Reformation History Flashcards
What was Monasticism?
- A movement that became popular after Constantine and thrived in the Middle Ages
- People withdrew from society into communities that stressed prayer, work, study, chair and asceticism (abstinence from sensual pleasures)
What work helped popularize Monasticism?
“The Life of St. Anthony” by Athanasius
Who founded monasteries?
*Benedict (480-547)
12 of ‘em
What were the Monastic orders:
- perpetuity (it’s for life)
- poverty
- chastity
What was the (Catholic) Babylonian Captivity?
A period during the 14th century in which 6 consecutive popes–all French–resided in Avignon, France instead of Rome
Factors contributing to the supremacy of Rome:
- Population - big city and big church
- Martyrdom of Peter and Paul there
- Imperial Capital - after the Edict of Milan, emperors often sought religious advice from Rome
- Location - of the 5 patriarchal cites, only Rome was in the West, thus more territory ruled over
- Missions - Rome (the West) was more successful evangelizing the barbarians than the East was with Muslims
- Muslim conquest - loss of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem
- Leadership - Leo I
What were the Crusades and when did they take place?
- A series of military offenses from Europe into Muslim lands
- 1095-1204
What were the goals of the Crusades?
*Retake the Holy Land
*Save Constantinople and the Byzantine empire from the Muslims
*Reunite the Eastern and Western churches
*To earn salvation - popes promised forgiveness of sins
(the first three goals were achieved temporarily)
What did the rise of Islam do?
- Unified Arab groups
- Created a powerful new force that swept through the Eastern Roman Empire
- Spread from Arabian Peninsula to Africa
How did Islam spread?
*Through trade and warfare (Cairo fell in 639, Alexandria fell in 640 - this started The Crusades)
John Wycliffe
- 14th century British theologian who taught at Oxford
- First xlated the Bible into English
- Opposed sacramental soteriology and papal authority
- Taught the Bible as ultimate authority over church tradition
- Taught salvation by grace and divine election
- Called “the morning star of the Reformation”
John Hus
- 14th and 15th century theologian (Czech) who attacked clerical abuses and papal authority
- Emphasized the priesthood of all believers and the preaching of the Bible
- Burned at the stake in 1415
Peter Waldo
- 12th and 13th century leader of the Waldensians
- Sold all he had and lived a life of poverty
- Denounced papal excess, purgatory, transubstantiation
Savanaroli (1452-1498)
- Italian reformer
- left medicine to become a Dominican friar
- Denounced Pope Alexander VI and corrupt papal court
- tried and killed as a heretic
What was the Reformation?
- 16th and 17th century response to theological and moral decay in the church
- Led to a formal break between Catholics and Protestants
What did the Reformation stress?
- Salvation by grace through faith alone
- The ultimate authority of the Scriptures
- The priesthood of all believers
When and where did the Reformation begin?
- October 31, 1517
* Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany
What is the Marburg Colloquy?
An unsuccessful meeting between Luther and Zwingli to resolve their differences over the Lord’s Supper
What is the Thirty Years War?
A 17th century war fought primarily in Germany due to a division between Catholics and Protestants; it was a stalemate, but you could legally pick to be either
The Thirty Years War set the stage for what?
- The Enlightenment
* Growing indifference to religion
What is the Heidelberg Catechism?
- 16th century reformed catechism
- Commissioned by Prince Frederick III
- Primary authors were Olevianus and Ursinus
What is the Belgic Confession?
- 16th century reformed confession
- Written in the Netherlands
- Proof that the reformed faith was biblical, not rebellious
What is the Helvetic Confession?
- 16th century confession of the Swiss reformed
- Written by Bullinger
- Presents Calvinism as historical evangelical Christianity
What are the Canons of Dort?
- 17th century document composed by the Synod of Dort in the Netherlands
- Presents the 5 points of Calvinism
- In response to the Remonstrance (Arminian rejection)
What is the Westminster Assembly?
- An assembly of mostly Puritans in 1643-1647
- To advise the Long Parliament on reforming the Church of England
- Produced the Westminster Standards, the greatest and most influential reformed confession and catechisms
- Most of their work was undone with the restoration of the monarchy
