The Religious Reformation of Mass and the Sacraments and Its Secular Impacts on European Society Emily Vrooman (0670308) HIST*3750, The Reformation Daniel MacLeod November, 16, 2011 The Protestant Reformation changed both the religious and secular lives of Christian Europeans. Prior to the Reformation, Catholic life was secularized by the Seven Sacraments that governed how Christians were meant to conduct themselves within their daily lives, and according to the Liturgical year made up established saints’ days: …it gave meaning to daily life by marking out religiously the key stages in the human life cycle and in the cyclical rhythms of the seasons, thus providing a form of cosmic order for human existence.1 As a result, the changes that were made to these sacraments by Martin Luther, Andreas Karlstadt, Ulricht Zwingli, and John Calvin had significant secular effects on the Christian populace in Europe during the Reformation. The way in which both the Mass and daily Christian life were conducted changed due to the revision of these sacraments. The changes included a reduction in the number of sacraments that were recognized as being true and ordained by God. The sacraments that were recognized were interpreted differently by each reformer, and these varying interpretations also had secular effects on Protestants. Overall the changes resulted in an increase in the power of the laity as well as a decrease in the power of the liturgy, including an equalizing of their statuses within and outside of the church. The meaning of being a Christian changed in accordance with new doctrines, which affected how individuals conducted themselves. Catholicism was traditionally practised according to the Seven Sacraments that organized and structured the spiritual existence of a Catholic; Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Matrimony, Last Rites and the Holy Orders. Although these 1 Scribner, R. W., “The Reformation, Popular Magic, and the “Disenchantment of the World,”” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 23, no. 3 (1993) 475, accessed November 7, 2011, url: http://www.jstor.org/stable/206099. 1 structures were designed for the spiritual aspects of life, they were also often considered “social operations.”2 Baptism of a child at the beginning of its life created a secular bond of “kinship” between the child and its godparents.3 Along with its religious connotations, this confirmed the child’s position in the community, secured their status in society, and determined who they could or could not marry. Marriage was another sacrament that was “at once secular and sacred.”4 Marriages were used by families as a means of reconciling conflict between families or other involved parties, in lawsuits as well as in many of the wars of the princes; however “the idea of marriage as an alliance was also embedded in the rites of the church,” and the use of it in social alliances most likely stemmed from this Catholic source.5 The sacrament of Last Rites also dealt with conflict, and affected the families of those to whom those rites were being administered. Within Last Rites both the “seeking and giving of pardon for offences committed against others or those committed by others” against the dying individual was required for final absolution.6 This often left the family of that individual with the task of reconciling residual conflicts. This was critical as the soul of their loved one hung in the balance; “confession and restitution were, for the dying, an essential incident in the passage of the Christian towards an unsullied membership of the community of believers,” if conflicts were not resolved, the dying would not be admitted into that eternal community of believers.7 The resolution of these 2 Bossy, J., Christianity in the West, 1400-1700 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), 21. Ibid, 14-18. 4 Ibid, 22. 5 Ibid, 20-21. 6 Ibid, 46. 7 Ibid. 3 2 conflicts, even after the death of the individual involved, aided in maintaining peace and unity in the community. Penance was another social tradition that applied to both the individual and the community. The committed sin would only require penance from those involved, as sins in general were regarded as “a stain on the community of Christians” and “required penance from the population at large” as was practiced during Lent.8 These acts of penance joined individuals in a community together, repenting with the intent to receive their Easter communion. These sacraments ensured the unity of communities, creating “bonds of Christian kinship among those who would otherwise be at enmity or feud” and “agricultural co-operation” in towns and rural communities.9 The Holy Orders created a structured hierarchy of the church that was extended into the secular community. In Unam Sanctam, Pope Boniface VIII declared that “the spiritual authority and the temporal are in the power of the church,” reasoning that spiritual power is greater than any earthly power in terms of both dignity and honour.10 This meant that temporal authorities were controlled and judged by the ecclesiastical authorities. Boniface explained that as the highest spiritual power, the pope was greater than every other earthly and spiritual power and could not be judged by any man on earth, “but by God alone.”11 Ecclesiastical members acted as an intercession between God and the laity, and their Masses reflected the superiority and authority this principle entailed. The church was arranged so that there was “a great distance between the clergy on the altar and the 8 Bossy, J., 60. Ibid, 60-61. 10 Petrey, “Pope Boniface VIII: Unam Sanctam (1302),” in the European Reformations Sourcebook, ed. Carter Lindberg (Malden:Blackwell Publishing, 2000), 10. 11 Ibid. 9 3 laity in the nave of the church,” often with screens to further inhibit the ability of the laity to observe the priest’s actions. 12 Masses were not recited in the vernacular but in Latin, and the church did not encourage the laity to attempt understanding “exactly what the priest was saying.”13 The result was that, for the laity, Mass became a series of regulated actions, often indicated by the ring of a bell, without any significance, “the Medieval laity had some physical, but no intellectual involvement with the words of the Gospel or the doctrine of the eucharist,” creating a ritualistic system of gestures and symbols. 14 The priests also gained an elevated status in society since they were the ones who understood the Mass proceedings. It was therefore also required that members of the Holy Orders were educated and able to understand and recite these Latin Masses. The Catholic Eucharist involved transubstantiation and a literal interpretation of the “sacred words “This is my body,”” in which Christ was actually present in the bread.15 This concept was not thoroughly explained to the laity however they understood the general concepts involved within the Eucharist. Many of them considered it to be a “sacred rite uniting them with God, the Church, and each other,” ingraining a sense of community between individuals.16 The elevation of the host “was intended to express the real presence of Christ on the altar, in the midst of those attending Mass,” and was a visual representation of Christ on the Cross.17 Many of the laity admitted that they were Reinburg, V., “Lithurgy and the Laity in Late Medieval and Reformation France,” The Sixteenth Century Journal, 23 no. 3 (1992):527, accessed October 19, 2011, url: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2542493. 13 Bossy, J., 68. 14 Reinburg, V., 527. 15 Ibid, 533. 16 Ibid, 540. 17 Reinburg, V., 537. 12 4 “compelled to belief and action through visual experiences inspired by art and ceremony”18 during Mass. This sensory experience of Mass relied greatly on the presence of relics and saints. Large stained glass windows decorated these churches containing scenes of the crucifixion and images of various saints. The nave, the main part of the building, “often housed subsidiary altars dedicated to popular saints” 19 that individuals could pray to for specific purposes or on specific saints’ days. Catholicism was conducted according to this calendar of saints’ days, known as the Liturgical year. This calendar determined the Masses that were said and brought communities together under one unified structure, “To live the Liturgical year as a community is to journey through this life in full awareness that God is present in all times and in all seasons.”20 These established structures of the Catholic religion were criticized by Protestant reformers and were reduced, changed, or simply redefined in terms of what they meant to both the laity and liturgy. Luther, Zwingli and Calvin agreed on many of the initial changes made to these structures, the Eucharist excluded. Martin Luther specifically criticized the Catholic sacraments, reducing them to two out of seven: Baptism and the Eucharist.21 The essentiality of Baptism was that through Baptism every man was a “consecrated priest.”22 Each individual had a relationship with god and spiritual power was universally distributed among the liturgy and laity alike, “All Christians are truly of 18 Ibid. Ibid, 30. 20 Deeley, M. K., “Living the Liturgical Year,” Liturgy, 26, no. 1 (2010): 20. 21 Luther, M., “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” in The European Reformations Sourcebook, ed. Carter Lindberg (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2000), 38. 22 Luther, M., “To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate,” in The European Reformations Sourcebook, ed. Carter Lindberg (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2000), 37. 19 5 the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office.” 23 Priests were encouraged to conduct the Mass in the vernacular providing laity with understanding of scripture and doctrine and encouraging their participation.24 The laity was also encouraged to read and learn the bible “Is it not the only right that every Christian man know the entire holy gospel by the age of nine or 10?” 25 Luther believed that man should derive his life and how he conducts himself from scripture; without knowing and understanding its contents he can not successfully act in God’s image. Scripture was an integral component of Lutheran faith and man’s connection to God. Luther also contested the superior nature of the Holy Orders in the governance of communities. Instead Luther supported a system made up of 2 governments, the spiritual which produced righteous people and Christians by teaching ethics and morality through scripture, and a temporal government which would restrain “the unchristian and wicked.”26 This idea reduced the power of the church as a spiritual authority over the temporal authorities. Luther reduced the power of the pope specifically by contesting his authority to award absolution in return for penance and indulgences, “The Pope himself cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God.”27 Instead Luther explained that the only true source of absolution for sins was God himself. When it came to Penance Luther argued that repentance was not meant to be a single act, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’, he called for the 23 Ibid. Reinburg, V., 529. 25 Luther, M., “To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate,” 37. 26 Ozment, S., The Age of Reform 1250-1550 (Westford: Murray Printing Company), 268. 27 Jacobs, J., “The Rationalization of Christian Theology,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 10, no. 1 (1971):6, accessed October 19, 2011, url: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1385312. 24 6 entire life of believers to be of penitence,”28 and was instead to be considered a way of life. Luther believed that repentance was also not meant to be an act in the hopes of receiving something in return, as was done with Lent and Easter Communion. Instead, an individual was meant to repent as a way of displaying their faith in God’s grace to God. Luther’s doctrine replaced the group Penance of communities with a more individualistic concept focussed on bettering oneself through faith and scripture.29 As individuals became more focused on personal reform, they became less focussed on reforming their communities as a whole. Just as Luther had rejected Penance as being a sacrament, he regarded Marriage as a civil contract rather than a sacrament. More importantly Luther, Zwingli and Calvin all believed marriage should be open to the clergy, who according to Catholic doctrine were ordained to stay celibate; however they could find no source for this celibacy in the scriptures. This meant that women who were previously concubines to the members of the clergy who failed to adhere to the rules of celibacy could now lead a less shameful life as a married woman, and the children fathered by the priests would have the legitimacy of being born from two people under the sanctity of marriage. Ulricht Zwingli agreed with Luther concerning clerical marriage but he disagreed with him on the nature of Baptism. Zwingli felt that infant baptism was a blasphemous concept; “God’s Word, wisdom and commands which says only believers should be baptised,”30 infants did not have the capacity to understand the meaning of their baptism, scripture, or their relationship with God, and could therefore not be considered true 28 Ibid. Ozment, S., 262. 30 William G. Naphy, ed., “Conrad Grebel to Munzer, 5 September 1524,” in Documents on the Continental Reformation (Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1996), 35. 29 7 believers, “This promise has nothing to do with babies and therefore their baptism is meaningless”31. Instead Zwingli argued it was better to wait until the individual had a thorough understanding and true relationship with God; then they could be baptized and provide God with their promise of faith. According to this system however, without an infant baptism the infant could not be given traditional godparents, and there would be no established kinship within the community. European society was structured according to a hierarchy of authority. Zwingli disrupted this structure with his argument that human rules and the laws of the temporal authorities ultimately did not matter in terms of salvation. Although secular authorities and laws should be obeyed, Christians were not obliged to obey any laws that were “in opposition to God.”32 He suggested that any laws or rulers that oppressed the divine rights of Christians could be “replaced by God.” This created the basis for political reform, under the premise of acting in God’s image. Zwingli, along with Andreas Karlstadt, contested the use of images and false idols in Catholicism. Karlstadt stated angrily, “That we have images in churches and houses of God is wrong and contrary to the first commandment. Thou shalt not have other gods.”33 Karlstadt was concerned that these Saints were being prayed to as if they had the power of God himself, a blasphemous, but popular, notion. In 1524 images were banned from the churches in Zurich; objects that could be associated with idolatry, even statues of Mary, were removed and acts of idolatry were punished. This caused a collapse of the William G. Naphy, ed. “(1525) Balthasar Hubmaier to Oecalampadius.” in Documents on the Continental Reformation (Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1996), 35. 32 Noll, “Zwingli: The Sixty-Seven Articles (1523),” in the European Reformations Sourcebook, ed. Carter Lindberg (Malden:Blackwell Publishing, 2000), 113. 33 Karlstadt, A., “On the Removal of Images,” in A Reformation Debate: Three Treatises in Translation, ed. Bryan D. Mangrum, Giuseppe Scavizzi (Ottawa: Dovehouse Editions Inc., 1991), 19. 31 8 Liturgical year and the calendar system that had been used throughout daily life.34 Within the church the iconoclasm also created a totally new experience of Mass for Christians: All alters which were still in the churches were stripped bare; and all the week was no more singing nor reading, but all the books were taken out of the choir and destroyed.35 The senses were no longer engaged in these Masses, and the only thing that the laity had been able to understand, the very thing that had “compelled them to faith” disappeared. John Calvin was also opposed to Catholic Masses. Calvin felt that the removal of images was not enough, the use of music in Mass was a distraction from its important message and would “hinder the preaching of the word.”36 He was also worried that in them God was not properly explained to the laity, “…our Lord is outrageously blasphemed and the people misled and blinded,” in fact Calvin felt that the clergy were inhibiting the relationship between the laity and God.37 This issue stemmed from the way the Eucharist was considered and explained. Calvin believed that the Eucharist was symbolic memorialism, Christ was not really present in the bread or wine: That sacrifice cannot and should not ever be repeated by any visible sacrifice. This would totally renounce the original as though it were of no value or power, insufficient and incomplete.38 In fact Christ’s sacrifice was so effective that it provided members of the Christian faith, known as the elect, with absolution for their sins without any work on their own part. This idea of Predestination meant that certain individuals were among the elect and were 34 Todd, M., The Culture of Protestantism in Early Modern Scotland (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 31. 35 J. Kidd, ed., “The last Mass in Zurich, 12 April 1525,” in Documents Illustrative of the Continental Reformation (Oxfod: Clarendon Press, 1967), 433. 36 Todd, 71. 37 William G. Naphy, ed., “Marcourt’s Placard (1534),” in Documents on the Continental Reformation (London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1996), 54. 38 Ibid. 9 preordained for heaven, while others, the reprobate, were destined for hell. Unfortunately there was no concrete form of confirmation on the nature of an individual’s predestination, “only God knew who the Elect were,” and individuals could only have faith that they were among the elect. 39 Calvin’s understanding of the church was very legalistic in its organization; one was either among the elect or the reprobate. One could only have “sure knowledge” of Predestination through scripture, and as a result “bringing people to an understanding of the Bible had to be the reformers’ first priority.”40 This meant individuals had to either be literate enough to read the bible, or present at sermons to establish their faith. The Consistory was created as a means of enforcing sermon attendance; elders were charged with the task of seeking out absentees and punishing them.41 People were then motivated to attend church, and encourage their family and friends to attend church for fear of the severe punishments that were employed. This created an organized community of united Christians, with a more thorough understanding of the Masses they attended. This organized structure was maintained and its integrity ensured through Calvin’s Ecclesiastical Ordinances. The Ecclesiastical Ordinances outlined the hierarchical structured of the Calvinist Church and the responsibilities of all its members.42 It was a clear outline of how the liturgy should conduct themselves and what the laity should expect of their church. The Ecclesiastical ordinances created a universal structure of Catholic practice that everyone had access to. 39 Jacobs, J., 7. Todd, M., 24. 41 Ibid, 32. 42 Kingdon, “The Ecclesiastical Ordinances of 1541,” in the European Reformations Sourcebook, ed. Carter Lindberg (Malden:Blackwell Publishing, 2000), 170. 40 10 The reformation gave the laity much greater access to and a deeper understanding of the inner workings of their faith. The translation of the bible and Mass into the vernacular created a “new reading public” that did not require an education in Latin. 43 Luther’s scholasticism regulated all aspects of life by applying “the standards of a supernatural revelation” and modelling society off of the bible. 44 This elevated the knowledge of the laity and lessened their reliance on the liturgy in understanding Mass. Luther’s concept of every man being a priest and Zwingli’s ideas on the direct connection with God meant there was very little need for a priest at all, greatly disrupting the established social hierarchy of spiritual over secular. Luther separated the responsibilities of secular and spiritual authorities by explaining that he “Expected religious values to inform secular life and the sword of the magistrate to defend religious truth.”45 Spiritual equality meant a decrease in the superiority of religious works over secular labour which was more applicable to and beneficial for the agricultural economies of Europe. 46 Some changes to authority also caused a great deal of disruption. Luther encouraged passive resistance to tyrannies which may have instigated violent urban reforms including Peasants’ Revolt of 1523.47 Also, as none of the reformers considered the Last Rites to be a necessary sacrament, the motivation to resolve conflicts would have decreased and lasting family feuds may have been more prominent. The iconoclasm was a violent affair that caused disorder in communities and would have disrupted daily rituals. Reid, W. S., “The Transmission of Calvinism in the Sixteenth Century,” in Articles on Calvin and Calvinism, ed. R.C. Gamble (New York: Garland Publishing Inc, 1992), 36-44. 44 Ozment, S., 262. 45 Ibid, 268. 46 Ibid, 263. 47 Ibid, 272. 43 11 The changes made by the Reformers also stimulated various aspects of European society. Many historians believe the changes to clerical celibacy helped increase the birth rate and created a more ethical and personal form of marriage that affected family life. 48 Luther and Calvin both did their part to create social welfare within communities in their reformation, urging communities to “assume full responsibility for the needy within their walls and subject them to programs for rehabilitation and vocational training,” creating a more effective system of taking care of the poor. 49 As part of Predestination Calvin also encouraged individuals to immerse themselves in “God’s work;” staying busy would help individuals avoid temptation. 50 It is interesting to note that the true nature of the Eucharist, the most greatly contested sacrament between Protestant Reformers during this reformation, was the issue that had the smallest direct impact on secular European life. 48 Ozment, S., 262. Ibid, 268. 50 Jacobs, J., 7. 49 12 Primary Sources: Karlstadt, A. “On the Removal of Images.” In A Reformation Debate: Three Treatises in Translation. Ed. Bryan D. Mangrum and Giuseppe Scavizzi. Ottawa: Dovehouse Editions Inc., 1991. Kidd, J. “The last Mass in Zurich, 12 April 1525.” In Documents Illustrative of the Continental Reformation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967. Kingdon. “The Ecclesiastical Ordinances of 1541.” In The European Reformations Sourcebook. Ed. Carter Lindberg. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2000. Luther, M. “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church.” In The European Reformations Sourcebook. Ed. Carter Lindberg. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2000. Luther, M. “To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate.” In The European Reformations Sourcebook. Ed. Carter Lindberg. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2000. Naphy, William G., ed. “(1525) Balthasar Hubmaier to Oecalampadius.” In Documents on the Continental Reformation. 1st ed. 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