Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (October 31, 1517)

Luther's Ninety-Five Theses

Martin Luther, a professor at Wittenberg, challenged the sale of indulgences in ninety-five theses for academic debate. Printed copies spread across Germany within weeks. The controversy that followed led Luther to proclaim to much of Europe that sinners are justified by grace through faith alone and that Scripture stands above popes and councils. The Reformation it began reformed doctrine within Roman Catholic Europe, but it kept infant baptism and churches joined to the state.

A protest against indulgences

A Professor's Protest

In 1517 the Dominican preacher Johann Tetzel was selling indulgences near Wittenberg to raise money for the rebuilding of St. Peter's in Rome. Buyers were promised the remission of temporal punishment for sin, even for loved ones in purgatory.

Luther, an Augustinian friar and professor of Scripture, saw his people trusting a paper instead of repenting. On October 31 he sent ninety-five theses to Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz. Written in Latin for scholarly debate, they opened by insisting that Christ called the whole life of believers to be one of repentance.

Printers quickly translated and spread the theses. Within weeks a local academic protest had become a matter for all of Germany.

Related individuals

Martin LutherGerman Reformer · 1483–1546