Lucien Lebvre, Martin Luther, un destin. [trad.] Maria Pavel, Editura Corint, București, 2001, p. 81.

Pr. Nicolae Chifăr, Istoria Creștinismului, Vol. IV, Editura Trinitas, Iași, 2005, p. .

Pr. Prof. Dr. Ioan Rămureanu, Istoria Bisericească Universală, Editura Institutul Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii
Ortodoxe Romăne, București, 1992, p.

Pr. Prof. Ioan Rămureanu, Pr. Prof. Milan Șesan, Pr. Prof. Teodor Bodogae, Istoria Bisericească Universală,
Vol. II, Editura Institutul Biblic și de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Romăne, București, 1993, p.

Pr. Dr. Daniel Benga, Marii reformatori luterani și Biserica Ortodoxă - Contribuții la tipologia relațiilor
luterano-ortodoxe din secolul al XVI-lea, Editura Sophia, București, 2003, p. .

Vladimir Lossky, Teologia mistică a Bisericii de Răsărit. trad. din Lb. franceză de Pr. Vasile Răducă, Editura
Bonifaciu, Bucureşti, 1998, p. 23.”
Coltescu Viorel, Istoria filosofiei, Vol. I, Editura Universitătii de Vest, Timisoara, 2002, p. 203-204.

Nume Prenume_autor, TitluCarte, Vol. !, Editura, Oras, 2018, p. 1.

Erik H. Erikson, Psihanaliză și istorie - Tânărul Luther, Editura Trei, București, 2001

Timothy George, Teologia Reformatorilor, Editura Institutului Biblic “Emanuel” din Oradea, Oradea, 1998, p.
74.

November 10, 1483 Martin Luther is born in Eisleben, in Germany (Saxony, par
1501 Luther enters the University of Erfurt where, in accordance
a lawyer.
July 2, 1505 A bolt of lightening knocks Luther, still a student at the Uni
sign that he should become a monk. Two weeks later, he tak
1507 Luther becomes an ordained priest.
1508 Luther earns a degree in Biblical studies from the University
1510 Luther travels to Rome where he becomes disillusioned with
clergy.
1512 Luther becomes a professor of theology (the Doctor in Bible
1513-1517 Luther studies the Bible and prepares series of lectures on P
understanding of Paul's message and begins to see Faith as a
prevailing view of a capricious God. The theology of Paul f
1516 Pope Leo X begins to sell indulgences. On October 31, the
practice of selling indulgences. Remission of sins, in Luthe
Luther also doubted the power of the Pope to release a soul
October 31, 1517 Luther, upset with the practice of selling indulgences, send a
questioning that and numerous other practices of the Cathol
Although there is some doubt as to the matter, the 95 Theses
("Castle Church") in Wittenberg. Within a few months, the
distributed throughout Europe.
May 1518 Augustians gather for a chapter meeting in Heidelberg. Des
Heidelberg and is received as a guest of honor.
August 1518 In a printed sermon, Luther questions the historical primacy
excommunication. Pope Leo asks Sylvester Prierias, of the
 ideas heretical. Luther receives a citation to appear in Rome
Germany, suggests to the papal legate, Cardinal Cajetan, tha
Germany instead of Rome.
October 12-14, 1518 Luther is interviewed for three days in Augsburg by Cardina
indulgences and papal infallibility, but Luther refuses to do
He flees Augsburg on horseback at night after hearing of pla
November 9, 1518 The papal bull Cum Postquam officially defines the doctrine
rejecting established dogma of the Church. The bull elimina
November 28, 1518 Luther files an appeal seeking a review of his case by a gene
December 18, 1518 Frederick the Wise sends to Cardinal Cajetan calling for a d
would not banish Luther, or send him to Rome, until he is fo
June 28, 1519 Charles of Spain becomes Charles V, emperor of the Holy R
July 1519 Luther engages in a theological debate in Leipzig with a chi
the University of Ingolstadt. The universities of Paris and Er
matters ranging from purgatory to indulgences to the primac
Summer-Fall 1520 Luther publishes a series of tracts that are considered his pri
Rome (June), The Babylonian Captivity (September), and Th
Captivity questions all but two of the seven sacraments of th
June 15, 1520 Pope Leo X, in the papal bull Exsurge Domine, warns Luthe
sentences included in his 95 Theses within sixty days.
July 8, 1520 The pope writes to Frederick the Wise, sending him a copy o
recants his heresies.
August 1520 Luther appeals to Caesar, in the person of Charles V, asking
authorities should be answerable to the state.
October 11, 1520 The day after receiving a copy of the pope's bull, Luther wri
writes that he is now "certain the pope is the Antichrist."
November 29, 1520 Luther publishes his answer to the papal bull entitled Assert
December 10, 1520 In Wittenberg, Luther publicly burns the papal bull threateni
January 3, 1521 Pope Leo X excommunicates Luther.
February 6, 1521 Charles V receives Luther's appeal to Caesar and tears it up
reaction of the German people if Luther were to be condemn
March 11, 1521 The emperor sends an invitation to Luther to come to the Di
regard to your books and your teaching."
April 16, 1521 Luther enters Worms in a two-wheeled cart. Two thousand
April 17, 1521 Luther appears before the Diet of Worms, a general assembl
presiding. Luther is to be asked by the Archbishop of Trier,
of his books and his 95 Theses, and whether he stands by al
April 18, 1521 At his second hearing, Luther distinguishes between his boo
he stands firm. He says, "My conscience is captive to the W
against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. A
April 23-24, 1521 A committee of electors privately meets with Luther and trie
warranted by gaining Luther's revocation on other of his poi
April 26, 1521 Luther departs Worms. A week later, after a staged kidnapin
May 25, 1521 Charles V presents the final draft of the Diet of Worms ("Th
his arrest, and bans his literature. The Edict makes it a crim
risk of punishment.
Late May Frederick the Wise devises a plan (involving a staged abduc
finds temporary refuge at Wartburg Castle.
March 1522 Luther bravely returns to Wittenberg and begins a series of i
 1524-25 During the Peasants War, German peasants revolt against th
peasant groups committed some atrocities, sympathizes with
authorities. He writes a tract condemning the violence at th
June 13, 1525 Luther marries Katherine von Bora, a nun who had helped e
1525-1529 During this period, most of northern Germany becomes Lut
Germany is divided into two camps. Luther is busy during t
and shaping its institutions.
August 1526 The Diet of Speyer reaffirms the Edict of Worms only for C
regions where it could not be effectively suppressed.
1534 Luther publishes his complete translation of the Bible into G
After 1534 Lutheranism spreads, becoming the dominant faith in Scand
United States. The Catholic Church, shocked by the Reform
institutions.
February 18, 1546 Martin Luther dies at age 62 in Eisleben. He is later buried

Luther meets with Cajetan at Augsburg

In the summer of 1518, legal

proceedings in church courts began against Luther for his criticism of indulgences,
as was standard procedure for clerics who were subject to ecclesiastical jurisdiction
rather than civil jurisdiction. As a result, an order was issued for Luther to stand trial
in Rome. However, Rome lifted that requirement, paving the way for his
interrogation on German soil. The counselor appointed for that case was the
Dominican cardinal and papal legate Tomas de Vio, named Cajetan for his Italian
hometown of Gaeta. Cajetan was a theologian and ecclesiastic of high standing. He
had published an extended commentary of Aquinas’ Summa, eventually became
vicar general of the Dominican Order, and delivered an address at the opening of
Lateran V in 1512. Cajetan was a committed Thomist with a high view of papal
authority and the clash with Luther was inevitable.
Frederick the Wise, Luther’s prince and the benefactor of the university at
Wittenberg, had arranged for the accused’s safe conduct to Augsburg and a fair
hearing from Cajetan. The hearing itself was held in the home of the famous
Fugger bankers, whose loan to Leo X for the building of St. Peter’s was the cause
for the increased sale of indulgences. Cajetan was directed by Rome neither to
debate Luther, nor make a final judgment on his theology, but rather to insist that
he recant by saying the simple word revoco—“I recant.” Upon arrival, Luther
followed the advice of his colleagues and prostrated himself before Cajetan, then
rose to his knees to answer the cardinal’s interrogation. Luther, however, refused to
recant his positions and instead pressed Cajetan for clarity on where he was in
error. Over the course of the three meetings on consecutive days from October 12-
14, the theologically erudite cardinal was unable to resist debate with Luther.
The central point of contention Cajetan had with Luther was the authority of the
papacy to issue indulgences. Cajetan repeatedly cited Aquinas and the
bull Unigenitus, promulgated by Clement VI in 1343 in support of indulgences, to
validate his position. Luther rejected the authority of Aquinas and claimed the
pope had no authority to institute a dogma teaching justification through any
means other than Christ. When Cajetan pressed him on the point, Luther
responded that pope, council, and theologian can all err, appealing to numerous
medieval theologians and even canon law in support of his argument. With each
passing day of the hearing, the situation grew increasingly tenser and ultimately
resulted in Cajetan sending Luther on his way with the demand to recant or face
the consequences, presumably imprisonment and deportation to Rome.
After the heated final session, Cajetan implored both Johannes von Staupitz,
Luther’s Augustinian superior, and Wenceslaus Link, his Saxon legal counsel, to
extricate a repudiation from Luther, but they were unsuccessful. Realizing the
gravity of the situation, Staupitz absolved Luther of his vow of obedience and thus
freed himself from responsibility for Luther’s teaching, leaving the young monk
with the words, “You should bear in mind, brother, that you began this in the name
of Jesus Christ.” With that, Luther proceeded with his cause and made an appeal to
a future council to resolve the issue—a plight specifically forbidden in the 1460
papal bull Execrabilis, but one he and other Germans had availed themselves of
variously over the years and would continue do so until the convocation of the
Council of Trent in 1545.
Luther meets Karl von Miltitz, papal ambassador

After Luther resisted Cajetan’s demand for a

retraction of his views on indulgences, a subsequent interview was held with the
papal nuncio Karl von Miltitz. A native of Saxony and a secretary in the papal court,
Miltitz was sent by Leo X to curry Frederick the Wise’s sympathies and mollify the
debate surrounding Luther. Leo had decided to give Frederick the “Golden Rose,” a
honorary gift and sign of favor from Rome ordinarily solemnized in a public
ceremony. This was done as much for political as ecclesiastical reasons. With the
impending death of the emperor, Maximilian I, Frederick was a candidate to
replace him. The papacy preferred Frederick because it feared the rise of Charles of
Spain, who was at conflict with Rome and would eventually sack the city and
imprison the pope in 1527. Leo announced his plan to confer the Golden Rose in
September 1518 and dispatched Miltitz for the interview with Luther in October.
Miltitz’s primary mission, however, was to improve the conflict with Luther. A
diplomat rather than a theologian like Cajetan, he had no intention of changing
Luther’s mind. On the contrary, his goal was to relieve the international and
ecclesiastical tension related to the controversy over indulgences. The two met in
Altenburg in January 1519. Miltitz expressed Leo’s remorse over the controversy
and displeasure with Prierias’ response to Luther, as well as the general disdain in
Rome for both Tetzel’s preaching of indulgences and Albrecht of Mainz’s greed in
profiting from them. Luther consented to four measures. First, he would promise to
keep silent on the indulgence matter going forward provided his opponents did
the same. Second, he would write a letter to the pope expressing his remorse over
the controversy. Third, he would publish a pamphlet encouraging obedience to the
church. Finally, he would not stand trial for his positions in Rome, but instead have
the case remanded to the archbishop of Salzburg. However, when Miltitz realized
that Luther had not recanted to Cajetan nor had intended to submit a letter of
retraction, he settled with him on the first point alone: an agreement to silence the
debate.

For a variety of reasons, the attempt at diplomacy failed. Maximilian died shortly
thereafter, creating a power vacuum in the empire and emboldening the
independence of Frederick the Wise. Miltitz could not persuade Leo of Luther’s
good faith. For his part, Luther felt betrayed by Miltitz when he received the new
papal decretal on indulgences, rooted in neither Scripture nor canon law, but papal
authority—the very position Luther had contested from the start. Nevertheless, the
papal ambassador to Germany would remain active in his attempts to reach
reconciliation. In October 1520, he and Luther met again after the publication
of The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. Miltitz impinged upon him to write an
open letter to Leo that might appease the pope as he had initially consented to do
a year earlier. Luther complied, composing the letter as a preface to his November
treatise, Freedom of a Christian. Whether or not Luther’s missive, which praised Leo
and warned him of insidious forces in the curia, was genuine remains a matter of
debate.

Leipzig debate

The Leipzig Debate in the summer of

1519 proved significant in pushing the indulgence controversy beyond the
question of penance and justification to the question of authority in the church.
John Eck, a scholastic theologian teaching at Ingolstadt, had engaged Luther in
private correspondence on the issue of indulgences, but that correspondence was
published against Luther’s own wishes. In defense of his Wittenberg colleague,
Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt wrote an extensive repudiation of Eck’s treatise,
including well over 300 theses addressing questions of grace, free will, and
penance. Eck replied in kind with another set of theses. The written controversy led
to demand for a debate, initially restricted to Eck and Karlstadt, but later including
Luther. It was to be held at Leipzig under the patronage of Duke George of Saxony.
The literature preceding the debate had raised the question of whether Luther
rejected papal authority in the same way as the Bohemian heretic Jan Hus.
Debating the nature of papal authority was proscribed, but Duke George allowed it
to go forward. Prior to the debate Luther privately admitted to his friend Georg
Spalatin a rising belief that the pope was of some relation to the antichrist—
echoing claims made by others before him in the Middle Ages—but publicly he
continued to affirm the papacy as established by God for the unity of the church.
Then in a sermon on the eve of the debate in Leipzig, he emphasized the centrality
of faith in Christ as the basis for salvation, not papal fiat. But at the outset of the
debate, all three participants were required to announce publicly their commitment
to orthodoxy and Luther did so with the qualification that he was only debating
papal authority because Eck had pressured him to do so, not of his own volition.

After the early stages of the debate involved an exchange between Karlstadt and
Eck on grace and free will, Luther and Eck then shifted the discussion toward
authority in the church. While Eck defended papal authority from traditional proof
texts, such as Matthew 16, Luther rejected them on the grounds of exegesis. He
accepted the papacy as a divine institution, but he did not accept Eck’s
interpretation of those texts as attributing authority over salvific matters to the
papacy. In the course of the debate, Luther eventually responded to the claim that
he was supporting a condemned position by defending many of Hus’s positions as
essentially orthodox. When Eck questioned his defense of a noted heretic, Luther
countered that the Council of Constance, which sentenced Hus to death, could
have been in error. This led him to state that councils could and had erred, as had
popes and canon law. What remained infallible for Luther was Scripture and thus it
was finally authoritative for the church.

For the first time, Luther had articulated clearly his position that popes, councils,
and theologians were all subject to error, leaving Scripture as the supreme
authority in all theological matters. This became a watershed moment, resulting in
both increased support and increased opposition after he left Leipzig. It even led
to correspondence with the Bohemians, after which Luther famously exclaimed in
agreement with their doctrine of the church: “We are all Hussites.” It is worth
noting, however, that after Leipzig Luther continued to support the papacy as a
divine institution, though he disagreed with the extent of its authority.
Bull “Exsurge Domine” proclaimed in Rome

The bull threatening Luther with

excommunication, Exsurge Domine (“Arise, O Lord”), was published on June 15,
1520. It represented the culmination of several precipitating factors. First, the initial
charges against Luther demanding that he recant of his opinions in the indulgence
controversy were never laid aside. Despite the requirement that he answer for his
opinions in Rome or recant of them before Cardinal Cajetan in Rome, the
controversy continued and Luther’s criticisms only sharpened. Second, the
selection of a new emperor freed Rome to shift its attention from political concerns
back to Luther. Third, the Leipzig Debate with John Eck in the summer of 1519
raised the question of papal authority more directly and necessitated a response
from Rome. At the time, Luther was still relying on the protection of Frederick the
Wise in Wittenberg. With the election and pending coronation of Charles V,
Frederick had lost some of his bargaining power with Rome, as well as his status as
“imperial vicar” during the interregnum. For the elector, there was the possibility
that he and his university might be excommunicated or even receive the imperial
interdict if he were found guilty of harboring a noted heretic. As a result, he sought
the legal opinion of his jurists and laid the groundwork for how he might defend
himself against the accusation.
In several meetings during the winter months of 1520, the case against Luther
began to take shape. A consultation that included Cajetan was formed in February
and began to detail Luther’s errors, though distinguishing between his teaching
and his person. This would provide room to recant rather condemning him
personally. When Eck arrived in Rome in the spring of 1520, he became a leading
contributor in the formation of the bull. He reported on Luther’s more fervent
opposition to papal authority and drafted a list of forty-one errors Luther held,
which were added to the draft already produced by a committee in Rome charged
with addressing the issue. It was Eck who later delivered a final draft of the bull to
Leo X for his signature while the pope was out hunting.

Exsurge Domine famously referred to Luther as a “wild boar from the forest,” an
unsubtle statement of the tensions between Rome and Germany. The list of forty-
one charges ranged from Luther’s doctrine of penance that brought him into the
public eye down to the Eucharist, the keys, papal authority, and purgatory. The bull
laid out the efforts on the part of Rome to deal with Luther previously, proscribed
the reading of all his works—even those lacking his noted errors—and
commanded him to cease preaching immediately. It concluded with a call for
Luther to recant of his condemned opinions within sixty days or face
excommunication. Two nuncios, Eck and Jerome Aleander, were commissioned
with spreading the bull throughout German lands.
While the bull itself did not technically excommunicate Luther, it came with
significant ecclesiastical and political consequences. Rome mandated that all in the
church reject Luther’s teachings or face excommunication themselves. This
extended even to books that did not contain errors because they were associated
with Luther as an accused heretic. There was also the possibility that princes
supporting Luther, in particular Frederick the Wise, would be subject to imperial
edict, or the “greater excommunication” that carried with it civil as well as
ecclesiastical penalties. Upon receiving the bull, Luther did not offer a defense.
Instead, on the sixtieth day after its receipt, by which time he was to stand trial or
be excommunicated, Luther ceremonially burned the bull along with the books of
canon law, which included traditional church decrees and papal bulls, as well as the
glosses of medieval jurists. In this Luther symbolically rejected the ecclesiastical
and legal system he saw supporting papal authority.

Bull Decet Romanem Pontificem excommunicates Luther

The bull officially excommunicating

Luther, Decet Romanem Pontificem, was drafted on January 3, 1521, but as a mere
formality. The previous bull threatening Luther’s excommunication, Exurge Domine,
gave him sixty days to recant in person in Rome. On the sixtieth day after receiving
the bull, December 10, he celebrated the occasion by burning the bull and the
books of canon law along with it in a symbolic gesture that he was no longer under
papal authority. John Eck, professor of theology at Ingolstadt, and Jerome
Aleander, papal nuncio to emperor Charles V, were charged with
promulgating Exurge Domine in German lands and it was Aleander himself who
advised Charles in December of 1520 that Luther was already excommunicated on
 account of his failure to recant during the window provided him. Consequently,
Luther’s excommunication was a foregone conclusion and awaited only official
confirmation from Rome.
The bull itself, drafted on January 3, extended its reach far beyond simply
excommunicating Luther. In addition to Luther, it also named three other
sympathizers (the Nuremberg humanist Willibald Pirckheimer, knight and satirist
Ulrich von Hutten, and Nuremberg clerk and reformer Lazarus Spengler) as
excommunicates. The bull furthermore threated all those who protected Luther,
read his books, or supported his reform with the same fate. It commanded that the
verdict of excommunication be pronounced throughout the church within three
days of receipt. Rome did not offer additional theological reasons for the decision,
but instead based it on Luther’s unwillingness to recant within the time period
established by the previous bull and therefore roots his condemnation in the same
theological errors addressed in Exsurge Domine.
Decet Romanem Pontificem was delivered to Charles V on January 18, as he was
preparing for the Diet of Worms, set to open on 28 January. Charles had in
December revoked Luther’s invitation to defend himself at the diet, though
Frederick the Wise eventually persuaded him to arrange for what would be his
historic hearing in Worms. In the meantime, Aleander was responsible for
publishing the bull in Germany, but he refrained from doing so until October 1521
for several reasons. First, he thought naming other parties in addition would
provoke a greater reaction. Second, he had come to believe that support for Luther
combined with opposition to Rome would threaten the stability of both church and
empire in German lands. His instincts proved correct, as the bull was defaced when
posted in several places. Many places proceeded with the requisite burning of
Luther’s books, however, most notably Mainz, Leipzig, and Halberstadt, among
others.

Martin Luther and Cajetan: divinity

Antti Raunio

Pages 55-74 | Received 24 Nov 2016, Accepted 19 Jan 2017, Published online: 14 Apr 2017

 Download citation

 https://doi.org/10.1080/21692327.2017.1285719


 Select Language ▼

Translator disclaimer




ABSTRACT
From the beginning of his career Martin Luther thought intensively about questions
concerning the human being’s capacities for loving God and the neighbor. The
relation between human nature and love was a vital issue throughout his whole
theological work even though he explicitly connected it with the concept of ‘imago
Dei’ only quite late. Luther discusses human nature mostly in its fallen state, where
the image is almost totally lost, but presents also his view of human nature in its
pure state. He avoids identifying the Divine love and the image of God.
Nevertheless, love clearly belongs to the image. The article aims at investigating
the reason for this view and the question of ontological difference between Christ
as the essential image of God and the ‘ordinary’ human being as having the image
of God. Luther’s understanding of the role of love in the relation between the
human being and God will be compared with that of his Catholic contemporary,
Cardinal Cajetan. The article intends,furthermore, to describe how Luther
understands the restoration of the image of God through the outward means of the
Gospel and Sacraments and the inner but given affects of faith and love.
KEYWORDS: Love of God, love of neighbor, Martin Luther’s theology, faith and love, human
nature, imago Dei

Additional information
Author information

Antti Raunio
Antti Raunio is a professor of systematic theology at the School of Theology in the
Philosophical Faculty of the University of Eastern Finland. Having obtained his doctorate
degree at the University of Helsinki, he has published widely on Luther’s understanding of
love, ethics, and the human being, including his study Summe Des christlichen Lebens.
Die ‘Goldene Regel’ als Gesetz der Liebe in der Theologie Martin Luthers von 1510 bis
1527 (Mainz, 2001). The same lines of research are deepened for example in the articles
‘Divine Law and Natural Law in Luther and Melanchthon’, ‘Martin Luther and Love’, and in
his forthcoming ‘Inward and Outward Man in Luther’s Thought’. His interests include also
theology of spirituality and environmental theology.
 Luther in Augsburg
There are two important events involving
Martin Luther that took place in Augsburg.
The first was that Luther was called to
Augsburg October 12 to 18, 1518 to meet
with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan and be
examined on his teachings; this interview
followed the 1518 Diet of Augsburg (the
parliament of German Princes and Dukes).
When Luther arrived, he stayed at St Anne's
Cloister Church shown following:
Luther's interview with Cardinal Cajetan took
place at the then newly built house of Jakob
Fugger in Augsburg shown following:
The purpose of the meeting was simple.
Luther was to recant his positions on
indulgences, justification by faith, and the
authority of the Pope. Luther refused to
recant. Cardinal Cajetan's instructions were
that if Luther failed to recant, Luther was to
be arrested and sent to Rome. Luther's
supporters got wind of this, and helped
Luther escape the night on October 20th.
Luther returned to Wittenburg a hunted man.

The second event in Augsburg was also very

important. Charles V convened a Diet to
meet at Augsburg in 1530 to address
unresolved religious issues. Phillip
Melanchthon was Luther's representative at
the meeting and a primary author of the
Augsburg Confession (of faith) which was
written at the Bishop's residence in
Augsburg. The Augsburg Confession is the
definitive statement of faith for Lutherans.

The residence has been rebuilt but is at the

same location shown below. Only the tower
remains from the original building.
The text was given to Charles V on June 25
1530.
A very good summary of the life of Martin Luther can be
found in "Luther, Martin." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Oct. 2007.
Please send any queries to Bill Remus at

Thomas Cajetan (/ˈkædʒətən/; 20 February 1469 - 9 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus,
commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher,
theologian, cardinal (from 1517 until his death) and the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508-
18. He was a leading theologian of his day who is now best known as the spokesman for
Catholic opposition to the teachings of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation while he
was the Pope's Legate in Wittenberg, and perhaps also among Catholics for his extensive
commentary on the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas.[1]
He is not to be confused with his contemporary, Saint Cajetan, the founder of the Theatines.

Life[edit]
De Vio was born in Gaeta, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, as Jacopo Vio. The name
Tommaso was taken as a monastic name, while the surname Cajetan derives from his native
city. At the age of fifteen he entered the Dominican order, and devoted himself to his study
of philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas when he became, before the age of thirty, a doctor
of theology at Padua, where he was subsequently professor of metaphysics.
A public disputation at Ferrara (1494) with Pico della Mirandola gave him a great reputation as
a theologian. He was made general procurator in 1507 and general of his order a year later in
1508. For his zeal in defending the papal rights against the 1511 Council of Pisa, in a series of
works which were condemned by the Sorbonne and publicly burnt by order of King Louis XII,
he obtained the bishopric of Gaeta, and in 1517 Pope Leo Xmade him
a cardinal and archbishop of Palermo.
He appears in 1511 as a supporter of the pope against the claims of the Council of Pisa (1511-
1512), called by dissident cardinals to punish Pope Julius II, who had ignored the electoral
capitulations he had accepted before being elected. Cajetan composed in defense of his
position the Tractatus de Comparatione auctoritatis Papæ et conciliorum ad invicem. Jacques
Almain answered this work, and Cajetan replied in his Apologia. Cajetan refused to accept
Almain's argument that the Church's polity had to be similar to a lay regime, complete with
limits on the ruler.[2] At the Fifth Lateran Council (1512–17) which Pope Julius II set up in
opposition to that of Pisa, De Vio played the leading role. During the second session of the
council, in which he gave the opening oration, he brought about a decree recognizing the
superiority of papal authority to that of councils.
In 1517, Leo X made him cardinal presbyter of San Sisto in Rome for his services. In the
following year, he became bishop of Palermo. He resigned as bishop of Palermo in 1519 to
become bishop of Gaeta, as granted him by the Emperor Charles V, for whose election De Vio
had labored zealously.

The meeting of Cajetan (left) and Martin Luther (right).

In 1518 he was sent as legate to the Diet of Augsburg and to him, at the wish of the Saxon
elector, was entrusted the task of examining and testing the teachings of Luther. According to
Catholic polemicist Hilaire Belloc, "[Luther] had not been treated roughly by his opponents, the
roughness had been on his side. But things had gone against him, and he had been made to
look foolish; he had been cross-examined into denying, for instance, the authority of a General
Council--which authority was the trump card to play against the Papacy."[3]
In 1519, De Vio helped in drawing up the bill of excommunication against Luther.
De Vio was employed in several other negotiations and transactions, being as able in business
as in letters. In conjunction with Cardinal Giulio de' Medici in the conclave of 1521-1522, he
secured the election of Adrian Boeyens, bishop of Tortosa, as Adrian VI. He retained influence
under Clement VII, suffered a short term of imprisonment after the storming of Rome by
the Constable of Bourbon and by Frundsberg (1527), retired to his bishopric for a few years,
and, returning to Rome in 1530, assumed his old position of influence about the person of
Clement, in whose behalf he wrote the decision rejecting the appeal for divorce from Catharine
of Aragon made by Henry VIII of England. Nominated by Clement VII a member of the
committee of cardinals appointed to report on the "Nuremberg Recess", he recommended, in
opposition to the majority, certain concessions to the Lutherans, notably the marriage of the
clergy as in the Greek Church, and communion in both kinds according to the decision of the
council of Basel.
Cardinal De Vio died in Rome in 1534.
Views[edit]

Opuscula omnia, 1596

As a philosopher and logician, Cajetan defended the idea of analogy.[4]

Though as a theologian De Vio was a scholastic of the older Thomist type, his general position
was that of the moderate reformers of the school to which Reginald Pole, later archbishop of
Canterbury, also belonged; i.e., he desired to retain the best elements of the humanist revival
in harmony with Catholic orthodoxy illumined by a revived appreciation of the Augustinian
doctrine of justification. In the field of Thomisticphilosophy, he showed striking independence
of judgment, expressing liberal views on marriage and divorce, denying the existence of a
material Hell and advocating the celebration of public prayers in the vernacular.
Some Dominicans regarded his views as too independent of those of Saint Thomas.
The Sorbonne in Parisfound some of these views heterodox, and in the 1570 edition of his
celebrated commentary on Aquinas' Summa, the objectionable passages were expunged. In
this spirit he wrote commentaries upon portions of Aristotle, and upon the Summa of Aquinas,
and towards the end of his life, made a careful translation of the Old and New Testaments,
excepting Solomon's Song, the Prophets and the Revelation of St John. Cajetan also wrote
opinions on subjects of practical importance, such as the disposition of plundered goods the
ownership of which could not be determined.[5]
Of the Reformation he remained a steadfast opponent, composing several works directed
against Martin Luther,[6] and taking an important share in shaping the policy of the papal
delegates in Germany. Learned though he was in the scholastics, he recognized that to fight
the Reformers with some chance of success a deeper knowledge of the Scriptures than he
possessed was necessary. To this study, he devoted himself with characteristic zeal, wrote
commentaries on the greater part of the Old and the New Testament, and, in the exposition of
his text, which he treated critically, allowed himself considerable latitude in departing from the
literal and traditional interpretation.
De Vio is reported as declaring[where?]
Now what a ruler can do in virtue of his office, so that justice may be served in the manner of
riches, is to take from someone who is unwilling to dispense from what is superfluous for life or
state, and to distribute it to the poor... as Basil said, it belongs to the indigent"
a statement that has seemed controversial to some.[who?]
In contrast to the majority of Italian cardinals of his day, De Vio was a man of austere piety and
fervent zeal. From the standpoint of the Dominican idea of the supreme necessity of
maintaining ecclesiastical discipline, he defended the rights of the papacy and proclaimed that
the pope should be "the mirror of God on earth." [citation needed]

Modern assessment[edit]
In the mid-twentieth century, Cajetan's thought came to be assessed negatively by certain
Catholic commentators who, in reacting against the then-regnant neo-Thomist thought,
portrayed Cajetan as the first person to make mistaken interpretations of the thought
of Thomas Aquinas - interpretations which, in their (different) narratives, lingered into the
twentieth century.
For Étienne Gilson, who was responding to arguments that 'philosophy' and 'Christianity' were
incompatible disciplines, there existed in Hellenistic Judaism, patristic thought and the
medieval period a way of thinking, animated by the ancient Greek quest for the cause of being,
which could rightly be called 'Christian philosophy'. In Gilson's account, it was in Cajetan's
thought that this link was first broken, since Cajetan, contaminated by Scotism,
reduced Thomas Aquinas's metaphysics of the existential act of being to an ontology of
substance. Cajetan and his successors therefore, in Gilson's account, represented Thomas as
focused on the forms and essences of beings only, and not on the existence of all things as
participation in the pure actuality which is God. Accordingly, for Gilson, 'philosophy' and
'Christianity' are only incompatible if Christian thought is understood in its tradition post-
Cajetan - a tradition which is worse than the older, more distinguished tradition of Christian
thought.[7]
For Henri de Lubac, who in Surnaturel (1946) was trying to provide a historical account of what
he saw the emergence of a mistaken reading of the relationship between the natural and
supernatural in Thomas Aquinas, it was Cajetan who made the misinterpretation which had
affected all subsequent interpretation of Thomas Aquinas. Cajetan, de Lubac argued, assumed
that Thomas was an Aristotelian, working with a definition of nature from Aristotle's Physics,
which effectively turned human nature into a reality essentially closed in on itself, with its own
intrinsic powers, desires and goals. This move, argued de Lubac, led subsequent Catholic
thought to produce mistaken readings of Thomas Aquinas's account of the relationship
between nature and grace.[8]
However, Ralph McInerny and other scholars have challenged the negative assessment of
Cajetan's work made by Lubac and Gilson. McInerny writes that the criticisms of Cajetan are
not in fact supported by evidence from his works, and furthermore that it is not Cajetan but
Gilson whose interpretation of Aquinas is a departure from the latter's own beliefs. [9]

ommaso de Vio Gaetani Cajetan

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of
this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church
Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

(Baptized GIACOMO.)

Dominican cardinal, philosopher, theologian, and exegete; born 20 February, 1469

at Gaeta, Italy; died 9 August, 1534 at Rome. He came of noble stock, and in
early boyhood was devout and fond of study. Against the will of his parents he
entered the Dominican Order before the age of sixteen. As a student of Naples,
Bologna, and Padua he was the wonder of his fellow-students and preceptors. As
bachelor of theology (19 March, 1492), and afterwards master of students, he
began to attract attention by his lectures and writings. Promoted to the chair
of metaphysics at the University of Padua, he made a close study of the
prevailing Humanism and Philosophism. Besides engaging in controversy with
the Scotist Trombetta, he took a stand against the Averroistic tendencies or
teachings of such men as Vernias, Pompanazzi, and Niphus, directing against
them his celebrated work, "De Ente et Essentiâ", counted the most subtle and
abstruse of his productions. At a general chapter of the order (Ferrara, 1494)
Cajetan was selected to conduct the customary defence of theses in presence of
the assembled dignitaries. He had to face Pico della Mirandola among others, and
such was his success that the students bore him in triumph on their shoulders to
receive the felicitations of the master general. He was immediately made master
of sacred theology, and for several years expounded the "Summa" of St. Thomas,
principally at Brescia and Pavia, to which latter chair he had been called by the
Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. After two years he resigned and repaired to Milan,
whence in 1500 Cardinal Oliviero Caraffa procured his transfer to Rome. In 1501
he was made procurator general of his order and appointed to the chairs
of philosophy and exegesis at the Sapienza. On the death of the master general,
John Clérée, 1507, Cajetan was named vicar-general of the order, and the next
year he was elected to the generalship. With foresight and ability, he devoted his
energies to the promotion of religious discipline, emphasizing the study of sacred
science as the chief means of attaining the end of the order. His encyclical letters
and the acts of chapters promulgated during his term of office bear witness to his
lofty ideals and to his unceasing efforts to realize them. He was wont to say that
he could hardly excuse from grevious sin a brother Dominican who failed to devote
at least four hours a day to study. "Let others rejoice in their prerogatives", he
once wrote, "but the work of our Order is at an end unless sacred doctrine be our
commendation." He was himself a model of diligence, and it was said of him that
he could quote almost the entire "Summa" from memory. About the fourth year of
his generalship, Cajetan rendered important service to the Holy See by appearing
before the Pseudo-Council of Pisa (1511), where he denounced the disobedience
of the participating cardinals and bishops and overwhelmed them with his
arguments. This was the occasion of his defence of the power and monarchical
supremacy of the pope. It is chiefly to his endeavors that is ascribed the failure of
this schismatical movement, abetted by Louis XII of France. He was one of the
first to counsel Pope Julius II to convoke a real ecumenical council, i.e. the Fifth
Lateran. In this council Cajetan was deputed by the principal religious orders to
defend their common interests. Under the same pontiff he was instrumental in
granting to Ferdinand of Spain the first Dominican missionaries who devoted
organized effort to the conversion of the natives of America.
On 1 July, 1517, Cajetan was created cardinal by Pope Leo X. He was also
appointed Archbishop of Palermo, but opposition on the part of the Sicilian senate
prevented his taking possession and he resigned 8 February, 1518. On taking the
demand of Charles V, however, he was later made Bishop of Gaeta, but this was
after he had been sent in 1518 as Apostolic legateto Germany, bringing the
insignia of the cardinalate to Albert of Brandenburg, and a sword blessed by
the pope to Emperor Maximilian. On this occasion he was empowered to confer
with the latter and with the King of Denmark on the terms of an alliance against
the Turks. He also represented the pope at the Diet of Frankfort (1519), and took
an active part in the election of Charles V (1519), thereby winning that emperor's
friendship and gratitude. While executing these missions, the more serious duty of
meeting Luther, then started on his career of rebellion, was assigned to him.
Cajetan's theologicallearning and humane disposition seemed to fit him for the
task of successfully treating with the proud and obstinate monk,
and Protestants have admitted that in all his relations with the latter Cajetan
exhibited a spirit of moderation, that did honour to his lofty character. But neither
pleading, learning, nor conciliatory words availed to secure the desired
submission. Luther parleyed and temporized as he had done with the Holy
See itself, and finally showed the insincerity of his earlier protestations by
spurning the pope and his representative alike. Some have blamed Cajetan for his
failure to avert Luther's defection, but others like Hefele
and Hergenröther exonerate him. In 1523 he was sent by Adrian VI as legate to
King Louis of Hungary to encourage the Christians in their resistance to the Turks.
Recalled the following year by Clement VII, he became one of the pope's chief
advisors. During the sack of Rome by the imperialist army (1527) Cajetan, like
other principal persons, was seized, and obtained the release of himself and
household only on payment of five thousand Roman crowns of gold, a sum which
he had to borrow and which he later made up by strictest economy in the affairs
of his diocese. He was one of the nineteen cardinals who, in a solemn consistory
held by Clement VII (23 March, 1534), pronounced definitively for the validity of
the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. This was about the last public
act of his life, for he died the same year and was buried, as he requested, in
an humble tomb in the vestibule of the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. It
was the common opinion of his contemporaries that had he lived, he would have
succeeded Clement VII on the papal throne. Much interest attaches to a portrait of
Cajetan, the only one known, recently discovered by Père Berthier, O.P. in a
collection of notables of the Reformation, owned by Count
Krasinski of Warsaw, Poland (see bibliography).

Cajetan has been described as small in bodily stature but gigantic in intellect. In
all his varied and laborious offices he never omitted his daily study and writing,
nor failed in the practices of the religious life. He faced the trying issues of his
times calmly and fearlessly, and endeavored by learning, tact, and charity to
pacify hostile minds, to lead back the erring, to stem the tide of heresy, and to
prevent schism. His written solutions of living moral problems cover a wide field.
His circumstances and position often required him to take part in polemical
discussions, yet he is said never to have given personal offence in his writings. His
style, purely scientific and unrhetorical, is the more noteworthy for having
attained its directness and simplicity in the golden age of Humanism. More than
any other philosopher and theologian of his epoch, he ministered to
actual intellectual needs of the Church. With penetration and sagacity he ranged
beyond the confines of contemporary thought, and in his tentative solutions of
grave problems, still open and unsettled, displayed judgment and frankness. It is
not strange that he developed tendencies which surprised the more conservative,
and essayed opinions which in some instances were, and have remained, unusual
and occasionally erroneous. He found numerous critics, even in his own order,
who were as censorious of him as his friends were zealous in upholding his merits.
Among his opponents, the learned Dominican Bartholomew Spina (died 1542) was
conspicuous. His persistent antagonism began, strangely enough, after he had
written a laudatory preface to Cajetan's commentary on the "Secunda Secundae"
(second section of the second part of the "Summa") of St. Thomas, whose
publication he supervised for the author in 1517. The next year, in his refutation
of Pompanazzi, Spina appears to have considered Cajetan as falling party within
the scope of his strictures because of certain alleged concessions to the
prevalent Averroistic rationalism in a commentary on the "De Animâ" of Aristotle.
Cajetan held that Averroes had correctly exhibited the Stagirite as a believer in
monopsychism, or the doctrine of the unity of one intellectual soul for humanity
and the mortality of individual souls. Whilst working for, and concurring in the
council's condemnation of this doctrine in 1513, Cajetan had not favoured the
requirement that in their public lectures professors of philosophy should bring up
no teachings in conflict of Christian faith without refuting them; this, he
contended, was the proper office of theologians. Elsewhere Cajetan had also
intimated that reason left to itself could not adequately and conclusively
demonstrate the soul's immortality. From these beginnings, Spina, who during his
later years was Master of the Sacred Palace, relentlessly pursued Cajetan living
and dead. On these slender grounds some writers, including Renan (Averroés et
l'Averroîsme, Paris, 1867, 351) and Botta (Ueberweg, History of Philosophy, tr.
Morris, New York, 1903, II, Appendix II), have misrepresented Cajetan as "boldly
asserting the eternity of the universe and the destruction of personality at death",
and have classed him with the very men against whom he wrote, as an initiator of
a new period in the development of anti-Scholastic philosophy.
In theology Cajetan is justly ranked as one of the foremost defenders and
exponents of the Thomistic school. His commentaries on the "Summa Theologica",
the first in that extensive field, begun in 1507 and finished in 1522, are his
greatest work and were speedily recognized as a classic in Scholastic literature.
The work is primarily a defence of St. Thomas against the attacks of Scotus. In
the third part it reviews the aberrations of the Reformers, especially Luther. The
important relation between Cajetan and the Angelic Doctor was emphasized
by Leo XIII, when by his Pontifical Letters of 15 October, 1879, he ordered the
former's commentaries and those of Ferrariensis to be incorporated with the text
of the "Summa" in the official Leonine edition of the complete works of St.
Thomas, the first volume of which appeared at Romein 1882. This edition has
restored a number of passages which St. Pius V desired to have expunged from
the texts, the publication of which he ordered in 1570. The suppressed parts, now
for the most part inoffensive, were largely in the nature of personal views and had
no direct bearing on Thomistic doctrine as a system. In his exegetical work, begun
in 1523 and continued to the time of his death, Cajetan sought to counteract the
Biblical extravagances of the Humanists and to defeat the Lutheran movement on
the ground from which it had chosen to reject the authority of the Church and of
tradition. Chiefly with rabbinical assistance, it is said, being himself unversed in
Hebrew, and with the aid of current Greek versions he prepared a literal
translation of the Bible, including the Old Testament as far as the end of the third
chapter of Isaias, and all the New Testament except the Apocalypse, which on
account of its difficulties he was unwilling to undertake. It was his object, he
declared in a dedicatory letter to Clement VII published in his edition of the
Gospels, to ascertain the true literal sense of the Scriptures, and he did not
hesitate to adopt new renderings, provided they did not conflict with the Sacred
Word and with the teachings of the Church. This position, much criticized in his
time, is now quite in line with the common method of Catholic exegetics. Though
closely following St. Jerome on the authenticity of the Biblical texts and utilizing
the New Testament version and notes of Erasmus, with whom he was on friendly
terms, he produced a work whose importance was not overlooked, but whose
freedom and wide departure from the Fathers and the theologicalschools created
distrust and alarm. In his critical interpretation, for instance, he ventured an
allegorical explanation of the first chapters of Genesis, and he seemed more than
three centuries in advance of his day in questioning the authenticity of the last
chapter of St. Mark, the authorship of several epistles, viz., Hebrews, James, II
Peter, II and III John, Jude, the genuineness of the passage of the three witnesses
of (1 John 5:7), etc. In this field also he was bitterly assailed, especially by
Ambrose Catharinus, an extraordinary but erratic genius, who had abandoned
the law to enter the Dominican Order, and had become a bishop. Cajetan's
accompanying theological observations, however, are important, and many
scholars have profitably studied them in conjunction with his commentaries on the
"Summa".

It has been significantly said of Cajetan that his positive teaching was regarded as
a guide for others and his silence as an implicit censure. His rectitude, candour,
and moderation were praised even by his enemies. Always obedient, and
submitting his works to ecclesiastical authority, he presented a striking contrast to
the leaders of heresy and revolt, whom he strove to save from their folly.
To Clement VII he was the "lamp of the Church", and everywhere in his career, as
the theological light of Italy, he was heard with respect and pleasure
by cardinals, universities, the clergy, nobility, and people. The works of Cajetan
aggregate about 115 titles. The commentaries on the several parts of the
"Summa" exist in many editions. Of complete editions, sometimes including the
text of the "Summa" and sometimes without it, the following are noteworthy: 10
vols. fol., Lyons, 1540; edition of Pius V in complete works of St. Thomas, Rome,
1570; 7 vols. 8vo with commentaries of Javelli and Caponi, Venice, 1596; 10 vols.
fol., Rome, 1773; Leonine edition of St. Thomas (Summa) Rome, 1888. Other
works of Cajetan are:

Luther meets with Cajetan at Augsburg

In the summer of 1518, legal

proceedings in church courts began against Luther for his criticism of indulgences,
as was standard procedure for clerics who were subject to ecclesiastical jurisdiction
rather than civil jurisdiction. As a result, an order was issued for Luther to stand trial
in Rome. However, Rome lifted that requirement, paving the way for his
interrogation on German soil. The counselor appointed for that case was the
Dominican cardinal and papal legate Tomas de Vio, named Cajetan for his Italian
hometown of Gaeta. Cajetan was a theologian and ecclesiastic of high standing. He
had published an extended commentary of Aquinas’ Summa, eventually became
vicar general of the Dominican Order, and delivered an address at the opening of
Lateran V in 1512. Cajetan was a committed Thomist with a high view of papal
authority and the clash with Luther was inevitable.
Frederick the Wise, Luther’s prince and the benefactor of the university at
Wittenberg, had arranged for the accused’s safe conduct to Augsburg and a fair
hearing from Cajetan. The hearing itself was held in the home of the famous
Fugger bankers, whose loan to Leo X for the building of St. Peter’s was the cause
for the increased sale of indulgences. Cajetan was directed by Rome neither to
debate Luther, nor make a final judgment on his theology, but rather to insist that
he recant by saying the simple word revoco—“I recant.” Upon arrival, Luther
followed the advice of his colleagues and prostrated himself before Cajetan, then
rose to his knees to answer the cardinal’s interrogation. Luther, however, refused to
recant his positions and instead pressed Cajetan for clarity on where he was in
error. Over the course of the three meetings on consecutive days from October 12-
14, the theologically erudite cardinal was unable to resist debate with Luther.
The central point of contention Cajetan had with Luther was the authority of the
papacy to issue indulgences. Cajetan repeatedly cited Aquinas and the
bull Unigenitus, promulgated by Clement VI in 1343 in support of indulgences, to
validate his position. Luther rejected the authority of Aquinas and claimed the
pope had no authority to institute a dogma teaching justification through any
means other than Christ. When Cajetan pressed him on the point, Luther
responded that pope, council, and theologian can all err, appealing to numerous
medieval theologians and even canon law in support of his argument. With each
passing day of the hearing, the situation grew increasingly tenser and ultimately
resulted in Cajetan sending Luther on his way with the demand to recant or face
the consequences, presumably imprisonment and deportation to Rome.
After the heated final session, Cajetan implored both Johannes von Staupitz,
Luther’s Augustinian superior, and Wenceslaus Link, his Saxon legal counsel, to
extricate a repudiation from Luther, but they were unsuccessful. Realizing the
gravity of the situation, Staupitz absolved Luther of his vow of obedience and thus
freed himself from responsibility for Luther’s teaching, leaving the young monk
with the words, “You should bear in mind, brother, that you began this in the name
of Jesus Christ.” With that, Luther proceeded with his cause and made an appeal to
a future council to resolve the issue—a plight specifically forbidden in the 1460
papal bull Execrabilis, but one he and other Germans had availed themselves of
variously over the years and would continue do so until the convocation of the
Council of Trent in 1545.

Lutheranism and the Nordic Spirit of Social Democracy: A Different

Protestant Ethic.
Robert H. Nelson, professor of economics at the University of
Maryland, develops these arguments in He probes the large role a
Lutheran ethic played in the development of the Nordic welfare
state and the Nordic social-democratic political and economic
system during its golden years from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Nelson sees this Lutheran ethic as parallel to the Calvinist ethic

famously examined by the German sociologist Max Weber In his
book the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Nelson
also compares the American and Nordic ideas of the welfare state
in a novel way, discussing the greater influence of Calvinism in the
United States as compared with Lutheranism in the Nordic
countries.

In 15 iunie 1520, Papa Leon al X-lea emite bula papală care conţinea 41 de puncte
în care învăţătura lui Luther se abătea de la învăţătura şi practicile Bisericii Catolice. Papa
i-a ordonat lui Luther să îşi retragă tezele, în caz contrar îl aştepta excomunicarea. Ceea ce
s-a şi întâmplat, în 3 ianuarie 1521.

31 octombrie 1517 marchează o cotitură radicală în istoria Europei. Ceea ce s-a

dorit a fi un protest împotriva Bisericii Romano-Catolice, mai exact a vânzării indulgenţilor
pentru iertarea păcatelor, s-a transformat într-o revoluţie spirituală, culturală, economică şi
politică care a cuprins întreg continentul. La 500 de ani distanţă, marcăm ziua de 31
octombrie ca Reforma Protestană, Reforma Lutherană sau Revoluţia Protestantă.

Supranumită revoluție spirituală, reforma este percepută ca hotarul dintre Evul

Mediu și momentul emancipării sociale, culturale și tehnologice a Europei, începând cu
secolul al XVI-lea. Astfel, reforma nu se definește exclusiv din perspectivă religioasă, ci
constituie unul dintre cele mai remarcabile evenimente care au marcat Europa.
 Pe 31 octombrie 1517, Martin Luther ţintuieşte pe uşa Bisericii Castelului din
Wittenberg, folosită în mod obişnuit ca afişier pentru comunitatea universitară, următoarele
95 de teze:

Cat priveste Sfintii Parinti, Luther spunea: “Daca oricare din sfintii parinti poate sa arate
ca interpretarea sa este bazata pe Scriptura si daca Scriptura dovedeste ca aceasta este
modul in care trebuie interpretata, atunci interpretarea este corecta. Daca nu este vorba de
asa ceva, atunci nu trebuie sa il cred.”1

Biblia este “instrumentul Duhului Sfant”

Inca din 1515 Luther afirma centralitatea lui Hristos in Biblie, zicand ca cel care
citeste din ea nu greseste, insa nu o inteleaga dupa propriile inclinatii ci dupa crucea Lui
Hristos.Lutther se baza ca Mantuitorul a spus sa studiem Scripturile, pentru ca El se afla in
ele.

Epistola lui Iacov este dispretuita de Luther spunand ca acesta are lacune, iar
epistola aceasta este “de paie”. Referindu-se la Sfantul Apostol Iacov Luther spune:
“Aproape ca-mi vine sa-l arunc pe Iacov asta mic in soba ...”2

Adevarata Biserica, dupa Luther a existat fara incetare, chiar daca din cand in cand
a avut doar cativa membrii “doar doi sau trei, sau cativa copii”.
Continuitatea bisericii nu rezida din succesinea episcopilor, ci in succesiunea succesio
fidelium (adevartilor credinciosi) care au continuitatea in spate pana la Adam. Chiar daca
Biserica Romano-Catolica a apostat, Evanghelia nu a fost cu totul ascunsa in aceasta
perioada au existat cativa copii si batrani care se intorceau la Hristos catre finalul vietii.

Prin predica Cuvantului Lui Dumnezeu, harul vine in Biserica, prin cuvantarea
predicatorului, viva vox evangelii (vocea vie a Evangheliei) se face auzita. Biserica nu este
o “casa a scrisului” ci o “casa a vorbirii”.

1
Timothy George, Teologia Reformatorilor, Editura Institutului Biblic “Emanuel” din Oradea, Oradea, 1998,
p. 98.
2
Timothy George, Teologia Reformatorilor, Editura Institutului Biblic “Emanuel” din Oradea, Oradea, 1998,
p. 99.
 Predica devine la luterani punctul central al Liturghiei.

Langa amvon, cu Biblia deschisa, predicatorul sta in fata adunarii si nu in fata

altarului. Preotia catolica o vede ca pe un ritual semisecret.

Aud cnf

LUther a sintetizat principiile Reformei prin cei 5 sola: sola scriptura, sola fide, sola
gratia,

Luther afirma ca Pocainta inseamna sa te intorci la puritatea botezului.

Ca urmare a corectarii doctrinei catolice, despre care Luther afirma in nenumarate

randuri ca s-a corupt, impartirea traditionala intre cler si laici e data uitarii in favoarea
preotiei tuturor credinciosilor care este atat o responsabilitate, cat si un privilegiu. Fiecare
crestin este si un preot, asadar luteranii sustin preotia universala, “doctrina pe care Luther
o baza pe fragmente gresit intelese din Bilie: “Voi sunteti o preotie imparateasca” (1 Petru
2:9) si “Tu i-ai facut o imparatie si preoti” (Apocalipsa 1:6)”.3

Noua clasa sociala a comerciantilor a stimiulat aparitia locurilor de munca in zonele

foarte circulate, porturi. Primul mare val de urbanizare, oamenii migreaza la orase unde
traiul era mai usor.

Se ajunge la situatia in care orase intregi isi schimba religia si se convertesc la

protestantism in timp ce toata zona adiacenta rurala ramanea romano-catolica. Aceasta va
duce la conflicte si razboaie intre ei.

Revolutia culturala care a tinut de Renastere si care era bazata esentialmente pe

redescoperirea susrselor grecesti si latine a contribuit covarsitor la cauza Reformei. Spiritul
acesta de intoarcere la surse, de a cerceta si verifica cu ochii proprii daca ceea ce crezi e
adevarat, l-a stimulat si pe Luther.

Noile universitati mari din Padova, Bologna,Paris, erau scoli care ii invata pe
studenti greaca, latina, uneori ebraica, se intampla o intoarcere la text (ad fontes) .
3
Timothy George, Teologia Reformatorilor, Editura Institutului Biblic “Emanuel” din Oradea, Oradea, 1998,
p. 114.
 Cercetand traducerea lui Erasmus in paralele cu Vulgata, Luther vede ca penitenta
e tradusa gresit. In greaca insemna pocainta. Penitenta e un sacrament la catolici, o taina
prin care un om pocait se spovedea si primea o penitenta. Romano-catolicii au dezvoltat un
sistem in care penitenta era un mod de a te mantui.

Dupa un secol in care au avut ciuma neagra, rata mortalitatii era foarte mare.
Totodata unul din sase copii murea de pneumonie. Preocuparea multora era cum pot sa ii
salveze pe cei care au murit. In continuare mureau foarte multi, ciumea se reantorcea din
cand in cand. Oamenii erau preocupati cum sa salveze sufletul bunicului, copilului care a
murit, si in acest fel Biserica dobandea un control mare asupra oamneilor, lucru de care
papalitatea a profitat.

Despre mantuire sola gratia numai harul

Pentru ca un om sa fie indreptatit, adica justificat inaintea Lui Dumnezeu, sa fie

considerat drept inaintea Lui Dumnezeu

De la inceput pana la sfarsit salvarea e a doar a Domnului.

Munca fizica in antichitate era vazuta cu dispret, ea era pentru robi nu pentru
oamenii liberi care aveau preocupari ca filosofia, pariurile, sportul.

In Evul Mediu munca era un mod de penitente, plateai pentru pacatele savarsite.
Protestantii invata ca munca e o binecuvantare, prin munca te inchini lui Dumnezeu.
Munca a ajutat dfoarte mult misiionarii moravieni fratii moravieni fabrica de misionari, o
singura biserica a trimis peste 2000 de misionari. Fratii moravieni aveao o etica a muncii
foarte ridicata, unde mergeau ei incepeau sa practice munca pe care o stiau. Prin munca
aceasta se lansau intr-un mod natural in acea comunitate. Ii deserveau pe oamenii din
comunitate, prin munca lor se autofinantau si castigau credibilitate1

PREReformatorii

(Chifar, 2005)

Prereformatorii
 Starea ciudata cu mai multi papi a tinut vreme de 40 de ani, timp in care apare
teoria conciliarismului, conform careia autoritatea sinodului primeaza papei. Cel care
reuseste sa puna capat „schismei cu trei capete a imperiului”4 este imparatul Sigismund I
de Luxemburg (1410-1437) in Sinodul de la Konstanz (1414-1418).

La inceputul lui iunie 1415 este adus in fata sinodului Jan Hus spre a se apara
pentru ideile sale. In 6 iulie, cu toate ca Hus spera ca va fi aparat de sinod, acesta il
condamnat ca eretic, retrasa preotia, si ars pe rug in aceeasi zi. Urmatorul an aceeasi soara
va avea si prietenul lui Ieronim de Praga.

In februarie 1418 soseste la sinod si un numar de 19 mitropoliti ortodocsi din

Kiev, Constantinopol si reprezentanti laici din Valahia si Moldova pentru a discuta
despre unirea Bisericii Ortodoxe din Rasarit cu Biserica Catolica din Apus, insa Imperiul si
Roma aveau alte prioritati si nu s-a ajuns la nici o intelegere.

La 5 noiembrie 1459 sinodalii de la Basel, care incercau sa impuna autoritatea lor

asupra papalitatii si sa ii diminueze puterile papei, neajungand la o intelegere, aleg un alt
papa in persoana lui Amedeu de Savoia cu numele de Papa Felix al V-lea (1439-1449),
ultimul antipapa. In acelasi timp, Papa Eugen al IV-lea duce tratative cu grecii pentru unire
si muta sinodul la Ferrara. La 6 iulie 1439 la Florenta, se semneaza unirea cu grecii,
lucra care creste prestigiul Papei Eugen al IV-lea, dar care se dovedeste in cele din urma o
utopie, unirea ramanand doar pe hartie.

Teologul Nicolae Cusanus (1401-1464) in scrierea De concordantia catholica

sustine conciliaritatea si combate stiintific documente false precum Donatio Constantini si
Decretele pseudo-isidoriene, care stau la baza pretentiei papalitatii de a detine un Stat
Papal.

Dar inainte de a vorbi despre Luther, trebuie sa mentionam ca Reforma lui nu a

pornit de la zero, el a avut personalitati religioase precum Wycliff. Jan Hus, Savaranola,
care care l-au precedat in lupta de eliberare cu conotatii religioase, financiare si politice.

Germenii Reformei in Biserica Romano-Catolica se afla cu mult inainte de Luther.

Luther a fost educat si a intrat in contact cu adepti ai unor prereformatori precum John
Wycliff, Jan Hus, Savaranola…., care au pionierat in lupta anti papala.

4
Ibidem, p. 366.
 Primele semne impotriva hegemoniei imorale a Bisericii Romano-Catolice se
zaresc in Anglia in anul 1214 in Anglia, cand se adopta “Magna Charta Libertatum” care
aduce mari avantaje nobilimii si negustorilor. Astfel incepe parlamentarismul in Anglia, in
ciuda criticilor aduse de catre Papa Inocentiu al III-lea (1198-1216), regii Angliei deveneau
adesea debitori si musafiri ai unor comercianti foarte prosperi care se imbogatisera din mici
santiere navale si manufacturi. Acesti comercianti bogati aveau sute de angajati, si isi
permiteau sa construaisca biserici impunatoare (precum cea din Bristol) pe care ulterior le
donau comunitatatii.

Ciuma neagra (1348-1350) nu doar ca a rapit viata a peste doazeci si cinci de

milioane de europeni, dar a provocat profunde implicatii in viata bisericeasca, sociala,
economica din spatiul catolic.

In aceste conditii agentii papali, din in tarile occidentale in incercarea de a strange

impozite si taxe bisericeti intampinau refuzul si neputinta populatiilor saracite si greu lovite
de urmarile ciumei negre.

Simultan cu greutatile catolicilor din clasa de jos se observa imbogatirea clerului

superior si a abatilor manastirilor din taxele in schimbul serviciilor religioase. Cel mai mult
dintre acestea, supara comertul cu indulgente care a dus la atitudini puternice impotriva
clerului. Cu toate ca agentii papali aveau ca motto: “N-avem dreptul sa alegem, primim
orice ne dati ”(pagina 8, Chifar, 2005) nu izbutisera sa colecteze impozitele din Anglia de
mai bine de treizeci si trei de ani. Aceasta era situatia valabila in anul 1365, conform Papei
Urban al V-lea (1362-1370) (pagina 8, Chifar, 2005).

Atunci cand Papa Urban al V-lea a revenit cu cererea catre englezi, de a fi platite
impozitele a fost refuzat. Ca argument i-a fost adus la stiinta faptul ca nici parlamentul
englez, si nici poporul englez nu a ratificat tributul anual catre Statul Papal in valuare de o
mie de marci pe care si l-a asumat regele Ioan fara Tara(1199-1216). Englezii nu au vrut sa
plateasca taxe si impozite papale cu atat mai mult cu cat Papa rezida la Avignon, si astfel o
treime din pamanturile ce apartineau Bisericii Catolice din Anglia intrau indirect in
vistieria regatul Frantei dusmanul cel mai important al englezilor.

Aceasta este situatia politico-socialo-economica in care isi va desfasura activitatea emeritul

profesor universitar John Wycliff supranumit “luceafarul de dimineata al Reformei”
(pagina 8, Chifar, 2005).
 John Wycliff – s-a nascut in jurul anului 1324 in tinutul York din Regatul Angliei.
A invatat teologia, filosofia si dreptul, la Universitatea din Oxford unde, in 1372 ajunge
profesor. Formarea sa teologica si filosofica poarte amprentele lui Aristotel si Fericitul
Augustin dar si semipelagianismul lui Duns Scotus si viziunile spiritualiste ale lui Ioachim
de Floris au avut o pondere insemnata pentru modul sau de a percepe chestiunile religioase
si filosofice. Wycliff pune accentul pe predica exercitata in limba engleza, poporul englez
neantelegand limba latina.

In 1350 regele Eduard al III-lea(1327-1377) incepe o politica de emancipare

politica si religioasa fata de abuzurilor comisarilor papali, lupta cu care Wycliff se
autoidentifica si participa activ la eliberarea de sub dominatia politica si religioasa a
Romei.

Din 1360 se opune monopolului exercitat intr-o maniera aroganta de catre calugarii
franciscani si dominicani, ce includea toate posturile de conducere din mediul universitar.

In procesul parlamentului englez care s-a solutionat cu neplata catre Roma a taxelor
si impozitelor, el a fost procuror acuzand lacomia si coruptia episcopilor si calugarilor
catolici.

In lucrarea De Dominio divino afirma ca suveranitatea deplina o are doar

Dumnezeu. Atunci cand Papii si suveranii gresesc, omul se poate adresa direct si nemijlocit
Marelui Suveran de la care fiecare a primit o parte din acest dominium. Mantuirea nu se
obtine prin ceremonii, nici prin indulgente, nici prin acte de pocainta falsa, ci prin fapte
care sunt vrednice de urmasi ai Lui Hristos.

Din 1380 incepe sa traduca Biblia in limba engleza.

In 1382 termina de tradus in limba engleza Noul Testament.

In 1384 Nicholas din Hereford termina traducerea in limba engleza a Vechiului

Testament.

Wycliff cere cu vehementa ca Biserica Romano-Catolica din Angliei sa fie pusa

sub autoritatea statului, si intoarcerea la simplitatea Bisericii Primare, clerul sa aiba dreptul
la donatii si zeciuieli de la credinciosi, iar restul avutiei (castele, domenii, robi) sa fie puse
in interesul poporului.

Daca pana in anul 1378, Wicliff actioneaza ca un reformator moderat, care se lupta
sa indeparteaze clericii lipsiti de moralitate si deposedarea Bisericii Romano-Catolice de
averi principala cauza a coruptiei, dupa cum el considera.
 In lucrarea Despre stapanirea civila (1376) afirma ca “Dumnezeu a dat
conducatorilor bisericesti propietati cu drept de folosinta, dar nu ca propietate exclusiva.”
(pagina 10, Chifar, 2005). Deoarece clerul romano-catolic nu a folosit aceste daruri spre
slava Lui Dumnezeu, autoritatea civila are dreptul sa confiste propietatile si sa le dea
acelora care slujesc demn Lui Dumnezeu.

Nobilimea engleza l-a sprijint din propriu interes pe Wycliff in demersurile sale.

La 19 februarie 1377 Wycliff este chemat la tribunalul bisericesc din ordinul

arhiepiscopului primat. S-a prezentat insotit de ducele de Lancaster, John de Gaunt(1340-
1399), de maresalul Percy, si de alti oameni influenti din societatea engleza. In fata acestui
public arhepiscopul s-a intimidat si totul s-a terminat cu o avertizare de a fi mai ponderat in
afirmatiile sale impotriva Bisericii Romane.

Papa Grigore al XI-lea (1370-1378) analizeaza 18 teze din scrierile lui Wycliff si
cere o analiza judicioasa a tuturor scrierilor sale. In cazul declararii ca eretic in maxim trei
luni urma sa fie arestat si trimis la Roma pentru a fi judecat. Insa, in anul 1377 regenta pe
perioada minoratului regelui Richard al II-lea(1377-1399) era asigurata de catre nimeni
altul decat unul dintre principalii lui sustinatori, si anume ducele de Lancaster. Deci nu a
putut sa fie arestat.

La inceputul anului 1378 in palatul Lambeth din Londra, au loc dezbateri teologice,
in urma carora, regina-mama ii cere lui Wycliff sa nu mai atace Biserica Romano-Catolica.

Insa intre 1378-1417 se produce Marea schisma papala, prilej cu care reformatorul
englez incepe din nou atacurile impotriva “institutiilor lui antichrist”. (pagina 10, Chifar,
2005).

Wycliff afirma ca papalitatea nu este o instituie divina si singurul cap al Bisericii

este Hristos. Nici ierarhia nu are putere absoluta in Biserica, iar puterea temporala si-a
pierdut-o odata cu pacatele de moarte facute de membrii ei. De asemenea vorbeste
impotriva sfinteniei Sfintelor Taine, si declara inutil cultul icoanelor, sfintilor si al
moastelor.

El imparte Biserica in trei subdiviziuni: Biserica triumfatoare in cer, Biserica

militanta pe pamant si Biserica latenta in purgatoriu. (pagina 10, Chifar, 2005).

Biserica militanta cuprinde atat oameni buni cat si oameni rai, niciunii nestiind in
ce categorie sa afla. De aici Wycliff trage concluzia ca nici cei ce apartin Bisericii
institutionale si nici cei ce detin slujie clericala nu pot garanta ca se afla in Biserica
invizibila al carei cap este Hristos. Dupa cum zice el:”poti fi in Biserica, dar nu si membru
al ei.” (pagina 11, Chifar, 2005). De aceea papii nu trebuie ascultati deoarece si ei pot
gresi.

In anul 1382 ataca invatatura despre transubstantierea euharistica. Wycliff infirma

conceptia catolica conform careia painea si vinul se transforma in esenta lor in Trupul si
Sangele Mantuitorului fara sa isi schimbe forma exterioara. El invata ca esenta elementelor
este indestructibila si ca Hristos este prezent doar spiritual si simtit prin credinta sau
consubstantial in sensul unei prezente simultane a painii si a trupului lui Hristos. Influentat
de determinismul augustinian, el sustine si predestinatia.

In anul 1381 are loc o rascoala taraneasca care in numele egalitatii si al dreptatii se
foloseste de acte de cruzime ca urmare a impactului social al ideilor wycliffiene. In aceasta
rascoala regina-mama este maltrata iar arhiepiscopul primat al Angliei este omorat.

In 1382 asa numitul “sinod al cutremurului” din Londra a condamnat 24 de teze ale
lui si l-a indepartat de la catedra, Dupa acest episod se retrage la o parohie unde slujea un
prieten de al sau, si in acelas an moare de apoplexie in timpul liturghiei.

Scrierile sale sunt condamnate in repetate randuri de catre autoritatea papala:

Sinodul de la Roma din anul 1412, Sinodul de la Konstanz(1414-1418). In Anglia, desii
nobilii se foloseau de sustinatorii ideilor lui Wycliff impotriva clerului strain, regele Henric
al IV-lea de Lancaster (1399-1413) si arhiepiscopii englezi i-au persecutat mult timp.

Ideile reformatoare ale lui Wycliff au influentat atat mediul universitar englez, cat si
alte tari, in special Boemia, prin intermediul studentilor din alte tari europene.

Jan Hus s-a nascut candva intre anii 1369-1373 intr-o familie taraneasca saraca din
satul Bohmerwald (astazi Husinet, Cehia). A studiat la Universitatea din Praga unde a
interactionat cu studenti englezi care sustineau ideile lui Wycliff. Datorita infratirii dintre
Universitatea din Oxford cu Universitatea din Praga, in cea din urma se intampla doua
lucruri importante. In primul rand creste numarul de studenti englezi, care inflenteaza
mediul universitar cu ideile reformatoare ale lui Wycliff. In al doilea rand Universitatea din
Praga lasa in spate nominalismul scolii pariziene si imbratiseaza realismul scolii engleze.
Acest realism a dus la cresterea nationalismului si pragmatismului in Anglia, de asemenea
si aici in Boemia creste curentul nationalist care avea ca obiectiv inlocuirea elementului
german predominant in comert, bresle, exploatarile miniere, scoli si iererhia bisericeasca
superioara. Printre reformatorii renasterii ceho-morave remarcam pe Ieronim de Praga,
Procopie de Pilzen, Iacob de Mies, dar mai ales Jan Hus. (pagina 13, Chifar, 2005).

In 1398 Jan Hus devine profesor la Catedra de Filosofie, iar in 1399 rector al
Universitatii din Praga, fiind remarcat prin calitatile lui de natura intelectuala si morala si
ascetica.

In 1403 in calitate de preot i se da datoria de predicator al capelei Betleem a palatului regal

din Praga. In scurt timp ajunge confesorul reginei Sofia a Boemie. Cu toate ca sustinea
ideile lui Wycliff, atunci cand profesorii germani majoritari au condamnat 45 de teze
wycliffiene el nu li se impotriveste.

In anul 1409 in plina criza datorata schismei papale, Hus nu il recunoaste pe noul
papa Alexandru al V-lea ales la Pisa, totodata criticand clerul. In acest context,
arhiepiscopul Sbygniek de Praga ii interzice sa predice si sa slujeasca. Regele Venceslav al
Boemiei (1378-1419) schimba statutul Universitatii din Praga in favoarea majoritatii, de
data aceasta formata din cehi, care detineau trei voturi, in timp ce germanii doar un singur
vot. Ca forma de a protesta, aproximativ 2000 de studenti si profesori germani parasesc
Praga in favoarea Universitatilor din Erfurt si Cracovia, iar altii pun bazele Universitatii
germane de la Leipzig in acelasi an 1409. Cehii ramasi in numar de aproximativ 500 il
realeg pe Jan Hus ca rector al Universitatii din Praga.

Jan Hus traduce si promoveaza scrierile lui Wycliff cu toata forta si priceperea lui.
Arhiepiscopul Sbygniek ordona arderea lor, anatemizeaza pe sustinatorii lui Wycliff si ii
interzice din nou lui Hus sa predice. Regele il sprijina in mod public pe Hus, timp in care
doi preoti germani au fost inchisi si unul inecat in raul Molda, Ieronim de Praga nefiind
strain de aceste evenimente. Timp in care regele nu riposteaza.

Papa Alexandru al V-lea ii cere cardinalului Collonna sa il ancheteze pe Hus, acesta

refuzand e anatemizat, si totodata Collonna arunca interdictul asupra Pragai.

In anul 1412 noul Papa Ioan XXIII-lea (1410-1415) pune la vanzare o noua serie de
indulgente, ceea ce il provoaca pe Hus sa arda bulele papale si sa promoveze doua pamflete
anti-papale si anti-indulgente.

In luna aprilie a anului 1413 regele Venceslav il determina pe Hus sa se retraga la

Castelul Austi, pentru siguranta sa. Aici Hus va scrie lucrarea de baza numita Tractatus de
Ecclesia.
 Pentru a respinge pretentiile de suprematie bisericeasca si a privilegiilor clericale
ale ierarhiei corupte din sanul Bisericii Romano-Catolice, Hus se foloseste de conceptul de
predestinatie precum si de principiul discriminarii morale. Chiar daca se inspira din
Wycliff, Hus nu ii copiaza tezele acestuia ci scoate in evidenta rolul important al predicii si
al studiului biblic, si ataca subiectul combaterii abuzurilor clericale.

Hus se deosebeste de Wycliff prin faptul ca nu neaga valabilitatea si eficenta

Tainelor savarsite de un prezbiter pacatos. In privinta episcopilor si a papilor corupti ei se
pot evalua pe baza principiului “dupa roadele lor ii veti cunoaste”, si nu trebuie ascultati. In
privinta autoritatii papei ca urmas al Sfantului Apostol Petru, Hus declara: “Autoritatea lui
Petru ramane asupra papei atata timp cat cat el nu se indeparteaza de legea Lui Hristos”.
(pagina 15, Chifar, 2005).

Hus nu cere pentru desfiintarea Bisericii ca institutie, si nici pentru separarea

oamenilor virtuosi de oamenii pacatosi (precum husitii de mai tarziu). El cere reformarea
Bisericii Romano-Catolice avand ca exemplu pe Hristos, si simplitatea apostolica.

“Singur Hristos e capul Bisericii adevarate, formata numai din cei predestinati, si
nu a incredintat conducerea ei nici lui Petru si nici unui alt vicar. Deoarece papii traiesc in
lux si bogatie, nu pot fi urmasii Sfantului Petru, ci mai degraba ai lui Iuda Iscarioteanul.”5

Datorita atitudinii sale fata de autoritatea papala a fost citat sa se prezinte la Sinodul
de la Konstanz unde Papa Ioan al XXIII-lea il primeste cu bunavointa si ridica interdictul
aruncat asupra orasului Praga. Ii interzice doar sa predice si sa slujeasca liturghia. Insa nu
aceeasi intelegere afla din partea sinodalilor, care il judeca dupa metoda inchizitiei.

In sedinta din 4 mai 1415 e acuzat ca sustine erezii in 30 de teze. Este condamnat la
moarte, fiind executat prin ardere pe rug la 6 iulie 1415 cu toate ca la 4 noiembrie 1414
Imparatul Sigismund al Germaniei(1410-1437) ii oferise un “save conduct”(scrisoare de
protectie) si o garda.

La 30 mai 1416 este ars pe rug Ieronim de Praga, prietenul lui Hus, care de
asemenea primeste moartea cu seninatate.

Ca urmare a condamnarii lui Hus nobilimea si poporul ceh se tulbura, 452 de nobili
adera la ideile lui considerand ca doar cei care se conformeaza Bibliei sunt slujitori
adevarati. Hus insemna pentru cehi nu atat un teolog reformator, ci un erou national, care a
luptat pentru eliberarea regatului de sub dominatia sfantului Imperiu German. Hus a pus
accentul pe folosirea limbii nationale in cultul eclesiastic.
5
Chifar pagina 15
 Husitii numiti si “fratii moravi” s-au impartit in doua grupuri:

- Calixtinii sau Utraquistii – (calix = potir) care cereau ca si credinciosii sa fie

impartasiti din potir, si nu doar cu ostia, cu se obisnuise la romano-catolici, din cult
trebuie eliminat doar ceea ce interzice Biblia;

- Taboritii sau husitii extremisti (de la fortareata Tabor pe care o stapaneau) – care
respingeau in intregime doctrina si practica romano-catolica, negau
transsubstantierea euharistica, precum si preotia sacramentala, lucru pe care Hus nu
l-a sustinut.

Husitii extremisti condusi de Ziska au iritat foarte mult autoritatea papala, dar si cea
laica, care au intreprins cruciade impotriva lor in urma carora au murit multi oameni si s-au
distrus orase si biserici. Husitii au emigrat in Moravia, Polonia, Ungaria, Transilvania, si
Moldova, unde domnea Stefan cel Mare.

In 1450 husitii din Praga dorind sa cunoasca ortodoxia si sa faca o alianta politico-
religioasa cu Constantinopolul, ei discuta cu Ghenadie Scholarios, viitorul patriarh
ecumenic, insa in 1453 Constantinopolul e cucerit de catre turci, in acest context se opresc
discutiile ce aveau ca scop apropierea husitilor de ortodocsi.

In anul 1431 la Sinodul de la Basel husitii moderati (calixtinii) se impaca cu

Biserica Romei si li se fac patru concesii: adultii se pot impartasi in ambele forme, predica
in limba nationala, admiterea unor bunur materiale pentru preoti daca sunt folosite in
concordanta cu canoanele, pacatele de moarte sa fie pedepsite de cei care sunt investiti cu
putere legala. In tot acest timp husitii extremisti nu fac nici un compromis.

In 1575 calixtinii si taboritii se unesc cu protestantii, uniune recunoscuta de catre

imparatul Rudolf al II-lea(1572-1612) prin Cartea Maiestatica.

In anul 1604 cei mai multi dintre “fratii moravi” trec la calvinism.

Merita spus ca datorita lor s-a tradus si raspandit Biblia utilizandu-se limba
nationala, atat in cult cat si in predica.

Girolamo Savaranola s-a nascut in Florenta la 21 septembrie 1452, tatal sau fiind
medic. Din tinerete alege calea monahismului, fara acordul parintilor intra in Ordinul
dominicanilor la Bologna.
 In anul 1481 devine predicator la Florenta, supranumita “metropola Renasterii”. In
aceasta epoca umanistii renascentisti cereau reantoarcerea la cultura greco-romana antica
pagana, avand sprijinul printilor si chiar al unor papi, au dus la decaderea morala a
societatii. In aceasta perioada Papa Alexandru al VI-lea Borgia (1492-1503) si fii sai Cezar
Borgia si Lucreția au facut cele mai groaznice acte de imoralitate si crime.

Între anii 1434-1494 familia de Medici stapanea Florența, care concura Veneția și
fiind fermecată cultura Antichității adora placerile si luxul. Intr-o astfel de atmosferă isi
incepe activitatea dominicanul Savaranola, scotand la iveala moravurile aristocratiei
florentine, dorind sa duca la o reforma morala in Biserica si in stat.

In anul 1494, populatia florentina, care iubea predicile lui Savaranola vedea in el un
fel de profet biblic, astfel ca l-au alungat de la conducerea principatului pe Piero, fiul lui
Lorenzo Magnificul (1448-1492) din familia de Medici. Simultan, patrunde in peninsula
italica regele Frantei, Carol al VIII-lea (1493-1498), care alunga familia de Medici.

Savaranola dorea ca Florenta sa devina o republica crestina cu o constitutie

democratica sub conducerea regelui Hristos. In oras in loc de lux si petreceri ca mai inainte
incepe se se arata din ce in ce mai mult o simplificare a vietii dupa modelul Evangheliei.
Femeile renunta la podoaba, adopta tinute modeste, oamenii devin mai evlaviosi. In loc de
cantece de petrecere se aud mai mult cantece religioase, averile dobandite prin frauda se
restituie, camataria se interzice. Dusmaniile si razbunarile dintre nobili sunt uitate.
Bisericile devin neancapatoare.

Insa florentinii s-au plictisit in graba de noul mod ascetic de trai si de sfintenia si au
revenit la vechile obisnuinte. Au inceput sa intervina calugarii franciscani, familia de
Medici, si papalitatea.

In iulie 1495 Papa Alexandru al VI-lea ii interzice lui Savaranola sa predice si il

cheama la Roma sa il judece. Savaranola refuza sa merga si il ataca pe papa in predici.
Papa il anatemizeaza. In putin timp este arestat si incarcerat.

La 23 mai 1498 tribunalul Bisericii Romano-Catolice l-au judecat la Florenta. Dupa

un supliciu de 11 zile, Savaranola impreuna cu Domenico de Pesca si Silvio Maruffi au fost
spanzurati si arsi pe rug, iar cenusa le-a fost aruncata in raul Arno.

Biserica Romano-Catolica a revenit asupra condamnarii ratificate de un pontif

roman si l-a canonizat sfant.