Top Results for Reformation

Ninety-five Theses, a pamphlet drafted by Martin Luther in 1517, ignited significant religious upheaval. It directly criticized the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences—essentially, forgiveness for sins purchased through donations. This document spurred the Protestant Reformation and re...

Originally composed by Martin Luther in 1517, the 95 Theses is a foundational text that challenged the Catholic Church's theological practices regarding the sale of indulgences and the nature of penance. While Luther initially intended the document to spark an academic debate among scholars, it was...

The Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, penned by Martin Luther in 1520, presented a direct challenge to the Catholic Church’s power. It argued that secular rulers, specifically the German nobility, possessed the right to interpret scripture independently and initiate religious r...

Written by Martin Luther in 1520, On the Freedom of a Christian is a foundational theological treatise of the Protestant Reformation. The text articulates the concept of justification by faith alone, famously arguing that a Christian is simultaneously a perfectly free lord subject to none and a perf...

Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, reputedly posted in Wittenberg in 1517, were a scholarly challenge to the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences that, once printed and disseminated, helped ignite the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther’s “Babylonian Captivity of the Church” published in 1520, is a foundational text of the Protestant Reformation. He argues that the Catholic Church had corrupted its theology by expanding the number of recognized sacraments beyond biblical precedent. Luther reduced the accepted sacramen...

The Augsburg Confession is a foundational statement of Lutheran belief presented to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. Principally written by Philipp Melanchthon, it sets out articles of faith and explains reforms concerning worship, clerical practice, and church authority...

Martin Luther published the Ninety-five Theses in 1517 as a formal challenge to the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences. These propositions questioned the sale of forgiveness for sins and argued for salvation through faith alone. They ignited widespread debate and ultimately fueled the...

Gustav Vasa was king of Sweden from 1523 to 1560 and the founder of the hereditary Vasa dynasty. He led the rebellion that ended Danish control under the Kalmar Union, strengthened royal taxation and administration, and brought the Swedish church under the crown during the Reformation. His election...

The Wittenberg Altarpiece is a 1547 work by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop in the Stadtkirche St. Marien in Wittenberg, Germany. Its panels connect Lutheran worship with biblical events: Philip Melanchthon performs baptism, Johannes Bugenhagen hears confession, and Martin Luther preaches b...

The Northern Wei was a Chinese dynasty existing in the 5th century. It rose to prominence through military expansion and established control over northern China. Notable for its early promotion of Buddhism and significant political reforms, it profoundly impacted subsequent Chinese history. The dyna...

On the Freedom of a Christian is a foundational theological treatise written by the German reformer Martin Luther in 1520. The text articulates the core Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone, arguing that believers are entirely free from the burden of the law through Christ but are bou...

To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation is a 1520 treatise by Martin Luther and one of his major writings from the early Protestant Reformation. Addressed to Germany's secular rulers, it challenged claims that church authorities alone could interpret Scripture or summon a council and urged la...

"On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church" is a 1520 theological treatise written by German reformer Martin Luther. In this foundational document of the Protestant Reformation, Luther systematically challenges the Roman Catholic Church's teachings on the sacraments, reducing the traditional seven s...

King Henry VIII (1491–1547) ruled England from 1509 and is notable for breaking with the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 to establish the Church of England, partly to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

Whether Soldiers, Too, Can Be Saved is a 1526 treatise by Martin Luther addressing whether military service is compatible with Christian faith and salvation. Luther distinguishes the office of the soldier from abuses committed by individual soldiers, arguing that lawful force can be legitimate when...

Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants is a pamphlet Martin Luther wrote in May 1525 during the German Peasants' War. It condemns the rebels' violence and calls on princes and other secular authorities to suppress the uprising by force, after Luther had earlier addressed the peasants' gr...

On the Jews and Their Lies is a 1543 antisemitic treatise by Martin Luther, written during the later Reformation. The work attacks Judaism and Jewish communities and includes recommendations that rulers destroy synagogues and Jewish houses, confiscate religious writings, and restrict Jewish life. It...