Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Chur ch Mat ter s : Ret r i ev i ng the Great Trad i t i on

7. Via media : “the middle way,” or Anglicanism’s synthesis of both Protestant and Catholic theologies and practices

8. The Church of England during this period is largely Calvinist in doctrine, Catholic in sacramental and liturgical emphasis.

III. The Catholic Response to the Reformation

The Counter-Reformation (also known as the Catholic Reformation) is usually dated from the middle of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the Thirty Year War (AD 1618). That the Roman Catholic Church was in a state of moral and spiritual disarray is acknowledged by Catholic authorities. The papacy had lost territories north of the Alps and popes had been forced to negotiate treaties with the secular authorities who in turn controlled the church. Simony (the selling of spiritual merits and church offices) was widely practiced. Indulgences (pledges of freedom from the punishment for sin granted to individuals) were sold like merchandise. Most clergy were poorly educated and many lived with women in violation of their vows of celibacy. As to the spiritual condition of the average Roman Catholic layperson, a contemporary Catholic historian writes: “Their Christian life often focused on external devotions to saints or Mary, going on pilgrimages, and gaining indulgences, without an understanding of the more basic truths of the Catholic faith.” This state of moral declension, coupled with the theological differences that were to surface with the Protestant Reformers, sets the stage for the Counter-Reformation. ~ Norman L. Geisler, and Ralph E. MacKenzie. Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences . Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995, S. 443T of 1516.

A. The Counter-Reformation: the label for the RCC revival of the 16th century

1. Also labeled Catholic Reformation, and Catholic Renaissance