What happened to Martin Luther after he challenged the Catholic Church?
Luther refused to recant, and on January 3, 1521 Pope Leo excommunicated Martin Luther from the Catholic Church. Luther hid in the town of Eisenach for the next year, where he began work on one of his major life projects, the translation of the New Testament into German, which took him 10 months to complete.
Why did Luther not want to challenge the Catholic Church?
He did not believe the Catholic Church had the power to pardon people sins. Rather, Luther thought that salvation could be achieved only through God’s mercy. No one needed to seek or buy salvation through the church. By nailing his theses to the church door, Luther was not acting like a heretic.
Why was Martin Luther disillusioned with the Church of Rome?
In 1517 Martin Luther challenged the Church of Rome concerning practices which were contrary to Scripture. After he found his salvation, he started to question certain Roman Catholic practices. For this, the Church called him up for heresy and excommunicated him.
How did the Catholic Church react to Martin Luther?
Luther believed that salvation could be achieved through faith alone. The Church responded by labeling Luther a heretic, forbidding the reading or publication of his 95 Theses, and threatening Luther with excommunication. Luther refused to recant his beliefs.
How did the Catholic Church react to Martin Luther’s actions?
The Catholic Church reacted by banning all citizens of the Holy Roman Empire from supporting Lutheranism at the pain of having their property taken away. Luther was declared an outlaw, and an order for his arrest was made. He was protected by Frederic III while he continued his reform agenda.
Did Luther believe in purgatory?
Luther wrote in Question No. 211 in his expanded Small Catechism: “We should pray for ourselves and for all other people, even for our enemies, but not for the souls of the dead.” Luther, after he stopped believing in purgatory around 1530, openly affirmed the doctrine of soul sleep.