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