This year marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. In 1517, 95 theses of the German theologian Martin Luther ended the Middle Ages and led to the formation of a new denomination. He himself considered the Reformation destructive, and his doctrine was not understood.
Promise
Martin Luther came from poor peasants, about which he himself always proudly said: "I am the son of a peasant, my father, grandfather and great-grandfather were pure peasants." Despite his origins, a good relationship with the Cotto burgher family allowed Luther to receive a philosophy education at the University of Erfurt. Luther was a brilliant student, his parents predicted a career as a lawyer, but two events dramatically changed not only Luther's life, but, as it turned out, the course of world history.
During his student days, Luther had to bury his best friend - a young man was struck by lightning. The death of a friend greatly influenced Luther. He involuntarily began to ask himself the question of what would become of him if God called him just as suddenly.
Shortly thereafter, while returning to Erfurt after the summer vacation, Luther also experienced an unexpected thunderstorm. A deafening thunderclap rang out near him, and lightning struck a few feet away. In horror, he exclaimed: “Saint Anna, help me! I will be a monk! The phrase burst out involuntarily, but Luther was not one to back down from his word. After two weeks, he fulfilled his vow.
On the arches of hell
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One of the turning points in Luther's life, which first gave rise to doubts about the righteousness of the Catholic Church, was his trip to Rome. The journey made an extremely negative impression on the young monk. Luther was German from head to toe, practicality, severity and simplicity were the national characteristics of his nature. In addition, he belonged to the Augustinian order, whose members preached an ascetic lifestyle. And then the German monk finds himself in Italy, in the Eternal City of Rome itself, where luxurious life is an integral part of the life of the church. Luther later recalled with horror the wickedness of the Romans, the greed of the clergy, their involvement in secular politics, passing on the old proverb: "If there is hell underground, then Rome is built on its vaults." In Rome, Luther heard the boastful speeches of the monks who claimedthat the papal little finger is stronger than all German rulers; heard offensive nicknames given to his compatriots. For a papal adorer like Luther, this impression was devastating. Subsequently, he said that he would not have taken 100 thousand Tylers for this trip to Rome, which opened his eyes.
Tetzel's Miraculous Goods
The main stumbling block and the last straw for Luther was the question of indulgence. As you know, "selling" the forgiveness of sins was a fairly common practice in the Middle Ages. Of course, this was not officially considered commerce. According to the catechism, the Catholic Church has an infinite amount of divine grace and can bestow the absolution of temporary punishment for sins, that is, penance. But for this a person must give the most precious thing, money was readily recognized as the equivalent of the “most expensive”. Although the "sellers of tickets to paradise" themselves often perverted the accepted canon, presenting the letter as a one hundred percent guarantee for absolution. This is exactly what the Dominican Tetzel, a man of dubious reputation, but oratorical talent, did. In fiery terms, he praised the people with the miraculous power of his product. He had a special price for each crime: 7 ducats for simple murder, 10 for murdering parents, 9 for sacrilege, and so on. They believed him, people ran to him for letters, someone parted with the last pennies, just to save the soul from the torment of purgatory. In 1517, he appeared in the outskirts of Wittenberg, where Luther taught theology. Outraged that his flock would rather buy absolution than repentance, Luther tried to dissuade the people. When this did not help, he turned to the higher ranks - Archbishop Albrecht, who received his profits from the sale of indulgences. He succinctly advised the obsessive theologian not to make enemies for himself.someone parted with the last pennies, just to save the soul from the torment of purgatory. In 1517, he appeared in the outskirts of Wittenberg, where Luther taught theology. Outraged that his flock would rather buy absolution than repentance, Luther tried to dissuade the people. When this did not help, he turned to the higher ranks - Archbishop Albrecht, who received his profits from the sale of indulgences. He succinctly advised the obsessive theologian not to make enemies for himself.someone parted with the last pennies, just to save the soul from the torment of purgatory. In 1517, he appeared in the outskirts of Wittenberg, where Luther taught theology. Outraged that his flock would rather buy absolution than repentance, Luther tried to dissuade the people. When this did not help, he turned to the higher ranks - Archbishop Albrecht, who received his profits from the sale of indulgences. He succinctly advised the obsessive theologian not to make enemies for himself.who received his profits from the sale of indulgences. He succinctly advised the obsessive theologian not to make enemies for himself.who received his profits from the sale of indulgences. He succinctly advised the obsessive theologian not to make enemies for himself.
Hallowe'en
Neither exhortations to the people nor appeals to his "immediate superiors" helped Luther solve the problem. Unhappy with the result, he decided to find allies at the university. In an educated environment, Luther met those who were willing to share his opinion. He was actively supported by the vicar of the Augustinian Order, Johann von Staupitz. Luther hesitated for a long time, but the last straw for him was the declaration of the people of the flock that they were not going to change their lives.
On November 1, 1517, on All Saints' Day, a crowd of people began to gather near the Wittenberg palace church, because wide absolutions were promised in the church festival. But this time everything went "not according to the script." A document was nailed to the very door of the church with a knife, which later went down in history as "95 theses."
Hidden powers
Many historians argue that Luther saw nothing illegal in his act and regretted his break with the Pope. But the very fact that he pinned the document to the door of the main church of the city with a knife did not imply further reconciliation with Rome! How did the theologian decide to take such a step, after all, after him Luther could expect, at best, a loss of degree and position, at worst - anathema, persecution and a fire. There can be only two explanations for this: either this person was furious and did not understand what he was doing, or there was some influential figure behind him, whose support he was counting on. And there was such a force.
By the 16th century, the rulers of the German principalities and heads of cities suffered from the influence of the Vatican, which used them as a source of finance and intervened in domestic politics in every possible way. The Church had the right to do so, according to the doctrine of the "Gift of Constantine." Allegedly, Emperor Constantine transferred the supreme power over all territories of the Roman Empire to the Pope. By 1517, relations between Rome and the German rulers were so tense that only a pretext was needed to start a war.
Disappointment
“I was alone and only through carelessness was involved in this matter,” Luther later wrote about the Reformation. Less than two years later, the scenery was completely changed. Now he was not alone in the field, many scientists and theologians stood behind him, political forces wielded Luther. It is believed that Martin himself was disappointed in the movement, he believed that his teaching was misinterpreted: “The reformer himself had to admit that it was mainly his doctrine of justification by faith alone, which was misunderstood, to blame for all this. It should have served to correct people, but it turns out on the contrary, people are now more stingy, ruthless, more depraved than before under the papacy. " But Luther never renounced his theses, which were against the Roman Church. He denied the Pope's ability to forgive sins, his right to political activity, rejected indulgence. Generally,dealt a significant blow to the Vatican. He continued his criticism of Catholicism in his further writings, and in one he even blessed the German princes to reform the church in a pamphlet "To the Christian nobility of the German nation."
Luther also regretted his famous translation of the Bible into German: “The common people know neither the Lord's Prayer, nor the Creed, nor the Ten Commandments; they live like meaningless beasts, and, freedom.
Personal gain
But Luther also gained some benefit from his understanding of "Christian freedom." As you know, in his teaching he criticized celibacy, and he was the first to set an example by marrying the nun Katharina von Bora who had escaped from the monastery.
Even Luther himself was frightened by the consequences of his action. Condemning the depravity of the Vatican, he was the first monk in the history of the church to violate the age-old traditions of celibacy. Speaking out against the secularization of the church, he himself took a step towards worldly life. He himself admitted: “I am not alien to the desires experienced by a man, I am not stone. But I realize that any day I can be burned at the stake as a heretic."