Of the many landmarks in history the period of the Reformation is one of the most overlooked and misinterpreted which is not at all surprising for the Reformation had its foundations over one thousand years before 1520. It involved more than one nation, one people one idea and indeed it dramatically changed nations, politics, communities and practically all aspects of life for the next 500 years.
The Early Church and The Bible
After Christ’s death and resurrection the ever growing community of believers were expecting His immanent return. As the years passed many did not waver and held on to the idea that He was due back any day but some of those who knew Him thought it wise to put their memories to parchment and wrote what is known today as the Four Gospels of the New Testament. Other books, parchments and letters followed and at the Council of Carthage (397) the leaders of the Church decided, agreed and confirmed exactly which books and letters were valid and would be included in the New Testament (The Canon). This held true for over 1100 years.
The Early Councils and Decisions
Interestingly the councils of the early centuries were mostly convened to combat and suppress early heresies and erroneous teachings in the emerging church although the church itself went astray of its’ own accord once there were no or fewer outside heresies to deal with. In a relatively short space of time the church grew from a few followers in Israel to nearly the whole Roman Empire, this was especially true after the ‘Conversion of Emperor Constantine’, although he legitimised Christianity it is reported that he himself did not adopt the faith until he was on his deathbed.
The early church was not really unified as one might except for the idea of being followers of Christ. As early as 553 there was a major split in between the church in the west ( which became the Roman Catholic Church) and the church in the east (which became the Orthodox Church) although this first ‘schism’ only lasted for about 35 years.
Pope Gregory I (590-604) began to unify and consolidate the church’s rule, organisation and power and in the 11th century this was reinforced when the Pope decided that the Papacy had to be central in all church affairs and the clergy had to be reformed (some had even held second jobs as farmers or innkeepers).
Going Astray
During all of this time the church introduced additions to its initial agreements of 397 which could be seen as a form of corruption, exclusion or oppression (Marx in the 19th century would agree somewhat with the idea of oppression). Latin was imposed by Gregory I in the 7th century, veneration of the cross and relics was authorised in 786, attendance at mass was made obligatory in the 11th century, 1190 saw the introduction of the sale of indulgences (although some say that this is more a token of thanks rather than an actual payment, Luther did see it as a payment and hence considered it as a bribe to God and by inference a manipulation of the populace into believing that they could ‘bribe’ God). Confession to a priest was introduced in 1215. In 1122 after a great deal of struggling the church managed to break from secular rule, which meant that rulers and laymen could no longer choose priests, bishops and popes. The church was finally free, but the question arose who was to control society and who was to control the church
The people believed that the church taught God’s grace and truth to its members and this conviction was made concrete in the great wealth, numerous personnel and legal privileges of the church. Interestingly the Black Death had an influence of the reformation in England although it was probably not intentional. John Wycliffe noted that in those times of great need, the clergy did not seem to suffer, were still collecting their dues and not distributing it or doing anything to help the ailing or starving. Henry VIII must have known of this paper when he said that it was not right that he was the king of England and yet the church was wealthier than he was.
Joseph H. Lynch, The Medieval Church a Brief History, (London: Longman, 1992),
