RE The Changing Church

Pivotal moments in church history- key dates and times

Black death timeline

1320s

Gobi Desert

Plague erupts in the Gobi desert and begins spreading in all directions

1347

Constantinople & Egypt

Reaches Constantinople, then Egypt. 1,000 deaths per day in Alexandria, 7,000 per day in Cairo

1347

Mediterranean

Disease travels by ship and land, affecting Cyprus, Sicily, and Italy

1348

Europe

Reaches Paris, England, and Germany - the worst year of the plague

Late 1340s

Russia

Disease completes its circuit through northern Europe back to Russia

What was the Black plauge?

The medical term for the plague is bubonic plague, carried by rats and other rodents. Fleas infested the rodents, then moved to humans, infecting them through regurgitating rodent blood into the human host.

Symptoms include;

High Fever, Vomiting Blood, Swollen Lymph Nodes, 3-4 Days to Death

Reasons for fear:

• Swiftness: Death within 3-4 days of first symptoms

• Pain: Terrible, agonizing suffering

• Appearance: Frightful, disturbing symptoms

• Inevitability: No effective treatment existed

How was the Black death contained?

Quarantine - keeping far enough away so that fleas couldn't reach you.

Wealthy people fled to the countryside, Pope Clement VI sat between two large fires (heat destroyed the plague organism), Cities implemented isolation protocols

What were flagellants?

Many Christians believed the plague was caused by God's anger at humanity's sinfulness. Groups called flagellants went through towns doing public penance, inflicting pain on themselves to atone for the world's evil.

What impact did the Black plague have on the Catholic church?

Devastating Loss of Life

The plague was not the only challenge the Church faced in the 14th century, but its effects were enormous. The devastating loss of life affected clergy and laypeople alike, weakening the Church's infrastructure and ability to minister to the faithful.

Crisis of Faith

The ugliness of the disease made people wonder why God seemed so angry with his people, and why Church leaders could not appease his anger. Many believed the world was ending.

Long-term Questions

Even after the disease passed, many wondered why God had punished the world so fiercely. This questioning would contribute to later religious upheavals, including the Reformation.

What is purgatory?

In Church teaching, Purgatory is the way in which God helps us to “make up” for sin which has already been forgiven. Purgatory is the state or place those who have still to make up for sin go to after death, before entering heaven. A person can free himself or herself from Purgatory while on earth, through faith and compassion to others. The Church also teaches that the prayers and good works of Christians on earth can help to reduce Purgatory for others. Therefore there is a long tradition in the Church of praying for the dead “that they may be released from their sins”.

What are indulgences?

An indulgence is an action or a prayer or a sacrifice that can take away all or part of Purgatory for oneself or for another. It is given in return for something good that a person does in this life.

Who was Martin Luther and what was his story?

Martin Luther was an Augustinian friar, who studied theology in 1508–1509 at the University of Wittenberg, and later (in 1513) became a lecturer on the Bible. When Pope Leo X and the Archbishop of Mainz began to use the sale of indulgences to pay for the construction of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Luther objected. A Dominican friar called John Tetzel, who had a reputation as a successful indulgence preacher, had been chosen to promote this trade in indulgences. It was his preaching that made Luther take the step he had been thinking about for more than a year.

On 31 October 1517, Luther circulated Ninety-five Theses, which consisted of 95 statements about aspects of Church life and teaching, and particularly about indulgences. It appears that his students nailed them to the Wittenberg Castle church door for all passers-by to see. Luther had hoped only to challenge thinking about the sale of indulgences and certainly did not expect the results to which this action led. Here is a summary of events as they developed.

What was Martin Luther’s main message?

The most important idea that Luther taught was that salvation (eternal life) could be gained by faith alone. The heart of the Gospel was, for Luther, the belief that salvation is a gift of God, and that it cannot be earned by anything a person may do. He taught that God’s loving mercy, shown in Jesus Christ, is a free gift God gives to those who trust him. This teaching about salvation by faith alone is still fundamental to most Protestant Christian denominations.

Result of Lutheran’s teachings

• Luther had opposed naming any church Lutheran, but congregations bearing this name spread, mostly in northern Germany and Scandinavia. These congregations today still follow the teachings adapted from Luther’s.

• Zwingli, who had been a powerful priest in the Catholic Church and had joined Luther’s reform program in 1519, brought Protestantism to Zurich from where it spread through Switzerland.

• John Calvin, in Geneva, drew on Luther and Zwingli and preached a stern and demanding God, emphasising the doctrine of predestination. He was the leading French Protestant Reformer and the most important figure in the next wave of the Protestant Reformation.

• John Knox brought Calvin’s Reformed Church to Scotland, where it became the Presbyterian Church.

• In England, King Henry VIII also split from Rome. He appointed a secret Protestant, Thomas Cranmer, as Archbishop of Canterbury, and in 1534 made himself head of the Church in England. One contributing reason was that the Pope refused to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Henry VIII was highly critical of Martin Luther but his son, Edward VI, introduced Protestant doctrines and Protestant forms of worship. Anglicanism is thus a blend of Protestant and Catholic practices and beliefs. Today, many Anglicans do not think of themselves as Protestants.

How did the Catholic church respond to Martin Luther’s claim?

The Council of Trent it reformed the clergy

The Council forbade many corrupt practices among priests, bishops and cardinals.

• The Council passed a law saying that all clerics must reside in their posts, thus correcting priests, bishops or abbots who never spent any time in their parishes, dioceses or abbeys, but paid others to look after them while taking the profit.

• No one was to be appointed bishop until he had been ordained for six months.

• Bishops had been in the habit of taxing and receiving money from parishes that they visited. The Council of Trent forbade these practices.

• All abuses of indulgences as a means to raise money were forbidden.

What the the re-affirmed doctrine of the council of Trent?

• The Council taught that salvation does indeed come from God as a pure gift, but emphasised that it also needs human ­co-operation.
  
  

• The Council declared that salvation came from faith and good actions.

• Luther had taught that the only source of faith was Scripture, but the Council of Trent taught that both Scripture and Tradition carry authority as sources of Revelation.

What sacraments were reformed through the Council of Trent?

The Council of Trent clearly defined the number and meaning of the seven sacraments and emphasized the true meaning of the Eucharist as the sacrifice of Christ.

After the Council, specific rules about the form of the Mass and liturgical music were laid down.

It required that a wedding must take place before a priest and two witnesses, and be registered.

The Council of Trent reformed training of priests

Every diocese was expected to provide for the proper education of its future priests in seminaries. These were conducted under the authority of the Church. The clergy and especially the bishops were told to give more attention to the task of preaching and teaching.

Saints and catholic leaders of the catholic reform

Groups: Capuchins, the Ursulines, and especially the Jesuits.
The three great reforming Popes of this period were St Pius V, Gregory XIII, and Sixtus V.

Who were the Jesuits and what was their role in the Counter-Reformation?

The Society of Jesus, founded by St Ignatius of Loyola and approved by Pope Paul III in 1540.

• Known as the “shock troops of the Counter-Reformation” because they played an important role in Catholic renewal.

• Their motto was “To the greater glory of God.

What were the main characteristics and aims of the Jesuits?

• Education: Educated young people and priests to strengthen Catholic faith and teaching.

• Unity and loyalty: Had strong unity among members and complete loyalty to the Pope, serving wherever they were needed.

• Scholarship: Were highly educated and knowledgeable, using learning to support Catholicism.

How did the Jesuits contribute to Catholic education and missionary work?

• Initially established schools to educate young Jesuit recruits, but in 1548 opened a school in Messina, Sicily, for both Jesuits and lay students.

• Recognised education as an effective way to bring about Catholic renewal, preparing young people to become priests, judges, government leaders and other influential members of society.

• Expanded rapidly to more than 13,000 members within 50 years of St Ignatius' death.

• Spread Christianity throughout the Americas, Asia and islands across the seas.

Infallible

Free from error
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Successor of St Peter

the one who comes after and in a direct line from St Peter as Head of the Church.
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Teaches definitively

teaches finally and in his authority as Pope.
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Magisterium

the teaching authority of the Pope and bishops together or the Pope alone.
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Obedience of faith

the obedience given by all faithful Catholics when the Pope makes an infallible pronouncement.
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Second Vatican times

1962-1965

First Vatican times

1869 and 1870

Primary goal of the church council

Promote peace and unity among humanity.

What did Pope John do to express his goal for the Council?

Pope John moved to a window and threw it open, to let in a draught of fresh air. The goal of the Council, he said, was to “open the windows of the Church” to allow the breath of the Holy Spirit to pervade it.

How many documents are in the second Vatican council?

16

Most important document of the second vatican?

The Church was the most important topic because the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) aimed to renew the Catholic Church and clarify its role in the modern world. It examined how the Church should worship, communicate with people, work with other Christian denominations and involve ordinary Catholics in its mission. By addressing these areas, Vatican II helped the Church become more accessible and relevant to modern society while maintaining its core beliefs.

ome of the factors that were present in world society after World War II leading up to the Council Vatican II

• There was world horror at the violations of human freedom and dignity that had taken place during World War II.

• In 1945 the United Nations had been formed as a world guardian of human rights, to ensure that the offences of the World War II did not occur again.

• There was increased prosperity and power among the Western nations, in contrast with the continuing poverty and powerlessness of the nations of Africa, Asia and South America.

• The developed nations were involved in a dangerous arms race that was a threat to world peace.

• There were waves of migration all around the world after the war as people sought peace and freedom for themselves and their families.

• The development of technology such as radio, television, and transport meant that the world was truly becoming one global community.

• Entertainment through film and television was introducing negative and positive values into people’s homes.

• There was a greater tolerance in society generally of a variety of points of view.

• The development of youth culture saw young people being accepted as important members of society, with points of view which should be heard.

• In some countries people were less interested in religion.