In April 1521 a German monk named Martin Luther defended his revolutionary teachings before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Luther's intellectual assault upon vital elements of Roman Catholic doctrine marked the beginning of the period of religious, political, and social upheaval known as the Reformation.
Born in 1483, Luther received his doctorate in theology in 1512. During the researches that he conducted as a professor of Bible studies at the University of Wittenberg, this brilliant scholar and outstanding teacher came to conclusions regarding the nature of faith that brought him into conflict with the pope and other leaders of the Church. In 1517, outraged by what he considered the avarice of the Catholic hierarchy and by what he believed to be its spiritual and intellectual poverty, Luther publicly denounced the faith in which he had been raised.
Luther's subsequent excommunication failed to stifle his calls for reform. A new, non-Catholic form of Christianity, whose name—Protestantism—reflected its dissenting nature, was born. Martin Luther—scholar, preacher, debater, and teacher—will long be remembered as a great religious leader and a magnificent embodiment of the fact that one man's determination to follow his conscience can change the course of history.
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