Luther The Catholic form of worship was zealously championed by the anism in Dukes of Bavaria, by the royal Austrian House of Hapsburg, by the Austria, Hungary spiritual Electors of the German Empire and by the prince-bishops. and Bohemia. anism and Ingolstadt was the great seat of Catholic learning in Germany. But the Emperors Ferdinand I. and Maximilian II. both sought not to offend the consciences of their subjects, thus allowing Lutheranism to gain many converts in the hereditary Austrian territories. The Protestants soon obtained religious toleration, and erected several churches in the archduchy of Austria and in the duchies of Carinthia and Styria. The Reformation made such rapid strides in Hungary and Transylvania that the Protestants outnumbered the Catholics, and acquired religious freedom and equal political rights with their opponents. The old Hussites of Bohemia mainly embraced the Lutheran doctrines. Notwithstanding the many treaties which guaranteed the rights of the Protestants in the Austrian dominions, those rights were disregarded by later rulers, who reestablished the supremacy of the Catholic State Church. Zwingli- The Reformed Church which Ulrich Zwingli originated in SwitzerCalvinism land also spread itself into Germany at an early period. Zwingli's in doctrines were accepted and supported by only a few towns in the Germany. South of Germany, until John Calvin, the refugee French Reformer in Geneva, adopted Zwingli's principles and fashioned them into a complete system of doctrine by uniting them with his own views, after which the Reformed Church in Germany obtained numerous accessions. Duke Frederick III. of Baden introduced this system into his own dominions from the Palatinate, and in 1559 he ordered Ursínus and Olevianus to draw up the Heidelberg Catechism, a widely-extended compend of the Zwinglian and Calvinistic doctrines. Heidelberg Catechism. The Zwinglian and Calvinistic Church was also introduced into Melanch- Hesse, Bremen and Brandenburg. Even Melanchthon and his disthon's ciples-called Philippists and Cryptocalvinists-inwardly accepted Disciples. Calvin's views as correct. Melanchthon so embittered his last days by promulgating these opinions that he died calumniated and full of sorrow, in 1560, and his disciples in Saxony suffered persecution and imprisonment. An effort was made to restore harmony among the Protestants of Germany by the Form of Concord, a confession of faith subscribed by ninety-six of the Lutheran Estates of the Empire about the year A. D. 1580; but its only result was to confirm and aggravate Lutheran the dissensions and animosities between the Lutherans and Calvinists and of Germany. Thus, in the century of the Reformation, German Reformed Protestantism was divided between the Lutheran and the German Re German Churches. formed Church, which are still the two great Protestant Church or ganizations in Germany. and the German Church. Switzerland was divided between Protestantism and Catholicism, and Zwingli the Zwinglian system which prevailed in the greater German cantons very nearly resembled the Calvinistic doctrine which was supreme in Reformed French Switzerland; so that Zwingli is considered the founder of the German Reformed Church, whose creed is based on the Heidelberg Catechism, the same as the Lutheron creed is based on the Augsburg Confession. John Calvin and His at Geneva. John Calvin, or Jean Chauvin-the French Reformer-fled from persecution in France, to Geneva, in Switzerland; where he established a sort of theocracy, and endeavored to bring Christianity to its primi- Theocracy tive simplicity in ceremonies and worship, excluding images, ornaments, organs, candles and crucifixes from the churches, and allowing no church feast but a rigorously-observed Sabbath, to be spent in prayer, preaching and the singing of Psalms, which Calvin's faithful fellow-minister, Theodore Beza, had translated into French. Calvin taught the creed of the great Christian Father, St. Augustine, that man is incapable of himself to do good and partake of salvation, and that the future destiny of every human creature is preordained from time of birth. Although Calvin had fled from persecution himself and had severely denounced religious intolerance on the part of the Catholics, he was very intolerant himself and became a violent persecutor, causing Servetus to be burned at the stake for denying the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ's divinity. Calvinism was generally rejected by the higher orders, because it opposed many prevalent amusements, such as the theater, dancing and the more refined pleasures of society. Like the ancient lawgivers, Calvin exercised unbounded influence at Geneva, in civil and religious affairs, and in education and manners, until his death in 1564. Calvin's Calvin was a man of great intellect and moral power. He was severe to himself and to others, and hostile to all earthly pleasures. His doc- Character trine is impressed with his character-severity and simplicity. He acquired a command over men by the reverence due to his strong and pure will. The constitution of the Calvinistic Church is a republican synodical government. The congregation, represented by freely chosen elders, or presbyters, exercises the power of the Church, elects the ministers, watches over morals by means of the elders, administers the Church discipline and punishments and attends to the distribution of alms. The ministers and a part of the elders form the synod, which gives the Church laws to the different congregations. Calvinism spread rapidly from Geneva into the South of France, into Scotland and into the Northern Netherlands. In France the Calvinists were called Huguenots and were rigorously persecuted, their min Elders, or Presbyters. Scotland and the Nether lands. Calvinism isters being given to the flames. In Scotland they were called Preein France, byterians, because the affairs of their Church were managed by elders, or presbyters, elected by the congregations. The apostle of Calvinism in Scotland was the celebrated John Knox, who succeeded in establishing that faith as the state-religion of Scotland. In the Northern Netherland provinces Calvinism soon obtained a foothold, and became the state-religion of the new Dutch Republic (Holland); and in 1618 the views of the Arminians, who did not fully accept Calvin's doctrine of predestination, were condemned as heretical by the Synod of Dort, which upheld St. Augustine's doctrine of man's inability of himself to do good and be saved, and punished the Arminian leaders by death or imprisonment. Trent and Its SECTION VI.-ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SOCIETY Council of ALL the Popes during the Reformation made strenuous efforts to exterminate heresy; but the twice-interrupted Council of Trent, which Decisions. first assembled in 1545, and which opened its third session in January, 1562, adjourned finally December 4, 1563, without effecting the desired result, although the Catholic Church was somewhat purified of its corruptions. This ecclesiastical assembly recognized as infallible the religious doctrines that had hitherto been considered orthodox, and embodied these doctrines in carefully-defined propositions. This Council established a purer code of morals, improved the Church discipline and inaugurated a more stringent supervision of the clergy. Doctrine gences. The Council of Trent affirmed the use of indulgences as being "most of Indul- salutary for the Christian people, and approved by the authority of councils, is to be retained in the Church"; but the council decreed that “in granting them moderation be observed, lest, by excessive facility, discipline may be enervated." All modern Church legislation on the subject of indulgences has been founded on the special instruction of this council; but as the decree of the council did not explicitly declare what is the exact effect of an indulgence, Pope Pius VI., more than two centuries later, further explained it in his famous bull, Auctorem Fidei, that an indulgence, received with due dispositions, remits not only the canonical penance attached to certain crimes in this life, but also the temporal punishment which the penitent would be obliged to undergo in purgatory after death. Roman Catholic The Catholics regard the resolutions of the Council of Trent as their own Reformation, and these resolutions constitute the basis of the tion. Roman Catholic Church as at present constituted. The work of the Reforma |