Rising nationalism, the Western Schism, and even new philosophies arising from the renaissance were contributing factors. But on October 31, 1517 every event prior seemed less significant. On this date, Martin Luther nailed a paper listing ninety-five theses, all magnifying problems within the Catholic Church. This was the birth of the protestant reformation, a major blow to the Catholic Church and her followers. This drove the church to make many in-house adjustments, from religious orders to political influences of the church, reworking the framework of the traditional Mass itself and even restructuring many in house positions. This list of corrections made and actions taken in response to the Protestant Reformation is commonly referred to as the Counter Reformation.
To begin the long, arduous process of repairing the church, multiple new orders were formed. Many of these new religious orders kept power hungry officials and preachers from abusing their influences. Orders such as the Ursulines, Theatines, and Jesuits worked in rural locations and showed examples of Catholic renewal.
The Theatines order was established to help stop the spread of heresy within the church. This order also helped with the regeneration of the clergy. The order of Ursulines specialized in educating young girls. Devoting to the traditional works of mercy, the Ursulines order helped exemplify the Counter Reformation’s reaffirmation of the importance of faith, works, and salvation through God's grace. This made the church much more effective, all while reaffirming the fundamental establishments of the Medieval Church.
The most effective of these new orders was the Jesuit. Credit for a majority of the growth in the Catholic Church during the Counter Re...
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... composition made it impossible to comprehend the sacred texts. People asked for monophonic hymns, such as Gregorian chants, for mass. Coming to a head, the council decided church music should not be made “to give empty pleasure to the ear,” but the hymns should inspire religious contemplation instead. (Kamien, 2011) The Council of Trent did not outright ban polyphonic mass, even though the public wanted monophonic hymns for masses, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, one of the most prominent Italian Renaissance composer’s, most famous mass, Pope Marcellus, was polyphonic.
Works Cited
1. Viladesau, Richard. "Counter-Reformation Theology And Art: The Example Of Rubens's Paintings Of The Passion*." Toronto Journal Of Theology 28.1 (2012): 29-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
2. Kamien, Roger. Music An Appreciation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.
Kings often struggled with the Church over power and land, both trying desperately to obtain them, both committing atrocities to hold onto them. Time and time again, the Popes of the postclassical period went to great extremes to secure the Church’s position in the world. Both the Crusades and the Inquisition are examples of this. D...
Prior to the careers of Popes Celestine V and Boniface XII in the 13th century, the long and, sometimes tumultuous, history of the church can be helpful in setting the stage for these two church official’s very famous, and very different tenures as pope. In different forms and methods, the medieval Catholic Church has always had a strong hold on society in addition to politics. The church has also had a troubling past when it comes to corruption, usually manifesting itself through the pursuit of this dominance over political and outside figures on all aspects of everyday life. Coupling these two themes together, the past actions and power exerted
It is clear that between 1540 & 1559 that the Catholic Church became increasingly intolerant of debasement and dissent. This is mostly due to the leaders that came to the papal throne within this period. Between 1540 & 1559 there was a variety of pope’s with very differing views on how to contend with the issues of Protestantism, debasement and dissent.
The Catholic Church in Early 1500 By the 16th century the church as an institution was starting to
The scene that would forever change the world took place on October 31, 1517 in Wittenburg, Germany. An Augustinian monk named Martin Luther, in an act of fury toward the corruptions of the Catholic Church, nailed his famous Ninety-five theses on a cathedral door. (1) The Catholic Church was caught off guard and never imagined the force of what was to become the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Church realized that in order to combat and prevent the spread of Protestantism, they not only needed major reform from within but also needed its influence to extend out onto the world. This period of retaliation was called the Counter or Catholic Reformation. The soldiers selected to carry out this mission were the Jesuits, affectionately known as “ God’s Soldiers,” and for good reason.
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
Art, by definition, is “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”. Throughout history, one way that art has been used is to reflect a multitude of ideas and beliefs. Christian beliefs and ideas have been portrayed in artwork since the beginning of Christianity, although, it was not always acceptable to do so. The idea of the final judgement is a Christian idea that has been displayed in art repeatedly in a variety of ways. Michelangelo’s fresco the Last Judgment (1536-1541) is a piece that visualizes this idea. Since the time it was finished, this significant piece found in the Sistine Chapel has been continuously critiqued and analyzed. Many Christians struggle to interpret the event of a final judgment after reading it through Scripture. In analyzing Michelangelo’s piece, it is similar difficult to determine what he exactly meant to portray and what the various part of his masterpiece represent exactly. Many have examined this piece and made different regarding what exactly the various figures and objects are supposed to represent. The diverse interpretations of this work further shows the idea that when Christian ideas are reflected through artwork, it is hard to ascertain exactly what an artist intended to demonstrate. In addition, the controversies surrounding this piece represent the idea that when Christian ideas are revealed through art, there is potential for disagreement regarding what should and should not be included in Christian art. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is just an example of what results when Christianity is brought into art.
The Military Orders, including the Templars and Hospitallers, were created to protect pilgrims on the route to Jerusalem, but grew into ranks of professional soldiers with a great presence in the East, answerable to the Papacy. These orders “grew rapidly and acquired castles at strategic points in the kingdom and northern states. […] They were soon established in Europe as well, they became international organizations, virtually independent, sanctioned and constantly supported by the papacy” (Madden). The Pope possessed, for the first time, a dedicated military force in Europe. These two outcomes indicate the growth of the Church’s power as a result of the First Crusade, and support the proposition that the Papacy intended it as a way for advancing its political and economic position.
The protestant reformation of 16th century had both: immediate and long term effects. Thus, we can see that it was a revolution of understanding the essence of religion, and of what God is. The protestant reformation is said to a religious movement. However, it also influenced the economical, political and social life of people. The most global, short term effect of the reformation was the reevaluation of beliefs, and, as a result, the loss of authority of the Holy Roman Empire. The long term effects were: the emergence of new heretical movements, the declining of papacy, thus the reevaluation of people’s view on the church and life values.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
The Catholic Church of the Counter Reformation era grew more spiritual, more literate and more educated. New religious orders, notably the Jesuits while mystics such as Teresa of Avila shot new passion into the older orders. The party's both in Spain and in Rome were reorganized to fight the threat of Protestant heresy.
...olic Church, propelled the Catholic Reformation and religious warfare. A separation of this magnitude brought conflict yet progressive improvements to both sides. Religious tolerance was at last emerging and never again would a single organization wield so much power.
This emphasis on religion continued deep into the Renaissance, as the Church was one of the few organizations that could fund such massive un...
The Church was organised into a hierarchical system that sustained the Church’s stability and control over the people and lower clergy, by organising them into different groups. First there were the ordinary believers, the citizens of the kingdom who followed the Christian faith. Then there was the clergy, the members who devoted their lives to the church. Each group of the clergy was assigned specific functions by the clergy nobles to help run the Church competently. Amongst all the clergy associates, the Pope was at the top, he had the equivalent if not more power than the ruling monarch and was in charge of all political affairs and administered the clergy. He was able to dictate political laws and even comment on the Monarch’s decisions. Under the Pope, there were the bishops. The bishops directed church courts and managed cases correlated to the public such as marriage, wills and other public predicaments. Priests held religious services that consisted of sacraments, baptisms and the usual Sabbath services. The monks and nuns received manual labour that required helping clean the monasteries and assist the needy. Educated monks copied manuscripts of medieval and ancient knowledge in the Scriptorium. Finally...
Pollen, John Hungerford. "The Jesuits During the Interim (1773-1814)." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 23 Mar. 2014 .