Protestantism

The Protestantism is a Christian institution of spiritual revival which occurs in Europe at the time of the Réforme during the time of the Renaissance (16th century) under the impulse of dissidents Catholique S, such as Martin Luther then Jean Calvin. The term itself is used for the first time in 1529, when the lords and the cities which followed the doctrines of Luther protest against the decisions taken by the second imperial diet with Spire, with catholic majority.

The French Protestants all, called “Lutherans” at the beginning by their adversaries, will be then named by derision “Huguenot S”, then “religionnaires”.

Origin of the “Protesting” term

October 31st, 1517, the students of the monk and Doctor of Divinity Martin Luther react to the indulgence campaign launched by Albert de Brandbourg: they post on the door of the church of Brandebourg a letter written by Martin Luther addressed to Albert de Brandebourg made up of 95 theses, at the same time report of the drifts of the Église, virulent criticism of the abuses and solutions. Among the theses, the access of all to the Bible without social discrimination and the equality between the men have a strong echo in the population mainly country, so much so that it causes in spring 1525 the Bauernkrieg (Guerre of the peasants) in the Germanic Roman Holy roman Empire.

In order to put a fast term at this explosion of violence against the leading class, the princes meet at the time of the first Diète of Whorl, in 1526. They are appropriate of the decree of the state of emergency and decide that each prince chooses the worship to be practiced in his State, the opponents being constrained to flee towards another State favorable to their faith. This confessionnalisation is already initiated at the end of 1525 by Jean of Saxony which institutionalized the Luthéranisme.

However, absent from this assembly trained by her voters, Charles Quint remains hostile with these provisions. Shown by the the Holy See to support Luther, Charles Quint decides to dam up the propagation of the theses Lutherans. He thus convenes in 1529, with his brother Ferdinand Ier, a Second diet of Whorl at the time which he revokes all the concessions made by the princes with the peasants. Thus, it re-establishes the worship Catholique and the Messe in Latin. The latter react immediately under the control of Jean of Saxony by emitting a protest. The princes signatories are called “Protestant”.

The Protestant Thought

The Protestants hesitate to speak about “doctrines” or religion. They prefer “convictions”, “engagements” or “values”. The federation of the Protestants publishes simply: “To be Protestant”. They is that the Protestants always prefer to preserve a space of discussion and exchange between the faithful ones, particularly for the expression of their faith, even most fundamental.

All confused sensitivities, the Protestants share these fundamental points (the two first relate to safety):

the man cannot deserve his safety near God, but God offers to him free by love. What makes the man able to like him too. Thus, the value of a person depends only on the love of god, and not on his qualities, neither of its merit, nor of its social status. This gift is done at the time of a personal meeting with God, in Jesus-Christ ( Solo christo : by Christ only). It is that the faith, not doctrines or a human work. From one person to another, it can emerge abruptly or be the fruit of a advance. Each one saw it in a particular way, like its answer to the declaration of love of god. Considérée carrying the word of God, the Bible is at the same time the only theological authority and the only guide, in last authority, for the faith and the life. It is lit by the preaching of ministers called by the Church and trained by it (but the Holy Spirit can call other preachers that only those). Through human testimonys that it transmits to us, it draws principles of life from which the personal liabilities of each one are exerted. It has there only God who is crowned, divine or absolute. Thus, very undertaken human cannot claim to be absolute, intangible or universal, including theology. Moreover, on the basis of the principle that God gave us freedom, the Protestants are generally favorable to a social system which respects plurality and freedoms.

  • Ecclesia semper reformanda (“the Church must be reformed unceasingly”)

the ecclesiastical institutions is human realities. They are seconds. “They can be mistaken”, said Luther. Thus, the Churches must unceasingly carry a critical glance on their own operation and their own doctrines, starting from the Bible. On the other hand, the catholic Christians never affirm to be mistaken in the mystery impenetrable and crowned ways of God, they are thus declared “infallible”. It is celebrates it catholic formula of “pontifical infallibility”. innovative Principle of the Protestant Reform, according to which each baptized is “prophet, priest and king” under the only seigniory of Christ. This concept destroys the principles of hierarchy within the Church. Each baptized has an identical place of value, including the ministers (of which the pastors form part). Resulting from studies of theology and recognized by the Church, they are with the service of the community for the advertisement of the Word of God (preaching and sacraments) and the missions particular which result from this. The women have access to the ministries of certain Protestant churches.

Many Churches and movements

In XXIe century, the Protestant heritage is lived through many movements, because the principle even of Protestantism wants to be reforming in order to éradiquer permanently the possible weight of the tradition. Thus, one counts a multitude of movements, often close.

In France, the majority of the Protestant movements are affiliated with the Protestant federation of France created at the time of the Separation of the Church and the State in 1905. Churches and movements evangelic are also affiliated to the evangelic Fédération of France. The majority of the churches other than luthéro-reformed, members or not of FPF or FEF, are found within the National council of Évangéliques de France.

Historical churches multitudinists

As of the beginning, they are organized in several Churches according to the theological currents or of the historical circumstances. They are addressed in the same movement to their members and the company (from where the term “multitude”, independently of their number!). It acts:
  • of the churches Lutherans;
  • of the reformed churches or Calvinistes;
  • of the Communion Anglican;
  • of the unitarian Churches (Témoins of Jéhovah), which does not believe in the Trinité, asserts historical Protestantism without forming part of it.

Churches of professing

In addition to the reformed Lutherans, and Anglicans, the Reform knew very early a fourth current, not “magistériel”, shown by the others to put at side or above the Bible an interior illumination considered as subjective, and named by them “enlightened” ( Schwärmer ) or “Anabaptists” (because, recognizing only one baptism of adults, they “renamed” those which had been it, children, elsewhere). Holding of this radical Réforme affirmed, them, that this interior illumination was the work of the Holy Spirit.

Are the direct heirs to the pacifist part of this current, the Assemblées mennonites, of which the Amish are form part. Are attached to it spiritually the Baptistes and other related groups resulting to various times from the Anglicanisme, with often a development of the Piété vis-a-vis the “world”.

In the following centuries, other movements were born starting from spiritual “alarm clocks” of the 19th century. The main thing, resulting from the preaching of John Wesley, is the Méthodisme. Combining return to the Bible, the prayer and social engagement, it is at the origin of the Salvation Army. Refusing predestination, confessing the responsibility for the individual in his own faith, it is also the source of the Pentecôtisme, born from a more recent Alarm clock.

Other independent Churches, privileging an aspect or another of the faith or Christian practice, also exist: the Assembled Darbystes and others “brothers”, Adventist of the seventh day, etc

“evangelic Églises” is the generic term which gathers all these denominations. Most of the time, except in the traditional Méthodisme, they are “Churches of professing” and not “multitude”: they ask an engagement and a profession of faith personnel to their members and some, so baptize only adults or young adult (they are “Baptistes”). Some rename the Christians come from other Churches, because they think that the baptism of children is not valid.

This term also applies to the currents fundamentalist S of North-American origin (some speak then about evangelism).

As a whole, these currents represent at least the quarter of current French Protestantism, that is to say 1% of the French population.

Fundamentalism

The fundamentalist current which preaches the return to fundamental doctrinal was born with the fundamentalist Congress from the Niagara (1895). This congress added to the doctrines defined in the beginning of the article, the elements of Confession of faith following resulting from the conciliar Christian tradition, putting an end to the Libre examination reproached the “historical” Churches, sometimes named way polemizes “dead Churches”. They define five fundamental points of doctrines (i.e. of obligatory belief):

  1. the Christologie,

  2. virginal birth of Christ,
  3. doctrines of the atonement vicar,
  4. body resurrection at the time of the second arrival of Christ and
  5. authority and verbal infallibility of the Bible.

That especially consists in literally taking the epistles of Paul of New Testament, and to interpret the remainder of the Bible through these epistles.

This current is also present within the other Protestant churches, in particular evangelic, in variable proportion.

The term “fundamentalism” with the Protestant direction is not obligatorily synonymous with “Intégrisme”, and that the belief in the divine inspiration of the Writings is not obligatorily confession of their formal “infallibility”.

National Churches

Most of the time, the Protestants organize themselves in churches or of national federations, for example:

Personalities of Protestantism

This section contains a list of pastors, theologists and personalities implied in the Protestant thought.

See also: Personalities of Protestant origin or related to Protestantism, famous Christian Theologists

Festivals and gatherings

In the European historical Churches, in addition to the Christian festivals (referred to Jesus-Christ according to the Bible), one celebrates sometimes:
  • a Festival of Harvests, first Sunday of October;
  • the Festival of the Reformation, on October 31st or, failing this, previous Sunday, commemorating the posting of the 95 theses of Luther;
  • the assembly of the Museum of the Desert, first Sunday from September, with Mialet in the the Cevennes, in remembering the Camisards; many Protestants resulting from the countries from the Refuge generally go there.

See too

Related articles

External bonds

  • Directory of the sites of the Protestant federation of France

  • Gate of the Protestant federation of France

  • Protestantism in France
  • Church reformed of Quebec
  • Churches reformed of French-speaking Switzerland
  • Belgian Protestantism

; Museums

  • Internet
    • virtual Museum of Protestantism
  • France
    • the Museum of the Desert
    • the Temple Museum of Lemma (Aisne)
    • Museum of Protestantism in High-Languedoc
    • exposure Huguenots to the protesting temple of Metz until March 10th, 2007.
  • Swiss
    • the international Museum of the Reform in Geneva

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