The Complicated Counter-Reformation
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Oct. 31, 2022 • By Jason Elhilow
DescriptionAn essay that dives directly into the complicated history of the Counter-Reformation and how it affected the Catholic Church for centuries after.
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ImageNicolo Dorigati
The Counter-Reformation, which happened between 1550 and 1650, was a complicated time of change across the Catholic world. The Church, and in turn, the Holy Roman Empire, controlled almost the entirety of Western Europe for a thousand years, only evolving after the outcries of Martin Luther. Luther, a Catholic monk, called out them in 1517 with the Ninety-Five Theses for their selling of indulgences, pieces of paper that essentially cleared all sins/guaranteed someone's entrance into Heaven. He claimed that they were stripping the poor of their money with empty promises, alongside dictating people's connection with God, quickly uncovering the many terrible practices of the Church. This is why Luther’s words multiplied so quickly, as, alongside the invention of the printing press, he was changing people's perception of religion, angering the Church by exposing its dark secrets. He was swiftly excommunicated, threatened with death, and thrown into exile. However, the ball had already started to roll, with the bittered Catholic common folk leaving in droves, bringing half of Europe to follow in Luther’s lead under his new, unexpected religion: Lutheranism. With him, people were allowed to have a more intimate relationship with their deity, letting them read the Bible for themselves after he translated it into German. Finally, they understood that the words the nobility spoke were twisted in their favor, letting the everyday person communicate with God outside the confines of the Church. Though this was not the end, as in an act to ring people back to the faith, Catholic leaders reformed the beliefs of the Church, getting rid of indulgences and such, mostly succeeding in giving people a more personal and genuine connection with God. This was done via the arts, church councils, and new religious orders, which are evident today.The Council of Trent existed from 1547-1563 during the Counter-Reformation to, well, counter the reformation. Commissioned by Pope Paul III, its job was to revise church practices, not doctrine, and was meant to speak to the religious leaders of the time. The selling of indulgences seemingly ceased, bishops and other figures were forced to live in the same areas as their constituents, and other rules were altered, attempting to show that the Church was “willing” to evolve, when in reality, it was more like they were doing a self-investigation. They still disagreed with Luther’s great message about how faith alone was justification for going to Heaven, but were willing to see a broader view of the world than they ever did previously. They were never going to say flat-out that what they were doing was wrong, but they decided to at least attempt to change. Furthermore, their influence was heard across Europe, even in the short time the council existed. Many pieces of art were done of them, even decades after their last meeting, like the Opening Session of the Council of Trent in 1545, depicted by Italian painter Nicolò Dorigati in 1711. It was created almost one hundred fifty years later, proving its relevance in the Catholic world. Altogether, the changes made by the Council of Trent allowed for more religious freedom and, from there, allowed people to have a more personal connection with God.The Spiritual Exercises by Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Order of the Society of Jesus, was written in 1524 as directions for his loyal subjects, also known as Jesuits. They were the audience, as this cult-like collection of religious followers was solely created to faithfully serve the Pope, carrying the message of Catholicism and the word of God across the world via voyages. The big idea is that he and many others were allowed to practice their own (extreme) versions of Catholicism, which was never allowed before. His entire purpose was to make the Church more appealing, more serious, and less about just practicing it every Sunday. Ignacious wanted everyone to be devoted to God, the Bible, and Catholicism, no matter the time or place. This idea is clearly shown in St. Ignatius Loyola founder of the Society of Jesus and Pope Paul III, painted by an Anonymous English artist in 1539. Though we do not know who made it, the piece depicts Ignacious handing a book of practices to Pope Paul III, which was graciously accepted. It was painted in Great Britain, which had its own religious turmoil due to its separation from the Catholic Church by the hand of King Henry VIII. This new religion was heavily based on older Catholicism, just with a few tweaks, though many fundamentals stayed the same. One of these was the suppression of other religions, meaning that painting a picture depicting the Catholic Pope and Ignacious was dangerous, likely leading the artist to stay anonymous. This shows a rift between the two religious beliefs, presenting that the Catholics were evolving slightly while the British remained stubborn in aged Church ways, and proves that no matter where they were, the Church's faith continued.Protestantism was a growing movement in Europe during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, leading to many bloody fights over what people could practice. The Peace of Augsburg, proclaimed by Ferdinand I for his brother Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, in 1555, was meant to be the first step towards religious freedom after the cries of Luther, as it finally allowed princes to choose between Catholicism or Lutheranism in their principalities. It was meant to stop war from happening, but it failed in that department, as it caused the Thirty Years War, which raged from 1618 to 1648. Many wanted to extend the demands of Augsburg, begging for the right to choose individually, while others wanted to keep the centralized system of the past. It culminated in thousands of deaths and the final decision, The Peace of Westphalia, in 1648. This document, penned parallel with the failing Holy Roman Empire, was the final nail in the coffin. Did it stop the entirety of Europe from fighting over religion? No. But did it help keep some form of peace? Yes. Overall, these papers were the start and “completion” of religious rights in Europe, ensuring that people could practice the faiths they wanted to, showing the slight progress made by the Church during the period.Teresa of Ávila, a Spaniard author who was alive from 1515 to 1582, was an incredibly unique figure, known for reforming the Carmelite convents and writing a famous autobiography about her personal religious experiences, something that appealed to both Protestants and members of the Catholic community. She is like a combination of Luther and Ignacious, being a devoted nun of the Church who also wanted to have a deep and transparent relationship with God. The story surrounding her is that she was pierced in the heart by an angel while praying, suddenly imbued with the passionate love of God in her soul. This is shown in The Ecstasy of Ste. Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a statue designed for the Cornaro family chapel in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Della Vittoria in Rome during 1652. This represents the amount of popularity she had, proving the resounding effect on the Church. She wanted everyone to have a more personal and genuine relationship with God; she wanted everyone to emulate her spiritual experience. In The Autobiography of Ste. Teresa of Jesus (written pre-1567), Teresa talks about a different encounter she had with God. Within it, she explains that he revealed himself fully to her, and is reassured that he is taking care of everything she has done in her life, “responding” to the many calls she made out to him. All of this led to her being a prominent leader and soon a Catholic saint, showing that the Church was willing to explore this new way of thinking about God. They embraced her ideas due to how they enforced the beliefs of the Church, not defying them like Luther or other Protestant leaders. It allowed them to prove that they were changing and evolving, perfectly presenting how the Catholic Church was willing to budge forward.In a bold attempt to ring people back to the Church, Catholic leaders reformed their beliefs, ridding themselves of corrupt practices like indulgences and mostly succeeding in giving people a more personal and authentic relationship with God. Though it was done in different ways, like through art, church councils, or new religious orders, these changes are things that we can still see the effects of even today. The Church has gone through many scandals throughout its history, but every time it has managed to course correct. Examples of this could be situations like capital punishment, as in 1995 the Pope was finally stripped of the right to sentence someone to death, or in 2007, where the concept of limbo—someone who dies before they are baptized/cleansed of their sins, including infants—was adequately put to rest. No matter how fringe or uncommon these practices were, Catholics disliked that it was a standard, so the Church removed them from their procedures, listening to the people. All of this is clear and undeniable proof that if the Church WANTS to, it can evolve, allowing its followers to make a change and have a more personal connection with God.
Sources
Ávila, Teresa of. The Autobiography of Ste. Teresa of Jesus. 1567. Accessed 31 October 2022.Bernini, Gian Lorenzo. The Ecstasy of Ste. Teresa. 1652. Accessed 31 October 2022.Dorigati, Nicolò. Opening Session of the Council of Trent in 1545. 1711. Accessed 31 October 2022.Excerpt from The Peace of Westphalia. 1648. Accessed 31 October 2022.Excerpts from the Council of Trent. 1547-1563. Accessed 31 October 2022.Loyola, Ignatius of. The Spiritual Exercises. 1524. Accessed 31 October 2022.Painter, Anonymous English. St. Ignatius Loyola founder of the Society of Jesus and Pope Paul III. 1539. Accessed 31 October 2022.VII, Charles. The Peace of Augsburg. 1555. Accessed 31 October 2022.
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