n Reform movement, Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, and John Calvin in Geneva. These men were keen observers of the winds of political change that ranged about them. They were more sophisticated than Luther and his earliest followers, and they planted the Reformation movement in large population centers and identified it with civic and social responsibilities. "Holiness of life, not membership in a world-wide organizational design, was their criterion of the true Christian" (Dolan 269). Each of them changed Luther's original doctrine to suit their needs- mostly dealing with the Eucharist- but they kept the flame of the revolt alive. Following the lead of the Protestant Reformers on the continent, King Henry VIII of England rejected the authority of the pope and declared himself head of the "Church of England" in 1534. This rebellion was not, however, honest and sincere like that of the Protestant Reformers. Henry broke with the church because he wanted a male heir to the throne, and he could not convince the pope to annul his marriage to Cathrine of Aragon- the first of his six wives. Following Henry, King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth continued to mold this new church after the Protestant example. Elizabeth deliberately tried to keep the church a faith midway between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. Having lost much of its former glory, the Catholic church finally called together a council to take action against the Reformation which had so violently broken the church. It had been over twenty years since any such council had met. The Council of Trent was convened at Trento in northern Italy from 1546 to 1564. The policies developed at the Council made up what was called the Counter- Reformation. In response to the humanistic views of the Reformation, the Catholic church zealously strengthened its own religious views. The council's first action was, of course, to denounce Protestantism and reaffirm the Catholic doctrine. It set into m...
