1 of 4

THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION: �In the Footsteps of Calvin, Hus, Luther and Zwingli

2 of 4

A Century of Turmoil and Transformation

  • In 1415, Jan Huss was ordered to appeal before the Council of Constance to recant his views on indulgences and corruption in the Catholic Church. When he refused (and despite a promise of safe conduct), he was burned at the stake. As the flames consumed him, he said:
    • “Today, you are going to burn a goose, but in one hundred years you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil.”
  • In 1517, a young German priest named Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses to the cathedral door in Wittenberg, challenging the spiritual authority of the Pope to grant indulgences.
  • The spiritual revolution that ensued changed Europe forever.

3 of 4

Martin Luther

  • 1483: Born as the son of a miner.
  • 1505: Studied law but became an Augustianian Monk after a near death experience in a thunderstorm.
  • 1512: Appointed as professor of theology in the newly-created University of Wittenberg.
  • 1517: 95 Theses
  • 1521: Diet of Worms: excommunicated after refusing to recant.
  • 1525: Marries Katharina Van Borga, a former Catholic nun who bears him six children.
  • 1546: Dies at the age of 63.

4 of 4

Luther’s Historical Context

DATE

HISTORY

CULTURE and RELIGION

1470-1490

​

Gutenberg invents printing press (1470)

Tudor dynasty established in England (1985)

Sistine Chapel completed (1483)

1500s

St. Peters in Rome torn down

Mona Lisa painted. Height of Albrecht Durer’s religious printing.

University of Wittenberg founded (1502)

1510s

Pope Julius II dies (1516)

Martin Luther publishes 95 Theses

1520s

Peasants Revolt breaks out in Germany (1525)

Suleiman lays siege to Vienna (1529)

Tyndale creates first translation of New Testament into English

1530s

Henry VIII divorces Catherine of Aragon (1533)

Calvin publishes Institutes