The period of the 15th century is known as Reformation period in Western and Central Europe. It was represented by a broad public-governmental movement with an anti feudal character. In fact, it was the struggle against Catholic Church, due to the fact that it was the main pillar of feudal regime.
It all began in Germany, however it spread quickly to Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, England and Italy. The Reformation was followed by the Peasant War - the largest social movement of the Middle Ages. One of the most prominent and influential person of this period was Martin Luther.
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Finally, the role of Martin Luther in Europe at that time is far beyond in being as an enlightener, but also as the leader of the Reformation in Germany.
He was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, in the family of a former miner. After graduating from the University of Erfurt with master's degree in 1505, Luther entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. In 1508 he began to teach at the University of Wittenberg. He was significantly influenced by the Renaissance movement. Shortly after graduation, Martin began to share the same ideas as critics’ of the Catholic Church. Eventually, he created the famous 95 theses against indulgences and posted the theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517. In this document he expressed his reformative thoughts about the Catholic Church, which contained basic provisions of the new religious doctrine. According to him – the whole structure of the Catholic Church needed to be changed, modernized. Luther declared Christian faith to be the only way to salvation, which is granted only by rejecting the Catholic misguided path that the church is the essential intermediary between the man and God. Moreover, salvation is granted to the man directly by God (the thesis of justification by faith itself).
In addition, Martin Luther argued that the secular order occupies an important place in the Christian religion. He rejected the authority of the papal decrees and letters, besides this, Luther rejected the claims of the clergy for a dominant position in society as well. Martin Luther tried to limit the role of the clergy in the people's life. One of the important historical events, connected with the name of Martin Luther, was the proclamation of the independence of the secular state from the Catholic Church by Luther. Martin Luther's theses were perceived by the opposition sectors of the population as a wake-up call to action against the Catholic Church dogmas, but the Reform Movement has gone far beyond the boundaries that were put by the reformist.
As a direct consequence to his political and religious activities - Luther was excommunicated from the Church. He publicly burned the papal bull of excommunication from the church in the yard of Wittenberg University in 1520, by doing so he underlined the fact that strongly disagrees with the ongoing religious regime and is not afraid of taking measures on reformations. In the same year he wrote an appeal letter to the masses - "To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation” and declared that the fight against papal domination is the matter of the whole German nation. During the timeframe of 1520-1521, the interests of different classes began to line up and coincide with the Reformation ones, moreover, the political arena was made by Thomas Munzer, which showed a new, popular understanding of the Reformation. But Martin was against radical directions, especially massive public demonstrations.
Luther denied the side of the Catholic cult, which did not find confirmation and justification in the word of God, therefore – another n name of Lutheran Church is Evangelical Church. Among the ecclesiastical paraphernalia, rejected by Luther, were the worship of saints, the veneration of icons, kneeling, altar, icons and the doctrine of purgatory. Out of the seven sacraments - only two were saved: baptism and communion.
Despite his radical views, he was far from being able to preach the need for the democratic reconstruction in Germany. He guided his followers to obey the monarchs, not to rebel against authority, and humbly endure the injustice perpetrated by it.
Finally, in German history - Martin Luther’s persona is known as a cultural figure – reformer of religion, education, language, and music. Moreover, Luther has greatly contributed to the heritage of German culture by translating the Bible into German (1522-1542), he has implemented the rules of common German language in it, which made it easy to read and understand for the ordinary people. His reformative Protestants ideas were followed by a number of people. He had the ability to interpret the word of God correctly, which pushed a lot of people to join the Lutheran church, which has more than 70 million nowadays.
Works Cited
"Martin Luther." Martin Luther. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2013. <_HYPERLINK "www.theopedia.com/Martin_Luther"_www.theopedia.com/Martin_Luther_>.
"Martin Luther | Christian History." Christianity Today | Theology, Church, Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2013. "http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/theologians/luther.html"_http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/theologians/luther.html_>.
