Protestant Reformers were those

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

s whose careers, works and actions brought about the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation,

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 1517), followed by people like Andreas Karlstadt and

Philip Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the L ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, who promptly joined the new movement. In 1519, Huldrych Zwingli became the first reformer to express a form of the Reformed tradition. Listed are the most influential reformers only. They are listed by movement, although some reformers (e.g. Martin Bucer) influenced multiple movements.

Notable precursors

According to

Edmund Hamer Broadbent __NOTOC__ Edmund Hamer Broadbent (15 June 1861 – 28 June 1945) was a Christian missionary and author. Born in Crumpsall, Lancashire, England, Broadbent operated under the auspices of the Plymouth Brethren movement. His missionary work from 1 ...

, throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, there were a number of Christian movements that sought a return to what they perceived as the purity of the Apostolic church and whose teachings foreshadowed

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

ideas. * Claudius of Turin *

Gottschalk of Orbais Gottschalk (Latin: Godescalc, Gotteschalchus) of Orbais (c. 808 – 30 October 868 AD) was a Saxon theologian, monk and poet. Gottschalk was an early advocate for the doctrine of two-fold predestination, an issue that ripped through both Italy an ...

* Berengar of Tours * Peter Waldo * Lorenzo Valla *

Wessel Gansfort Wessel Harmensz Gansfort (1419 – October 4, 1489) was a theologian and early humanist of the northern Low Countries. Many variations of his last name are seen and he is sometimes incorrectly called Johan Wessel. Gansfort has been called one ...

* Girolamo Savonarola * Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples * John Wycliffe * Jan Hus

Magisterial Reformers

There were a number of key reformers within the Magisterial Reformation, including:

Lutheran

* Philipp Melanchthon * Justus Jonas * Martin Chemnitz * Georg Spalatin * Joachim Westphal * Andreas Osiander *

Johannes Brenz Johann (Johannes) Brenz (24 June 1499 – 11 September 1570) was a German Lutheran theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg. Early advocacy of the Reformation Brenz was born in the then Imperial City of Weil der S ...

* Johannes Bugenhagen * Andreas Karlstadt, later a Radical Reformer * Hans Tausen * Mikael Agricola *

Primož Trubar Primož Trubar or Primus Truber () (1508 – 28 June 1586) was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Prot ...

* Jiří Třanovský

Reformed

* Huldrych Zwingli * Martin Bucer *

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

* Heinrich Bullinger * Theodore Beza * William Farel * John Knox * Wolfgang Capito *

Johannes Oecolampadius Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protestant f ...

* Peter Martyr Vermigli *

Leo Jud Leo Jud (; also Leo Juda, Leo Judä, Leo Judas, Leonis Judae, Ionnes Iuda, Leo Keller; 1482 – 19 June 1542), known to his contemporaries as Meister Leu, was a Swiss reformer who worked with Huldrych Zwingli in Zürich. Biography Jud was bor ...

Anglican

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Hen ...

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a ...

* William Tyndale * Hugh Latimer *

Richard Hooker Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English priest in the Church of England and an influential theologian.The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University ...

Arminian

* Jacobus Arminius

Unitarian

* Ferenc Dávid

Radical Reformers

Important reformers of the Radical Reformation included:

Anabaptist

* Thomas Müntzer * Zwickau prophets *

John of Leiden John of Leiden (born Johan Beukelszoon; 2 February 1509 – 22 January 1536) was a Dutch Anabaptist leader. In 1533 he moved to Münster, capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, where he became an influential prophet, turned the city into ...

* Sebastian Franck * Menno Simons * Dirk Willems

Schwenkfelder

* Kaspar Schwenkfeld

Second Front Reformers

There were also a number of people who initially cooperated with the Radical Reformers, but separated from them to form a "Second Front", principally in objection to sacralism. Among these were:

Anabaptist

* Johannes Bünderlin * Hans Denck * Christian Entfelder * Conrad Grebel * Balthasar Hubmaier * Felix Manz

Counter Reformers

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who worked against the Protestant Reformation included:

Roman Catholic

* Girolamo Aleandro * Augustine Alveld *

Thomas Cajetan Thomas Cajetan (; 20 February 14699 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, cardinal (from 1517 until his death) and the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508 to 151 ...

Johann Cochlaeus Johann Cochlaeus (Cochläus) (1479 – 10 January 1552) was a German humanist, music theorist, and controversialist. Life Originally Johann Dobneck, he was born of poor parents at Wendelstein (near Nuremberg), from which he obtained the punni ...

Johann Eck Johann Maier von Eck (13 November 1486 – 13 February 1543), often anglicized as John Eck, was a German Catholic theologian, scholastic, prelate, and a pioneer of the counter-reformation who was among Martin Luther's most important int ...

Jerome Emser Jerome (or Hieronymus) Emser (March 20, 1477 – November 8, 1527), German theologian and antagonist of Luther, was born of a good family at Ulm. He studied Greek at Tübingen and jurisprudence at Basel, and after acting for three years as chapla ...

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

* John Tetzel * Thomas More * Ignatius Loyola * Francis de Sales * Pope Paul III *

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

* Charles Borromeo * Francis Xavier * Peter Faber * Diego Laynez

Notable precursors

Magisterial Reformers

Lutheran

Reformed

Anglican

Arminian

Unitarian

Radical Reformers

Anabaptist

Schwenkfelder

Second Front Reformers

Anabaptist

Counter Reformers

Roman Catholic

See also

References

Further reading