Rome only authorized the sale of specific indulgences to purchase in , while the doctrine of purgatory itself was not affirmed until Consequently, the practice was open to scholarly debate at the time of the Reformation. Tetzel had a long history as an indulgence preacher prior to the controversy with Luther.
Between and , he would preach indulgences in ten different German cities. He was first commissioned to preach jubilee indulgences for three years under the auspices of the Teutonic Knights of Livonia, who had obtained the right to sell indulgences in Magdeburg, Bremen, and Riga from Pope Alexander VI. Albrecht was already bishop of the diocese of Magdeburg, but sought a second see in Mainz. In order to pay the fines levied for his pluralism occupation of a second bishopric , Albrecht obtained a sizeable loan from the Fugger bankers in Augsburg.
Leo X authorized the sale of indulgences to repay the loan to the Fuggers and help subsidize the rebuilding of St. The pope published a bull commissioning the sale and Tetzel—prior in Leipzig since —was conscripted to preach it.
The closest Tetzel would come was St. Indulgences were sweeping across the land, and John Diezel, or Tetzel, led the banner for the Roman Church. He had entered the Dominican order, taken the degree of Bachelor in , and received numerous honors for his work by the Roman Church.
Tetzel had a patter that he followed whenever entering a town in order to sell indulgences. He played upon the hearts of the people, as well as their superstitions and ignorance. It was visual as well as speech oriented.
He promised four graces to those who would buy an indulgence for the building of St. Those buying the indulgence dropped the coin into the chest. No one was allowed to take the money, lest the hand of the receiver would prove unfaithful. He was a con-man in priestly garbs.
For instance, he refused to absolve a rich lady unless she would pay one hundred florins in advance. Though Luther would be the stalwart champion against indulgences soon enough, many of the common towns people were aware of the inconsistencies that could be perceived around indulgences. One case my favorite is of the shoemaker. His wife had died and he was asked if he had a mass for her. The shoemaker replied he had not because he bought an indulgence that freed her from such.
His witty reply to the court was that if mass was still necessary, then the Pope would be deemed a deceiver based on the indulgence, and if she had not gone straight to heaven upon her death, then it is the priest that had deceived him.
Tetzel set in motion that Reformation, in that he was the gasoline that set ablaze the torch of Luther. By his unashamed exploitation of the indulgences, he cleared the way for sound doctrine to advance and stomp out the nonsense of merited salvation.
One nobleman who had heard Tetzel was upset with his preaching, conned him out of an indulgence for any sin he committed, then had Tetzel beaten for abusing his office. Pope Leo X succeeded Pope Julian, but lived an extravagate lifestyle in the same manner that Julian had previously. In some ways he exceeded him in desiring to build St. He spent money he did not have on advancing the Renaissance, and relied on the capital coming in from the Indulgence to continue to fund his lavish reign.
During this time, a young prince named Albert rose up in the Catholic ranks to become a cardinal. He was also an abuser of money and went into great debt, whereas he decided to utilize the Indulgence as a means of gain as well. However, his disrespectful attitude would keep him from being useful to the Reformation to any length. Under Albert the framing and propagation of indulgences passed between the Franciscans and Dominicans. It ultimately wound up in the hands of the Dominicans because of their previous reputation in the trade surrounding the selling of indulgences in Prussia, and Livonia.
Luther had heard of Tetzel for the first time when he visited the churches on the request of Frederick. His position towards Tetzel enflamed when, during the confessions of the towns people, they came confessing their sins, but with their indulgences in hand. The Townsfolk reported back to Tetzel that Luther would not forgive them if they were relying on an indulgence to save them. Tetzel preached against Luther and scared the people into believing their indulgences were genuine and helpful.
After the townspeople had reported Luther to Tetzel, Luther preached against the abuses of Tetzel and the indulgences formally. The sermon he gave was printed up and Tetzel responded to it in writing. Duke Frederick had a dream that startled him. He was in his palace at Schweinitz with his brother Duke John.
He had dreamed that God sent him a monk that was a true son of Paul the Apostle. He wrote something on paper and asked if he could hang it on the door of Wittenberg. Frederick complied. He saw the monk writing in huge letters and with a long pen that reached Rome. It startled Frederick until he understood that it was only a dream.
This, of course, aroused the ire of the pope, who was anxious to have St. Peter's Basilica built, and the rest, as they say, is history. With the wrath of the public aroused against him, Johann Tetzel was forced to retire to the to a monastery at Leipzig. It was at that time that Carl von Meltitz wrote up numerous accusations against him, further scandalizing his already damaged reputation.
Meltitz has since been discredited, and no one trusts anything he wrote. Return to The Reformation. Home Contact Me. Privacy Policy. Free Bible study lessons. These are not for the faint of heart, but they teach the Bible without compromising, without excuses, and for disciples. Paul Pavao has written three full-length books and three booklets. They get excellent reviews on Amazon. I support Heaven's Family. I urge you to help reach the world and meet the needs of "the least of these" by supporting them as well.
I do not get a commission for this ad. Early Church History Newsletter. Delivered monthly. Back issues availabel. When you sign up for my newsletter, your email address will not be shared. We will only use it to send you the newsletter. Email Name. Unless otherwise noted, all Bible verses on this site are taken from the King James Version because it's not copyrighted.
Language, grammar and punctuation are updated, comparing other translations and taking care not to change any meanings. Citations from the early church fathers are referenced, and the references can be read online at EarlyChristianWritings. I often update the language on these, too, doing my best not to affect even possible meanings.
All unattributed images on this site are either mine or known to be in the public domain. Pavao, All Rights Reserved. Please contact me for permission to reproduce any pages on this site. This web site, like all published works, can be quoted without permission as long as the quote constitutes "fair use," an undefined legal term.
0コメント