Editing Reformation (section)

=== Luther and the ''Ninety-five Theses'' ===

{{Main|Martin Luther|Ninety-five Theses}}

[[File:Martin Luther by Cranach-restoration.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A round-faced middle-aged man|''Portrait of Martin Luther'' (1529) by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]

[[Pope Leo X]] ({{reign|1513|1521}}) decided to complete the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.<ref>Huppert, Ann C. Year. "Envisioning New St. Peter's: Perspectiva, Drawings, and the Process of Design." ''University of Kansas Journal'', no. 160</ref> As the sale of certificates of indulgences had been a well-established method of papal fund raising, he announced new indulgences in the papal bull {{lang|la|Sacrosanctis}} in 1515. On the advice of the banker [[Jakob Fugger]] (d. 1525), he appointed the pluralist prelate [[Albert of Brandenburg]] (d. 1545) to supervise the sale campaign in Germany.{{refn|group=note|A member of the [[House of Hohenzollern|Hohenzollern dynasty]], Albert ruled the [[Archbishopric of Mainz|Archbishoprics of Mainz]] and [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg|Magdeburg]] and the [[Bishopric of Halberstadt]] simultaneously. He had borrowed money from Fugger to pay the fees to the Roman Curia for his appointment to the [[episcopal see|see]] of Mainz, and his share in the revenues from the sale of indulgences was expected to allow him to repay the loan.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=117}}}} The Dominican friar [[Johann Tetzel]] (d. 1519), a leading figure in the campaign, applied unusually aggressive marketing methods. A slogan attributed to him famously claimed that "As soon as the coin into the box rings, a soul from purgatory to heaven springs".{{sfn|Lindberg|2021|p=71}}{{sfn|Marshall|2009|p=15}} [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony|Frederick the Wise]], [[Prince-elector]] of Saxony ({{reign|1486|1525}}) forbade the campaign because the {{lang|la|Sacrosanctis}} suspended the sale of previous indulgences, depriving him of revenues that he had spent on his collection of [[relic]]s.{{refn|group=note|Frederick rebuilt the [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|castle church at Wittenberg]] to store his collection of nearly 20,000 relics. This collection was thought to include a straw from the stable of the [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]], the corpse of a [[Massacre of the Innocents|holy innocent]], and drops from the Virgin's [[breast milk]].{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=15}}}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=119}}

The campaign's vulgarity shocked many serious-minded believers,{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=119}} among them Martin Luther, a theology professor at the [[University of Wittenberg]] in Saxony.{{sfn|Marshall|2009|p=15}}{{sfn|Kolb|2006|p=41}} Born into a middle-class family, Luther entered an [[St. Augustine's Monastery (Erfurt)|Augustinian monastery]] after a heavy thunderstorm dreadfully reminded him the risk of sudden death and eternal damnation, but his anxiety about his sinfulness did not abate.{{sfn|Kolb|2006|pp=40–41}} His studies on the works of the Late Roman theologian [[Augustine of Hippo]] (d. 430) convinced him that those whom God chose as his elect received a gift of faith independently of their acts.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|pp=114, 116}} He first denounced the idea of justification through human efforts in his {{lang|la|Disputatio contra scholasticam theologiam}} ('Disputation against Scholastic Theology') in September 1517.{{sfn|Kaufmann|2023|p=70}}

On 31 October 1517, Luther addressed a letter to Albert of Brandenburg, stating that the clerics preaching the St. Peter's indulgences were deceiving the faithful, and attached his ''Ninety-five Theses'' to it. He questioned the efficacy of indulgences for the dead, although also stated "{{nowrap|If ...}} indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of the pope, {{nowrap|all ...}} doubts would be readily resolved".{{sfn|Kaufmann|2023|p=75}} Archbishop Albert ordered the theologians at the [[University of Mainz]] to examine the document. Tetzel, and the theologians [[Konrad Wimpina]] (d. 1531) and [[Johann Eck]] (d. 1543) were the first to associate some of Luther's propositions with Hussitism. The case was soon forwarded to the Roman Curia for judgement.{{sfn|Kaufmann|2023|pp=75–79}} Pope Leo remained uninterested, and mentioned the case as "a quarrel among friars".{{sfn|Marshall|2009|p=15}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=121}}