Oops! We Opened Up A Can Of Worms! Quiz

Answer: Jan Hus

Little is known about Peter Waldo, the founder of Waldensians, who was excommunicated by Pope Lucius III in 1184. Although many of his followers were put to death by the Catholic Church, it appears that he died in hiding. His teachings are still followed today. John Wycliffe, from England, may have benefited from being so far away from Rome.

He was not excommunicated or otherwise threatened. However, after his death he was declared a heretic and his remains were burned. The Anti-Wycliffite Statute of 1401 also affected his followers, who were then persecuted. One of his staunchest followers, Jan Hus, was burned alive after having been promised safe conduct to address the Council of Constance.

He continued to preach and celebrate Mass, which was a violation of the restrictions placed on him by the Church; this was used as the reason for his arrest.

His refusal to recant his beliefs led to his conviction and death. Of course, Martin Luther is recognized as having "started" the Protestant Reformation in 1517.

A key reason for his success was that he enjoyed the support of a number of temporal authorities.

Answer: Diet of Worms

Over two years after Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of All Saints' Church, he was warned by a papal bull that he risked excommunication unless he recanted. He responded by burning the pope's bull. Secular, rather than religious, authorities were told to respond.

The Diet of Worms, which was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire, determined that Luther was an outlaw, banned his writings, and required his arrest. Anyone could kill Luther without legal consequence. It was also said to be unlawful for anyone to give Luther food or shelter.

Answer: Prince Frederick III

Luther was protected by Prince Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, who had procured safe passage for him to and from the meeting of the general assembly. While he really didn't have much contact with Luther himself, Prince Frederick III heard about his ideas from his treasurer. Luther "disappeared" on the way back to Wittenberg, apparently "abducted" by masked horsemen who had been sent by the prince.

It is interesting to note that Frederick III remained a Catholic his entire life.

Answer: Wartburg Castle

The masked horsemen who "abducted" Luther, took him to safety in Wartburg Castle at Eisenach. Luther called the castle "his Patmos", in reference to the safe haven of John the Apostle. It was at Wartburg Castle that Luther translated the New Testament to vernacular German, further wrote about the outrage of the selling of indulgences, and began to formulate some of his new teachings.

Answer: True

Luther was reluctant to make radical changes for two reasons. First, he didn't want the people to be upset or confused any further. In addition, he felt that the Catholic Church was controlling, and didn't want to replace one controlling institution with another. Using the church in the Electorate of Saxony as a model, he only acted as an adviser to those that wanted to follow.

He also wrote a German mass, which was designed for "simple people", while keeping the Latin mass. As a consequence, there were some reformers who believed Luther's church was too "popish", and that further reform was needed.

Answer: Switzerland

Zwingli became pastor of the "Grossmünster" in Zurich in 1518, just one year after Luther began the Reformation. It was there that he began to preach about necessary reforms in the Catholic Church; the first was the practice of fasting during Lent. He also spoke concerning corruption in the clergy and the use of holy images by the Church.

While his ideas spread to some of the cantons of Switzerland, others remained Catholic. Zwingli was killed in battle while attempting to impose a blockade on the Catholic cantons.

Answer: predestination

At the core of Calvin's teachings, eventually called Calvinism, is the idea of predestination, as well as eternal damnation and absolute sovereignty of God, which is called Monergism. It is the Christian belief that God, through the Holy Spirit, works to bring about the salvation of individuals, saving the soul from death and eternal damnation. Calvin worked as a lawyer, and broke from the Catholic Church sometime in 1530.

After fleeing for his life to Switzerland, he was asked to help organize a Protestant Church in Geneva, which he did until he was expelled from the city by the city council. Eventually he returned to Geneva; it is interesting to note that he was part of a group there that condemned Michael Servetus, a Spaniard, to death by slow (!) burning because his ideas were viewed as heretical by both Protestants and Catholics.

It is important to note that everyone in Geneva did not follow Calvin's ideas. Opponents called "Libertines" argued that because there was nothing they could do to influence their salvation, they might as well do as they pleased - which they did!

Answer: He was involved in a dispute with the pope over the appointment of an archbishop.

Called the founder of modern Sweden, Gustav Vasa, or Gustav I, worked to end feudalism, replacing the nobles and clergy with centrally appointed governors and bishops. Archbishop Gustav Trolle went into exile when Gustav I seized power, and Gustav I wanted to appoint an archbishop who would be loyal to his government.

The pope decreed that Trolle had to be reinstated; Gustav refused, and appointed the archbishop of his choice. The king established the Lutheran Church of Sweden at about the same time Henry VIII established the Anglican Church in England.

Answer: Presbyterian

When Knox became involved in the movement to reform the Scottish church, he also became involved in some political intrigue that involved the murder of a cardinal. For this he was eventually exiled to England in 1549, during the rule of Henry VIII's son, Edward VI, whom he served as royal chaplain. Knox was also able to assist in writing the "Book of Common Prayer".

When Mary I became Queen of England, Knox was forced to leave, traveling to Geneva, and then to Frankfurt. After returning to Scotland, he began the Reformation there, which also led to the ousting of Mary of Guise, who was serving as regent for the young Mary, Queen of Scots.

Answer: Act of Supremacy

Henry VIII wanted the pope to annul his marriage to his wife, Catherine of Aragon, after being married to her for several years. Why? Well (to make a long story short) she hadn't been able to successfully bear a male heir; there had only been a daughter named Mary. His girlfriend, Anne Boleyn, was pregnant, ready to give birth any day. He needed that child to be legitimate, especially if it was a boy. The pope felt more threatened by the army of Catherine's strong family, (she was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain), than he did by Henry. He refused to grant the annulment. Henry responded by issuing the Act of Supremacy, which formally broke England from the Catholic Church and established the reigning monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

In most European countries that formally adopted varieties of Protestantism the ruler became the "Summus Episcopus" of the church. This Latin expression literally means "supreme bishop" but is best translated as "Supreme Governor [or Head] of the Church". The days of massive confrontations between Church and State that had been so common in the High Middle Ages were over: in most Protestant countries the prince or king was firmly in charge of the church.