User:Yasotha Murugesan/sandbox

THE REFORMATION AND COUNTER REFORMATION  INTRODUCTION  Reformation was the greatest religious movement of the 16th century in England. In the words of Hilary Belloc, "It was a revolt against catholic and explosion of for as which had been gathering for years against religion." REASONS FOR REFORMATION  There was many reasons for the reformation. The first and foremost cause was that the doctrines and practices of the church had become outdated and irrelevant. People who read the Bible widely had a questioning mind. There was also a spirit of Nationalism. Every country wanted to show its individuality. They did not like the idea of being subservient to the authority of a foreign Pope. Many of the clergy men involved in corrupt activities. some Pope like Innocent VIII and Alexander were immoral and pleasure loving people. MARTIN LUTHER KING  Martin Luther king of Germany initiated the Reformation movement in Germany in 31st October 1517. He questioned the doctrines and practices in the church. Eucharist (the consecrated bread and wine which, according to the faith, become the body and blood of Christ during Mass) Purgatory  ( a possess of purification before souls can enter heaven) Indulgence (the full or partial reduction of earthly punishment, granted by the church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution or forgiveness. 	Luther was revolved by the abuse of the practice and he wrote ninety-five points attacking the abuse. He nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the church door at Wittenberg. This proved to be one of the main catalysts of the Reformation. As a result, he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, but Lutheranism became popular.  THE REFORMATION PARLIAMENT 	Henry VIII, the King o England first supported the Pope Leo X. So the Pope gave Henry the title of Defender of the Faith. But when king Henry wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, he could not get the Papal permission. In 153, Henry summoned the parliament and he made himself the supreme authority of the church. So, this parliament was called Reformation Parliament. He executed Thomas More and Bishop Fisher who opposed him. In 1536, all the monasteries were dissolved and the properties were confiscated. In 1539, a bill was passed with six articles. People who deviated this six doctrines were punished. EDWARD VI'S REIGN  During the reign of Edward VI, the first prayer book prepared by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was supplied in 1549. This book was the translations of the prayers and forms of the worship which was in England for thousand years. In 1552, the second prayer book was supplied. QUEEN MARY'S RULE  When Queen Mary came to the throne, she restored the old form of worship. In 1554, the parliament was induced to repeat all the anti-papal acts o Henry VIII except the dissolution of monasteries. Queen Mary burnt some Three hundred protestants and earned the name 'Bloody Mary' and lost the loyalty and affection of the common people for the queen. ELIZABETH'S SETTLEMENT  When Elizabeth became the queen after Mary, it was an age of Fanaticism. She was humane and loved her subjects. She avoided a religious war by an ingenious compromise between the Catholics and protestants. She reviewed her father's policy with a cautious and cleaver way. By passing the Act of Uniformity, she abolished the papal power and made the prayer book only in the form of legal worship. In her rule, church attendance was made compulsory. The noticeable feature of Elizabeth settlement was that the clergy who refused to accept was not victimized in any way but was simply disrobed and seized of power. The enforcement of unfirming resulted in non-conformity. CONCLUSION  In many European countries the reformation resulted in religious wars. But in England the reformation brought peace through the Elizabethan compromise.