The day is synonymous with a German priest/monk and theology professor by the name of Martin Luther. Even though Luther was a catholic, his studies brought him to a point where he rejected some teachings of the Catholic Church and he spoke vehemently against them.
In 1516, A friar by the name of Johann Tetzel was sent to Germany to sell 'indulgences'. An Indulgence is 'a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven'. A longer definition is 'an indulgence is the extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment due, in God's justice, to sin that has been forgiven, which remission is granted by the Church in the exercise of the power of the keys, through the application of the super-abundant merits of Christ and of the Saints, and for some just and reasonable motive'. These indulgences were sold to the people to raise money to build St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and on this point, Luther protested.
On October 31st 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop to protest these indulgences and enclosed a copy of 95 disputes (or 95 Theses as they are better known). To many, this move marked the start of the Protestant Reformation. As Luther's writings started to circulate around Germany, within a few months, copies of the theses had already spread throughout Europe.
In his studies, Luther came to understand the true doctrine of justification that was not taught by the church; that one is declared righteous by God by faith alone through His grace.
This was just the beginning. The protestant church still stands on this belief; that we are justified by faith through grace and it is still a gift from God. No amount of money can buy pardon for sin, but God gives pardon freely for all.
Let the reformation continue...
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Notes taken from
1) The Catholic Encylopedia: Newadvent.org
2) Wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
Amen ... The Protest continues
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