Martin Luther
Martin Luther is generally regarded as the father of Protestantism in Christianity. He was also a priest and a theology lecturer in the German Church. He, along with other early Christian opponents, led the first revolt against the 15th century's early teachings.
Among the teachings, Luther firmly opposed were Holy See teachings that advocated borrowing money to receive God's forgiveness. In one instance, in 1517, he sparked a discussion over the efficacy of atonement cards used by All Saints of the church for the atonement of people's sins. He put this debate in front of the saints in church and requested them to discuss the issue terming it as corruption in the church. He went ahead to reject the Pope Leo X and Holy Vatican Charle V orders to withdraw the documents.
For this reason, Luther was expelled from the Catholic Church and later, he was convicted by the Holy Roman Emperor for disobeying the church’s doctrines. He argued that salvation was a gift from God and He gave it to mankind freely by grace. He explained that none could get salvation by doing good deeds, but rather by having faith in Jesus Christ who redeems any sinner from doing evil. Luther came up with a Lutheran Bible whose teachings contradicted the papal authority. The Bible was a source of God’s revelation to mankind which undoubtedly challenged the authority of the pope taught in the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther in his teachings further elaborated that the hierarchy set by the Catholic Church violated the true meaning of “priesthood” explained in doctrines of the New Testament.
John Calvin
John Calvin is also believed to have played a critical role in the breakup of Protestantism from the Roman Catholic Church. He is a celebrated French reformer, theologian scholar, and also an important Protestant faction.
Some scholars have recorded that either in 1533 or 1534, Calvin met Lutheran followers in France and after teaching them of the new protestant doctrine, he went convinced and converted to the new theology. Calvin began to spread the teachings about the new theology to his friends who later landed them into trouble with the civil and ecclesiastical authorities in France. He later abandoned his studies in humanity and literature and started to spread the teachings. He later became a reformist preacher who emphasized on God’s power over all humanity and condemned church leaders who were sinful and corrupt. He taught his followers that God demanded obedience from humanity and that there was a huge rift between God and humanity which could only be mediated by Jesus Christ. Throughout his teachings, he maintained that God’s laws should be rigorously obeyed and that Christians should earnestly pursue social and moral righteousness in their daily activities.
Puritans
Puritans referred to the group of believers who called for the removal of the reformation agenda of the Roman Catholic Church that was held in the Church of England. They believed in Protestantism which they referred to as Calvinism. The also believed in the Bible and termed it as the supreme authority where no church or individual could support and defend the traditional authority at the same time.
The pioneers of the Puritan group came from the British Protestant Group that had been sent to exile in Europe after the reign of Mary I. Later; the moved to the Americas to spread the new teachings of the Bible. However, being supporters of parliamentary supremacy in Britain, they were opposed strongly by the Anglicans who supported the king. The rivalry between these two groups led a to a civil war that was directed by parliament and financed by the taxpayers and merchants in Europe. This was led by Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) who was a puritan. He led the New Model Army to fight in the war which made him discover his leadership abilities.
Ignatius Loyola
Ignatius Loyola who was made a saint by the Catholic Church was a Spanish who founded the Jesuits group – a sage of the Roman Catholic Church. He was a strong critic of the Martin Luther reforms in the Catholic Church. He instead proposed his reforms in the Roman Catholic Church that contradicted all the proposals made by Luther.
The Society of Jesus popularly known as Jesuits founded in 1534 played a major role in reforming the Catholic Church in Sothern and Western Europe. In his teachings, he combined both the traditional monastic discipline and also dedicated his life to teaching and preaching to win back converts of the Lutheran theology to the Catholic Church.
Henry VIII
Henry VIII was the second born son of Henry VII the second king of Tudor in 1509. He was appointed Lord of Ireland and later King of Ireland after the death of his father. He began his reign as king by first marrying a wife instead of the new queen in an attempt to oppose a papal priest. He had the intention of reforming the church doctrines to allow him to marry another wife and establish the British Bishop as the new Archbishop of Church of England to keep it out of The Holy See.
He later became the supreme religious leader in the Church of England, abolished the Holy See tenancy in England and managed to bring power back to the British royal family. He also successfully incorporated Welsh into England during his reign. Despite the common belief that Henry III became a British Anglican before his death, studies have shown that he advocated for Catholic rites all his life. It is also stated that some of his descendants including Edward VI and Elizabeth I continued their father’s reform agenda. However, Mary I rebelled against her father’s wish and established catholic status during her reign.
He married six wives, two of whom were beheaded by his wife. He also encouraged humanistic studies across his empire during his reign. He also managed to incorporate England and Wales which served to culminate the power of the British Royal family. He managed to expand the power of the state and also encouraged the middle-class people to step up their political participation. He, however, drained the empire’s treasury through his political diplomacy adventures and made it difficult for the succeeding British Monarch to rule after his death.
