Protestantism at the Edges

On Mondays we want to encourage discussion about Church history. There’s a big difference between “Reformation” and “Secession.” Many Protestants think of one Reformation in which people decided to leave Rome and set up what they would view as “true Christianity.” Yet Gonzalez reminds us that at its heart “reformation” does not require departure. While there have been several reformational moves which resulted in the creation of new organizations outside of an existing church body, there have also been many reformational moves which did not result in a departure from the “parent” group. Here he discusses several reformational moves which remained within the context of the Roman church.

Mondays are for Church History - 11/14/16

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: The Reformation to the Present Day. Revised and Updated ed. Vol. 2. New York: HarperCollins, 2010b. Kindle Electronic Edition.
Chapter 13 “Protestantism at the Edges” Loc. 2428-2595.

Gonzalez again reminds the reader that the 16th century assumption was of a state religion, except among some groups (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2433). In this chapter he surveys several situations in which a religious minority proved important.

Near Seville, a monastery in Santiponce became a center of Protestant activity, smuggling books in barrels. This eventually led to the Reina-Valera translation of the Bible, recognized as a master work (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2470). In Italy a revival of the community founded by Peter Waldo, the Waldensians, re-emerged (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2478). The group continued to reconfigure itself despite opposition until it was granted a peace treaty in 1848 (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2507). Due to a famine, the group then spread to Latin America (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2514). In Hungary, an area dominated partially by Catholics and partially by Ottomans, there was an attempt to allow Catholicism, Lutheranism, the Reformed faith, and Unitarianism (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2536). By 1606 Protestantism was predominant. Conflicts between parties continued, resulting in a Catholic majority by the late 19th century (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2558). In Poland Calvinism made progress by the mid 1500s (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2573). After the mid 17th century, as a reaction to Russian Orthodoxy, Poland became more Roman Catholic (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 2588).

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