Clement VII, Pope (1478-1534)
Pope Clement VII (born 26 May 1478 as Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, died 25 September 1534) served as pope from 19 November 1523 to his death. He was too deeply involved in the political affairs of his time, especially in the wars between Charles V and Francis I of France, to be greatly concerned with the Reformation in Germany, of which he had not the least comprehension. He believed he could suppress it with measures of violence, fire, sword, and the Inquisition. But he was too late. In October 1528 he ordered Charles V to "put an end to the innovations, which have already progressed to a denial of baptism and communion" (Ney, Geschichte des Reichstags zu Speyer, 1529, p. 7). It may therefore be assumed that Pope Clement VII caused Charles to suppress the Anabaptists most ruthlessly, and that he was thus an essential factor in the passing of the cruel Edict of Speyer of 23 April 1529, calling for the complete suppression of the Anabaptists by death.
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 360.
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Clement VII, Pope (1478-1534)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Clement_VII,_Pope_(1478-1534)&oldid=94194.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1953). Clement VII, Pope (1478-1534). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Clement_VII,_Pope_(1478-1534)&oldid=94194.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 621. All rights reserved.
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