The religious upheaval in the 16th century gave rise to Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism and the ** sects. The rapid spread of Protestantism alarmed the **** and they felt the urgency to check further damage to the **** **. They demanded Reformation from within and the movement came to be known as Counter Reformation.
The attitude of the Popes changed. They took firm steps to check the spread of Protestantism. The Roman **** ** made efforts to win back the **-dominated countries, to the Roman obedience. A concerted Counter-Reformation Movement was launched with the four-fold purpose of punishing, reforming, converting and rendering social service. The inquisition was to punish, the Council of Trent was to introduce reforms and the Society of ** was to render service to and Society.
1. The inquisition: was a Roman **** Court formed for conducting inquiry into cases of heresy and meting out punishments to those who were found guilty? The guilty were excommunicated and given over to the civil arm for punishment, which included torturing and **** by burning. They issued a strict code of conduct to be followed by the officials. The inquisition was first established in Spain and they were set up to deal with the non-**** and to put down heresy.
2. The Council of Trent:(1545 – 1563 A.D). The **** ** held a General Council at Trent in north Italy, convened by Charles V in 1545 A.D. Its main purpose as clearly defined by the doctrines of the **, was to remove some of the abuses and to restore unity in the **** **. The Council condemned the sale of ** offices and bade the clergy to strictly adhere to clerical duties. It also banned the sale of indulgences.
3. Society of ** in 1540: The Counter-Reformation Movement was bolstered by the formation of several new religious orders. The most popular of these was the Society of , founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish knight of Noble descent. He inspired a large team of selfless, educated and disciplined priests to serve * and Christianity. They were known as Jesuits. They took the vows of simplicity, chastity, obedience, service and spreading Catholicism.
