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Reformation Timeline

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

1517

Biblical studies professor Martin Luther finds out that another religious leader has supposedly told followers that buying an indulgence, or making payments to the Roman Catholic Church, was a way to obtain forgiveness of a person’s sins. Luther writes the Ninety-five Theses. This document criticizes the selling of indulgences. Protestants consider publication of the theses to be the beginning of the Reformation.

1521

Luther's bonfireMartin Luther burning the papal bull that condemned his various writings, 1520.
© Photos.com/Thinkstock

The pope excommunicates Luther. In other words the pope throws Luther out of the church. Luther begins to translate the Bible into German. Before this the commonly used Bible was in Latin. Priests understand Latin, but most other people do not.

1522

The Reformation spreads to Switzerland. Former priest Huldrych Zwingli is its leader there. Zwingli opposes religious fasting and believes priests should be allowed to marry. He and Luther agree on some but not all theological matters.

1525

Luther publicly disagrees with other religious reformers on issues of theology. The reform movement splinters. Reformers called Anabaptists emerge. They believe in pacifism, adult baptism, and separation of church and state. Quakers, Baptists, Mennonites, and Hutterites all have their origins in the Anabaptist movement.

1531

Laurentius Petri becomes a Protestant archbishop in Sweden. He is one of the leaders of the Reformation in that country. Eventually, most of Sweden converts to Lutheranism.

1534

Hans Holbein the Younger: portrait of Henry VIIIHenry VIII, painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1540.
© duncan1890—DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images

England’s King Henry VIII breaks with the pope. Henry establishes the Anglican church with himself at its head.

1536

In Switzerland French lawyer John Calvin publishes Institutes of the Christian Religion. It becomes one of the most important documents of the Reformation.

1541

Petri and others publish the first Swedish translation of the Bible.

1545

St. Ignatius of LoyolaSt. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order, was a leader of the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. The engraving of 1621 by Lucas Vorsterman is after a painting by Peter Paul Rubens.
Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The pope organizes the Council of Trent. This group passes reforms of the Roman Catholic Church. The council is part of the Counter-Reformation, an attempt to improve and renew the church. As a result priests receive more education and better training. Eventually, most of France and Poland and parts of Germany change from Protestant back to Roman Catholic.

1547

John Knox establishes the Protestant religion in Scotland.

1579

Italian reformer Faustus Socinus moves to Poland and establishes what will become the Unitarian movement.

1618

The Thirty Years’ War begins, partly for religious reasons. Much of Europe becomes involved in the struggle between Roman Catholic, Calvinist, and Lutheran powers. The war eventually costs about eight million lives and redraws the map of Europe.

Reformation Key Facts

Reformation | Key Facts

Reformation Causes and Effects

Reformation | Causes & Effects