In some cultures and eras, apostates face certain death. In America, it's the church that's dying from apostasy.
Apostate — it's not exactly a common word. But for those doomed to hear its rare pronouncement, it can mean imminent death or serious eternal consequences.
Like repentance, apostasy implies a rejection or abandonment of a practice, ideal, or belief. And one religion's penitent is another one's apostate.
This irony became apparent in the first formal court case involving charges of apostasy in Kuwait. The court found Hussein Qambar Ali guilty for converting from Islam to Christianity in December 1995. Since Shari'ah law in Kuwait (and many other Islamic societies) prescribes the death sentence for apostasy, the court called for Ali's execution, along with the termination of his marriage and the distribution of his possessions to heirs.
"Apostasy in the Islamic world is serious," said Ali. "Anyone, even an ordinary person, has the right
(Reformation)
Lutheran warrior, King of Sweden. He entered Germany as the new leader of the Protestant cause. A series of victories carried him south as far as Munich. The "Lion of the north" died at the Battle of Lutzen in 1632, southwest of Leipzig, although his Swedish army won the battle.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Gustavus-Adolphus, history, Reformation[/tags]
By 1530, when a summit conference of Reformation convened in Augsburg to draw up a common statement of faith, leadership of the movement had begun to pass out of Luther's hands. The reformer was still an outlaw and unable to attend. The task of presenting Lutheranism fell to a young professor of Greek at Wittenberg — Philip Melanchthon. The young scholar drafted the Augsburg Confession signed by Lutheran princes and theologians.
[tags]Augsburg-Confession, BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Lutheranism, Philip, Reformation[/tags]
On 21 January 1525, at a secret meeting at the house of Felix Manz, Reformation leaders met to counter attempts to dictate church policy by the City Council of Zurich. There George Blaurock, a former priest, requested Conrad Grebel to baptize him in the apostolic fashion — upon confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ — instead of in the Catholic fashion of only one baptism in infancy. Grebel baptized him and Blaurock proceeded to baptize the others present, thus was born the Anabaptist movement.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Conrad-Grebel, Felix-Manz, George-Blaurock, history, Jesus, Reformation[/tags]
The teachings and dissent of John Wycliffe found greater support in Bohemia because it was joined to a strong national party led by John Hus. The Czech reformer came from peasant parents in southern Bohemia, a small town called Husinetz. When Hus was burned on 6 July 1415 the Bohemian rebellion, as it came to be called, refused to die with him. It developed a moderate and a militant wing. The moderates were called Utraquists, a term from Latin for "both" since their primary protest called for freedom to receive Communion in both the bread and the cup. The militants were called Taborites after the city in Bohemia that served as their chief stronghold. These followers of Hus struggled against the Roman Church and the German Empire until several wars reduced their number and influence. Yet despite the best efforts of the papacy to bring an end to the Bohemian
(1509-1564)
John Calvin (aka. Jean Cauvin) played an important role in the Protestant Reformation—perhaps second only to Martin Luther in importance.
Calvin wrote the deeply influential Institutes of the Christian Religion (published in 1536, see also the Britannica summary), developed the "presbyterian" model of church government, and has been called the "organizer of Protestantism" because of his pastoral work organizing churches in Strassburg and Geneva.
He was born on July 10, 1509 in the city of Noyon in Picardy, France (where his childhood home is now a museum), was raised with children of the aristocracy, adopted the Latin "Calvin" as a young scholar. His father was the Bishop's secretary serving the cathedral in Noyon, and he ensured that Calvin was well educated. At age 14, Calvin enrolled at the University of Paris and later attended the College de Montaigu there. Calvin studied theology and in the
In 1521 Martin Luther stood before the Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms. In that same year Ignatius Loyala entered convalescence from an injury and soon had a spiritual conversion of sorts. Loyola subsequently formed the Society of Jesus, the greatest single force in Catholicism's campaign to recapture the spiritual domains seized by Protestantism.
While the Catholic Church did not immediately respond to the Protestant challenge, when it finally did it called upon its spiritual warriors, the Jesuits. It convened a new, militant council; and it reformed the machinery of the papal office. Faced by the rebellion of almost half of Europe, Catholicism rolled back the tide of Protestantism until by the end of the sixteenth century Protestantism was limited roughly to the northern third of Europe, as it is today.
Some historians have interpreted the Catholic Reformation as a counterattack against Protestantism; others have described
Not really a sect, but a close knit family. It was started in a town near London called Clapham and consisted of a number of wealthy and ardent Evangelicals who knew what it was to practice "saintliness in daily life" and to live with eternity in view. John Venn became their spiritual guide and found leadership in William Wilberforce, the parliamentary statesman. Under Wilberforce's leadership the Clapham friends were knit together in solidarity. At the Clapham mansions they held what they chose to call their "Cabinet Councils". They discussed the wrongs and injustices of their country, and the battles they would need to fight to establish righteousness. They moved as one body, delegating to each man the work he could do best to accomplish their common purposes. As a result a host of evangelical causes sallied forth from quiet little Clapham: The Church Missionary Society (1799), the British and Foreign
(1545-47, 1551-52, 1562-63)
One of the most important councils since Nicea in 325 until Vatican II in 1962-65. Called to build a doctrinal fortress against the challenging Protestant Reformation. Under the influence of the Jesuits, Trent developed into a powerful weapon of the Counter Reformation. In response to the Protestant's sola scriptura, the council insisted on the supreme teaching office of the Roman Church. Tradition as well as Scripture was held as a valid source of revelation. May be seen as the demarcation of division between the Protestant and Catholic Churches.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Council-of-Trent, history, Jesuits, Reformation[/tags]
A Cambridge graduate and reformer, a contemporary of Tyndale. During Tyndale's months of imprisonment Coverdale published the first edition of Tyndale's complete translation of the Bible. He is given credit for having translated the first complete English Bible in 1535.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, English-Bible, history, Miles-Coverdale, Reformation, Tyndale[/tags]
When many tormented Anabaptists from the heavily persecuted fledgling movement fled to Germany and Austria, they found their prospects no greater there. In 1529 the imperial Diet of Speyer proclaimed Anabaptism a heresy and every court in Christendom was obliged to condemn the heretics to death. During the Reformation years between four and five thousand Anabaptists were executed by fire, water and sword.
[tags]Anabaptists, BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Diet-of-Speyer, history, Reformation[/tags]
After King Henry VIII's break with England he seemed intent on creating an English Catholic Church, for instance the Statute of Six articles upheld many basic Catholic articles. Only two serious changes marked the new way within the Church of England. The first was the suppression of the monasteries; the second was the publication of the English Bible for use in the churches. In the latter years of William Tyndale's life he produced translated portions of the Old Testament (including the Pentateuch) and an improved edition of the New. In 1536 he died, burned at the stake. Yet, during his imprisonment Miles Coverdale published an edition of the Bible which was essentially Tyndale's work, supplemented by Latin and German versions. Then, a year after Tyndale's death, the Matthew Bible appeared. It was the work of another English reformer named John Rogers, it was virtually a well-edited compilation of Tyndale and
An inflammatory reformer preaching in Geneva. In 1536 he influenced Calvin to take up the reforming cause in Geneva with him.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Reformation, William-Farel[/tags]
A zealous supporter of the Counter Reformation, the Jesuit-educated Ferdinand was named the King of Bohemia — shortly before he was also elected Holy Roman Emperor. Attempted to uproot Protestantism from Bohemia and impose Catholicism upon his subjects.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Ferdinand-II, history, Protestantism, Reformation[/tags]
In 1377 the aged Pope Gregory XI re-entered Rome, and shortly passed away. In haste the College of Cardinals elected a new pope, Pope Urban VI. In August the cardinals suddenly informed all Europe that the people of Rome had forced the election of an apostate to the chair of Peter and that the proceedings were invalid. A new College of Cardinals then elected another pope a month later, Pope Clement VII. Clement moved about Italy and eventually sailed for France and Avignon. Thus, with Urban ruling from Rome and Clement from Avignon the Great Schism began, lasting for 39 years. Each pope had his own College of Cardinals, and each pope claimed to be the true Vicar of Christ with the power to excommunicate those who did not acknowledge him. France went with Clement; Italy with Urban. The empire went with Urban; so did England. Scotland went with Clement.
One of the early leaders, with Felix Manz, of the Anabaptist movement, more specifically of the Swiss Brethren at Zurich (of which the Mennonites and Hutterites are the direct theological descendants). Grebel and Manz, both well educated men of standing in Zurich were among the first supporters of Zwingli's reformation. But following the reformer's lead — the study of the Bible — they came to see the obvious differences in the apostolic churches and those of their own day. This difference lay most visibly in the practice of and theology behind infant baptism. Their resistance crystallized when in the Fall of 1524 Grebel's wife bore a son. The Grebels refused to baptize their son and other parents followed their example.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Conrad-Grebel, Felix-Manz, history, Hutterites, Mennonites, Reformation[/tags]
The Czech reformer from southern Bohemia (Husinetz). He studied theology at the University of Prague, earning both a B.A. (1394) and the M.A. (1396) before beginning his teaching in the faculty of arts and plunging into the reform cause. After his ordination and appointment as rector and preacher at Bethlehem Chapel he came upon Wycliffe's religious writings. He adopted at once the English reformer's view of the church and began to circulated Wycliffe's teachings, including his criticisms of the abuses of power in the papacy. Drawing heavily upon Wycliffe, he wrote his major work, On the Church. On his arrival at the Council of Constance he found himself a victim of the Inquisition. He lay imprisoned in Constance for eight months. On July 6, 1415 Hus was burned for heresy.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Inquisition, John-Hus, Wycliffe, Reformation[/tags]
Also called the Bohemian Brethren (Unitas Fratrum). The brethren flourished in Bohemia and Moravia at the time of the Reformation but had been nearly crushed during the Thirty Years War, and were subject to severe persecution. Under Moravian carpenter, Christian David, the Brethren had experienced the stirring of revival and were casting about for some place of refuge in Protestant lands. They eventually found it on Count von Zinzendorf's estates, and in 1722 David established a community there called Herrnhut.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Herrnhut, history, Hussites, Reformation, Thirty-Years-War, John-Hus[/tags]
The Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius of Loyola, a young Spanish nobleman, the first Superior General of the Jesuits. Was approved by Pope Paul III in A.D. 1540 as a new religious order. Jesuits attempted to live energetically in the world without being of it. The Society of Jesus became the greatest single force in Catholicism's militant campaign to recapture the spiritual domains seized by Protestantism. Became the instrument of the Catholic Church in her "Reformation", or "Counter-Reformation" in the early 1500's. They were to be chivalrous soldiers of Jesus, their mission to convert the heathen and reconvert Protestant Europe. Eventually they became lenient in their priestly roles and made many allowances for sinful human nature, so called "cheap grace."
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Ignatius, Jesuits, Jesus, Pope-Paul-III, Protestantism, Reformation[/tags]
When John Wycliffe gained support for his vision of the Latin Bible translated into the common language of English, he led a handful of Oxford scholars in the Bible's translation and copied the methods of St. Francis and the Friars. From Oxford Wycliffe sent out "poor priests" into the byways and village greens, sometimes even to churches, to win the souls of the neglected. Clad in russet robes of undressed wool, without sandals, purse, or scrip, a long staff in their hand, dependent for food and shelter on the good will of their neighbors, Wycliffe's "poor priests" soon became a power in the land. Their enemies dubbed them Lollards, meaning "mumblers". They carried a few pages of the reformer's Bible and his tracts and sermons as they went throughout the countryside preaching the Word of God. Wycliffe's followers were hunted down, were expelled from Oxford, or forced to renounce their
(1483-1546)
The most prominent leader of the Protestant Reformation, who was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church because of his persistent efforts to change some of he church's doctrines and customs. He taught that the Bible alone, apart from church tradition, had authority to declare what was to be believed. In salvation Luther stressed justification by faith alone, apart from the works of law.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Martin-Luther, Reformation[/tags]
In Scotland the Calvinists created something unique in sixteenth century Europe: a land of one religion ruled by a monarch of another. Mary Queen of Scots, an eighteen-year-old girl living abroad, married into the French royal family, and the Scots feared that she might deliver Scotland to the French. But John Knox preached everywhere that the people of Scotland could and should challenge the rule of their queen. In 1550, civil war broke out in Scotland. When Mary Queen of Scots returned the next year, a nineteen-year-old widow, she found it in the lap of Protestant "heresy". Over the next few years Knox, the passionate preacher of Calvinism, and Mary, the young queen of Scotland, came to symbolize the Reformation conflict: Protestant against Catholic. Events in Scotland moved in Knox's direction. Even though Mary and her descendants tried to turn back the clock, Scotland remained the most devoutly Calvinist country
A year after Tyndale's burning at the stake, the Matthew Bible appeared. It was the work of another English reformer named John Rogers, who thought it wise to send forth his translation without his name attached. The Matthew Bible was virtually a well-edited compilation of Tyndale and Coverdale's work. At Thomas Cranmer's request, Henry VIII authorized this Bible, revised by Coverdale, to be bought and read throughout the realm.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Henry-VIII, history, John-Rogers, Matthew-Bible, Thomas, Tyndale, Reformation[/tags]
In 1532, when the Reformation spread rapidly throughout Munster, an episcopal city in Westphalia near the Netherlands, a conservative Lutheran group was at first strong there. But new immigrants who were apostles of Jan Matthijs led to fanaticism among those in power. Many looked for the creation of the Lord's earthly kingdom in Munster, called chiliasm, meaning belief in a thousand-year earthly kingdom of Christ.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Jan-Matthijs, Reformation[/tags]
On Luther's death, Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) took over the theological leadership of the movement he had begun. Melanchthon taught Greek, first in Tubingen, then at the University of Wittenberg. There in 1518 he met Luther, changing Melanchthon from a humanist into a theologian and reformer. Gifted for logical consistency and wide knowledge of history, Melanchthon's influence on Protestantism was in certain ways even greater than Luther's.
Melanchthon publicly supported Luther at the Leipzig Disputation (1519). When Luther was away from Wittenberg, Philip represented and defended him. In 1521, he wrote the Commonplaces (Loci Communes), the first book which described the teachings of the Reformation. He also contributed to Luther's German translation of the Bible.
At Marbur (1529) Melanchthon opposed Zwingli. He claimed that the service of holy communion was more than a memorial. Melancththon was responsible for the Augsburg Confession (1530), which remains the chief statement of faith
