S
"The West: Reformation and Counter-Reformation".
"During the centuries following A.D. 1054, the growing distinction between East and West
was indelibly marked in history. The East continued in the fullness of New Testament faith,
worship, and practice, maintaining the apostolic foundations. Rome headed toward a more
rational or scholastic faith. And she became a political superpower in the Western world.
The Western or Roman Church also began the Crusades from which would come the
deepest and most painful wounds ever inflicted by the West upon the East - and perhaps
the most difficult to heal. Then, less than five centuries after Rome committed herself to
her course of unilateral action in doctrine and practice, another upheaval was festering --
this time not next door in the East but inside the Western gates themselves.
"Though many in the West, including some of the popes, had spoken out against many
of the growing changes in Roman doctrine and practice, the tide of decline had not been
stemmed. Now, a little-known German monk named Martin Luther inadvertently
launched an attack against certain Roman Catholic practices and ended up affecting world
history. His famous "Ninety-Five Theses", simply calling for debate on certain issues,
were nailed to the church door at Wittenberg in A.D. 1517. In a short time those theses
were signalling the start of what came to be called in the West the Protestant
Reformation. Luther twice sought an audience with the Pope but was denied, and in A.D.
1521 he was excommunicated from the Roman Church. He had intended no break with
Rome, only reformation of the Church. Rome's position was not to bend: Luther's was
"Here I Stand." The door to unity in the West slammed shut with a resounding crash.
"The protests of Luther spread like wildfire fanned by a raging wind. The reforms he
sought in Germany were soon accompanied by demands from Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich,
John Calvin in Geneva, and hundred of others all over Western Europe. Fueled by
numerous political, social, and economic factors, in addition to religious problems, the
Reformation penetrated into virtually every nook and cranny of the Roman Church. Its
Western ecclesiastical influence was significantly diminished as this massive division
erupted and grew. The ripple effect of that division continues even to our day.
"If trouble on the European continent was not enough, the Church of England was in the
process of going its own way as well. Henry VII, amidst his infamous marital problems.
replaced the Pope of Rome with himself as head of the Church of England. For only a few
short years would the Pope ever again have ascendancy in England. And the English
Church herself would come to be shattered by great division that would impact the
destiny of the United States and Canada.
"As decade followed decade in the West, the many branches of Protestantism took
increasingly diverse forms. There were even divisions which insisted they were neither
Protestant nor Roman Catholic. All seemed to share a dislike for the Bishop of Rome and
the practice of his Church, and most wanted far less centralized forms of leadership.
While some, such as the Lutherans and Anglicans, held on to a basic form of liturgy and
sacrament, others, such as the Reformed Churches and the more radical Anabaptists
and their descendants, questioned and rejected many biblical realities including
hierarchy, sacrament, and historic tradition (no matter when and whee they appeared in
history), thinking they were freeing themselves of Roman Catholicism.
"To this day, many sincere, professing Christians will reject even the biblical data which
speaks to the practice of the Christian Church, simply because they think such historic
practices are "too Catholic". In its zeal to regain purity, the Protestant movement
pursued an agenda of overreaction without even being aware of it.
"Thus, while retaining in varying degrees portions of foundational Christianity, neither
Protestantism nor Catholicism can lay historic claim to being the fullness of the New
Testament Church. In dividing from the Orthodox Church, Rome forfeited its place
as the genuine historic expression of the Church of the New Testament. In the divisions
of the Reformation, the Protestants -- as well-meaning, zealous, and correct as they
might have been -- failed to return to the New Testament Church."
(pages 54-56: Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith. Revised
and expanded edition. by Fr. Peter E. Gillquist. (1992). Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press.).
God save us all in Christ the Messiah and Most High LORD over all. Amen.
In Erie PA USA Scott R. Harrington
"During the centuries following A.D. 1054, the growing distinction between East and West
was indelibly marked in history. The East continued in the fullness of New Testament faith,
worship, and practice, maintaining the apostolic foundations. Rome headed toward a more
rational or scholastic faith. And she became a political superpower in the Western world.
The Western or Roman Church also began the Crusades from which would come the
deepest and most painful wounds ever inflicted by the West upon the East - and perhaps
the most difficult to heal. Then, less than five centuries after Rome committed herself to
her course of unilateral action in doctrine and practice, another upheaval was festering --
this time not next door in the East but inside the Western gates themselves.
"Though many in the West, including some of the popes, had spoken out against many
of the growing changes in Roman doctrine and practice, the tide of decline had not been
stemmed. Now, a little-known German monk named Martin Luther inadvertently
launched an attack against certain Roman Catholic practices and ended up affecting world
history. His famous "Ninety-Five Theses", simply calling for debate on certain issues,
were nailed to the church door at Wittenberg in A.D. 1517. In a short time those theses
were signalling the start of what came to be called in the West the Protestant
Reformation. Luther twice sought an audience with the Pope but was denied, and in A.D.
1521 he was excommunicated from the Roman Church. He had intended no break with
Rome, only reformation of the Church. Rome's position was not to bend: Luther's was
"Here I Stand." The door to unity in the West slammed shut with a resounding crash.
"The protests of Luther spread like wildfire fanned by a raging wind. The reforms he
sought in Germany were soon accompanied by demands from Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich,
John Calvin in Geneva, and hundred of others all over Western Europe. Fueled by
numerous political, social, and economic factors, in addition to religious problems, the
Reformation penetrated into virtually every nook and cranny of the Roman Church. Its
Western ecclesiastical influence was significantly diminished as this massive division
erupted and grew. The ripple effect of that division continues even to our day.
"If trouble on the European continent was not enough, the Church of England was in the
process of going its own way as well. Henry VII, amidst his infamous marital problems.
replaced the Pope of Rome with himself as head of the Church of England. For only a few
short years would the Pope ever again have ascendancy in England. And the English
Church herself would come to be shattered by great division that would impact the
destiny of the United States and Canada.
"As decade followed decade in the West, the many branches of Protestantism took
increasingly diverse forms. There were even divisions which insisted they were neither
Protestant nor Roman Catholic. All seemed to share a dislike for the Bishop of Rome and
the practice of his Church, and most wanted far less centralized forms of leadership.
While some, such as the Lutherans and Anglicans, held on to a basic form of liturgy and
sacrament, others, such as the Reformed Churches and the more radical Anabaptists
and their descendants, questioned and rejected many biblical realities including
hierarchy, sacrament, and historic tradition (no matter when and whee they appeared in
history), thinking they were freeing themselves of Roman Catholicism.
"To this day, many sincere, professing Christians will reject even the biblical data which
speaks to the practice of the Christian Church, simply because they think such historic
practices are "too Catholic". In its zeal to regain purity, the Protestant movement
pursued an agenda of overreaction without even being aware of it.
"Thus, while retaining in varying degrees portions of foundational Christianity, neither
Protestantism nor Catholicism can lay historic claim to being the fullness of the New
Testament Church. In dividing from the Orthodox Church, Rome forfeited its place
as the genuine historic expression of the Church of the New Testament. In the divisions
of the Reformation, the Protestants -- as well-meaning, zealous, and correct as they
might have been -- failed to return to the New Testament Church."
(pages 54-56: Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith. Revised
and expanded edition. by Fr. Peter E. Gillquist. (1992). Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press.).
God save us all in Christ the Messiah and Most High LORD over all. Amen.
In Erie PA USA Scott R. Harrington