欧洲文化8 III Reformation and Counter-Reformation

1、III Reformation and Counter-Reformation宗教改革与反宗教改革,3.1 General introduction The Reformation was a 16th century religious movement as well as a socio-political movement which swept over the whole of Europe. The Reformation was aimed at opposing the absolute authority of the Roman Catholic Church and r

2、eplacing it with the absolute authority of the Bible. The reformers, priests, humanists and others DENIED that the church authorities and priests were the only authority in the interpretation of the Bible and BELIEVED IN direct communication between the individual and God. To enable this direct comm

3、unication, the reformists engaged themselves in translating the Bible into their mother tongues.,The DEMANDS of the reformists also included that of simplifying rituals, abolishing heavy taxes levied on their countrymen and abolishing the indulgences(赎罪券) the centuries-old practice of paying money t

4、o replace the performance of the deed of penance(赎罪). The INTERESTS of the reformists covered a wide range, from wishing to see institutional reform of the Church, to making the Bible accessible to the common folks, to liberating national economy and politics from the interference of the Roman Catho

5、lic Church and carrying out wars in the interests of the peasants and revolution in the interests of the bourgeoisie.,3.2 Martin Luther(1483-1546) and his doctrine Martin Luther was the German leader of the Protestant(新教) Reformation. His doctrine marked the first break in the unity of the Catholic

6、Church. 3.2.1 Beginning of the Reformation Martin Luther was a priest, a vicar and professor of theology. His experience in church matters and his study of the Scripture led him to post on the door of the castle church at the University of Wittenberg his 95 theses（95条论纲）, making open protest against

7、 the indulgences that had been in practice for centuries, which marked the beginning of the reformation Movement.,He quoted the Scripture in support of his belief that men are redeemed by faith and not by the purchase of indulgences. This won sympathy among the exploited who had to yield a good part

8、 of their fruits of labor to the Church, as well as among the civil authorities who were forced to see their funds drained to the Roman Catholic Church for their worldly pleasure. As the Reformation Movement developed, it went beyond the institutional reform of the Church and became one of the mains

9、treams for the liberation of national politics from the Roman interference and for the liberation of economic domination by the Roman Catholic Church.,3.2.2 Translation of the Bible One of the doctrines of Martin Luther was that the Bible was the supreme authority and man was only bound to the law o

10、f the word of God, not the word of the clergy. Before the Reformation, very few people in Europe read the Bible. Martin Luther, with his translation of the New Testament and later, the whole Bible into the vernacular made the Bible accessible to every man, to the average church goers. Because of tha

11、t, Martin Luther could claim that the average man was better educated than many priests had formerly been, and with that the control that the Pope had on the German mind could never be restored.,3.2.3 Gospel of Love and Ideas of Equality Direct communications with God means that the absolute control

12、 of the Catholic Church over the minds of the people was now losing ground. As Martin Luther declared that all believers were priests, he preached that all occupations were holy. In spite of his democratic ideas, however, Martin Luther stoutly opposed the peasants war(1524-1525) in Germany, a revolt

13、 his own spirit helped to foster. In the history of Germany, Martin Luther was more than a religious leader, he was a fighter for democracy and nationalism, a humanist who helped build a competent educational system and a writer whose forceful language helped fix the standards of the modern German l

14、anguage.,3.3 John Calvin(加尔文1509-1564) and Calvinism（加尔文主义） John Calvin was a French theologian who became increasingly interested in the rebellion against the conservatism theology and the movement of reformation of the Church. He put his theological thoughts in his Institutes of the Christian Reli

15、gion (基督教教义), which was considered one of the most influential works of all times. Calvin rejected the papal authorities and devoted himself to the work of reformation in Geneva, where he set himself the task of constructing a government based on the subordination of the state to the church, a type

16、of government which later came to be known as the Presbyterian government(基督教长老会政府). Calvins influence was widespread, particularly in England and Scotland, and the Netherlands.,Calvinism stressed the absolute authority of the Gods will, holding that only those specially elected by God were saved. I

17、ts belief was that any form of sinfulness was a likely sign of damnation whereas ceaseless work could be a sign of salvation. This belief serves so well to help the rising bourgeoisie on its path that many historians have suggested that Calvinism was one of the main courses of the capitalist spirit.

18、,3.4 Reformation in England In England there had been the influence of John Wyclif and the humanists who had talked freely of church reforms. On top of these, there was the fact that for four centuries in England, there had been strong opposition to the Pope in Rome. The split came when Henry VIII d

19、ecided to ignore the authority of the Pope in his matrimonial affairs(婚姻事务). When the Pope refused to recognize his marriage with Anne, British Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy(最高治权法案) in 1534, which marked the formal break of the British with the papal authorities.,The Parliament gave Henry a

20、n Act of succession, recognizing the legality of the divorce and securing the Crown to Annes children. On financial matters it was made clear that revenues, instead of being paid to the Pope, would be paid to the crown. Above all, there was the establishment of the Church of England, or Anglican Chu

21、rch. The king, not the Pope, was now the head of the church. It was a national church with all foreign control and interference at an end. An English translation of the Bible was adopted. In England, therefore, the question of reform was not fundamentally one of belief or interpretation of the Bible

22、 but one of rejections of the supremacy of the Pope.,3.5 Counter-reformation By late 1520 the Roman Catholic Church had lost its control over the church in Germany because the local church officials sided with the rebel princes in Germany. Meanwhile, the movement against the Roman Catholic Church ha

23、d swept over the whole of Europe, shaking the very foundation of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church did not stay idle. They mustered their forces, the dedicated Catholic groups, to examine the Church institutions and introduce reforms and improvements, to bring back its vitality. I

24、n time, the Roman Catholic Church did re-establish itself as a dynamic force in European affairs. This recovery of power is often called by historians the Counter-Reformation. The seed-bed for this Catholic reformation was Spain with the Spanish monarchy establishing the Inquisition(宗教法庭) to carry o

25、ut cruel suppression of heresy and unorthodoxy（异端邪说）.,3.5.1 Council of Trent (特利腾大公会议) Faced with the growing threat, the papal authorities had to call a number of councils to introduce necessary reforms. Among them was the Council of Trent. The sessions of the Council reaffirmed that the Church had

26、 the sole right to interpret the Bible. The Council declared that the Latin Vulgate of Jerome to be the definitive translation of the text. The Council also stressed that Catholicism was a religion of infallible authority. The Catholic reformation, that is, Counter-Reformation afterwards was to a gr

27、eat extent occupied with the principles and requirements laid down at the Council of Trent.,3.5.2 Ignatius and the Jesuits (伊那爵与耶稣会) Ignatius was a Spaniard who devoted his life to defending the Roman Catholic Church. He read books of saints and pledged to eternal chastity(贞洁). From Spain he went to

28、 Paris where he entered the College de Montaigne and won a lot of followers. In the winter of 1536-1537, he and his followers walked across the Alps to go to Rome. All the way they begged for food and mostly lived on bread and water and they sang psalms as they went along until they finally reached

29、Rome. Ignatius and his followers called themselves the Jesuits, members of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits went through strict spiritual training and organized their own colleges to train selected youth who would be their centre of their influence in the next generation. By the time of Ignatius de

30、ath, there were a hundred Jesuit colleges on which the Pope relied for the defense of its authority.,The Jesuits made it their life long work to spread the orthodox faith. They went so far as to say that they were always ready to believe what seemed to them white was black if the hierarchical church

31、 so defined. The Jesuits had great influence over the proceedings in the Council of Trent. They guided the Council in declaring war on Reformation. With their efforts in education, they succeeded in recapturing the mind of youth and allegiance(效忠) of power and helped establish a spirit of confidence

32、 and military for the Roman Catholic Church. Church thus won back for the Roman Catholic Church much of Germany, most Hungary, Bohemia, all of Christian Poland. Today the Society of Jesus is still active with a membership of 31000, having institution in various parts of the world.,3.6 Protestantism

33、and the rise of Capitalism Reformation movement broke the absolute authority of the Roman Catholic Church. In Europe, different denominations with the orthodox church began to appear one after another. Protestantism came into being. Liberal ideas took wings and as the countries in Europe went on the

34、ir different ways to free themselves from the religious, political and economical control of the papal authorities, they each went on its way to nationhood and the way was thus prepared for the capitalist development. The ecclesiastical(教会的) control over culture, education and scholastic studies cou

35、ld not go on the way they used to. The old, conservative, medieval ideas and conceptions gradually gave way to imagination, creation and free thinking. Science in the modern world began to develop which led to an age of scientific discoveries and inventions, marking the most notable advance since Gr

36、eek times.,Calvinism, which stressed hard work and a thrifty way of life changed the life of stagnation(停滞不前) in economy ad helped to accelerate production, trade and commerce. Navigation and the discoveries of new lands made the world smaller and brought the countries closer to one another so that

37、foreign trade, export and import of raw materials and industrial products were made much easier. Protestantism which began as a religious movement against the orthodox church of Rome had profound impact on religious life in Europe. And its impact on political, economical life was even immeasurable.,3.7 Conclusion Before the R