95 Theses Document written by M artin Luther de tailing what he believed to be the problems in the medieval Church.
Luther's action was in gr eat p art a response to the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel, a Dominican priest, commissioned by the Archbi shop of Mainz and Pope Leo X. The purpose of this fundraising campaign was to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Even though Luther's prince, F rederick the Wise, and the prince of the neigh boring territory, Duke George of Saxony, forbade the sale in their lands, Luther's parishioners traveled to purchase them. When these people came to confession, they presented the indulgence, claiming they no longer had to repent of their sins, since the document forgave all their sins.
Traditionally, Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. |