THE RENAISSANCE INSPIRES CHANGES
IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
KNOWN AS THE REFORMATION!
Today’s Target
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Act out significant events in the Reformation including
The Great Schism
The sale of indulgences
The Posting of the 95 Theses
The Edict of Worms
The Counter Reformation
• You will be given a scene and a general description. Please
act it up. Practice, rehearse, make props if possible. Be
prepared to be filmed. You will have about 10 minutes to
prepare.
Scene 1: The Great Schism
Scene 1: The Great Schism
• Characters: Pope Urban 6th, Pope Clermont 3, 1-2 confused
Christians, 1 cardinal in Rome, and one in Avignon, France.
• Scene Description: The scene opens in 1378 in Rome. An
Italian named Pope Urban 6th has just been elected by the
cardinals in Rome, Italy (shown by a desk that is south of
France desks). The French cardinals in France (in nearby land
shown by a desk) refuse to accept him, declare his election
void and elect Clermont the 3rd as pope. Pope Clermont
moves to Avignon in France and rules from there. Christians
all over Europe (everywhere around desks) don’t know who to
follow and question and joke about what is going on. Some
follow Urban, some follow Clermont. The spectacle of two
popes is seen as a joke and significantly injures the papacy.
Scene 2: The sale of indulgences
Scene 2: The selling of indulgences
• Characters: Two priests with papers that say “indulgences”, five sinners each
with money and a list of sins that they have committed.
• Scene Description: The scene opens while two Catholic priests sit outside the
local cathedral at a table. Waiting to talk to the priests is a long line of
sinners. One by one, the penitents talk to the priests and admit their sins and
ask for forgiveness. Some seem really sorry but others sound like they’re just
buying forgiveness and probably will sin again cause they’re so rich. The
priests talk to one another to decide upon monitary contributions needed to
take away the sins of the confessors. Sinners then pay the priests, promise to
sin no more, and the priests hand the sinner an “indulgence” paper which
cancels their sins. Later the priest(s) talk about what lavish ways they could
spend the money they’ve earned to make the church or themselves look
fancy and rich.
Scene 3: Martin Luther posts
95 Theses
Scene 3: Martin Luther’s 95 Theses
• Characters: A German named Martin Luther, a sinner, 2-3 people near the
church, Pope Leo X, Johann Gutenberg
• Scene Description: The scene begins days earlier. A priest named Martin
Luther talks to a Christian who is holding an indulgence (paper scroll that
says “indulgence”) he bought from another priest. Martin Luther listens
carefully as this man brags about how he bought his pardon from sins from
a Catholic priest and no longer has to be sorry about what he has done.
Later, alone in his room, Martin Luther begins to question this practice. He
wonders out loud “How can a man buy his forgiveness from God? If he is
truly sorry, only God will really know.” Martin picks up a quill and begins to
write his 95 Theses in which he criticizes the selling of indulgences and other
practices of the Roman Catholic church. The next day, Luther posts them on
the doors of a Church in Wittenberg. A local prince takes the page to Johann
Gutenberg has it copied many times with the printing press. People from all
over read the document and start criticizing the church. A few months later
in 1521 the Pope Leo X hears about this and formally excommunicates
Martin Luther from the Catholic Church
Scene 4: The Edict of Worms
Scene 4: The Edict of Worms
• Characters: The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Martin Luther, Prince
Frederick of Wittenberg. A few other princes
• Scene Description: Martin Luther is hiding out in the castle of Prince
Frederick of Wittenberg who also opposes the Catholic Church. Martin
Luther tells the Prince he is working on translating a copy of the Bible from
Latin into German so that true Christians can interpret the Bible for
themselves instead of relying on corrupt church clergy. Suddenly, a friend of
the Prince’s tells the two to come listen – that the Holy Roman Emperor,
Charles V, who is the leader of the area has an edict, or rule to share with
everyone in his kingdom and that they should go to the palace and secretly
listen to this edict without being seen. At the castle of Charles the V they
hide and watch him issue the Edict of Worms. He reads from a scroll that
reads “Martin Luther is an outlaw and heretic and must be captured.
Anyone who kills him will not face penalty.” Prince Frederick wisks Luther
away. A number of other local princes denouce the edict and follow Luther’s
ideas. Because of their protests they are called Protestants and declare their
allegiance to God and not the Holy Roman Emperor.
Scene 5: The Counter
Reformation
Scene 5: The Counter-Reformation
• Characters: 3-4 leaders of the Catholic Church who realize they need to
make some changes, one missionary, and some new recruit(s) to the
Church.
• Scene: In 1545, leaders in the Catholic Church call for an emergency
meeting in Northern Italian city of Trent. Members meet together to
respond to the criticisms brought about against the Church as a result of
the Protestant Reformation. “We must decided how to bring back
followers to the Catholic Church. So many Christians are leaving the
Catholic Church and joining the new Protestant denominations. First,
they discussed how to reform the corruption and then how to save
important traditions. They also decided to discontinue the selling of
indulgences and the practice of simony (selling of church jobs).
Additionally, worship was standardized, new education was introduced
for clergy, and much corruption within the leaders were eliminated. In
the final scene you see these leaders sending missionaries out to recruit
new members or people abroad to the newly improved Catholic Church.