I am sitting here on the couch as Finn and I watch Thomas the Tank Engine (James and the Red Baloon and other Tales). Gordon is being pompous and is heading for a fall at Edward's expense. It's all good stuff. A morning coffee. Yum, yum. And then we'll get dressed and head out to playgroup. Anyway, I suddenly found inspiration for the Reformed religon in the Alternate Reformation, which we ought probably to start renamed the Reformist Schism or somesuch.
So, this is my idea. I only have a simplified version at this stage.
A generation after the Schism, the division within the Catholic Church has become unacceptable and some of the old personal divisiveness that drove it has been forgotten. The new generation of bishops is more interested in reconciliation. At least, some are, including the Pope in Rome. So, there is another Laternan Council to which all of the bishops-who-support-the-other-Pope are invited, to establish a compromise on liturgical and administrative matters, some compromise that can bring the church back together again.
The result is partly successful, in that some bishops and the countries they come from decide to support the Pope in Rome (beoming Protestant). However, this also alienates some of the more hard-nosed reformists, who were actually looking to continue the reforming agenda. They then establish an alternate Church, rather than calling themselves Catholics, and are - in this case - an actual 'protesting' church and get the Reformed tag. Meanwhile, the rump of conservatives become CRC.
So much for compromise brining people together, at least in the short term. The shit has hit the fan again.
Our Edict of Tolerance comes a generation later, when it is clear that the rift will not be mended easily and Pope Somethingorother makes an edict of, say, tolerance, accepting that the True Church will convince others to return to the fold only through its own virtue.
So, this is my idea. I only have a simplified version at this stage.
A generation after the Schism, the division within the Catholic Church has become unacceptable and some of the old personal divisiveness that drove it has been forgotten. The new generation of bishops is more interested in reconciliation. At least, some are, including the Pope in Rome. So, there is another Laternan Council to which all of the bishops-who-support-the-other-Pope are invited, to establish a compromise on liturgical and administrative matters, some compromise that can bring the church back together again.
The result is partly successful, in that some bishops and the countries they come from decide to support the Pope in Rome (beoming Protestant). However, this also alienates some of the more hard-nosed reformists, who were actually looking to continue the reforming agenda. They then establish an alternate Church, rather than calling themselves Catholics, and are - in this case - an actual 'protesting' church and get the Reformed tag. Meanwhile, the rump of conservatives become CRC.
So much for compromise brining people together, at least in the short term. The shit has hit the fan again.
Our Edict of Tolerance comes a generation later, when it is clear that the rift will not be mended easily and Pope Somethingorother makes an edict of, say, tolerance, accepting that the True Church will convince others to return to the fold only through its own virtue.