Religious Practices of the Masses During the Renaissance - Essay Example

of research) (please include here) __________________ The Renaissance or the period of rebirth was a cultural movement that covered roughly during the 14th to the 17th century starting in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe. This period of more than two centuries was marked by a revival of interest in the art of ancient classic. Some significant advances that are famous that time are in the elements of paintings through the introduction of linear perspective painting and the reformation of education which was gradual and widespread. This intellectual revolution period was said to be the connection between Middle Ages and Modern Era. Their influences were seen in science, literature, politics, art, philosophy, religion, and other intellectual inquests. Some of the noblest works of religious art, like the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, Madonnas by Raphael and those of Fra Angelico and Grunewald were products of the Italian renaissance. Participants studied the great civilizations of ancient Rome and Greece, and realized that their art and civilization were related to those of the distant past. Their thinking was also persuaded by the importance on human thoughts and worth as an individual or it is simply called humanism; and one's intellectual growth relies on classic education. These said teachings depended on various disciplines including poetry, history, rules on writing, and moral philosophy. The Renaissance is also the age where there are conflicts between the Church and other religious sects such as the Reformists and Humanists, with regards to their beliefs, practices, and dogmas. The English word religion has been used since the 13th century which means "reverence for God or the gods, careful pondering of divine things, piety, the res divinae (for the service of God)." (Wikipedia, Religion) It is also said that it is a way of life or signifying the attitude towards life. With that, religion covers the various human behaviors on beliefs, practices, moral codes, values, tradition, institution, and rituals that have the function of addressing the basic questions of human identity, ethics, death and the existence of a Divine being. Religion's definition has an immensely great extent that it is sometimes hard to perceive that medieval people are part of a religion. However, the Church became the "source of education entertainment, most social occasions, and of course, faith." (Louis Dudley 3) Although the southern humanists were preoccupied redefining the relationship between God and humans, the Northern Europeans still took the Church's practices seriously. There transpired various religious practices that the Church performed during the ancient times that were sources of "re-categorization" and reformation to some amount. These are usually in the form of the Sacraments, which are visible to the paintings and architectural designs of artists among them are famous painters Michelangelo, Leonardo. One of the religious practices is the rituals. Rituals are said to be set of actions that are performed either on a regular basis or on certain occasions. These acts, suggested to have symbolic implications, are the performances of which is prescribed by a certain religion or culture. Baptism is one form of practice of the Church, in which a person is briefly submerged in water with the implication of cleansing him of the original sin. Simply stated, this is a purification rite. During the 16th century, while various Reformers challenged most of the Church beliefs, they re-categorized the sacraments except baptism and the Eucharist. This religious rite was portrayed in a fresco painting on the catacomb of Saints Marcellinus and Peter at Via Labicana in Rome, Italy. As time progresses, minor changes of the ritual took place especially on the setting to which the immersion transpired. Before, several adults are immersed together in a Baptismal pool which is usually a pond or a lake, until the said pool was reduced to a smaller basin-like vessel and done one individual at a time. The belief that is associated with baptism is that "it makes a person really free - free to become the real person he can be." (J. Finley. M. Pennock 1) It is said that with this ritual with Christ you die to sin, symbolized by going down into the water; and with Him you rise to new life in resurrection, shown by rising from the water. However, the contradiction imposed during the Renaissance by the Anabaptists was that infants born who have not yet committed sin, therefore not needing salvation, were baptized in their own right and therefore they do not to be baptized as adults. While they dispute over this during those times, but the Sacrament of Baptism is still a major part of the practices of the Church even in these modern times. Confirmation is said to be a rite of "initiation" for many Christian Churches which is usually done with imposition of the Bishop's hand to signify the presence of the Holy Spirit to those who have been renewed. This ritual also deepens the presence of the Lord that was first experienced from the act of Baptism. To some religious sects such as the Roman Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and Anglicans, they view Confirmation as a sacrament. For the Protestant Churches, the rite is said to be an established affirmation of one's faith by an already baptized person. On the other hand, to other secular groups such as Humanists, the act of Confirmation is a "civil confirmation", meaning that it is an act that is not related to any religion but rather a phase marked by a ceremony for an adolescent to be prepared for the adult life. A concept even appeared sometime in 1852 which stated that "solemn initiation marking the transition from youth to adulthood that was developed in opposition to Protestant and Catholic Churches' Confirmation." (Jugendweihe. Wikipedia.) However the Church integrated the Confirmation rites to the Holy Eucharist during such ceremonies thus strongly making it a sacrament that is done until present time. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist falls under the so called rituals of the Church. The Holy Eucharist is a form of worship which establishes the actual relationship between religion's doctrine and its rituals. It is said to be the ultimate form of worship that it is more of an obligation than choice. The Holy Eucharist is also called the "Liturgy of the Mass" and this is when Catholics "praise, worship, and thank God for conquering sin and especially death, through the great act of love and obedience of his Son." (J. Finley, M. Pennock 2) It has two major parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is also referred to as a special kind of symbol. Within the Eucharistic action itself there are some special symbols that carry out the deep meaning of the sacrament itself. First is the word. The symbol of the word is used in many Scripture readings, prayers, answers or responses, and even hymns. It is a powerful symbol because it presents God to man through his words as spoken - "the word of God." Second is the bread. This is said to be the symbol of life. Bread is an ordinary food of a huge number of people from different races and cultures and without it man will die. "Consecrated bread at the Eucharist is life itself, namely, Jesus Christ." (J. Finley, M. Pennock 3) Third is the wine. Same with the bread, wine is an ordinary drink at meals. It has a merry and joyous quality about it. In the Last Supper, which was depicted by Leonardo De Vinci in his famous painting with the same name, Jesus refers to wine as his blood of the "New Covenant between God and his people." (J. Finley, M. Pennock 4) These are the symbols that make up the Mass. One of the acts during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist is the Transubstantiation; which the Church believes it to be the transformation of the substance of the bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ. After which the Holy Communion takes place wherein the said Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is given to the mass-goers in the form of the host dipped in wine. An affirmation of transubstantiation is as quoted, "If anyone says that in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there remains the substance of bread and wine, together with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and denies that marvelous and unique change of the whole substance of bread into the Body, and the whole substance of wine into the Blood, a change which leaves only the appearances of bread and wine, and which the Catholic Church very appropriately terms transubstantiation; let him be anathema." (History of the Church 1) So revered is this rite that only higher members of the Church can administer this and laymen are only given limited participation in the Holy Communion. This practice caused some conflicts from various religious groups during the early times since they do not believe that this is even possible. The Protestants did not accept the literal implication of the words of Jesus saying that He used several non-literal terms stating that Jesus referred to himself as the "light", and the "door to heaven", but does not factually mean he is. Finally, in opposition to the Lutheran theory on impanation, which states that the bread and "wine subsist at the same time as the Body (and Blood of Christ)" (History of the Church 2), the higher Church Council that time affirmed the doctrine on Transubstantiation. The Holy Communion further signifies that people are spared from venial or forgivable sins by receiving Jesus. The search for truth about this is more about one's faith and beliefs rather than finding the actual physical facts. In modern times, people are divided in various religious organization and those who remain loyal to the Catholic Church accepts this wholeheartedly without question. To the Church, they have identified the following Sacraments or rituals as outward signs of inward spirituality and link to Jesus Christ: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. These seven sacraments are also accepted by the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox but they do not limit the rituals only to these Sacraments stating that anything that the Church does as a Church is already a sacrament in itself. In addition they included Consecration of a Church, Burial of the Dead, and Monastic Tonsure. The Anglo-Catholics however only believes in the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist as ordained by God, also believing that these are the chief sacraments among the seven while the others are only derivations from these two. Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheranism, limited the sacraments into Baptism, The Sacrament of the Altar, and Confession, with others eliminated for not having the goal of forgiving sins. They consider that sacraments as a Means of Grace and with the Word of God further empower the Church. While they do not consider the other four rites as sacraments but they still use it in the Lutheran Church even to this day. Even with the many changes the Church experienced from the past and even during the time of the Renaissance, it still remains to be the most powerful religion in the whole world. The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is done every Sunday and other Holidays of Obligation and there are millions of believers in the way the Mass is administered. It is a form of linking oneself to God with the affirmation of faith, acceptance of the Body and Blood of Christ, and the promise to follow the way of God. Bibliography: 1. Wikipedia. Religion. This page was last modified on 2 December 2008, at 14:39. 18 November 2008. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion> 2. Dudley, Louise. Faricy, Austin. Rice, James. The Humanities. Sixth Edition. New York 1978. pp 64-72. 3. Dom Charles Poulet. A History of the Catholic Church. Volume II. London. 1946 4. James Finley, Michael Pennock. A Synthesis of Catholic Belief. Indiana. 1978. Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556. 5. Jugendweihe from the German-language Wikipedia (German) Read More