The Reformation
Introduction
Catholic reformation or reformation was considered as counter-renaissance because this was the era of catholic revival. This era took place in the 16th century. Counter-reformation involved political dimensions, spiritual movements and religious orders. The reformations involved the creation of seminaries used in training the priests. The spiritual movements involved a life of devotion and getting close with Christ. The political activities involved the Roman Inquisition. While the reformers of the Roman Catholic Church shared the revulsion of Protestants despite the corruption in the church, there was no traditional breaking. Conservative forces led the Counter Reformation that was meant to reform the church and conserve its traditions from modernization by the Protestant theologians.
Council of Trent
The first council of Trent was initiated by Pope Paul III in the fifteenth century. A group of cardinals were involved in the reforms, and they addressed issues like financial abuses and corrupt priests. The council declined the concession with the Protestants and opted for the principles of faith of the Catholic Church. The council supported salvation that was determined by faith. The council accepted the Old Testament listings. The Council also tried to develop the administration and discipline of the church. The reformers also strived to reform the growing separation between the laity and the clerics and several clergy members in local parishes. The rural priests could hardly speak Latin and did not have opportunities for appropriate theological training. Parish priests were educated in apologetics and theology.
Stages of the Counter Reformation
In 1534, Paul III was elected as pope and his friends took the declarations that created the Jesuits. Consequently, the reformers were successful in taking the papacy and the pope was given assistance. In 1545, after miscarriage and delay, Paul III convened the council of Trent. This council was critical in the Counter Reformation. During this period, the popes were Pius IV, Julius III and Paul III. After the council ended in 1563, the second era of reformation started and it lasted until 1590. The pontificates were Sixtus V, Gregory XIII and Pius V. There was the uprooting of the chief evil. There was the standardization of worship, government of the Holy See, church law and establishment of education for the new priests. There was also the reformation of religious orders and the scrutiny of the clergy’s life. There was a new spirit that took over the church.
The Oratory was the local movement in the reformation. Catholicism took over in Europe and the Capuchins, and the Jesuits assisted in winning Hungary, Netherlands, Poland and some sections of Germany back to the Church. The Jesuits were triumphed in their foreign operations. The spirit of Counter Reformation in America made the missionaries work for Americans, often against the secular authorities. Carmelite reforms depends the Spanish religion. The Counter Reformation started later in France after the conversion and accession to Catholicism. The significant French figures during this period were St. Vincent de Paul and St. Francis de Sales. The Counter Reformation in England started when there was little restoration of the Roman Catholic Church. This was in 1580 when Queen Mary was in power, and there was little restoration of than the Jesuits mission. This was led by Robert Persons and Edmund Campion. Various figures that indicated the Counter Reformation effects were Torquato Tasso, Robert Southwell, St. Francis Borgia, Richard Crashaw, St. Robert Bellarmine and Caesar Baronius.
Religious orders
For reforms to be effective there was the formation of new religious orders. Orders like Barnabites, Theatines, Ursulines and Capuchins were introduced in the local parishes. The Theatines were responsible for regeneration of the clergy. The Capuchines preached the care for the sick and the poor people in the society. The Ursulines were responsible for educating the girls. The most effective religious orders were the Jesuits. These were structured on military lines. The Jesuits were also responsible for the church expansion in Asia and America. The Jesuits did this with the help of their military activities.
Spiritual movements
The reformation was not only in the movement of the church or political policy but also included figures like Philip Neri, Sales, Teresa and Ignatius. These people added spirituality in the Church. John and Teresa were Spanish mystics responsible for reforming the Carmelite Order. This ministry focused on conversion of people to Christians and committing to God’s will. Teresa was responsible for writing and developing perfection for unity and the love of Christ. Her publications brought massive impacts to the public. A significant clarification for the term “mystical” is critical because people often misunderstand the term. John worked as a spiritual director. Ignatius and Francis were active spiritually, and their jobs were almost the same as those of John and Teresa. The Neri who lived in Rome at the Rome at the same period as Ignatius was oriented and opposed to the approach Jesuit. The Virgin Mary was responsible in Catholic devotion. During the Catholic reformation, Marian piety developed with more than 500 pages.
Origin of the Counter Reformation
Since the era of St Catherine of Siena, there was an increasing demand for reforms of Christianity and a clerical management. Perhaps the Great Schism did a lot to avoid this change because during its time, politics preoccupied those who were dealing with reforms. During this period, the papacy was quite weak to control the movement. A key issue in the delay, in Christendom, was the neglect of the prelates who were responsible for managing the church. This was their power because the only dynamic. They were powerful in their papal effort to reform the country such that the papal legate did not dare touch their bishops. During that period, the most known scandal was the Renaissance papal court, which proved to be quite immoral. Amongst all the evil activities, the papal scandal was the easiest to treat when Paul IV attacked it. Before Paul became a pope, there was a small reform party in Rome. The center comprised of a group of laymen and priests at Genoa who did charity work and then changed to a spiritual movement in Curia. The Rome reformers were assisted by the men of prestigious St. Thomas and Cardinal Jimenez.
However, the first main reform was not successful. These included the election of Adrian VI who died earlier than expected and before he could accomplish anything. During the next pontificate, which was in the 15th century, the reforms took place quietly creating the main resistance of Lutheranism. During this period, the reform party created the Capuchins and the Theatines which occurred from 1524 to 1525. These were religious orders meant to evangelize the ordinary people. During this period, there was the expansion of Protestantism and the sack of Rome managed to persuade the most contented cardinals that political gambling was risky for the church. Charles V was quite influential during this reform.
Baroque Art
In Europe, the Catholic Church was the center of art and creativity. The objective of the art was to refurbish Catholic centrality and dominance. Painting and Baroque architecture revealed the goals of the Catholic Church. Baroque Art was quite influential and powerful such that some Protestant artists applied its style. The council of Trent argued that sculpture, painting and architecture had a purpose as the channel for propaganda. Any piece of art that provoked carnal desire prohibited in the Catholic Church. Any art that depicted the suffering of Christ was accepted in the church. In a period when the Protestants were tarnishing the saint’s image, the Catholics insisted on their significance, emphasizing on the Virgin Mary. Counter-reformation attacked Michelangelo’s painting of “The Last Judgment”. Other things that it also attacked were nudity and avoiding painting Christ with beards or whiling seated. In the 1530s, art was affected by the pressure of the church to contain religious imagery. This caused the verdict of the Council of Trent plus overt passages regarding religious images that would have had a significant impact the growth of Catholic art. The previous councils avoided these issues. The verdict proved that the customary policy that pictures only indicated the person portrayed.
