Reformation and Religious Wars: Key Figures and Events

Ferdinand and Isabella

Spanish rulers who unified Spain and supported Columbus; strengthened Catholic power.

Henry VIII

English king who broke from Rome and started the Church of England.

Martin Luther

German monk who began the Protestant Reformation by challenging the Church.

Diet of Worms

1521 meeting where Luther refused to recant his teachings.

The Elector Frederick

German prince who protected Luther from arrest.

Luther's dispute with Erasmus

Luther said humans have no free will in salvation; Erasmus said they do.

Luther on the Peasants' War

Luther condemned the revolt and supported princes restoring order.

Katherine von Bora

Former nun who became Luther's wife.

Peace of Augsburg

1555; allowed German princes to choose Lutheranism or Catholicism.

Schmalkald League

Alliance of Lutheran princes against the Holy Roman Emperor.

Luther on the Word of God

Scripture alone (sola scriptura) is authority for Christians.

Luther on Justification by Faith

People are saved by faith alone, not works.

Luther on the Priesthood of Believers

All Christians can approach God directly without priests.

Ulrich Zwingli

Swiss reformer who rejected many Catholic practices.

The Peace of Kappel

1531 treaty ending war between Swiss Catholics and Protestants.

John Calvin

Protestant reformer who shaped Reformed and Presbyterian traditions.

Institutes of Christian Religion

Calvin's major work explaining Protestant theology.

Michael Servetus

Theologian executed in Geneva for heresy (anti-Trinitarian views).

John Knox

Scottish reformer who founded the Presbyterian Church.

Calvin: The Sovereignty of God

Belief that God completely rules all creation.

Calvin: Double Predestination

Idea that God chooses some for salvation and others for damnation.

Catherine of Aragon

Henry VIII's first wife; his attempt to annul her led to the English Reformation.

Dispensation

Special Church permission to break normal canon law.

Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop who supported Henry VIII's reforms and shaped Anglican doctrine.

Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII's second wife; mother of Elizabeth I.

Supremacy Act

Law making Henry VIII head of the Church of England.

Sir Thomas More

Catholic humanist executed for refusing the Supremacy Act.

Bloody Mary

Mary I of England; restored Catholicism and executed Protestants.

The Elizabethan Settlement

Compromise under Elizabeth I making England Protestant but moderate.

Jan Mattys

Radical Anabaptist leader in Münster.

Jan Bockelson

Took over Münster after Mattys; ruled it as a theocratic kingdom.

Menno Simons

Founder of the Mennonites; promoted peaceful Anabaptism.

Girolamo Savonarola

Florentine reformer who criticized Church corruption and was executed.

Cardinal Ximenes

Spanish reformer who improved clergy discipline before the Reformation.

The Oratory of Divine Love

Catholic reform group focused on personal spirituality and charity.

St. Teresa of Avila

Spanish mystic who reformed the Carmelite order.

St. John of the Cross

Spanish mystic who taught the 'dark night of the soul.'

Ignatius Loyola

Founder of the Jesuits.

Jesuits

Catholic order focused on education, missions, and defending the faith.

Francis Xavier

Jesuit missionary who spread Christianity in Asia.

Mateo Ricci

Jesuit missionary who worked in China using cultural adaptation.

Council of Trent

Major Catholic council that reformed Church practices and reaffirmed doctrine.

Index

Church list of banned books.

Huguenots

French Protestants influenced by Calvin.

St. Bartholomew's Day

1572 massacre of French Protestants in Paris.

Edict of Nantes

1598 law giving Huguenots limited religious freedom.

The Possessors and the Non-Possessors Dispute

Russian Orthodox debate over whether monks should own property.