Church History People 13-26 Flashcards
Bernard of Clairvaux
(1090 – 1153) The last of the church fathers; a mystic, monk and theologian. He was a strong spiritual reformer—the leader of the Cistercian movement. He was the major preacher of the Second Crusade and held to a full Augustinian view.
Gregory the Great
(540 – 604)
Considered one of the ablest men to occupy the position of Pope—some call him the father of the Medieval papacy. He became pope in 590 after previously serving many other leadership roles in the church. A strong civic and spiritual leader, he brought order to Rome and helped establish the idea that the Pope was the supreme authority in the church. Best known for his Gregorian chants, but also wrote several works including The Pastoral Rule. Some of his ideas later developed into the doctrines of purgatory and penance.
Francis of Assisi
(1181/1182 – 1226) Founder of Franciscan movement “Lesser Brothers”. An innovator of the Roman system, he believed that the most serious problem in the church was worldliness and set to rebuild the church around the pattern of living like Jesus—an ascetic lifestyle, the life of poverty.
Anselm Canterbury
(1033 – 1109) Archbishop of Canterbury, and known as the father of scholasticism, Anselm introduced a new theory of the atonement—the satisfaction theory—saying that man’s sin is a debt to God, not the devil and that Christ’s death alone has satisfied God’s offended sense of honor. He tried to make the content of Christian faith clear to reason, though insisted that faith must come first. Developed two proofs for the existence of God: the ontological and the cosmological.
Aquinas
(1225 – 1274) Dominican monk-turned teacher, Aquinas was the author of the monumental Summa Theologica, the summary of the Roman Catholic Church. Scholasticism reached its pinnacle in Aquinas’ writings. Combin-ing the greatest of the ancient Greek philosophers, particularly Aristotle, with Christian thought, Aquinas built a theological system which has been accepted as the basis for all Roman Catholic theological instruction today.
John Wycliffe
(1328 – 1384)
Morning Star of the Reformation.
Translated the Bible into middle English.
Declared a heretic in 1382
Believed the Bible is the supreme authority, that the clergy should hold no propriety, that there was no basis for the doctrine of transubstantiation.
He was a fore-runner to the Reformation.
Jan Hus
(1369 – 1415)
Preached against the abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the morality of the priests, preaching of the Bible in the common language of the people (not Latin), opposed the sale of indulgences, and Papal infallibility. He wanted the church to practice Communion “in both kinds”. Excommunicated from the church and burned at the stake 1415.
Was a Bohemian priest who discovered Wycliffe’s religious writings. He compared the character of the Pope to that of Christ, discovering that the Pope fell quite short of the mark. Thus he was excommunicated, and burned at the stake.
William Tyndale
(1494 – 1536)
An English Bible translator.
The 1611 King James Version is 90% the work of Tyndale Was martyred for his opposition to the Pope in 1536.
Martin Luther
1483–1546
Credited with being the father of the Reformation for his posting of the 95 thesis on the church door in Witten-burg, Germany 1517.
Excommunicated from the Catholic church when he refused to recant his positions after the Diet of Worms.
An accomplished preacher, author, and hymn writer.
Father of the Lutheran church
Disagreed with Calvin on the issue of communion as he believed “consubstanciation.”
Philip Melanchthon
1497–1560
An associate of Luther who brought a soft gentle nature to Luther’s very course mannerisms.
Wrote Loci Communes, in 1521, which was the first systematic theology of the what was developed by Luther, and “Augsburg Confession.”
Shifted toward Erasmus; theology of salvation and towards Calvin’s view of the Lord’s Supper (Christ not pre-sent for the sake of the bread, but for the sake of man).
Ulrich Zwingli
1484–1531
Swiss Reformer. Perhaps the third best known Reformers behind Calvin and Luther Disagreed with Luther over issue of whether or not we may do what the Bible does not forbid. Luther says we may, Zwingli says no.
Fought the “Radical Reformation” over the pace (he wanted slower) of the Reformation. Believed that Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper was spiritual not physical.
John Calvin
1509–1564
Born French, he was “suddenly” converted sometime between 1532-34.
First published his Institutes in 1536.
Served as pastor in Geneva, expelled, and returned three years later.
Some think he set up a theocratic dictatorship there, but that is untrue.
Had a major effect on the organization and expression of what we call Reformed Theology.
Final edition of the Institutes published in 1559. Died in 1564.
John Knox
1513–1572
Bishop of Rochester. Upon the ascendancy of Mary Stuart as queen of Scots, he fled to the Conti-nent where he was influenced by Calvin. In 1559, he returned to Scotland, and became the leader of the Scots Reformation. He helped draft the Scots Confession of Faith, and the Book of Discipline. He is remembered as the founder of Presbyterianism and theories on liberty and government.
Covenanters
The Covenanters were a group of Scottish Presbyterians who, in the 17th century, resisted the imposition of episcopal governance and Anglican practices by the monarchy. Their commitment to preserving Presbyterian church government led to the signing of the National Covenant in 1638, which rejected royal interference in religious matters. They fought in the Covenanter Wars against both the monarchy and the Church of England, seeking religious and political autonomy. Following the Restoration of Charles II, they endured severe persecution during the Killing Times in the 1680s, where many were executed or exiled for their steadfast refusal to conform to royal religious demands. Their resistance left a lasting legacy on Presbyterianism, particularly in Scotland.
