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He was a Catholic friar, born in Assisi. He founded the Franciscans, a mendicant order in 1209. The order lived in poverty in the towns, and they teached and preached to common people. Before, monastic orders lived is isolated environment and didn't teach common people. He was said to have the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus.He is also the patron saint of the animals and the environment. -
He was one of the forerunners to the reformation. He was an English theologian and scolar who translated the Bible to English in order to make it available for everyone. For this he was persecuted, and after he died in 1384, he was declared as a heretic. -
He was a Czech forerunner to the reformation who was inspired by the work of John Wycliffe. He condemned the church for not making the Bible accessible to everyone and he also critized the selling of the letters of indulgences. He was declared as a heretic, then during the Council of Constance in 1415, he was arrested and burned at the stake. -
He openly critizied the selling of the letters of indulgences, and he wanted to reform the church. He published his "95 Theses" in 1517 which is considered to be the start of the Reformation. He believed that salvation can only be provided by faith. According to him the Bible is the ultimate authority for a proper life and not the church, additionally he also preached that all people have a direct connection with God. Luther was excommunicated and declared as a heretic in the Diet of Worms. -
He was a German theologian and preacher who created a branch of Protestantism, Anabaptism. Anabaptists reject infant baptism so they delay baptism until the person is old enough to confess their belief in God. He became popular among the poorer classes. Müntzer was initially a follower of Luther but later Luther condemned him and refused to support Münzter and the cause of the German Peasant's War. He was a leader of this rebbellion, but was arrested and executed in 1525. -
He was a French reformer and theologian who settled in Geneva and created Calvinism, a branch of Protestantism. He wrote the book "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in 1536 which includes his doctrines. His main idea was the sovereignity of God which led to the concept of predestination and election. He believed that work was a virtue so being wealthy was not considered a sin. He also said that not only pastors but also presbyters could be part of the Consistory, he also supported theocracy. -
He was a Spanish priest and theologian who founded the society of jesus in 1540, which was an official religious order in the Catholic Church. Jesuits swore obedience to the pope and they were the diplomatic representatives of the Catholic Church. They were sent to the colonies in order to spread Catholicism. Their goal was to prevent Protestantism from further spreading. -
As Reformation was spreading the Catholic Church needed to respond, thus the current pope, Pope Paul III. called together the Council of Trent. This led to the Counter-Reformation. The selling of indulgences was banned, simony and nepotism was banned as well, they verified the most important catholic dogmas plus it was also declared that seminaries must properly educate their future priests.
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He was a Spanish theologian and physician who denied the Holy Trinity and formed Antitrinitarianism. This put both Catholics and Protestants against him. When he went to Geneva he was caught and arrested there, then burnt at the stake for heresy by Calvin in 1553. He also contributed to medical discoveries as he was the discoverer of the pulmonary blood circulation.