REFORMA'TION, the term applied by Protestants, universally, to denote the change from the Roman Catholic to the Protestant religion, which 'was first set on foot in Germany by Luther, A D. 1517, but had been begun in England by Wick liffe, and was afterwards completed by henry VIM who assumed the title of Head of the Church. Of all the errors, frauds, and superstitions of the church of Rome, the one which proved most injuri ous to religion and morals, and that which was most deplored by enlighter.ed and conscientious men, was the facility with which riches were allowed to purchase salvation! Wealth was invested in mon asteries, shrines, and ehantries; and few persons who had any property at their own disposal went out of the world with out bequeathing some of it to the clergy for saying masses, in number proportion ed to the amount of the bequest, tor the benefit of their souls. Thus were men taught to put. their trust in riches ; their wealth, being thus invested, became avail able to them beyond the grave ; and in whatever sins they indulged, provided they went through the proper forms and obtained a discharge, they might pur chase a. free passage ,through purgatory, or, at least, an abbreviation of the torn and a mitigation of its tarments while they lasted. But purgatory was not the only invisible world over which the au thority of the church extended ; for to the pope, as to the representative of St. Peter, it was pretended that the keys of heaven and hell were given ; a portion of this power was delegated to every priest, and they inculcated that the soul which de parted without confession and absolution, bore with it the weight of its deadly sins to sink it to perdition. To this let no add, that the arrogance of the priests had ex asperated the princes ; the encroachments of the mendicant friars did injury to the secular ecclesiastics ; and a thousand in nocent victims of the inquisition called for vengeance. Other causes also con spired to bring on the day of religious freedom : the means of information were vastly increased by tho art of printing; materials for thinking were Inid before the people by instructive works in the vulgar tongues ; the number of learned men increased ; and the intelligence for which the Reformation was to open a way began to act generally and powerfully. The centre of Enrope, together with the north, which had long submitted with re luctance to Rome, was ready to counte nance the boldest measures fur slinking off the priestly yoke, of which the best and most reflecting men had become itupatient. But no one anticipated the
quarter whence the first blow would he struck. Leo X. was created pope in 1513 ; and, little affected by the universal de sire for reformation in the church, he seemed placed at its head merely to em ploy its revenues in the gratification of his princely tastes. Albert, elector of Mentz and archbishop of Magdeburg, n. prince of a similar character, received from Leo, in 1516, permission to sell in dulgences within his own jurisdiction, on condition of sharing the profits with the pope. In this traffic, Albert employed, among others, John Tetzel, a Dominican monk of Leipsic, who went about from place to place, carrying on his trade with the most unblushing impudence, and ex tolling his certificates above the papal bulls (which required repentance,) as un conditional promises of the forgiveness of sins in time and eternity. Luther, an Augustine monk of Erfurt,—a man of powerful mind, and distinguished more for his deep piety and strong love of truth, than for deep erudition,—set his face against this abuse, first in his sermons, and afterwards in ninety-five theses, or questions, which ho affixed to the door of the church, Oct. 31, 1517. This led to several public disputations, in which he had such a decided advantage over his antagonists, that this man, who was hardly known before, became the public champion of all enlightened men who la mented the degeneracy of the church of Christ. The respect for the Roman court, which was perceptible in his earlier writ ings, he now discarded, as the injustice of the papal pretensions had become clear to him. The most complete success attend ed his endeavors ; and wherever the re formed religion found its way, the worship of tied recovered that simplicity, and warmth, and sincerity, which had char acterized it among the first Christians. Religion was no longer a mere bubject of the imagination, but appealed to the rea son and feelings of men, and invited close investigation. The reformation also had an important influence on morals. While the reformers abolished the principle of blind obedience to the pope and other ec clesiastical dignitaries, denied the merit of penances, fasts, and alms, and rejected the possibility of acts of supererogation, by which saints had enriched the treasury of the church, they again awakened the smothered moral feelings of men, and in troduced that more elevated morality which requires holiness of heart :mil pu rity of conduct.