Reformation, the

Reformation, the. The term is sometimes used to describe a series of changes in W. Christendom between the 14th and 17th cents., but is usually restricted to the early 16th cent. It is said to have begun with the attacks of the Lollards and the Hussites upon the hierarchical structure of the Church. Until the early 16th cent. divergence from Catholic doctrine was uncommon, but there were many attacks upon the financial exactions of the Papacy and Curia and upon their worldliness and involvement in the dynastic politics of Italy. M. Luther was breaking no new ground when he protested against the corruptions of Rome and the abuses attending the sale of indulgences. His study of St Augustine had led him to question devotional practices and the emphasis of late medieval theology on ‘good works’; later his historical reading raised doubts about the validity of the Papal claims to supremacy. From these traditionalist origins were derived his fundamental attacks on transubstantiation, clerical celibacy and the religious orders, as well as his demands for the abolition of Papal power in Germany. The rulers of Saxony, Hesse, Brandenburg, Brunswick, Denmark and Sweden were won to the reformed beliefs before or shortly after their classic enunciation in the ‘Confession of Augsburg’ (1530). These rulers reorganized and regulated the Churches within their territories according to Lutheran principles, which were also adopted by a number of the imperial cities of Germany.

Meanwhile in 1523–5 the Swiss Reformer U. Zwingli had won the support of the civic authorities of Zurich and carried through anti-papal, anti-hierarchic, and anti-monastic reforms in the city. Zwingli's theology, more radical and less scholastic in his Eucharistic and social doctrines than Luther's, affected many of the Swiss cantons and some cities in SW Germany. After Zwingli's death (1531) leadership of the Swiss Reformation passed to Geneva. Here, from 1541, J. Calvin established an elaborately organized theocracy. A coherent theological system based upon the doctrine of predestination was provided by his Institutes (1536). Calvinism for several generations became the driving force of the Reformation, especially in W. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scotland, and England. In nearly every case it was linked with political struggle.

The English Reformation was an insular process responsive to peculiar political and social forces. Henry VIII, a convinced traditionalist in both doctrine and Church government, accomplished the overthrow of Papal supremacy and the dissolution of the monasteries largely in pursuit of shortterm political ends and the extension of royal control. Despite his opposition, reforming Continental doctrines and native heresy became more widespread. During the reign of Edward VI, political calculation and the influence of T. Cranmer and others led to a more wide-ranging alteration of doctrine and liturgy. After Mary's attempt to reverse the changes, the accession of Elizabeth I was followed by the reimposition of the earlier Protestant formularies. The English Reformation grafted elements of Reformed theology and worship on to a traditional Church structure; the continuities ensured peaceful change, and, ultimately, widespread public acceptance. See also CHURCH OF ENGLAND.