The Reformation
Second Years are currently
learning about one of the most important historical events to affect Ireland,
Europe, and indeed the whole world.
It is called The Reformation, and
it happened in Germany about 500 years ago.
500 years ago everybody in Europe
was a Christian. After Jesus died, the Christian Church moved its headquarters
to Rome in Italy.
As students know from Religion
class, the head of the Church is the Pope, who lives in the Vatican in Rome.
Jesus had chosen the Apostle
Peter as the first Pope. Every time a new Pope died, a new Pope was then
elected.
However, as time went by some Christians
got annoyed with the Pope and the church. They felt that the Popes were living
lives of luxury, far removed from the poor lifestyle that Jesus had.
Some complained about Simony;
the selling of prayers by the church for sums of money.
Others gave out about Nepotism:
500 years ago many of the best jobs or positions were in the church. Nepotism
is when jobs are given to friends and family without giving others a chance to
apply for the job.
Absenteeism was
also a problem; sometimes Priests couldn't be bothered to turn up to say Mass.
Pluralism too
upset many; this was when people in the church were claiming money for doing
two or more jobs. (A useful way to remember these abuses is 'SNAP')
Around this time people were
reading more thanks to the invention of the Printing Press. They
were now reading leaflets that were being passed around containing information
about the problems in the church.
One man who was very annoyed
about all this was a German monk called Martin Luther. In 1517 he listed 95 grievances
against the Church and nailed them to the door of a church in Wittenburg in
Germany.
The Pope was very cross and
excommunicated him. (Cut him off from the Church) However, many people agreed
with his criticisms and joined his protest against the Catholic Church. As they
were ‘Protesting’ they set
up their own churches. They became known as Protestants.
Protestants believed in Jesus
Christ but did not accept the authority of the Pope. Protestants also disagreed
with the Pope and other Protestants about other issues, such as which
sacraments were important. People who stayed loyal to the Pope were known as
Catholics.
Now, there were Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians. Even though the Catholic
Church had a ‘Counter Reformation’ to try and stop the abuses in their Church,
the Protestant movement spread from Germany to Scandinavia and then to Ireland
and Britain.
Ireland at that time was ruled by
Britain. At first, Henry the Eight, the King hated the idea of Protestantism.
But when the Pope refused him a divorce, Henry split from the Pope and set up
his own Protestant Church, the Anglican Church. (In England it was called the
Church of England; in Ireland it was called the Church of Ireland).
Most Irish people stayed Catholic
however while most of Britain became Protestant. This was to cause trouble for
centuries as the British felt they could never really trust the Catholic Irish.
In Europe, France, Spain and
Italy stayed Catholic, but most of Germany and Scandinavia went Protestant.
Many wars broke out over Europe because of the differences in religion.
The British later feared that the
Catholic Irish would join with Catholic France and Spain to attack Britain. So
they ‘Planted’ parts of Ireland (especially Ulster) with people from
Britain who were Protestant. These people or Planters were to keep Ireland safe
from Catholic invasion. But the Plantations led to fighting and violence
between Catholics and Protestants for centuries, right up to the recent
‘Troubles’.
The Reformation, like the
Renaissance changed Europe, Ireland and the World completely. It was a
fascinating time, and its effects are still felt today.
You can study more about the
Reformation using these resources below:
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