Yet it was Tetzel’s selling of indulgences as a commodity that appears to have broken Luther’s back Tetzel’s jingle of ‘As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs’ simply highlighted to Luther the financial nature of the entire process. Luther’s prince, Frederick the Wise, had a collection of indulgences that, if used, would be equivalent to 1,900,000 days removed from one’s time in purgatory. It was during this time that the indulgence trade was growing.
#3 2 word phrases for the 95 theses series#
In exchange for a cut of the profits, the Archbishop permitted Johann Tetzel to sell a series of indulgences to the poor.
The indulgences trade was authorised by the Archbishop of Mainz and Madgeburg, who was deeply in debt due to his purchase of the bishopric of Mainz. The 95 Theses were largely written to oppose the selling of indulgences to the people in order to reduce the time their loved one spent in purgatory.
Nonetheless, the 95 Theses were undoubtedly provocative, leading to debates across the German Lands about what it meant to be a true Christian, with some historians considering the document to be the start of the lengthy process of the Reformation. When writing the 95 Theses, Luther simply intended to bring reform to the centre of the agenda for the Church Council once again it cannot be stressed enough that he wanted to reform, rather than abandon, the Church. It is important, however, to recognise that this was not the action of a man wanting to break away from the Catholic Church. It questioned the idea that the indulgences trade perpetuated – that buying a trinket could shave time off the stay of one’s loved ones in purgatory, sending them to a glorious Heaven. This document was questioning rather than accusatory, seeking to inform the Archbishop of Mainz that the selling of indulgences had become corrupt, with the sellers seeking solely to line their own pockets. According to historic legend, Martin Luther posted a document on the door of the Wittenberg Church on the 31 st October 1517 a document later referred to as the 95 Theses.
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