By Rev. Seth D. Jones,
Church historians date the beginning of the Protestant Reformation on October 31 st ,1531. October 31 st is celebrated yearly in Protestant churches around the world as the daywhen the Reformation began. Before this day in 1531, there was only the CatholicChurch. Reformation Day is the day we remember Martin Luther, a deeply devotedBenedictine monk and professor, who posted 95 theses on the door of the WittenbergChurch door (the bulletin board of the day). These theses were reasoned statementsbased on Biblical texts which excoriated the Catholic Church, the primary and onlyspiritual power in Europe at that time, over numerous acts such as charging poor peoplefor indulgences (a church tax guaranteeing minimal stays in Purgatory), mistreatmentof church clergy in small towns, misuse of the offices of priest, bishop, cardinal, andPope, and other points of theological and practical concern.
As a result, Martin Luther was brought to trial for heresy and insubordination. Lutherlost his trial and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. However, Germany inthe day was not a single country but a collection of burgs, fiefdoms, and principalities.Many of the princes and lords were not happy with giving so much money to the Vaticanin Rome. These civic leaders rallied around Luther and began to create a motivated blocof financially, nationally, and spiritually motivated followers.
What followed was a many year disassociation from the Catholic Church. What we callthe Protestant Reformation was really a rapid unraveling of control by the CatholicChurch and its political arm, the Holy Roman Empire. This unraveling was fueled byrage against feudal systems still in place, which oppressed the rural and poorpopulations; moralistic campaigns by the Church which singled out the powerless butoverlooked the powerful; and, most of all, the first mass production of writings by theGutenberg Press. The 95 Theses was the first mass produced printing press release inWestern history.
I like to say that Martin Luther saw the beautiful Rose Window in the south transept ofthe Notre Dame Cathedral, found a very large rock, and threw it through the center ofthat window. The 95 Theses, and the fallout that came from it, shattered the ‘unified’Catholic Church into a thousand little pieces. The Protestant movement that shatteringcreated has led to many, many denominations and associations. Like a hologram,though, in each shard of that once unified whole is the reflection of the one truth claimthat ties all Christians together–Jesus buried and resurrected.
Rev. Seth Jones is the pastor of Rockland Congregational Church in Rockland, Maine. He is a Congregational pastor and has also pastored a church in Yellowstone National Park. Before that, Rev. Seth worked in the financial industry for many years, taught Tai Chi Chuan and still does, lived in a commune in Minneapolis, got an MA in Religious Studies, received a BA from a small midwestern Lutheran college in Minnesota, and grew up in western Wisconsin. He is the proud father of a nonbinary trans child who lives in New York City, and is happily married to the woman he met in a college Shakespeare class. Rev. Seth is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics at Portland Seminary.
South Rose Window of Notre-Dame, Paris. Photo by Suaudeau
