Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants or Anglicans, all these creeds are part of one of the major religions in the world: Christianity. The greatest schism from the foundation of the Catholic Church It was starring Martin Luther. Join us to discover Who was Martin Luther and know his Life, the Reform he started inside the Church and some Curious Information about his figure .
Christianity is part of the religions called abrahámicas (Judaism, Christianity, Bahaismo and Islam) because they have in common the patriarch Abraham. Among all they add more than 3,400 million faithful. The Christian churches together have about 2.450 million followers and those of the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther are currently more than 900 million .
Who was Martin Luther: discover his life, curious facts and his role in the Reformation
To enter into the figure and life of Martin Luther is to penetrate into the very heart of the history of Europe of the last 500 years. Protestantism removed the religious foundations on which Western civilization was based . From the Reformation of Marín Lutero, the fights that had as an excuse religion caused millions of deaths.
1. Brief biography of Martin Luther
Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany , on November 10, 1483 and died in the same city on February 18, 1546. Contravening the opinion of their parents he professed as an Augustinian friar in 1505 abandoning his law studies. Ordained a priest, in 1508 he began teaching theology at the University of Wittenberg. He studied Greek and Hebrew with a view to a better translation of the Bible.
By deepening the real meaning of some terms, he became convinced that the Church had lost the true meaning of some teachings of the Holy Scriptures. Luther's preaching from that moment focused, basically, on indicating that salvation "is a gift exclusively from God, given by grace through Christ and received only by faith." This doctrine went directly against what was postulated by the Church at the time it had a great business in the sale of indulgences .
On October 31, 1517 Luther's "Ninety-five Theses" were nailed to the door of the Church of Wittenber . They did not question the papal authority to grant indulgences, but asked for a deep debate about greed, paganism and abuse around them. Thanks to the printing press, after two months, his theses had reached all corners of Europe. The church made several appearances to Martin Luther, who not only did not retract, but was adding new proclamations such as the rejection of papal authority, the councils or the doctrines of the "Fathers of the Church." The believer just needed the Bible and his reason.
Finally, Rome declared him a heretic and his ideas were dismissed as apostasies. Carlos V (Carlos I of Spain) declared it proscribed after making him present his ideas in the Worm Diet. After remaining hidden for a year, the support received made him lead a movement known as the "Protestant Reformation".
He married a former nun who had converted to Lutheranism called Catalina Bora with whom he had 6 children. He denied some of the ideas that the Church had assumed during the Middle Ages such as celibacy or the existence of purgatory. In addition, of the sacraments of the Roman Church he only admitted the two that appear in the Gospels: baptism and the Eucharist. Their doctrines attracted many German princes and this facilitated that they extended by all Germany and of there they traveled to other countries. He died in Eisleben on February 18, 1546.
2. Martin Luther's reform
Who Martin Luther was is evident in the reform he undertook , although he was not the first to express his criticism of the Church. During the Low Middle Ages several reformers expressed their dissatisfaction. As a theologian, Martin Luther initiated and promoted the religious Reform in Germany and from this was born the so-called Protestant Reformation and Lutheranism. However, according to his own words, Martin Luther's Reformation should not be called "Lutheranism": "Do not call yourselves" Lutherans ", but Christians. Who is Luther? My doctrine is not mine. I have not been crucified by anyone "
The Reformation of Martin Luther, besides influencing the religious aspect, had important collateral effects. The most notable were the standardization of the German language thanks to Luther's translation of the Bible into the vernacular and, due to his marriage to Catalina Bora, the Creation of currents of support for priestly marriage .
3. Works by Martin Luther
In addition to the famous "Ninety-five Theses" nailed in the door of the Church of the castle of Wittenber, there are three great writings that are considered basic in the Reformation and give us an idea of Who was Martin Luther: Appeal to the Christian nobility of the German nation , The Babylonian captivity of the Church Y On Christian freedom .
Another important work is the Comment of Saint Paul to the Galatians in which he makes a parallel between him and Saint Paul in his defense of the Gospel. Among the works of Martin Luther we also find writings on the Christian home, ecclesiastical and civil administration .
4. Curiosities of Martin Luther
If you want to continue deepening and understanding better who Martin Luther was, you must know a series of curiosities. We'll tell you later!
- The bowling game it was widespread in medieval churches and Martin Luther, in 1520, built a bowling alley next to his house where he played with his children.
- His real name was Martin Luder, but he changed it to Luther apparently because his last name was left related to the Greek word "erleutherios" which means "the liberator" .
- From Martin Luther, who was against the celebrations on St. Nicholas Day, began to commemorate the birth of Christ and especially Christmas Eve on December 24th.
- Martin Luther only traveled once out of Germany in 1510, when he went to Rome to defend the Augustinians .
- It only took 11 weeks to translate the New Testament from Greek to German.
Besides Who Was Martin Luther, you'll also be interested ...
- If you want to know more deeply the thoughts of this important figure in the history of the Church (and in history in general), do not miss this selection of Phrases of Martin Luther .
The Protestant Reformation carried out by Martin Luther was very important not only in the History of Religion, but throughout the history of Europe. Did you know who MartÃn Luther was? Do you know more information about his life or his Reformation? Get them with us!