This Day in World History
January 3, 1521
Luther excommunicated by Catholic Church
On January 3, 1521, Pope Leo X issued the papal bull Decet Romanum pontificem (“It pleases the Roman Pontiff”), which excommunicated Martin Luther, a German theologian and monk who had been causing the Roman Catholic Church no end of trouble since 1517. With that, the Pope cast Luther out of the Catholic Church—and thereby helped spur the development of the Lutheran church and the Protestant Reformation.
The trouble had begun back on October 31, 1517, when Luther sent his 95 Theses, protesting several Church practices and doctrines, to the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg. By the next summer, Church authorities began to call Luther’s views heretical, though it took three years before Leo X moved formally against him. On June 15, 1520, he issued the bull Exsurge Domine (“Arise Oh Lord”) stating that 41 sentences in Luther’s 95 Theses were heresy.
The Pope gave Luther 60 days to recant these words and another 60 to inform the papacy of his cooperation. If not, the bull said, Luther would be excommunicated.
Luther at first thought the bull might be a trick created by enemies. Once he became convinced the document was indeed from the pope, he attacked it. In November, he published a treatise titled Assertion of All the Articles Wrongly Condemned in the Papal Bull, in which he defended his views—and called the Pope the Antichrist. Meanwhile, Luther’s own works were being burned by supporters of the Pope.
On December 10, sixty days after he had received the bull, Luther summoned his supporters to a gathering in Wittenberg, Germany, and had them build a bonfire. Into it they cast books of canon, or Church, law and Church-supported theological writings. To punctuate his defiance, Luther added a copy of Exsurge Domine to the fire. That response prompted Leo to carry out his threat and issue the excommunication.
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What did Martin luther do wrong to be excommunicated?
What issues did Martin Luther raise to warrant his excommunication? What did he find in Catholicism that caused his resentment towards the Roman Catholic Churc? Any help please?
He nailed his thesis to the door of the church basically, saying that salvation was through Christ alone! And not what the pope said it was, through all the rtuals of the Catholic church. Back then peep didn’t have Bibles to read for themselves and only the Pope or priest were able to preach the word and that word was whatever the the Pope declared it to be. Kind if like today. Luther took off the church hunted him down eventually caught him and killed him.
David Clark’s explanation is grossly erroneous. The Catholic Church has always taught that salvation is through Christ alone. Plus it has never taught that ritualistic practice saves. That’s absurd. At the time of Luther’s excommunication, the printed Bible had been in existence for about 70 years. Also, the Pope and the clergy were protectors of centuries of established theology developed by the concensus of the leaders of the Church guided by the Holy Spirit.The Pope was not a one man band of individual judgement. He stood on the shoulders of those like Augustine of Hippo and John Chrysostom. Luther was excommunicated because he would not recant his errors like “Sola Fide,” that faith alone justifies or that the individual is the arbiter of truth. Catholics hold that faith that does not manifest itself though the practice of good works is dead and profits you nothing. It also holds that the Holy Spirit guides the faithful to all truth in union with the community of the Church, the Body of Christ. You can read all 50 objections to Luther’s teaching here: http://m.ncregister.com/blog/darmstrong/50-reasons-why-martin-luther-was-excommunicated#.W4vs76SRXYV
David Clark is very right:
Luther’s Five Solas:
Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”): The Bible alone is our highest authority.
Sola Fide (“faith alone”): We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
Sola Gratia (“grace alone”): We are saved by the grace of God alone.
Solus Christus (“Christ alone”): Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.
Soli Deo Gloria (“to the glory of God alone”): We live for the glory of God alone.
Solas 1 only the Bible because the Catholic Church until now give to the Bible a 2nd, 3rd…place. And can confirm it when you speak to the Catholics about the Bible and don’t have a clue because the most of them don’t read it. They follow dogmas.
Solas 2 Faith ONLY in Jesus, mean ONLY not Maria and any other “Saints” as the Catholic do when they pray to them for protection and….
Solas 3 only Grace, mean ONLY and does not include any of the Catholics rituals that are anti biblical.
Solas 4 Jesus our ONLY Saviour so don’t need any other Saints, Only JESUS said “I am the way the truth and the live. No ones comes to the Father except through me” Never mentioned anybody else ONLY him the saviour. Never mentioned Maria or any Saints ONLY HIM
Solas 5 Glory ONLY to God, ALL to God through ONLY Jesus.
Never mentioned give Glory to a representation of God as the Catholics do with the Pope. The Bible never mentioned any God representative. 1 Timothy 2:5 For them in one God. And one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Chris. John 5:44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God. Exodus 20:4 You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water below.
The Catholicism as Luther said is clearly the anticrist based church