The current series of ti morceaux is offering a very brief survey of Church history. We’ve summarized the first, familiar Apostolic Age (from Jesus through to about A.D. 100); the Patristic Age which came next (until about A.D. 500 or so), and then the more well-known Medieval Age – which lasted until about A.D. 1400. While still keeping things simple, I hope it is also a correct overview.
Church historians typically describe the next main period as being the Modern Age of Church history. It sounds a bit strange to us, but as Western Europe came out of the Middle Ages, their self-understanding was that a new, fresh start was indeed beginning.
This post-medieval era lasted until about A.D. 1850. It was shaped first by significant religious controversy: the “Protestant Reformation.” Martin Luther definitively broke with the Catholic Church in Germany in 1517, and John Calvin in Switzerland and Henry VIII in Britain followed suit in 1533. Then, a Catholic “Counter-Reformation” took place. As a result, doctrinal clarifications and a real renewal of Church life did happen, but more noticeable was a rigid emphasis on uniformity of external Catholic discipline. All of this had roots in the Council of Trent in 1545-1563. Yet it was also an age of spiritual and evangelical creativity: many non-monastic religious orders were founded and flourished in this time (the Jesuits and Redemptorists, for example). The great missionary efforts of the Church to North and South America also took place during this period.
It is also important to remember that not all of the “modernization” of the Church during this so-called Modern Age was internal to the Church. During this time in general civil society moved away from being dominated by religion, whether Catholic or non-Catholic, to being non-monarchial and “secular.” Make no mistake about it: the American and French Revolutions (1765-1783 and 1789-1799, respectively) in time had a profound impact on the ways Christianity would impact societies across the globe.
If I have to pick a “classic” figure who personifies this Modern Age of Church History, I’d select the Augustinian priest Martin Luther (1483-1546), who eventually broke with the Church for both religious and other reasons. He was a brilliant theologian and effective teacher, even though his personal moral life was troubled and his bold ideas were soon caught up in the political storms of his time. He was wise enough to challenge the Church when her leaders had grown corrupt and stubborn, even if the reform he wanted soon went beyond what he had foreseen. It is interesting that in the past half-century, more theological and pastoral progress towards unity has been made between Catholicism and most Lutheran groups throughout the world than almost any other ecumenical effort.
