Reformation and Upheaval Vocabulary
Jesuits
Members of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic order founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1534. They played an important part in the Catholic Reformation and helped create conduits of trade and knowledge between Asia and Europe.
Predestination
The doctrine that God has decided all things beforehand, including which people will be eternally saved
Heresy
a denial of Church teachings
Heretic
a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church
Excommunicate
the taking away of a person's right of membership in a Christian church
annul
to declare or make legally invalid or void
Peace of Ausburg
A 1555 agreement declaring that the religion of each German state would be decided by its ruler
Reformation
A 16th-century movement for religious reform, leading to the founding of Christian churches that rejected the pope's authority
Inquisition
A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy - especially the one active in Spain during the 1400s.
Calvinism
A body of religious teachings based on the ideas of the reformer John Calvin
Theocracy
A government controlled by religious leaders
Nation-state
A independent geopolitical unit of people having a common culture and identity
Council of Trent
A meeting of Roman Catholic leaders, called by Pope Paul III to rule on doctrines criticized by the Protestant reformers.
Lutheran
A member of a Protestant church founded on the teachings of Martin Luther
Presbyterian
A member of a Protestant church governed by presbyters (elders) and founded on the teachings of John Knox
Indulgence
A pardon releasing a person from punishment due for a sin
Huldrych Zwingli
Catholic priest from Zurich who attacked abuses in the Catholic Church
Huguenots
Followers of John Calvin; French Protestants
Martin Luther
German monk whose protests against the Catholic Church in 1517 (the 95 Theses) led to calls for reform and to the movement known as the Reformation
Anabaptist
In the reformation, a member of a Protestant group that believed in baptizing only those persons who were old enough to decide to be Christians and believed in the separation of church and state
Henry VIII
King of England from 1509 to 1547; his desire to annul his marriage led to a conflict with the pope, England's break with the Roman Catholic Church, and its embrace of Protestantism. Henry established the Church of England in 1532
Elizabeth I
Queen of England from 1558 to 1603; a skillful politician and diplomat, she reasserted Protestant supremacy in England
John Knox
Scottish preacher who adopted Calvin's ideas and incorporated them into what became known as Presbyterianism
Ignatius of Loyola
Spanish churchman and founder of the Jesuits (1534); this order of Roman Catholic priests proved an effective force for reviving Catholicism during the Catholic Reformation.
Catholic Reformation
a 16th century movement in which the Roman Catholic Church sought to make changes in response to the Protestant Reformation
Protestant
member of a Christian church founded on the principles of the Reformation
Anglican
relating to the Church of England