The Reformation In An Hour

From the time of St. Peter to 1521 AD, the Roman Catholic Church was the only "official" Christian church in Western Europe. It provided the only means through which a person could expect to have access to God and gain entry into Heaven. The Church however was not immune to corruption, and there had been several attempts to rein in Church leaders who were often distracted from their pastoral duties with more earth-bound interests such as the gathering of power and wealth. Yet, the one Church remained intact and unchanged in its ways throughout the Middle Ages into the Renaissance and up to the Reformation.

In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther began his feverish quest for salvation and church reform, and started an evangelical movement which spread beyond the borders of sixteenth-century Germany. This movement is the first of three distinct developments of the Protestant Reformation. Luther's (and others') evangelical revolution evolved into personal causes for rulers and monarchs, who sought to impose their religious will upon their subjects, and signified a second phase, the reformation "from above". During the Reformation's third, confessional (religious wars) period, in which princes, territories and national churches conducted wars of belief, Protestants migrated to and colonized new settlements, and created their own methods of preserving the faith.

The era of the Protestant Reformation begins in 1517 and, by 1648, becomes fully shaped in Europe as a movement embodying several new independent churches, revolutionized systems of belief, and geopolitical changes that affected monarchs and their subjects throughout the region. By the mid-17th century, the original one Church had become several different churches without any hope of reuniting.

This, in an hour, is the story of The Reformation.

"HISTORY FOR BUSY PEOPLE"

*History In An Hour* is a series of apps to help the reader learn the basic facts of a given subject area with as little effort as possible. During the Second World War, for example, exactly what was Dunkirk about, or the Normandy Landings? During the Cold War, what happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis, why was there a wall in Berlin?

It's all here in a straight narrative.

No embedded links to divert your attention, nor a daunting book of 600 pages with a 35 page introduction. Just straight in, to the point, sixty minutes, done. Then, having absorbed the basics, you may feel inspired to explore further.

Quick, easy-to-read and engaging history... apps to read in an hour.

*The Reformation In An Hour* is just one of a rapidly growing number of titles in the History In An Hour series.

Search iTunes for all titles by Collca.