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the theological controversies devastated the church. Examples are: Montanism – that promoted
the practice of asceticism and predicted the return of Christ. Donatism – that rejected the
election of orthodox bishops. It caused a schism in the church in North Africa. Arianism – it
denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. Pelagianism – taught that “every man is created with perfect
freedom to choose between good and evil; that sin is purely a matter of will; that each soul is
created pure and has the freedom to do good or evil.” Monophysitism – taught that Jesus Christ
has only one nature, that is, He is only God and not human. Some bishops in Egypt believed
this theological position. The decision of Chalcedon in 451 led to the breaking away of the
Coptic Church.

This notwithstanding, during the golden age of African Christianity, the African Church provided
leadership for the Church. The Catechetical School of Alexandria established by Pontaenus in
the 2nd century is significant in this regard. Clement and Origen were the most distinguished
heads of the School. Origen was one of the earliest Christians that gave the church an orderly
statement of the Christian faith. Other distinguished leaders from Africa were Tertullian, Cyprian
and Augustine. Tertullian gave the formula for the Trinitarian controversies. Cyprian advocated
for independent national church leadership and influenced the Catholic Church’s understanding
of the Communion service as a sacrifice. Augustine also made worthwhile contributions to the
church. Another important contribution of the church in Africa in the history of Christianity was in
the area of monasticism. Many monasteries were started in the deserts of Egypt during the
apostasy of the church. Monasticism became an abiding institution of medieval Christianity and
of its influences.

After 700 AD, the Church in North Africa declined and in many places became extinct. This
period was called “a millennium of darkness.” The following factors are usually given for the
decline of the church in North Africa:
● Failure to evangelise to the people. This is especially with regard to the indigenous
people.
● The use of foreign language (Latin). The people did not have the Gospel in their own
language.
● Theological Controversies.
● Heretical teachings.
● Persecutions. This is related more to those persecutions of the church against the
heretics rather than of the State. It is sad that some Christians gave themselves to the
Muslims without any resistance due to what they had suffered from their fellow believers.
● The Destruction of Rome. The defeat of Rome by the Vandals in 410 made North Africa
porous and the region was eventually conquered too.
● The conquest of Islam. One Christian nation after another fell before Islam and the
geographical axis and spread of Christianity was affected by Islam.

Christianity was introduced to West Africa in the 15th century by the Portuguese but it did not
stand the test of time for several reasons. These are explicitly discussed in another course of
study. However, Christianity that was re-introduced to West Africa in the early 19th century by
different missionary societies from the Western countries like Methodist, Anglican, Baptist and

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others continue to have impact in the society. We have earlier noted that in the early 18th
century, the western nations witnessed a great spiritual revival which is known in history as the
“Great Awakening.” The Great Awakening had a profound impact on both sides of the Atlantic.
Though it started in America, it soon spread to England and Germany. Not only was the spiritual
life of the church quickened and a new impetus given to missionary enterprise, but the social
fabric of the nations was touched as well. The arrival of Christianity in the 19th century in Africa
was a product of that revival.

CONCLUSION
The Church has experienced ups and downs in her history. The Christian faith has taken many
different shapes and can be expected to assume still other shapes in the future. In this course
we have examined the causes of reformation in the 16th century, the key players of the
Reformation era, how the modern age has shaped the history of the church and early beginning
of the history of the African Church. Overall, we have learnt that corruption or abuse of power
can lead to the decline of any institution especially the church and that when we notice
decadence in the church, as leaders and Christians we are to seek to the transformation of such
a situation

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