Reformation Figures and Events

John Wycliffe

English priest who taught evangelical poverty and translated the Bible

Jan Hus

Czech priest who rejected indulgences and was condemned as a heretic

Girolamo Savonarola

Dominican who challenged Renaissance values in Florence

Martin Luther

German priest who wrote the 95 Theses and founded Lutheranism

Frederick the Wise

Prince of Saxony who supported Luther after his condemnation

Charles V

Holy Roman Emperor who declared Luther an outlaw

Ulrich Zwingli

Swiss priest who split from Lutherans over theological differences

John Calvin

Theologian who founded Presbyterianism and believed in double predestination

Thomas Müntzer

German pastor who led a revolt in the Peasants War

Melchior Hoffman

Radical preacher who believed Strasbourg was the new Jerusalem

Lelio and Fausto Sozzini

Venetian preachers, taught that praying to the Trinity and Christ went against the Bible

Anabaptists

Protestant group advocating adult baptism for true acceptance

King Henry VIII

English monarch who founded the Anglican Church and started English reformation

Thomas More

Henry’s right-hand man and archbishop of Canterbury. Refused to depart from Catholicism, so he was killed.

Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury who assisted in the English Reformation

King Edward VI

English king who initiated radical reforms

Queen Mary I

Violently restored Catholicism in England

Queen Elizabeth I

Returned England to Protestantism with continued persecution of Catholics

Grievance Literature

literature circulating during the Renaissance that complained about the Catholic Church

Indulgences

way to reduce the amount of punsihment/purgatory one has to undergo before their sins are absolved

Penance

voluntary self-punishment done to justify a sin

Purgatory

post-death experience in between heaven and hell where one has to “work out” their sins before they go to heaven

95 Theses

list of complaints Luther had regarding the Catholic Church posted on the Wittenberg Castle by Luther in 1517 (official start of reformation)

Protestants

Western Christians who are not Catholic, reject scholasticism because they believe the only revelation is supernatual

Sola Scriptura

idea that everything should be based purely on the Bible

Conciliarism

councils hold ultimate authority over the Church rather than the pope

Double Predestination

the belief that, before time, God determined who went to hell and who went to heaven

Book of Common Prayer

new guide for liturgy in the Angelican Church

39 Articles

document that listed differences between the Angelican and Catholic Church

Diet of Worms

meeting of German princes and Charles V to discuss a multitude of different things. Specifically, they declared Luther an outlaw after Luther refused to recant

First Diet of Speyer

meeting of German princes which discussed the role of Lutheranism in the German states. They declared that individual princes could choose the religion of their principality

Second Diet of Speyer

another meeting of German princes. Here, they declared that, in areas that were Lutheran, Catholics must be treated equally. However, in areas that were Catholic, Lutherans did not get equal rights

Peace of Augsburg

in 1555 it was declared that individual princes could choose their religion and told Lutherans who were in Catholic areas to move and vice versa

Marburg Colloquy

meeting between Luther and Zwinlgi where they disagreed on the Lord’s Supper and the Iconoclasm Controversy. Eventually Zwingli split off from the Lutherans

Reply to Sadoleto

Italian Cardinal Sadoleto wrote a letter to Geneva, a city who splitting off from the Catholic Church, acknowledging the faults of the Church and asking them to come back, as the Catholic Church was the true apostli

Council Pisa

In 1409, Pope Alexander V is elected to replace the Roman Pope Gregory XII and the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII, but neither resign, so the Church has 3 popes

Council of Constance

All 3 popes were deposed and Martin V was elected, John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were condemned as heretics and burned at the stake

Junker Jorg

Luther took this name when he was “kidnapped” by Frederick the Wise and went into hiding

Philip Melanchthon

German reformer who contributed to writing the Augsburg Confession

cuius regio, eius religio

"whose land, their religion” meaning the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled

Catherine of Aragon

King Henry VIII’s wife who was unable to bear a male heir so he sought an annulment but was declined