Reformation

The Reformation is the story of change in the Catholic Church, which took place in the early 1500s. The changes were so big that they resulted in the establish of a new church which was the Protestant church. The man largely responsible for bringing in these changes was a monk named Martin Luther.

Reasons for Change

The king disliked the Church's power.
The shop keepers disliked how the Church controlled peoples lives.
The Catholics living in Saxony, in Germany, disliked the way the Church taxed them extra. The cost of living was already high.
Some of the priests, nuns and monks were corrupt by power and wealth.
The Catholic Church sold Indulgences. Theses were pieces of paper which claimed to reduce a person's time in Purgatory. Purgatory was a place half way between heaven and hell, where people were punished for there sins.

The Story of Marin Luther

Martin Luther was a monk at the University of Wittenberg. He was the Professor of Biblical Studies. He had read the Bible many times and new there where no mention of indulgences of any kind. On October 31, 1517 he nailed 95 reasons why he disagreed with the church onto a church door. These are known as the 95 Theses. People, without Luther's permission copied these Theses and were spread everywhere. Luther also sent some to the Archbishop. This sparked the whole revolt against the Church.

Book Mark:

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