Before the period of the reformation, the pope had in the most audacious manner declared himself the sovereign of the whole world. All the parts of it which were inhabited by those who were not Christians he accounted to be inhabited by nobody; and if Christians took it into their heads to possess any of those countries, he gave them full liberty to make war upon the inhabitants without any provocation, and to treat them with no more humanity than they would have treated wild beasts. The countries, if conquered, were to be parcelled out according to the pope's pleasure; and dreadful was the situation of that prince who refused to obey the will of the holy pontiff. In consequence of this extraordinary authority which the pope had assumed, he at last granted to the king of Portugal all the countries to the eastward of Cape Non in Africa, and to the king of Spain all the countries to the westward of it. In this was completed in his person the character of Antichrist sitting in the temple of God, and shewing himself as God. He had long before assumed the supremacy belonging to the Deity himself in spiritual matters; and now he assumed the same supremacy in worldly matters also, giving the extreme regions of the earth to whom he pleased. Every thing was quiet, every heretic exterminated, and the whole Christian world supinely acquiesced in the enormous absurdities which were inculcated upon them; when, in 1517, the empire of su perstition began to decline, and has continued to do so ever since. The person who made the first attack on the extravagant superstitions then prevailing was Martin Luther, the occasion of which is fully related under the article LUTHERANS. The reformation began in the city of Wittemberg, in Saxony, but was not long confined either to that city or province. In 1520, the Franciscan friars, who had the care of promulgating indulgences in Switzerland, were opposed by Zuinglius, a man not inferior in understanding and knowlege to Luther himself. He proceeded with the greatest vigour, even at the very beginning, to overturn the whole fabric of popery: but his opinions were declared erroneous by the universities of Cologne and Louvain. Notwithstanding this, the magistrates of Zurich approved of his proceedings; and that whole canton, together with those of Bern, Basil, and Chaffausen, embraced his opinions. In Germany, Luther continued to make great advances, without being in the least intimidated by the ecclesiastical censures which were thundered against him from all quarters, he being continually protected by the German princes, either from religious or political motives, so that his adversaries could not accomplish his destruction as they had done that of others. Melancthon, Carlostadius, and other men of eminence, also greatly forwarded the work of against them, which to this day the Catholics urge with great force; namely, that the Protestants are so divided, that it is impossible to know who are right or wrong; and that there cannot be a stronger proof than these divisions that the and enthusiasm on the other. See ANABAPTISTS. These proceedings, however, were checked. Luther and Me Luther; and in all probability the popish hierarchy would have soon come to an end, in the northern parts of Europe at least, had not the emperor Charles V given a severe check to the progress of reformation in Germany. During the confinement of Lu-whole doctrine is false. To these ther in a castle near Warburg, the intestine divisions were added the reformation advanced rapidly; al- horrors of a civil war, occasioned most every city in Saxony embrac-by oppression on the one hand, ing the Lutheran opinions. At this time an alteration in the established forms of worship was first ventured upon at Wittemberg, by abolishing the celebration of pri-lancthon were ordered by the vate masses, and by giving the cup as well as the bread to the laity in the Lord's supper. In a short time, however, the new opinions were condemned by the university of Paris, and a refutation of them was attempted by Henry VIII, of England. But Luther was not to be thus intimidated. He publish-in 1522; on the reading of which ed his animadversions on both with as much acrimony as if he had been refuting the meanest adversary; and a controversy managed by such illustrious antagonists drew a general attention, and the reformers daily gained new converts both in France and England. elector of Saxony to draw up a body of laws relating to the form of ecclesiastical government, the method of public worship, &c., which was to be proclaimed by heralds throughout his dominions. He, with Melancthon, had translated part of the New Testament the people were astonished to find how different the laws of Christ were to those which they had imposed by the pope, and to which they had been subject. The princes and the people saw that Luther's opinions were founded on truth. They openly renounced the papal supremacy, and the happy morn of the reformation was welcomed by those who had long sat in superstitious darkness. But while the efforts of Luther were thus every where crowned with success, the divisions began to prevail which have since so much agitated the reformed churches.- This open resolution so exThe first dispute was between Lu-asperated the patrons of popery, ther and Zuinglius concerning the that they intended to make war manner in which the body and on the Lutherans, who prepared blood of Christ were present in the for defence. In 1526, a diet was eucharist. Both parties maintained assembled at Spire, when the emtheir tenets with the utmost obsti-peror's ambassadors were desired nacy; and, by their divisions, first to use their utmost endeavours to gave their adversaries an argument suppress all disputes about reli gion, and to insist upon the ri-peror paid no regard, looking gorous execution of the sentence upon it as unjust to condemn, unwhich had been pronounced against heard, a set of men who had alLuther at Worms. But this opi-ways approved themselves good nion was opposed, and the diet citizens. The emperor, therefore, proved favourable to the reforma- set out for Germany, having altion. But this tranquillity which ready appointed a diet of the they in consequence enjoyed did empire to be held at Augsburg, not last long. In 1529, a new diet where he arrived, and found there was formed, and the power which a full assembly of the members of had been granted to princes of the diet. Here the gentle and pamanaging ecclesiastical affairs till cific Melancthon had been ordered the meeting of a general council to draw up a confession of their was now revoked, and every faith, which he did, and expressed change declared unlawful that his sentiments and doctrine with should be introduced into the doc- the greatest elegance and pertrine, discipline, or worship, of the spicuity; and thus came forth to established religion, before the de- view the famous confession of Augs termination of the approaching burg. council was known. This decree This was attempted to be rewas considered as iniquitous and futed by the divines of the church intolerable by several members of of Rome, and a controversy took the diet; and when they found place, which the emperor endeathat all their arguments and re-voured to reconcile, but without monstrances were in vain, they success: all hopes of bringing entered a solemn protest against the decree on the 19th of April, and appealed to the emperor and a future council. Hence arose the denomination of Protestants, which from that time has been given to those who separate from the church of Rome. Charles V was in Italy, to whom the dissenting princes sent ambassadors to lay their grievances before him; but they met with no encouraging reception from him. The pope and the emperor were in close union at this time, and they had interviews upon the business. The pope thought the emperor to be too clement, and alleged that it was his duty to execute vengeance upon the heretical faction. To this, however, the emVOL. II. 3 A about a coalition seemed utterly desperate. The votaries of the church of Rome, therefore, had recourse to the powerful arguments of imperial edicts and the force of the secular arm; and, on the 19th of November, a decree was issued by the emperor's orders every way injurious to the reformers. Upon which they assembled at Smalcald, where they concluded a league of mutual defence against all aggressors, by which they formed the Protestant states into one body, and resolved to apply to the kings of France and England, to implore them to patronize their new confedearcy. The king of France, being the avowed rival of the emperor, determined secretly to cherish those. 1 A sparks of political discord; and that purpose. The pontiff (Clement the king of England, highly incens- VII), whom the history of past ed against Charles, in complais- councils filled with the greatest ance to whom the pope had long uneasiness, endeavoured to retard retarded, and now openly op- what he could not with decency posed, his long solicited divorce, refuse. At last, in 1533, he made a was equally disposed to strengthen proposal, by his legate, to assemble a league which might be rendered a council at Mantua, Placentia, or formidable to the emperor. Be- Bologna; but the Protestants reing, however, so taken up with fused their consent to the nominathe scheme of divorce, and of abo- tion of an Italian council, and inlishing the papal jurisdiction in sisted that a controversy which had England, he had but little leisure its rise in the heart of Germany to attend to them. Meanwhile should be determined within the Charles was convinced that it was limits of the empire. The pope, not a time to extirpate heresy by by his usual artifices, eluded the violence; and at last terms of pa-performance of his own promise; cification were agreed upon at and, in 1534, was cut off by Nuremburg, and ratified solemnly death, in the midst of his stratain the diet at Ratisbon; and affairs gems. His successor Paul III so ordered by Divine Providence, seemed to shew less reluctance to that the Protestants obtained terms the assembling a general council, which amounted almost to a to-and, in the year 1535, expressed leration of their religion. his inclination to convoke one at Soon after the conclusion of Mantua; and, in the year folthe peace at Nuremberg, died John lowing, actually sent circular let · elector of Saxony, who was suc- ters for that purpose through all ceeded by his son John Frederic, the states and kingdoms under his a prince of invincible fortitude and jurisdiction. This council was magnanimity, but whose reign was summoned by a bull issued out on little better than one continued the second of June, 1536, to meet train of disappointments and ca- at Mantua the following year: lamities. The religious truce, how-but several obstacles prevented its ever, gave new vigour to the re-meeting; one of the most mateformation. Those who had hither-rial of which was, that Frederick to been only secret enemies to the duke of Mantua had no inclinaRoman pontiff, now publicly threw |tion to receive at once so many off his yoke; and various cities guests, some of them very turbuand provinces of Germany enlisted lent, into the place of his resithemselves under the religious dence. On the other hand, the standards of Luther. On the oth- Protestants were firmly persuaded, er hand, as the emperor had now that, as the council was assembled no other hope of terminating the in Italy, and by the authority of religious disputes but by the meet-the pope alone, the latter must ing of a general council, he re-have had an undue influence in peated his requests to the pope for that assembly; of consequence, that all things must have been car- || deliberations which were designed to heal it. The pope ordered his legate to declare to the diet of Spire, assembled in 1542, that he would, according to the promise he had already made, assemble a ge ried by the votaries of Rome. For this reason they assembled at Smalcald in the year 1537, where they solemnly protested against this partial and corrupt council; and, at the same time, had a new summa-neral council, and that Trent ry of their doctrine drawn up by should be the place of its meeting, Luther, in order to present it to if the diet had no objection to that the assembled bishops, if it should city. Ferdinand, and the princes be required of them. This sum- who adhered to the cause of the mary, which had the title of The pope, gave their consent to this Articles of Smalcald, is commonly proposal; but it was vehemently joined with the creeds and confes-objected to by the Protestants, sions of the Lutheran church. both because the council was summoned by the authority of the pope only, and also because the place was within the jurisdiction of the pope; whereas they desired a free council, which should not be biassed by the dictates nor awed by the proximity of the pontiff. But this protestation produced no effect. Paul III per After the meeting of the general council in Mantua was thus prevented, many schemes of accommodation were proposed both by the emperor and the Protestants; but, by the artifices of the church of Rome, all of them came to nothing. In 1541, the emperor appointed a meeting at Worms on the subject of religion, sisted in his purpose, and issued out between persons of piety and his circular letters for the convolearning, chosen from the con- cation of the council, with the apap tending parties. This conference, probation of the emperor. In however, was, for certain reasons, justice to this pontiff, however, it removed to the diet that was to be must be observed, that he shewed held at Ratisbon the same year, himself not to be averse to every and in which the principal subject reformation. He appointed four of deliberation was a memorial cardinals, and three other persons presented by a person unknown, eminent for their learning, to draw containing a project of peace. up a plan for the reformation of But the conference produced no the church in general, and of the other effect than a mutual agree-church of Rome in particular. ment of the contending parties to refer their matters to a general council, or, if the meeting of such a council should be prevented, to the next German diet. This resolution was rendered ineffectual by a variety of incidents, which widened the breach, and put off to a farther day the The reformation proposed in this plan was, indeed, extremely superficial and partial; yet it contained some particulars which could scarcely have been expected from those who composed it. All this time the emperor had been labouring to persuade the Protestants to consent to the |