On January 3, 1521, Martin Luther found himself excommunicated by the pope.
What had he done?
Many things… according to the Pope.
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther published his Nintey-five Theses, also known as Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences. These Theses were a list of protests Luther had against the Catholic Church. He intended to engage in a theological dialogue about the Catholic Church. But, instead, he started the Protestant Reformation.
On June 15, 1520, Pope Leo X made his first move and officially issued the bull Exsurge Domine (“Arise Oh Lord”). This document stated that forty-one of Luther’s 95 theses were heresy. The Pope gave Luter sixty days to recant his words and another sixty to inform the Papacy of his cooperation.
Luther did respond. In November, he published a treatise titled Assertion of All the Articles Wrongly Condemned in the Papal Bull. Then, on December 10, 1520, sixty days after he received the bull from the Pope, Luther publicly burned a copy of the Bull Pope Leo X had sent him. As a result, the pope followed through on his threat and excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church on January 3, 1521.
Leave a Reply