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The Catechism in Questions & Answers
- Introduction
- Contents
- 582. How did the first Christian congregations come into being?
- 583. How did the gospel come to the Gentiles?
- 584. Which Apostle primarily proclaimed the gospel to the Gentiles?
- 585. Where did the designation “Christian” come into being?
- 586. How long were the Apostles active?
- 587. How did the activity of the Holy Spirit reveal itself after the death of the early Apostles?
- 588. How was salvation imparted throughout this period?
- 589. How did Christendom develop after the second century AD?
- 590. Who handed the teachings of the early Apostles down to posterity?
- 591. Who were the “Church Fathers”?
- 592. When did Christianity become the state religion in the Roman Empire?
- 593. How did Christianity develop in the time before the Middle Ages?
- 594. What else did the Christians have to contend with starting in the seventh century?
- 595. What developments led to the efforts to reform the church?
- 596. What is the Reformation?
- 597. Who are the most significant of the Reformers?
- 598. How did the Roman Catholic Church react to the Reformation?
- 599. What were the consequences of the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism?
- 600. What was the condition of Christendom in the Europe of the eighteenth century?
- 601. What was the condition of Christendom in the nineteenth century?
- 602. What important developments occurred in the Christendom of the nineteenth century?
- 603. How did the renewed occupation of the Apostle ministry in the nineteenth century come about?
- 604. How did the Catholic Apostolic Church come into being?
- 605. When did the first sealings take place?
- 606. What happened when some of the Apostles died?
- 607. How did the New Apostolic Church come into being?
- 608. What happened in the time following?
- 609. How did the name “New Apostolic Church” come into being?
- 610. How long was the prophet ministry active?
- 611. Who was the first Chief Apostle?
- 612. What other individuals have occupied the Chief Apostle ministry?
595. What developments led to the efforts to reform the church?
Over the course of the Middle Ages, the church became more and more secular— faith and doctrine lost more and more of their value. This can be attributed to a lack of orientation from the gospel.
It was for this reason that an increasing number of efforts were made to reform the church. On the one hand, there were endeavours to reform the church within monasticism, and on the other hand, others like the Frenchman Peter Waldo (1140, died before 1218), the English theologian John Wycliffe (1320- 1384), and the rector of the University of Prague, John Hus (1369-1384), began to make efforts of their own. All of them were consistent critics of the secularised church. The movements initiated and supported by them affected large parts of Europe, and eventually led to the Reformation.