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Martin Luther · 1537–1538 · Sermon
Luther's sermons of 1537 on Christ's farewell discourse in John 14–16, edited by Caspar Cruciger and published in 1538.
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Martin Luther · 1537 · Treatise
For readers who want Luther's own summary of what could and could not be conceded to Rome, written when he thought he was dying. Short, blunt and confessional; it assumes the debates of the 1530s.
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John Calvin · 1539 · Commentary
Calvin's commentary on Romans emerged from his early years as a reformer in Geneva, when he was establishing both his theological method and his reputation as a biblical interpreter. Published in 1540…
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Miles Coverdale, revising Matthew Bible under Thomas Cromwell's sponsorship · 1539 · Scripture
The Great Bible was the first English Bible officially authorized for public use in churches, and it stands as a landmark in the emergence of an English scriptural tradition sanctioned by the…
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Martin Luther · 1539 · Treatise
Luther's 1539 study of the early councils and of what makes the church — the 'seven marks' by which it is known.
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Martin Luther · 1539 · Other
Luther's 1539 preface to the first volume of his collected German works, with his rule for studying theology: prayer, meditation and trial.
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Richard Taverner · 1539 · Scripture
Taverner's Bible, the work of the English scholar Richard Taverner, was a learned but relatively short-lived revision of Matthew's Bible, published in 1539. Covering the complete Bible, it was drawn from Greek…
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John Calvin · 1540–1556 · Commentary
Calvin's commentaries on the Pauline epistles represent the systematic exegetical work of Reformed theology's most influential interpreter, composed over sixteen years as Calvin consolidated Protestant biblical interpretation in Geneva. Written initially as…
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John Calvin · 1540 · Commentary
Calvin's Commentary on Romans, first published in 1540, stands as the inaugural volume of what would become his comprehensive exposition of most of the New Testament. Written during his early years in…
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Martin Luther · 1544 · Sermon
Sermons on the Sunday and festival Gospels that Luther preached in his own house, edited by Veit Dietrich (1544) and later by Andreas Poach.
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John Calvin · 1544 · Treatise
Calvin wrote this treatise in 1544 as a formal response to Emperor Charles V, who had summoned Protestant leaders to justify their break from Rome and their reforms of Christian worship and…
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Council of Trent · 1545–1563 · Other
The Decretum de Reformatione emerges from the Council of Trent's eighteen-year effort to address the deepest crisis in medieval Catholicism. As Protestant reformers challenged papal authority and clerical corruption spread throughout Europe,…
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Martin Luther · 1545 · Other
Luther's 1545 preface to his collected Latin works, where he tells how he came to understand 'the righteousness of God' in Romans 1:17.
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Thomas Cranmer · 1547 · Sermon
The First Book of Homilies emerged from the English Reformation's urgent need to provide doctrinally sound preaching in a church where many clergy lacked theological education or remained uncommitted to reformed teaching.…
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Hugh Latimer · 1547–1549 · Sermon
Hugh Latimer's seven sermons preached before the boy king Edward VI between 1547 and 1549 represent some of the most influential pulpit oratory of the English Reformation. Delivered during the early years…
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Ignatius of Loyola · 1547–1556 · Treatise
The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus emerged from Ignatius of Loyola's decade-long effort to codify the governance, spirituality, and mission of the religious order he founded. Written between 1547 and 1556,…
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Hugh Latimer · 1548 · Sermon
Hugh Latimer's "Sermon on the Ploughers" stands as one of the most striking homiletical performances of the English Reformation. Preached at St. Paul's Cross in London on January 18, 1548, during the…
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Thomas Cranmer · 1549 · Other
Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer emerged from the English Reformation's urgent need to create a vernacular liturgy that would unite a fractured church while establishing theological independence from Rome. As Archbishop…
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Heinrich Bullinger · 1549–1551 · Sermon
The Decades constitute Heinrich Bullinger's systematic presentation of Reformed doctrine delivered as sermons to his congregation at the Grossmünster in Zurich between 1549 and 1551. Bullinger, Zwingli's successor as chief pastor of…
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Council of Trent · 1551 · Other
The Decree on the Eucharist emerged from the thirteenth session of the Council of Trent in October 1551, as the Catholic Church faced the fundamental challenge of Protestant reformers who denied the…
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Council of Trent · 1551 · Other
The Doctrine on the Sacrament of Penance emerged from the Council of Trent's fourteenth session in November 1551, addressing Protestant challenges to Catholic sacramental theology. As reformers questioned the necessity of auricular…
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Catherine of Genoa · 1551 · Book
Readers of late-medieval Italian spirituality and lay holiness: the account of her conversion, her years serving the sick at the Pammatone hospital and her sayings, written by her confessor and a disciple.
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Catherine of Genoa · 1551 · Treatise
Readers of Christian mysticism and of the doctrine of purgatory: a short work presenting purgatory as the soul's purification by God's love, which she knew from her own interior experience.
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Ignatius of Loyola · 1553–1555 · Other
Ignatius of Loyola's spiritual autobiography emerged from his own reluctance to discuss his inner life. Dictated to Luis Gonçalves da Câmara between 1553 and 1555, just before Ignatius's death, the work came…
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