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Lutheranism as a movement traces its origin to the work of Martin Luther, a German religious scholar who sought to reform the practices of the Roman Catholic Church in the early 16th century. The symbolic beginning of the Protestant Reformation occurred when Luther posted his 95 theses (95 points on which he challenged Roman Catholic dogma and practices) on the door of the Wittenberg Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31st, 1517.
Between 1517 and 1520, Luther preached and published his scathing criticisms of the Roman Church in books and pamphlets. His ideas were supported by many other Christian theologians, and they also had a certain populist appeal. As a result, Luther gained many supporters and followers from all levels of society, from peasants who considered him a folk hero, to knights who swore to protect him. Luther also gained some powerful enemies, including the Pope in Rome and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Concerned about the "problem" of Luther, the Pope and Roman Catholic officials decided to send Luther a document called the "Exsurge Domine" in 1520, which called on Luther to recant and abandon his ideas, with the unspoken threat of being killed if he did not recant (the Roman Church had killed earlier would-be reformers, notaby Czech reformer Jan Huss, who was burned at the stake). Luther and a group of his supporters publicly burned the document in December of 1520.
Angered, Charles V wanted to outlaw Luther and his followers, but he was warned by advisors that doing so outright would cause a revolt, since Luther had become so popular. So instead, Luther was to be summoned to appear before the Diet of Worms, where he was to recant his ideas publicly. Luther went to Worms (pronounced Vorms), but when called upon by Roman Catholic officials to recant, Luther made a historic stand, saying the following: "I cannot submit my faith either to the Pope or to the Councils, because it is clear as day they have frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless therefore, I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture ... I cannot and will not retract ... Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God, Amen!" --Martin Luther, April 16, 1521
Luther escaped from Worms in the dark of night (with the help of his supporters), before he could be seized and executed. Luther remained in hiding for some time, all the while continuing to write and develop his ideas. Shortly after Luther escaped, Charles V issued the Edict of Worms, which outlawed Luther and his followers, declared Luther and his followers heretics, and banned Luther's writings.
The Lutheran movement was bolstered by the work of several reformers, primarily among the early leaders was Philipp Melanchthon (a colleague of Luther's at the Leucorea University in Wittenberg), Huldreich Zwingli, and John CalvinJohn Calvin ( July 10, 1509 May 27, 1564) founded Calvinism, a form of Protestant Christianity, during the Protestant Reformation. He was born Jean Chauvin in Noyon, Picardie, France, and French was his mother tongue. Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in (the founder of the Calvinist movement).
What had started as a stricly theological and academic debate had now turned into something of a social and political conflict as well, pitting the Luther and his German supporters against the Spaniard Charles VThe name Charles V is used to refer to numerous persons in history: Kings: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also Charles I of Spain) Charles V of France Charles V of Naples Charles V of Sweden. (who ruled Spain and the Holy Roman Empire -- of which Germany was then a part), and the Italian Pope, as well as the supporters of the latter two. The conflict would erupt even further into a religious war, fueled by the political climate of the Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire ( German: Heiliges Romisches Reich was a political conglomeration of lands in western and central Europe in the Middle Ages. Emerging from the eastern part of the Frankish realm after its division in the Treaty of Verdun ( 843), it l and strong personalities on both sides.
Lutheranism would become known as a separate movement after the 1530Events June 25 Augsburg confession presented to Charles V of Holy Roman Empire. August 12 Florence is captured by Spanish troops under Prince Philibert of Orange. The Medici are restored in the person of the Pope's nephew Alessandro de Medici. Knights of Diet of AugsburgThe Diet of Augsburg was an assembly convened by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530 in Augsburg now in central Germany. Its purpose was to calm rising tensions over Protestantism. See also Diet Augsburg Confession Augsburg., which was convened by Charles V to try to stop the growing Protestant movement. At the Diet, Philipp Melanchthon presented a written summary of Lutheran beliefs called the Augsburg ConfessionThe Augsburg Confession in Latin Confessio Augustana is the central document of the Lutheran reformation, which was a reaction against the Roman Catholic Church. It was presented at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had called. Several of the German princes (and later, kings and princes of other countries) signed the document to define "Lutheran" territories. These princes would ally to create the Schmalkaldic League in 1531, which lead to the Smalcald War that pitted the Lutheran princes of the Smalcald League against the Roman Catholic forces of Charles V.
After the conclusion of the Smalcald War, Charles V attempted to impose Roman Catholic religious doctrine on the territories that he had defeated. However, the Lutheran movement was far from defeated. In 1577, the next generation of Lutheran theologians gathered the work of the previous generation to define the doctrine of the persisting Lutheran church. This document is known as the Formula of Concord, and in 1580, all documents were bound and distributed in a volume titled The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. This book is still used today, and is referred to as the Book of Concord.
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